October 8, 2013

THE PLEASURES OF BEING OUT OF STEP

2013 METROPOLIS COMPETITION WINNER NYC PREMIERE A pioneer in music criticism, Nat Hentoff has spent more than six decades championing jazz in the pages of the Village Voice, The Wall Street Journal, Down Beat, and numerous other publications. Mirroring music’s free flow, he has also been an outspoken civil libertarian and free speech advocate, often […]

October 8, 2013

KIDS FOR CASH

WORLD PREMIERE In the wake of the shootings at Columbine, a small town in Pennsylvania celebrates a charismatic judge who is hell-bent on keeping kids in line. His courtroom sends young people into incarceration at an alarming rate until one parent dares to question his motives. In this real life thriller, director Robert May (executive […]

October 8, 2013

GOD LOVES UGANDA

In 2010, Roger Ross Williams won the Academy Award for his documentary short Music by Prudence, becoming the first African American director ever to receive an Oscar. Now he explores the evangelical campaign to change African culture with values imported from America’s Christian Right. The film follows American and Ugandan religious leaders fighting the “sexual […]

October 8, 2013

DIRTY WARS

Today drone strikes, night raids and U.S. government-condoned torture occur in corners across the globe, generating unprecedented civilian casualties. Director Richard Rowley takes us on a chilling ride with investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill (Blackwater), tracing the rise of the most secret fighting force in U.S. history and exposing operations carried out by men who do […]

October 8, 2013

A FRAGILE TRUST: PLAGIARISM, POWER, AND JAYSON BLAIR AT THE NEW YORK TIMES

NYC PREMIERE In 2003, it was revealed that New York Times reporter Jayson Blair was a plagiarist, regularly cobbling together his articles from others found on the Internet or otherwise fabricating facts. This precipitated the lowest point in the Grey Lady’s history, leading to an editorial regime change, resignations, and a review of hiring practices. […]

October 1, 2011

TELLING GLOBAL STORIES

Co-presented by NYU-SCPS Center for Global Affairs. If you’ve ever wanted to travel the world making films or better understand that field, this class is for you. Veteran filmmakers who have worked abroad discuss the challenges and rewards of filming in foreign territory. Note: This panel is one of three classes New York University’s School […]

September 22, 2011

UNRAVELED

Co-presented by Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP. When it comes to Wall Street corruption, the worst criminals rarely grant interviews. But Unraveled marks an exception. Prominent attorney Marc Dreier committed fraud on a scale that made him second only to Bernie Madoff. While confined under house arrest, he opened his life to filmmaker and attorney Marc H. Simon […]

October 14, 2010

The Medium Formerly Known as Radio: The Evocative Power of Sound

The radio documentary is enjoying a golden age, on the broadcast airwaves—and newly reinvented on the Internet. Longtime public radio personality Dean Olsher, creator and host of The Next Big Thing on PRI (2000-2005), brings that popular show’s spirit of discovery to this public listening experience. Olsher curates a selection of dramatic audio documentaries that […]

September 21, 2010

Mother of Rock: Lillian Roxon

Before rock journalism was respectable, before feminism had gained ground, Lillian Roxon was trailblazing both as an Australian journalist transplanted to New York. She forecast the significance of musicians such as Bob Dylan, Jim Morrison, and the Velvet Underground; and authored “Lillian Roxon’s Rock Encyclopedia” before succumbing to an early death at age 41. Director […]