US PREMIERE Following acclaimed Syrian clarinetist Kinan Azmeh as he travels from Beirut to Amsterdam to NYC, Half Moon examines the role of art in times of crisis. As Syria’s devastating displacement looms in the background, Kinan collaborates with fellow musicians and mentors, reflecting on exile, identity, and music theory. Featuring stunning performances and intimate […]
US PREMIERE This year’s opening night film invites us into a world where sensitive, passionate people gather not just to participate in a public competition but to be seen, to connect, and to honor a shared craft. At the Masters of Musical Whistling festival in Hollywood, founder and force-of-nature Carole Anne Kaufman (aka the Whistling […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE For years, the great dancer Farruquito and his family—grandfather, uncle, mother, brothers, and children—have elevated the art of flamenco with staggering operatic passion. Santi Aguado and Reuben Atlas engagingly portray the arc of blood ties, loves, and tragedies that have shaped decades of international triumphs—including a special affinity for NYC, where Farruquito […]
WORLD PREMIERE Growing up in the US, filmmaker Khoa Ha always knew her grandfather was a famous musician in her native Vietnam. What she didn’t realize was the magnitude of his popularity or the mystique that surrounded his real background. In excavating the story of the musician Y Vân, she not only discovers the man […]
WORLD PREMIERE Filmmaker Penny Lane brings her inimitably quirky outlook to the art and business of children’s music, an industry generally skipped over by those above the age of 10. Way beyond the grating basicness of “Baby Shark,” Lane profiles performers invested in creating the tastes of kids—artists wanting to shape what children will understand […]
US PREMIERE Renowned conductor Gustavo Dudamel partners with Coro de Manos Blancas, a choir of deaf performers in Venezuela, to stage Beethoven’s opera Fidelio. As the choir prepares for their innovative performance, the film follows them through auditions, rehearsals, and personal stories of resilience in the face of anti-deaf discrimination. With music expressed through sign […]
WORLD PREMIERE Zere Asylbek was 19 when she released a music video demanding respect for women in the largely conservative Kyrgyzstan. It was intentionally provocative, and Asylbek achieved what she set out to do: jolting the society into paying attention to the evils of the country’s deeply patriarchal and misogynist culture. Six years on, the […]
WORLD PREMIERE DOC NYC alumnus Chuck Smith revels in 1960s sounds and the spirit of counterculture with this politically pointed look back at the volatile energy of protest and creation behind the avant-garde NYC band The Fugs (say it out loud!). Even as band members Ed Sanders, Ken Weaver, and Tuli Kupferberg found that fighting […]
WORLD PREMIERE Sudanese musician and ethnomusicologist Alsarah leads Alsarah and the Nubatones, a band of immigrants exploring migration’s impact on culture through music—an essential venture amid displacement and an enduring conflict. The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with co-directors Roopa Gogineni and Wael Gzoly. All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones […]
WORLD PREMIERE Musician, banjo-maker, and founder of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project Hannah Mayree organizes workshops and performances celebrating the banjo’s Black history. The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Ebony Marie Bailey. All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide […]