NYC PREMIERE Master filmmaker Kim Longinotto (2015 DOC NYC Visionaries Tribute honoree) returns to the festival with her latest profile of a woman determined to make change in the world. Longinotto’s film explores the life and work of acclaimed Italian photographer Letizia Battaglia, who took up her camera to bravely bear witness to the Mafia’s […]
Stories about facing authorities and the criminal justice system. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 77 MIN) Weedman | Director: Brian Scully A cannabis activist opens a marijuana-themed cafe across from Trenton’s City Hall to test the city’s weed laws—with unexpected consequences. (USA, 18 MIN) The Sunny Side Up | Director: Peter Kilmartin Both Sunny and Peter served on death row for […]
Full hearts, charged beds.(TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 83 MIN) That Joke Isn’t Funny Anymore | Director: Hannah CurrieCan Lindsay’s love for her husband, Paul, sustain her through the trauma of his brain injury? (UK, 12 MIN) Bodies | Director: Tegan Clancy A look at the connection between self-love and body image through four women and their art. (AUSTRALIA, 9 […]
Meet Chico, Alice and Misty, Alabama natives whose lives have been shaped by meth use, in this meditation on loss and the search for redemption.
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 […]
Bruce Franks Jr., a 34-year-old Ferguson activist and battle rapper who was elected to the overwhelmingly white and Republican Missouri House of Representatives, must overcome both personal trauma and political obstacles to pass a bill critical for his community. Courtesy of MTV. Co-presented by Film Fatales, NYWIFT & ROOFTOP FILMS
NYC PREMIERE Paul Lima has spent over a decade seeking justice for his slain father, Albert. Though convicted, Albert’s murderer has remained free in Honduras. Frustrated with the failings of the legal system, Paul takes the unorthodox—and highly dangerous—step of hiring two bounty hunters to track down the killer and finally make him pay. This riveting […]
Filipino mortician Orly manages and lives at a 24-hour funeral home, where he has a sobering perspective on the lives impacted by President Duterte’s “war on drugs.”
CENTERPIECE FILM NYC PREMIERE Bikram Choudhury was at the forefront of popularizing yoga in North America and around the world. An Indian immigrant with a Beverly Hills base, Choudhury was a born entertainer, known for dressing in nothing more than a black speedo and a Rolex. His teaching style was tough love sprinkled with salty language and […]
WORLD PREMIERE Native New Yorker Steve Talt was formerly bodyguard to Farah Pahlavi, the wife of the Shah of Iran, but he remains her loyal servant to this day. Steve is on a mission to find Pahlavi’s stolen art collection, and enlists the help of retired mobsters and his 90-year-old neighbor to pursue the cold […]