October 8, 2019

ANBESSA

NYC PREMIERE Mo Scarpelli’s creative documentary focuses on a lonely, imaginative Ethiopian boy named Asalif. Displaced by condo developments, Asalif and his mother struggle to make ends meet. With sweeping camera work and light-filled frames, the film gently probes the young boy’s interior world as he processes isolation and displacement. Creating an alternative identity as a […]

October 8, 2019

BLOODROOT

NYC PREMIERE In the 1970s, Noel and Selma are deeply unsatisfied in their marriages and unfulfilled by the prescribed roles of wife and mother. Drawn to the women’s movement and each other, they leave  their husbands and, sharing a passion for cooking, together open Bloodroot, a vegetarian restaurant and bookstore. Pointedly blending archival footage with clips […]

October 8, 2019

CAPITAL IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Based on economist Thomas Piketty?s groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, this accessible and enlightening adaptation explores the history of wealth, power and inequality from the French Revolution to the present day. Is today’s ever-widening gap between the rich and the poor an aberration, or just the way capitalism is meant to work? […]

October 8, 2019

CHECHE LAVI (LOOKING FOR LIFE)

NYC PREMIERE In this indictment of America’s asylum process, two Haitian migrants find their lives in stasis after their journey through multiple countries stalls at the US-Mexico border in Tijuana. When friends Robens and James are separated, this contemplative look at a bond forged through struggle shifts into a moving exploration of the longing to discover […]

October 8, 2019

CORY IN BRICK CITY

NYC PREMIERE 60 years ago, Newark was called America’s most livable city; in 2008 it was deemed the most crime-ridden in the country. Before he was a senator or presidential candidate, Cory Booker passionately fought to make Newark the model for urban transformation. Peabody Award winners Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin take us behind the scenes […]

October 8, 2019

DESERT ONE

NYC PREMIERE Two-time Oscar-winner Barbara Kopple (Harlan County USA, American Dream) re-examines the story of Americans taken hostage by Iranian revolutionaries in 1979. Focusing on a rescue mission, the film plays like a thriller. Kopple draws upon never-before-heard audiotapes from inside the White House, as well as new interviews with hostages, rescuers, Iranians and even President […]

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

HUNGRY TO LEARN

WORLD PREMIERE The cost of college is forcing students to make choices that put eating regular meals and their education at odds. Director Geeta Gandbhir and executive producer Soledad O’Brien’s poignant film follows four college students as they navigate food insecurity in their attempt to change their lives for the better. Homelessness, abandonment and mental […]