NYC PREMIERE In this winner of Best Film and Audience Award at Visions du Réel, filmmaker Jawad Rhalib documents diverse creative voices in the Muslim world—including his mother, a Moroccan dancer—who seek to free themselves from bonds of stereotypes and repression. The film forgoes conventional artist-profile tropes in favor of a weave of rehearsals, conversations, […]
WORLD PREMIERE This refreshing film offers a unique peek into the private lives of women who have survived unspeakable sorrow, yet blossom through the healing power of art. During a theater workshop in a Lebanese refugee camp, four Syrian women discover they have a lot in common with the ancient Greek heroine, Antigone, and experience […]
WORLD PREMIERE Follow Academy Award winner Olympia Dukakis behind the scenes in this affectionate profile of a stalwart New Yorker and beloved stage and screen treasure. A woman ahead of her time, Olympia has always defied expectations, eluding the limits of her heritage and gender to challenge standards and shatter precedent. Moving between past and […]
NYC PREMIERE Acknowledged as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time, John Curry was arguably the first openly gay athlete to compete in the Olympics, winning gold at the 1976 games. After he retired from competing, Curry cultivated a new art form, ice dancing, merging his two loves: ballet and skating. His dance […]
WORLD PREMIERE The Martha Graham Dance Company commissions famed choreographer Andonis Foniadakis to create a new piece. But when Andonis’s fluid, improvisational style collides with Graham’s traditional structure, drama ensues. An impossibly tight production schedule, injuries and artistic temperaments only add to the tension. Will the dance be ready in time for the world premiere? […]
NYC PREMIERE From his humble beginnings parking cars at the Comedy Store, Jesus Trejo is relentless in his pursuit of stand-up stardom. For Jesus, who drives hours for a three-minute open mic stint, comedy is both a dream and an escape from the heavy demands of caring for his aging parents. Undeterred, Trejo funnels his […]
NYC PREMIERE New York City’s Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo has charmed audiences for more than four decades, bringing the dance form to a modern audience… with a decided twist. Formed in an era of newfound gay liberation, the Trocks, as the all-male troupe is affectionately known, fuses camp humor with classical ballet, performing […]
WORLD PREMIERE So an Egyptian lawyer, a couch-surfing custodian and an Orthodox Jew walk into a comedy club… and end up in a documentary. Standing Up follows these three unlikely aspiring stand-up comics, willing to risk everything in pursuit of their dreams of making it in comedy. Director Jonathan Miller tells their story with warmth […]
NYC PREMIERE Lorraine Hansberry, best known for A Raisin in the Sun, was a black writer, communist, feminist, lesbian and outspoken trailblazer at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She led an active life, befriending James Baldwin, inspiring Nina Simone, breaking barriers from Broadway to Hollywood, being monitored by the FBI and seeking love […]
NYC PREMIERE A star of stage and screen and member of the legendary Rat Pack, Sammy Davis, Jr. broke racial barriers, but paid a heavy price for it. Defying societal norms concerning interracial romance, religion and political affiliation, Davis courted controversy many times, but always with grace and honesty. Filmmaker Sam Pollard explores all the […]