October 19, 2021

THE GIG IS UP

NYC PREMIERE Uber, DoorDash, Citi Bikes and the like are part of the global explosion of convenience for consumers, and they provide desperately needed income opportunities for otherwise marginalized workers—but often with high hidden costs. Following several workers from around the world, director Shannon Walsh explores the economic and physical vulnerability of these enterprising wage […]

October 19, 2021

PUNCH 9 FOR HAROLD WASHINGTON

NYC PREMIERE As the city’s first African American mayor, Harold Washington’s 1983 election victory signaled the dawn of a new era in Chicago. Washington’s organizing prowess galvanized a multiethnic coalition in the city, but subsequently garnered racist backlash from the political elite. A man on the vanguard of progressive politics, Washington’s untimely death was a […]

October 19, 2021

WHO WE ARE: A CHRONICLE OF RACISM IN AMERICA

NYC PREMIERE Winner of the SXSW Audience Award, Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America delivers a potent immersion into history through the perspective of former ACLU attorney Jeffery Robinson—a dynamic speaker who makes history vivid through his interviews, travels, and personal stories. Filmmaking sisters Sarah and Emily Kunstler previously directed William Kunstler: […]

October 19, 2021

LADY BUDS

NYC PREMIERE In her feature directorial debut, Chris J. Russo presents a perceptive exploration into the lives and work of six women who are the backbone of the cannabis community in California. Their accomplishments and battles reveal a new industry that remains in flux, as it tackles preserving the past while simultaneously establishing its own […]

October 19, 2021

KRIMES

NYC PREMIERE While locked up for six years in federal prison, artist Jesse Krimes secretly creates monumental works of art—including an astonishing 30-foot mural made with prison bed sheets, hair gel, and newspaper. He smuggles out each panel piece-by-piece with the help of fellow artists, only seeing the mural in totality upon coming home. As […]

October 19, 2021

INHOSPITABLE

WORLD PREMIERE Why are healthcare costs so high in the United States? Part of the problem lies with the business of hospitals, even those running as nonprofits. InHospitable follows patients and activists as they band together to fight a multi-billion dollar nonprofit hospital system in Pittsburgh that limits vital care for vulnerable patients. Filmmaker Sandra […]

October 19, 2021

GRANDPA WAS AN EMPEROR

WORLD PREMIERE Yeshi Kassa, great-granddaughter of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie, investigates what happened to her beloved father after the 1974 coup that landed most of her family in prison. Looking at a rarely examined slice of history, the film delves into Selassie’s complex legacy, including how he came to be considered a divine being by […]

October 19, 2021

FOREST FOR THE TREES

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE War photographer Rita Leistner turns her expert lens onto a community of tree planters who overcome grueling conditions and emotional difficulties to bring back the forest one tree at a time. Driven by the perseverance and vulnerability of its subjects as much as by the harsh beauty of the landscape, Forest for the […]

October 19, 2021

EDNA

NYC PREMIERE In the ruined lands near the Transbrasiliana motorway in Brazilian Amazonia, Edna has witnessed massacres perpetrated by the military dictatorship. Edna weaves her memories into the narrative through her diary, entitled “Story of My Life,” reflecting on the life of guerrillas, the disappeared, deforestation, and survival. Director Eryk Rocha’s lyrical hybrid narrative draws […]

October 19, 2021

BURNING

NYC PREMIERE Oscar-winning filmmaker Eva Orner (Taxi to the Dark Side) focuses on the “Black Summer” of 2019-2020 when bushfires ravaged her home country of Australia. But the film’s lessons apply to any country where political will is more focused on burning fossil fuels than stopping the climate crisis that makes wildfires worse. Australia is […]