A whirlwind of a life takes Stan Brock to the Amazonian ranches of South America and around the world as a nature-television presenter. An incident at his hacienda in Guyana spurs the Englishman to pursue his true life’s work: providing healthcare to those in need. In this profile, Brock fights for Americans’ right to healthcare, […]
David Osit’s compelling film offers a portrait of Musa Hadid, the affable mayor of Ramallah, the historically Christian city that serves as the administrative center of Palestine. Hadid has day-to-day concerns to handle, from increasing tourism to planning the annual Christmas celebrations, but the darker realities of life under occupation are never too far away. […]
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE | Filmmaker Mor Loushy (Censored Voices) examines the powerful pro-Israeli lobby AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee), known for bipartisan loyalty in Washington, DC. Throughout its 60-year history, AIPAC has thrived on maintaining order in its ranks, but Loushy gains interviews with disaffected insiders who have deep-seated reservations about the policy-making under Prime Minister […]
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky (Winter on Fire, DOC NYC 2015) looks at the pressing challenges of the 21st century through the eyes of Pope Francis. Born in Argentina, Francis is the first leader of the Catholic Church to come from the Americas and the Jesuit order. His teachings bring a progressive take on issues like […]
Rutland, Vermont, once a prosperous American town, is now ravaged by drugs, poverty, and a diminishing population. When the mayor attempts to welcome 100 Syrian refugees, communal discord erupts over resources and civic priorities. In all the noise, one woman stands apart. Stacie, a single mom struggling with sobriety and the demands of her family, […]
WORLD PREMIERE | Filmmaker Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story) tells the story of a lasting bond formed between an unjustly arrested Black man, Gary Duncan, and Richard Sobol, his young Jewish attorney. In 1966, 19-year-old Duncan faces the white supremacist court system in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, for daring to touch a white boy’s arm. Standing united, […]
The stunning island of Hispaniola is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, countries with a complicated history and tense relations. In 2013, the DR’s Supreme Court retroactively stripped the citizenship of residents of Haitian descent, leaving more than 200,000 people stateless, subject to immediate deportation, and devastating loss. In the midst of staggering intolerance, […]
Nasrin Sotoudeh never stood down from a tough battle as a human rights attorney in Iran. Fans of filmmaker Jafar Panahi will remember her appearance in his subversive film Taxi. Now she’s serving a prison sentence of 38 years for representing women who protested the country’s mandatory hijab law. This immersive portrait weaves extensive filming with […]
2020 VIEWFINDERS GRAND JURY PRIZE An intimate and lyrical portrait of trauma, resilience, and resistance in Puerto Rico at a time when economic, political, and ecological forces post-Hurricane María have created a breeding ground for new predatory colonial practices. Told through the experiences of a close-knit community of hopeful and politicized people and through the […]
In Enemies of the State, executive produced by Errol Morris and produced by Ines Hofmann Kanna, director Sonia Kennebeck (National Bird) investigates the strange case of Anonymous hacktivist Matt DeHart and his claims of persecution by the US government. He and his parents fled the US seeking asylum in Canada after law enforcement brought charges against […]