YVES & VARIATION
Concierge Yves Deshommes practices his violin behind the front desk of a Manhattan office building.
Education
NEW YORK TIMES’ OPINION DOCUMENTARY: OPERATION INFEKTION
WORLD PREMIERE Operation Infektion is a New York Times Opinion documentary that begins in the Soviet Union in 1959, when one of the world’s greatest disinformation engines was born. By way of animation and riveting interviews with Soviet disinformation agents, the series reverse-engineers the KGB playbook that concocted viral lies in a pre-Internet era. The film pulls […]
‘63 BOYCOTT
In 1963, more than 250,000 students boycotted Chicago’s public schools to protest racial segregation. Combining period footage with reflections from participants, ‘63 Boycott links the past with present-day concerns around inequality in the education system. Courtesy of Kartemquin.
BOYS WHO LIKE GIRLS
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE In the aftermath of the infamous Delhi gang rape, one man works to change the way Indian boys view females. Harish and his nonprofit are devoted to educating impoverished male youth like Ved to respect women and girls. Despite the progress the activist makes in combating toxic masculinity, Harish struggles to find […]
BRAVE GIRLS
WORLD PREMIERE Three young Indian women in a conservative Muslim town seek to change their futures through education and self-determination. The opportunity to continue their schooling has opened up the possibility of a different future for Karishma, Apsana and Samira, but even as they prepare for final exams, their families threaten to pull them back […]
THE CANDIDATES
WORLD PREMIERE Since 1996, the wonderfully diverse students of a Queens public high school have staged an elaborate mock presidential election for an entire semester, simulating the American electoral process against the backdrop of the real one. In 2016, Ukranian-American Daniel hams it up as a cocky Donald Trump, while Pakistani-American Misbah, an observant Muslim, […]
DOC NYC U: COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY SHOWCASE
Students in The Documentary Project at Columbia Journalism School learn to write, film and narrate the stories of our time, from deadline reporting to profile writing and documentary features. Successful candidates have leveraged their work to include magazine features, NPR radio stories and newspaper articles. Columbia’s showcase includes: The Lifehouse (USA, 31 min., Heba Elorbany, […]
LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL
WORLD PREMIERE After a controversial basketball ruling about head coverings makes it impossible for Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir to maintain her religious convictions while playing professionally, she begins training the next generation of Muslim girls at an Islamic school’s athletics program. As she reckons with the possibility of life without basketball, Bilqis fights to change the rules […]
A LITTLE WISDOM
2018 VIEWFINDERS COMPETITION WINNER NYC PREMIERE This beautiful observational portrait of childhood is set in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on the border between Nepal and India, the birthplace of the Buddha. Director Yuqi Kang reveals the emotional dynamics of five-year-old Hopakuli and his older brother Chorten as these young novice monks attempt to balance […]
NEW HOMELAND
WORLD PREMIERE Two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County, USA) chronicles the experiences of five refugee children from war-torn Syria and Iraq whose families have resettled in Canada. In this sweetly observed film, Kopple follows the boys for two weeks at a summer camp in the Canadian wilderness. We watch as some boys thrive […]