October 9, 2019

SHORT LIST SHORTS: LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD + ST LOUIS SUPERMAN

LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) DIR: Carol Dysinger In the war-torn city of Kabul, a class of young girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods learns to read, write—and skateboard—in director Carol Dysinger’s love letter to a place she has filmed in for the last fifteen years. Courtesy of Lifetime Films/A&E IndieFilms. (USA/UK, […]

October 9, 2019

THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY

2019 SHORT LIST: DIRECTING AWARD In 1985, Brazil reclaimed democracy after decades of military dictatorship. At the heart of the country’s democratic reforms was the progressive Workers’ Party, which elected Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva the nation’s president in 2002, followed by his protege, Dilma Rousseff, its first female leader, in 2010. But neither could […]

October 9, 2019

ADVOCATE

Israeli attorney Lea Tsemel has defended Palestinians in court for five decades, from nonviolent demonstrators to armed militants. To many Israeli Jews, Tsemel is a controversial figure, even a traitor, willing to defend the enemy, but she remains steadfast in her belief that her clients’ crimes are acts of resistance that must be heeded. Directors […]

October 8, 2019

SHORTS: WAYS OF SEEING

A moment in time, captured in these observational docs. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 87 MIN) Easter Snap | Director: RaMell Ross An examination of five men who resurrect the homestead ritual of hog processing in the Deep South. (USA, 14 MIN) Ataguttak the Hunter | Director: Uncredited In the remote hamlet of Arivat, Nunavut, trace Ataguttak’s coming of age as […]

October 8, 2019

SHORTS: THICKER THAN WATER

Family, in all its forms. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 89 MIN) Lowland Kids | Director: Sandra Winther As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations. (USA, 22 MIN) A Childhood on Fire | Director: Jason Hanasik When Nick Hurndon […]

October 8, 2019

1275 DAYS

NYC PREMIERE In Elkhart, Indiana, 16-year old Blake Layman attempts to rob a home, only to see his friend and accomplice, Danzele, lose his life to the homeowner’s gun. Even though Blake did not pull the trigger, he faces a 55-year prison sentence under the felony murder rule. Directors Katie Green and Carlye Rubin chart […]

October 8, 2019

ABORTION HELPLINE, THIS IS LISA

See how the Hyde Amendment successfully worked to prevent the financially disadvantaged from access to abortion.   

October 8, 2019

AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY

NYC PREMIERE In 2013 artist Ai Weiwei and curator Cheryl Haines created an interactive art installation on San Francisco’s Alcatraz Island. Formerly imprisoned by the Chinese government for his art and political activism, Ai uses his experiences as inspiration. Through a unique combination of kites, Legos and postcards, Ai and Haines pay tribute to prisoners of […]

October 8, 2019

AMERICAN MUSLIM

NYC PREMIERE Though they each came to New York City from different parts of the world, Aber, Shamsi, Kobir, Debbie and Mohamed share a common identity as Muslim Americans. In the age of Trump, they must also confront the reality of heightened Islamophobia. Tracking their experiences from the beginning of the Muslim ban to the Supreme […]

October 8, 2019

ATAGUTTAK THE HUNTER

In the remote hamlet of Arivat, Nunavut, trace Ataguttak’s coming of age as his elder brother teaches him to hunt caribou.