NYC PREMIERE When gay college student Matthew Shepard’s savagely beaten body was discovered lashed to a fence near Laramie, Wyoming in 1998, the deadly consequences of homophobia received international attention. While Matt’s death left an indelible mark, the details of his life are less familiar. His friend Michele Josue turns to those who knew him […]
2013 SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER Jewish Israeli grandparents are challenged by their grandchild to compose an agreed-upon version of the untold story of a large crystal mirror, taken from the Palestinian village of Zarnuqa during the Nakba – the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by the new Israeli state in the 1948 war. Filmmaker […]
NYC PREMIERE Growing up in an upper-middle-class Jewish household, Lacey Schwartz knew she looked different from the rest of her family, but her darker complexion and curly hair were brushed off as traits inherited from her Sicilian grandfather. When she finally begins to dig deeper, Lacey uncovers unspoken family secrets and willful denial that cuts […]
Once ubiquitous, but surprisingly still in regular use despite our increasingly detached digital world, telephone hotlines connect strangers for a multiplicity of purposes. Some are for profit, others for the public good—from the titillation of phone sex or the spiritual advice of Ms. Cleo, to the lifesaving potential of a suicide prevention line. Tony Shaff’s […]
WORLD PREMIERE With interest in a farm-to-table food on the rise, a small band of upstate New York farmers sees an opportunity to hold on to their endangered farms by raising and selling grass-fed beef. Forming a cooperative, they soon discover that the marketplace surprisingly can’t support their simple ambitions. Jackson and Teale follow their […]
WORLD PREMIERE A resonant work of modern Americana, Andrea B. Scott’s film paints a rich and often humorous portrait of a cowboy town set in the heart of Arizona’s prison industry. Florence’s civilian population is outnumbered two to one by its inmates, who are spread out over nine correctional facilities. Economically dependent on this local […]
NYC PREMIERE In 1984, Keva Rosenfeld profiled the senior class of a typical California high school in All American High, exploring teenage life through the eyes of Rikki, a Finnish exchange student trying to make sense of a foreign culture of big hair, prudishness and popularity. It’s fitting that a film about high school should […]
NYC PREMIERE An unprecedented speed-dating event for seniors serves as the backdrop for this alternately poignant and funny look at love among the 70+ set. Thirty brave souls register—widows and widowers, longtime divorcees and the lovelorn—each willing to endure an anxiety-inducing, but mercifully brief, series of setups in their search for companionship in their golden […]
NYC PREMIERE What makes a good parent? How do you prove you are one, after you’ve been deemed unfit? Having lost custody of their children to Child Protective Services, two parents in New York City and Seattle fight to win back the trust of the courts and reunite their families in Stephanie Wang-Breal’s moving film. […]
WORLD PREMIERE After David Ourlicht was stopped and searched by the NYPD for no discernible reason, he filed a class-action suit against the City of New York, alleging racial profiling in the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy. Following the charismatic young man over three years as he awaits the trial, Spencer Wolff reveals how David has […]