WORLD PREMIERE So an Egyptian lawyer, a couch-surfing custodian and an Orthodox Jew walk into a comedy club… and end up in a documentary. Standing Up follows these three unlikely aspiring stand-up comics, willing to risk everything in pursuit of their dreams of making it in comedy. Director Jonathan Miller tells their story with warmth […]
WORLD PREMIERE In Bushwick, where rapid gentrification is pushing out Latino families, a unique alternative after-school program serves as a haven for the community. Led by a former high school teacher disillusioned with mainstream education’s focus on testing, Still Waters in a Storm serves 40 children, ages 5-15, free of charge, and encourages creativity and […]
WORLD PREMIERE Doo wop, featuring stellar vocal harmonies sung a cappella, was born on street corners in the 1950s. soon, the Coasters, The Drifters and Frankie Valli were singing their hearts out to America on Alan Freed’s influential radio show. In Streetlight Harmonies, a who’s who of musicians trace the evolution of American pop music […]
Twenty-five years ago, William Ford, an unarmed young black man, was killed after an argument with a white mechanic escalated. William was painted as the aggressor while his killer was set free, unpunished. Director Yance Ford’s carefully composed and starkly personal film simmers with a quiet anger as it dissects the long-lasting impact of his […]
WORLD PREMIERE In 1979, Curtis Sliwa, a McDonald’s night manager in the Bronx frustrated with rampant crime, decided to take a stand. Recruiting a diverse crew, and adopting a distinctive uniform of a white t-shirt and red beret, the Guardian Angels were born. Targeting lawlessness on the New York City Subway, the Guardian Angels attracted […]
NYC PREMIERE While recent years have seen a remarkable increase in transgender visibility, the path to acceptance – and self-acceptance – is not always smooth, particularly for youth, who still face alarmingly high rates of suicide. Becoming More Visible turns the spotlight on four diverse young transgender New Yorkers as they contend with family and societal expectations […]
NYC PREMIERE Filmed over the past two decades, acclaimed editor Tyler Hubby’s feature directorial debut captures the freewheeling creativity of the groundbreaking avant-garde multimedia artist Tony Conrad, whose work in experimental film and video, music and sound art – and even public television – spans more than 50 years. From flicker films and drone music […]
WORLD PREMIERE An unheralded yet pivotal figure in the art world of the 1960s and ’70s, Ken Dewey was a visionary artist and iconoclast. In his too-brief career, he introduced sitespecific participatory happenings to audiences in Europe and America and supported other artists through his position at the New York State Council on the Arts. […]
In memory of Roland Legiardi Laura, who passed away earlier this year. Three New York teenagers find themselves profoundly changed by a radical poetry workshop. Putting pen to paper they’re able to imagine a future where fathers aren’t in jail, mothers aren’t abusive and college isn’t something you only see on TV. Can their words […]
NYC PREMIERE As the daughter of a nightlife impresario, Taylor Stein was a fixture of the New York party scene. But her life took a dramatic turn when she went undercover for the FBI to expose an international baby-trafficking ring. Magnificent Burden follows her journey after adopting a Ukrainian boy with a rare genetic disease. […]