WORLD PREMIERE When filmmaker Areeb Zuaiter lost her Palestinian mother, she lost her connection to Gaza. With all the memories from her childhood destroyed, she sets out on a quest to connect with a young man she sees in a video doing parkour among ruins in Gaza. With Ahmed as her guide, she explores life […]
WORLD PREMIERE A community of mothers in a Nigerian village struggle to persevere while grieving for their daughters, who were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Intertwining the stories of multiple families, the filmmakers show how life continues in the wake of unspeakable horror. At once cinematically gripping and emotionally stirring, this story of endurance shows the […]
NYC PREMIERE What does a woman do when political institutions police every aspect of her life, from the way she dresses to what she does for a living? Filmmaker Farahnaz Sharifi takes her 8mm camera and records an alternate life, one lived behind closed doors where her family and friends choose for themselves. This powerful […]
WORLD PREMIERE After the Black Lives Matter movement sees an international tipping point in the summer of 2020, three young Minneapolis community leaders intersect in their local activism to preserve the legacy of George Floyd, fight systemic injustice, and strive for meaningful change. Jeanelle and her team of caretakers work to transform offerings from the […]
US PREMIERE Choreographer and dancer Hadar Ahuvia interrogates the Zionist mythologies she learned as a child using Israeli folk dance-inspired contemporary dance as a point of entry. Seeking to understand the meaning behind traditional dance, which can be weaponized to oppress and marginalize, Hadar explores the complexities of the Palestinian and Israeli relationship with the […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE French-born journalist Feurat Alani narrates this animated documentary about his complicated connection to Iraq, the country of his parents. With gripping storytelling and startling images, director Léonard Cohen and writer Alani present the Middle Eastern perspective on US military involvement in the region, from the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait to America’s incursion […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE A poetic and haunting film about the daily struggles of a group of children who grew up in war-torn Kosovo. A dark coming of age story filmed over a period of 15 years, which solemnly observes and reflects on the long-term repercussions of war. Birgitte Staermose expertly introduces performative interludes that highlight […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Two young Kurdish men make their living by smuggling goods across the treacherous border between Iraq and Iran. First-time filmmaker Arash Rakhsha conjures a poignantly cinematic perspective out of this intriguing and previously untold story. Elevating the stirring narrative with striking images, patient observation, and astute insight into the people and the […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE The sweet taste of life returns to the village of Yahidne in northern Ukraine, after almost 400 villagers endured a month-long confinement and torture by Russian troops. Even as they realize the war is far from over, even as they mourn family members, neighbors, and animals who were killed during the ordeal, […]
WORLD PREMIERE In an America where more and more women and trans people are losing legal bodily autonomy, the history of Bill Baird’s long fight for women’s right to abortion is as relevant as ever. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa doesn’t just give us a portrait of Baird, but also creates a historical register of allyship […]