The School of Visual Arts MFA Social Documentary Film program guides and supports emerging filmmakers to explore fully the social documentary film form and, in so doing, to find innovative ways to examine and communicate the core experiences and events that define us. SVA’s award-winning faculty is helmed by producer Maro Chermayeff (Half the Sky), […]
US PREMIERE Petr used to be an urbanite studying computer science, but when he met Simona, they set out for the Czech countryside to pursue dreams of a self-sufficient family outside mainstream society. After 25 years, settled in a caravan on a meadow with no running water or modern conveniences, their nine children struggle with […]
WORLD PREMIERE Attending NYC’s elite public schools – Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech – can set students up for future success, but first they have to beat the odds to claim a coveted spot. Each year, middle-school students pin all of their hopes on a single test: the Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT). […]
NYC PREMIERE “I want to tell people how I became this woman with razor blades between her teeth.” So says Sonia Sanchez, a seminal figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, a poet who has harnessed her gift for words as a champion against racism, sexism and war, fusing art and activism over the past […]
An encore screening of the winners of the DOC NYC U Showcases, which provide audiences with a sneak peek at the work coming out of the city’s best university documentary programs. Discover the nonfiction filmmakers of tomorrow! Below are the winners. Best Film: “Fairy Tales” (New York University) directed by Rongfei Guo. Special Mentions: Spirited Storytelling: “Alive and […]
Artspeak follows New York artist Bill Claps discovering everyday people’s thoughts and feelings about contemporary art as he develops a video installation and a series of artworks that comment on the phenomena of Artspeak.
Experiences in the melting pot. Satellite Baby (USA, 9 min., Jenny Schweitzer) uncovers the consequences of a Chinese immigrant daycare alternative. A Resident Alien (USA/Spain, 18 min., Naiara Eizaguirre-Paulos) evaded Honduran drug cartels but may be forced back home. The Absentees (UAE, 10 min, Tanya Daud) are stuck in a no-man’s land. A Romanian Olympian […]
A documentarian talks to real-life teenagers about puberty and pairs their interviews to alien animations.
Stories for the whole family. Cone Phones (USA, 6 min., Heidi Gelover) snap, crackle and pop in a city playground. Avery’s twin brother, Xander, is her Little Hero (USA, 10 min., Marcus McDougald, Jennifer Medvin). An Emirati boy dreams of being the first claymation artist from his homeland in Made of Clay (UAE, 10 min., […]
NYC PREMIERE Teen Press takes audiences inside Santa Barbara Middle School for a semester to witness the selection, training and inner-workings of a teenage press corps.