NYC PREMIERE The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing celebrates the life of the dynamic author, editor, and activist. From her Harlem roots to her role as a self-described “culture worker,” Toni’s wit and fierce commitment to change come alive through rare footage and the voices of those who knew her best, including Toni Morrison […]
WORLD PREMIERE For the five families that control NYC’s Christmas tree trade, the most wonderful time of the year starts months before the first fir tree displays hit busy sidewalks in the five boroughs. There is the competition for sources and locations—not to mention strategizing to stretch the proceeds of five scant weeks into a […]
In 2024, ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio becomes the first transgender man to argue a case before the Supreme Court. Engaging with complexity, filmmaker Sam Feder does not shy away from criticizing traditional liberal-center publications like The New York Times and The Atlantic, whose continuously interrogative coverage of trans experiences has helped embolden 23 right-leaning state […]
Like many fans of Jeff Buckley, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg has long been fascinated by the enigmatic California singer, who tragically died at the age of 30. Buckley’s ethereal voice and songs have endured, riveting new audiences and musicians for decades. Bringing her questing curiosity to Buckley’s personal archives—much of it never seen by the […]
The transcendent composer and interdisciplinary artist Meredith Monk has been creating and performing for six decades. Pioneering new vocabularies of sound and imagery as she broke through in the 1960s and ‘70s downtown NYC arts scene, Monk’s talent is appreciated in this mosaic telling, inspired by her own style. Featuring interviews with the likes of […]
Who speaks—or sings—for America? In 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono had adopted NYC as their new home base and were busy absorbing the wildly contradictory mores of a fracturing American society, when Lennon gave the only full-length show he would ever play after the breakup of The Beatles, the One to One benefit concert […]
WORLD PREMIERE The men behind the prison walls of Sing Sing Correctional Facility find a much-needed outlet in Beyond the Block, a TED-style public speaking symposium. Conceived and developed by an incarcerated planning committee, the event allows participants to explore their humanity in otherwise adverse circumstances. Beyond follows the presenters, from auditions to triumphant moments […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Photographer Kwame Brathwaite, who used his art as activism, captured the joy of Black American life, documenting jazz musicians, celebrities, everyday Harlem scenes, and more—while popularizing the phrase “Black is Beautiful,” amplifying the movement that redefined Black pride. Through interviews with his family and celebrities like Jesse Williams, Gabrielle Union, and Alicia […]
NYC PREMIERE Over a five-decade career, the journalist, author, and talk show host E. Jean Carroll has been revered for her brass-tacks style. In 2019, galvanized by the #MeToo movement, Carroll went public with something she had buried for years: She had been sexually assaulted by Donald Trump. When the president accused her of lying, […]
WORLD PREMIERE NYC experimental documentary filmmaker Benita Raphan died by suicide during the loneliness of the COVID-19 shutdowns. DOC NYC 2024 Lifetime Achievement filmmaker Alan Berliner, who was her friend and creative advisor, creates a kind of posthumous collaboration with Benita on her final project, using as many of her images, sounds, and words as […]