NYC PREMIERE New Yorker Lucky Torres hides a lifetime of abuse and abandonment behind an angry, tattooed exterior. Growing up in foster care after their mother left them, Lucky and her sister Fantasy have struggled with stability all their lives. While her sister has settled down, Lucky still hasn’t found her way. But despite being […]
Director Christina Voros and producer James Franco pull back the curtain on the fetish empire of Kink.com, the Internet’s largest producer of BDSM content. In an enterprise often known for exploitative practices, Kink.com upholds an ironclad set of values to foster an environment that is safe, sane, and consensual. In this highly explicit documentary, we […]
NYC PREMIERE At the International High School at Lafayette, a Brooklyn public high school dedicated to newly arrived immigrants from all over the world, five teenagers strive to master English, adapt to families they haven’t seen in years, and create a future of their own while coming of age in a new land. Their journey […]
US PREMIERE In a culture that has overwhelmingly embraced the dictum “sex sells,” why does the concept of virginity still hold sway? Using her own experiences, filmmaker Therese Shechter humorously explores the chimerical nature of the idea, and how it’s been used to control women’s sexuality and sense of self-worth. The result, drawing from the […]
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 […]
US PREMIERE The World Famous *BOB*, Dirty Martini, Tigger!, Mat Fraser, Julie Atlas Muz, Bunny Love, Bambi the Mermaid, James Habacker and Rose Wood use satire and their own bodies to send up conventional notions of body image, gender, and sexuality in their modern burlesque performances. New York underground filmmaking legend Beth B enters their […]
US PREMIERE The Ballymun housing estate in Dublin, Ireland has a reputation for failure. Six of its seven high-rise towers have been demolished. Yet music teacher Ron Cooney never gave up on the area’s youth. He enlists a composer to create a world-class collection of music for students to perform and to overturn negative views of the area. […]
Co-presented by Magnum Photos. Renowned for his classic portraits of Hollywood stars and jazz musicians, Magnum photographer Dennis Stock held strong opinions on what makes a lasting image. Documenting Stock before his death in 2010, Beyond Iconic takes us through his career and reveals how he captured such iconic pictures as James Dean walking through Times Square in […]
Nelson George explores the fertile ground of Fort Greene, Brooklyn that gave rise to an African-American arts movement in the late 20th century as vibrant as the Harlem Renaissance. An insider in the scene himself, as a distinguished writer (Hip Hop America) and filmmaker (Good Hair), George teams with Diane Paragas to interview Spike Lee, Chris Rock, […]
Better Than Something profiles garage-rock icon Jay Reatard. Filmed only months before his passing, this intimate portrait captures Jay in his hometown of Memphis, during a week-long break from touring in the spring of 2009. With moving and insightful interviews with friends and family, and remarkable early concert performances, Better Than Something is an honest and poetic chronicle […]