WORLD PREMIERE While the perception of AIDS in America has changed from the death sentence it once was to a disease managed by medicine, in the deep South, HIV continues to claim the lives of rural black women in epidemic numbers. Despite facing institutional and personal obstacles every step of the way, 62-year-old Wilhemina Dixon […]
In one of his finest films, Nick Broomfield digs into a true crime story of a Los Angeles serial killer that raises larger questions about gender, race and class inequality. Broomfield enlists the help of a former prostitute, Pam, who shines as a lively, funny and courageous personality. Together they hit the streets to dig […]
Newly restored for its 20th anniversary, Hoop Dreams has never looked so good on the big screen. The film follows two Chicago teens, Arthur Agee and William Gates, over their four years of high school as they aspire to use their basketball skills to create better futures for their families. When the film was released, […]
NYC PREMIERE At the height of apartheid, noted South African activist, author and attorney Albie Sachs was driven into exile, yet still faced threats to his life that cost him dearly. Rather than exchange violence for violence, his revenge took on the form of hope: drafting the nation’s new, inclusive constitution. A powerful testament to […]
NYC PREMIERE In the fall of 1992, despite efforts to recruit minority students, SUNY Oneonta set off a firestorm of controversy that led to the longest litigated civil-rights case in US history. After an attempted rape of an elderly woman off-campus, school administrators released a list of its black male students to the police. Sean […]
WORLD PREMIERE In the 1940s and 50s, long before Arthur Ashe or Venus and Serena Williams, Althea Gibson was the first African-American tennis player to become World Champion. Her singles wins at Wimbledon and Forest Hills drew worldwide attention and was celebrated with a ticker-tape parade along Broadway. Reintroducing the pioneering athlete to a new generation, […]
Played since the 1930s, 9-Man, a variant of volleyball, was developed by Chinese immigrants to America as both an athletic pastime and a social outlet in a time of widespread anti-Chinese sentiment, discrimination and segregation. Ursula Liang’s film traces the game’s fascinating history as a backdrop to the present-day national championship, in which Asian-American players, […]
WORLD PREMIERE With his execution just 48 hours away, Anthony Porter’s life was saved by a Northwestern University journalism class. Their re-investigation of the crime for which he was convicted—a double homicide in a Chicago park—led to the discovery of the real killer, Alstory Simon, whose confession exonerated Porter. If it all sounds too […]
2013 SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER Jewish Israeli grandparents are challenged by their grandchild to compose an agreed-upon version of the untold story of a large crystal mirror, taken from the Palestinian village of Zarnuqa during the Nakba – the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians by the new Israeli state in the 1948 war. Filmmaker […]
NYC PREMIERE Growing up in an upper-middle-class Jewish household, Lacey Schwartz knew she looked different from the rest of her family, but her darker complexion and curly hair were brushed off as traits inherited from her Sicilian grandfather. When she finally begins to dig deeper, Lacey uncovers unspoken family secrets and willful denial that cuts […]