When Janeé Harteau becomes Minneapolis’s first female police chief, she sets out to change a troubled department by addressing racially biased policing, increasing transparency, recruiting more women into the force, and championing leadership roles for female officers. But all of her reforms are threatened by an officer’s fatal shooting of an unarmed woman. Filming both […]
Runner Up: Audience Award DOC NYC 2020 Hélène and her son Aurélien produce wine on an idyllic French vineyard that’s been in their family for centuries. Kevin and his son Cona, hailing from a family of outlaws, are now legal purveyors of sun-grown cannabis in Humboldt County, California. Rebecca Richman Cohen’s film parallels the joys […]
2020 VIEWFINDERS SPECIAL JURY RECOGNITION FOR BEST USE OF ARCHIVAL MATERIAL WORLD PREMERE | Emerging as a distinctive voice in the East Village art scene of the 1980s, David Wojnarowicz combined a variety of disciplines, from painting and photography to music and writing, in his artistic practice. Fiercely and unapologetically embracing his queer identity, he rebelled against […]
Fed up with misdeeds committed by Chicago law enforcement and a political system unwilling to hold anyone accountable, two millennial Black women take action. Spoken-word artist Bella and PhD candidate Janaé work tirelessly rallying the community and challenging a power structure that historically turns a deaf ear to young, Black, female voices. Over the course […]
In Newark, NJ, a mortician takes two troubled teenage boys under his tutelage. Teacher and students alike learn the meaning of tradition, hard work, and forgiveness through instruction in the ways of traditional Muslim burial. Shot in stark black and white, this beautiful look at a unique craft shows the importance of a bond forged […]
Runner Up: Audience Award DOC NYC 2020 An intimate, inspiring, and timely portrait of Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a true pioneer of American civil rights who was the lone voice in opposition to the authorization of military force after the September 11th attacks. A unique selection of political commentators, activists, politicians, and family members add depth […]
In this provocative look at strange political bedfellows, Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein (Forever Pure, DOC NYC 2016) investigates the political alliance between American evangelicals and Israel’s right wing, and their influence on the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Why do American church leaders encourage parishioners to make donations to Israel, even from poor communities? Because they […]
Filmmaker Bruno Santamaría crafts an exquisite, ephemeral profile of a Mexican teenager on the cusp of adulthood. In the humble coastal village of El Roblito, Ñoño’s family and community live a seemingly idyllic existence. Ñoño spends time staging dance productions with local kids, but, when able to find time alone, travels to a secret place […]
How open are we to changing our beliefs? Acclaimed filmmaker Ra’anan Alexandrowicz (The Law in These Parts) explores this question through a cinematic experiment. He asks Maia, a Jewish-American student and ardent supporter of Israel, to view footage of life in the occupied West Bank, some from official Israeli government sources and others from the progressive […]
Artists Steina and Woody Vasulka escaped the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia to find refuge in New York City. There, they founded the legendary art and performance gallery The Kitchen. Their groundbreaking installations were at the heart of New York’s art scene in the 1960s, where they shared wild nights with the likes of Andy Warhol, […]