Robert Mapplethorpe emerged from the vibrant 1970s New York art scene where he bonded with Patti Smith and partnered with art collector Sam Wagstaff. Mapplethorpe’s photography spanned explicit gay sadomasochistic sex, but also stunning pictures of flowers. In 1989, the year he died of AIDS, he was denounced in Congress by Senator Jesse Helms. Filmmakers […]
Enigmas, innovations and histories. Explore a deepsea mystery surrounding unexplained ocean sounds in The Bloop (USA, 7 min., Cara Cusumano). Bad Dog: A Penitentiary Tale (USA, 12 min., Sean McCoy) tells the true-crime story of a black lab accused of murder. Go behind the counter of Crown Candy (USA, 10 min., David Wilson, Kamau Bilal), […]
NYC PREMIERE A 33-year-old computer programmer named Tim Berners-Lee changed the world forever when he invented the World Wide Web in 1989. His visionary decision to make it a free and accessible resource sparked a global revolution in how we communicate and participate in public life. After 25 years outside the spotlight, Sir Tim Berners-Lee […]
NYC PREMIERE In 1924, a black Labrador retriever named Pep was convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison at Philadelphia’s Eastern State Penitentiary. Through dramatic re-enactments and newly discovered footage, this short documentary explores the facts and folklore surrounding Pep’s incarceration.
WORLD PREMIERE A portrait of a one hundred year old candy store and lunch counter in north St. Louis.
WORLD PREMIERE Controlled by the Department of Correction, Hart Island has been New York City’s “potter’s field” for nearly 150 years — the final resting place for the city’s poor and disconnected. It is said to be the largest tax-funded cemetery in the world, holding more than one million people. Many New Yorkers do not know […]
US PREMIERE In March 1971, Jim Morrison lead singer of The Doors left his life in Los Angeles behind and joined his girlfriend Pamela Courson in Paris to write poetry. Four months later he was dead. Paris, 1971 is a dream-like meditative journey, imaginatively recounting his last days and interment at the mythic Père Lachaise […]
After decades of feeling overlooked by the literary establishment, the Brazilian poet Chacal was invited by Harvard to present his art as a poet and performer. He engages in an autobiographical critique, providing a singular interpretation of Brazilian culture, from the 1960s to today.
Five creators, five mediums. Jim Morrison’s last months in Paris, 1971 (USA, 11 min., David Khachatorian) are imaginatively recounted. James Turrell: You Who Look (USA, 8 min., Jessica Yu) offers a glimpse into the artist’s boundary-pushing work. A Brazilian punk poet is invited to Harvard after years of neglect by the literary establishment in Chacal: […]
Soul City tells the story of a group of civil rights activists and city slickers who attempt to build a multiracial utopia in the heart of Klan Country, North Carolina in the 1970s. Their pioneering efforts to jumpstart this black-owned, black-built town run up against tenacious enemies that still face idealists and dreamers today–ingrained racism, […]