October 29, 2020

THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS

The white Alba truffle is the most expensive–and elusive–ingredient in the world. Found only in the forests of Northern Italy, its secrets have been guarded for generations by a select group of older Italian men and their canine companions: the truffle hunters. Filmmakers Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw enter their singular world, discovering truly one-of-a-kind […]

October 29, 2020

THE HUMAN FACTOR

Filmmaker Dror Moreh proved himself an expert navigator of powerful figures in his Oscar®-nominated film The Gatekeepers, about the leaders of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency. Now he employs his talents to probe the American-led negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in 2000. The main insiders on camera are six top American diplomats who testify to […]

October 5, 2020

THE LETTER

In an increasingly common scheme to steal their land, land-owning Kenyan elders are being accused of witchcraft by younger family members and sent away. Responding to a bizarre Facebook message that his beloved grandmother is killing children, Karisa visits his family compound in rural Kenya to investigate. This unhurriedly paced, visually engaging story explores complex […]

October 5, 2020

SUMMERWAR (SOMMERKRIEG)

US PREMIERE  | Ukraine has been at war with Russia since 2014. In response, its ultranationalists have organized paramilitary summer camps to prepare children to one day take up arms to defend their homeland. This film follows two campers over a session as uber-patriotic teen Jasmin revels in the military-style maneuvers and gun training, while younger […]

October 5, 2020

SMOG TOWN (YAO WANG FAN XING)

US PREMIERE |  Just outside of Beijing, the city of Langfang is on the front lines of China’s fight against air pollution. The local environmental protection bureau and its intrepid deputy chief—affectionately called “Uncle Smog Buster” by local school kids—are tasked with navigating Beijing’s strict national policy and the interests of local politicians and businesses. In […]

October 5, 2020

ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA

At the edge of Venezuela’s Lake Maracaibo is the small floating village of Congo Mirador. Now sinking into sediment, this once-prosperous fishing community is unraveling after years of criminal pollution and government neglect. Focusing on two fierce, independent women who epitomize opposing sides of this vulnerable community, Anabel Rodríguez Ríos’s film is a stunning microcosm […]

October 5, 2020

76 DAYS

2020 SHORT LIST: CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD Filmed in Wuhan, China by an independent crew, 76 Days covers the length of the city’s lockdown for COVID-19. The film’s suspenseful pacing and otherworldly imagery make it feel like a science-fiction thriller. The heroes are the front-line hospital workers who still manage to find humanity and humor even while […]

October 8, 2019

LYUBOV – LOVE IN RUSSIAN

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Nobel Prize-winning author Svetlana Alexievich is known for her oral history books on war and catastrophe. This film follows her as she embarks on a different project interviewing Russian people on their relationship to love. We get to watch one of the world’s greatest interviewers draw out a wide range of speakers […]

October 8, 2019

GANDEN: A JOYFUL LAND

WORLD PREMIERE Ganden is the most influential monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, likened by Buddhists to the Vatican. It is here where the Dalai Lama’s lineage began. For more than 500 years, monks lived in Ganden in simplicity and contentment, before a brutal invasion drove them from their beloved home to start anew in India. Embodying the […]

October 8, 2019

GOLDA

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE In America, she is viewed as the respected grandmother of the state of Israel; in Israel, her legacy is far more complicated. This fascinating profile sheds light on Golda Meir, the first and only woman to be elected prime minister of Israel. The film centers around a remarkably candid interview, unseen until now, in […]