NYC PREMIERE If you’re looking to understand Russia, the Bolshoi Ballet is a good place to start. This visually stunning work, backed by HBO Documentary Films, takes us inside the Bolshoi’s world of great artistry and intense rivalry in the dramatic year after an acid attack on its leader. While one of the company members […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE In 1982, Nick was sentenced to death for a brutal crime. After more than two decades behind bars, he petitions the court to carry out his sentence and put him to death. Compellingly presented as his confessional, The Fear of 13 melds psychological thriller and true crime drama to reveal the shocking […]
In one of his finest films, Nick Broomfield digs into a true crime story of a Los Angeles serial killer that raises larger questions about gender, race and class inequality. Broomfield enlists the help of a former prostitute, Pam, who shines as a lively, funny and courageous personality. Together they hit the streets to dig […]
State College, Pennsylvania, home to Penn State University, has long prided itself on its football program, lionizing its head coach, Joe Paterno. But when “Saint Joe” is caught up in the Jerry Sandusky scandal, the once-harmonious community splinters. With impressive access to family members and community residents who are still reeling from the accusations, Amir […]
Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman’s breathtaking film chronicles the dangerous but life- affirming work performed by the Human Rights Watch Emergency Team, or E-Team, a compelling group of intrepid investigators willing to enter hostile territories to document crimes against humanity that might otherwise go unreported. Allowing outside filmmakers to follow them for the first time, […]
In early 2013, Oscar®-nominated director Laura Poitras started receiving encrypted e-mails from someone identifying himself as “citizen four,” who was ready to blow the whistle on the massive covert surveillance programs run by the NSA and other intelligence agencies. That June, she and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many […]
NYC PREMIERE Imagine a This American Life episode devoted to a real-world Twin Peaks, and you might approximate the stranger-than-fiction story of small-town Chadron, Nebraska. Guided by the idiosyncrasies of author Poe Ballantine, Dave Jannetta explores the intriguing mystery behind math professor Steven Haataja, a loner who vanished without a trace soon after coming to […]
Robert Drew, who died this year, led a company of trailblazers in observational documentary. One of the most striking films from this era is The Chair, which follows the attorney Louis Nizer as he attempts to save the prisoner Paul Crump from the electric chair. Drew was joined by Richard Leacock, Gregory Shuker, DA Pennebaker […]
WORLD PREMIERE With his execution just 48 hours away, Anthony Porter’s life was saved by a Northwestern University journalism class. Their re-investigation of the crime for which he was convicted—a double homicide in a Chicago park—led to the discovery of the real killer, Alstory Simon, whose confession exonerated Porter. If it all sounds too […]
WORLD PREMIERE After David Ourlicht was stopped and searched by the NYPD for no discernible reason, he filed a class-action suit against the City of New York, alleging racial profiling in the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy. Following the charismatic young man over three years as he awaits the trial, Spencer Wolff reveals how David has […]