US PREMIERE The Other Rio offers a warm and lucid look at the ingenious ways in which a community finds happiness and harmony against the odds. Surviving a harsh existence in Rio de Janeiro, 100 families live as squatters in an abandoned government building in the shadow of the 2016 Olympics’ Maracanã Stadium, under the […]
WORLD PREMIERE Raf’aa flees Syria in the midst of the war, leaving behind her husband, Nazem, and their two sons in order to seek asylum in Europe. The family plans to follow her to Germany, but by the time Nazem and the boys make it to Greece, they find the borders closed. Confined to the […]
Director Rudy Valdez’s sister, Cindy, a married mother of three young girls, long ago left a drug-dealing ex. Despite this, she receives a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison under conspiracy charges related to his crimes. Over a period of ten years, Rudy’s camera captures the moments in his nieces’ lives that Cindy […]
This program presents two films appearing in our Short List: Shorts section recognizing some of the top documentary shorts films of the year. END GAME DIRS: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman A moving film about the passage from life to death, End Game is a portrait of the last days of those in palliative care in […]
This program presents two films appearing in our Short List: Shorts section recognizing some of the top documentary shorts films of the year. SIDELINED DIR: Galen Summer In 1978, inspired by the popularity of NFL cheerleaders, Playboy organized a pictorial feature approved by team management happy for the media exposure. But when the resulting pictures […]
This program presents two films appearing in our Short List: Shorts section recognizing some of the top documentary shorts films of the year. THE GIRL AND THE PICTURE DIR: Vanessa Roth 80 years ago, Xia Shuqin witnessed the murder of her family during the Nanjing Massacre. The Girl and the Picture uncovers how an American […]
NYC PREMIERE Romance traditionally has been the domain of humans. Silicone Soul, however, shows it is possible between men and the life-size dolls. Disarmingly candid interviews highlight the bonds formed between synthetic beings and lonely souls who have struggled to find the “one,” while other subjects profiled reveal unexpected attachments to eerily lifelike dolls. Melody […]
NYC PREMIERE Marina has barely spoken to her sister, Tatiana, in 20 years, ever since Tatiana left Jerusalem to follow spiritual leader Gerondas to a monastery in Greece and became a nun. Wishing to understand her sister’s choice to surrender her freedom to a religious order, and compelled to reconnect, Marina seeks out Tatiana and […]
In 1980, a complete coincidence brought together identical strangers Bobby Shafran and Eddy Galland, 19 year olds who realized they were separated at birth. The subsequent press coverage led to the startling discovery of a third young man, David Kellman. They were actually identical triplets, each adopted by a different family. Instant media sensations, the […]
WORLD PREMIERE Filmmaker Maxine Trump turns the camera on herself and her close circle of family and friends as she confronts the idea of not having kids. While exploring the cultural pressures and harsh criticism child-free women regularly experience, as well as the personal impact this decision may have on her own relationship, Maxine meets […]