October 8, 2019

GHOSTS OF SUGAR LAND

A group of suburban Muslim friends trace the disappearance of their friend “Mark,” who is suspected of joining ISIS. Experiencing guilt, fear and sadness, they try to piece together what happened to their friend. Courtesy of Netflix.    

October 8, 2019

GOLDA

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE In America, she is viewed as the respected grandmother of the state of Israel; in Israel, her legacy is far more complicated. This fascinating profile sheds light on Golda Meir, the first and only woman to be elected prime minister of Israel. The film centers around a remarkably candid interview, unseen until now, in […]

October 8, 2019

HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION

WORLD PREMIERE This timely film profiles Life After Hate, an organization founded by former skinheads and neo-Nazis that supports white nationalists seeking to break away from these radical movements. Given exclusive access, director Peter Hutchison follows group counselors as they attempt both to reform individuals and offer support to communities impacted by the recent rise of […]

October 8, 2019

HURDLE

NYC PREMIERE In this visceral film, two Palestinian youths strive for freedom and self-worth in a community consumed with violence. Sami, a parkour coach, leads leaping young men across the stunning cityscape of Jerusalem. Mohammad teaches a new way of seeing to dozens of youthful photographers who dream of a world without walls. Using these creative […]

October 8, 2019

KOSHER BEACH

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE The beautiful coastline of Tel Aviv, Israel draws devoted beachgoers eager to find peace and relaxation in the Mediterranean. Among these are residents of Bnei Brak, a closed orthodox suburb, who frequent a gender-segregated stretch of seaside, closed off to the neighboring secular dog and gay beaches with a modesty fence. Karin Kainer’s […]

October 8, 2019

LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL)

In the war-torn city of Kabul, a class of young girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods learns to read, write—and skateboard—in director Carol Dysinger’s love letter to a place she has filmed in for the last fifteen years. Courtesy of Lifetime Films/A&E IndieFilms.

October 8, 2019

LOVE CHILD

NYC PREMIERE The film opens with a desperate man in Tehran telling the camera, “I’m not sure if, tomorrow, I’ll be dead or alive.” This is Sahand, who has been in a long-term adulterous relationship with Leila, despite Iran’s threat of the death penalty for infidelity. Now, the couple is fleeing the country with Mani, […]

October 8, 2019

MIDNIGHT TRAVELER

Filmmaker Hassan Fazili documents his family’s journey as they’re forced to flee their home in Afghanistan under threat of death. We follow him, his wife Fatima and their daughters Nagris and Zahra over several years and through several countries. They travel with few possessions besides the cell phones used to shoot this remarkable documentary. “The […]

October 8, 2019

PARADISE WITHOUT PEOPLE

NYC PREMIERE Taimaa and Nour are two pregnant Syrian refugees who find themselves navigating fresh marriages as they each enter motherhood while held in temporary camps. Competing with thousands of other refugees in Greece for resources, Taimaa and Nour find that parenting comes easier than either bureaucratic answers or marital bliss. Both women make desperate […]

October 8, 2019

PARIS STALINGRAD

US PREMIERE Paris is a beloved tourist destination, but this film shows us a side of the city most of us will never see. Director Hind Meddeb and co-director Thim Naccache train their cameras on the community of refugees sleeping in the streets in the district called Stalingrad in 2016. Most prominent is a refugee […]