Robert Mapplethorpe emerged from the vibrant 1970s New York art scene where he bonded with Patti Smith and partnered with art collector Sam Wagstaff. Mapplethorpe’s photography spanned explicit gay sadomasochistic sex, but also stunning pictures of flowers. In 1989, the year he died of AIDS, he was denounced in Congress by Senator Jesse Helms. Filmmakers […]
An extended conversation will accompany the screening moderated by The New York Times Editorial Board member Brent Staples. In this series, a broad group of contributors with diverse perspectives aim to advance discussions about the state of race relations in America. An extended conversation will accompany the screening. A Conversation With My Black Son (USA, […]
NYC PREMIERE Beitar Jerusalem Football Club is the most controversial team in Israel. Loyal fans, known as La Familia, take pride in Beitar being the only team in its league that has never fielded an Arab player. In 2012, team owner Arcadi Gaydamak, a Russian-born billionaire with political aspirations, signs two Muslim players from Chechnya. […]
2016 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER NYC PREMIERE While the Dominican Republic has protected much of its woodlands, its border neighbor Haiti has seen mass deforestation in the past few decades. As a result, a black market in charcoal production has developed via illegal logging on the Dominican side. When the body of a patrolling Dominican park […]
US PREMIERE Maria Toorpakai Wazir has spent her young life defying expectations. At age 25, she is an internationally competitive squash player. But in her home country of Pakistan, she remains controversial. In her family’s region of Waziristan, women are forbidden by the Taliban from playing sports. In Girl Unbound, we follow Maria over several […]
A candid portrait of a woman’s redemptive fight against sexual exploitation, Kim Longinotto’s masterful observational film follows Brenda, a charismatic former drug addict and prostitute who, having turned her life around, has made it her mission to give hope to women and girls in need. Through her Dreamcatcher Foundation, she reaches out to sex workers, […]
WORLD PREMIERE A story of thousands of Rohingyas–a people persecuted at home and abroad–told through the voice of Raees, a refugee in Dubai.
Popularly known as the “high priestess of soul,” Nina Simone was a singular talent. A classically trained pianist whose Carnegie Hall aspirations were thwarted by the prevailing prejudices of the 1950s, she instead triumphed with a singing career that blended gospel, pop and folk with classical music and songs that made her a civil rights […]
Against a backdrop of civil unrest and the radical transformation of American society in the mid-1960s, the black nationalist organization known as the Black Panthers emerged as leaders of the expected revolution. Interweaving fascinating archival material with gripping first-hand accounts from members of the group’s rank and file, director Stanley Nelson’s definitive history reveals the […]
NYC PREMIERE A South Bronx community takes a stand against gentrification. This plays before the film TESTED.