NYC PREMIERE Sonia Manzano, best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, shares her inspiring journey from childhood in the Bronx to becoming a trailblazing television icon. Through her own words, and with appearances by Stephen Schwartz, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and more, STREET SMART celebrates Manzano’s groundbreaking work as an actress and Emmy-winning writer while exploring […]
NYC PREMIERE Set in Mexico’s heartland, this urgent investigative documentary follows a group of women who uncover radioactive contamination in their water after three young girls die of leukemia. These mothers-turned-activists link the crisis to the corporate extraction of ancient rocks. Facing government denial and community resistance, they fight for accountability. Blending expert insight with […]
Screening co-presented by South Asian House In the wake of personal loss, an unexpected sisterhood unites an ambitious New York healthcare worker with a spirited girl from a nomadic tribe in India. Filmed over seven years, this documentary short is a deeply personal East-meets-West story of mutual healing. Where the Light Enters You (USA, 37 min) […]
US PREMIERE A complex power structure of casteism, oppression, and corruption governs the lives of Dalit poppy farmers. Vardibhai, older and traumatized by casteist abuse, believes the way out is through hard work and resilience. Her son Mangilal chooses the political route to organize and agitate toward a resistance. The Hot Docs Best International Feature […]
WORLD PREMIERE Shelley, a brash, no-nonsense carpenter, is on a mission to empower Black women to reclaim their futures, one home at a time. Through her innovative program, participants learn construction skills and financial literacy to renovate and purchase abandoned row houses in Baltimore. As dilapidated quarters become dream homes, the women’s personal journeys and […]
WORLD PREMIERE Delving into the past and not shying away from the dug-up pain, a young filmmaker speaks to her Mexican mother and Palestinian father about their trying journeys into the United States. In a society with rhetoric increasingly vilifying Mexicans and Palestinians, the filmmaker picks up her camera in a bid to address the […]
WORLD PREMIERE A moving story of a son reconnecting with his Indigenous mother, who left him as a child to return to her tribe in the Amazon. As an adult, he seeks to rebuild their bond across distance, culture, language, and time. The story revolves around several hurdles they encounter, many of which are bureaucratic, […]
WORLD PREMIERE We Met at Grossinger’s is a dazzling excavation of cultural memory and mythology. Throughout decades of prejudice stifling the integration of Jewish immigrants in America, the Borscht Belt in the Catskills provided an oasis of belonging, and Grossinger’s Resort and Hotel was the crown jewel. The real-life inspiration for the setting of the […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Director Isa Willinger asks herself whether women’s filmmaking is characterized by a particular harshness. Inspired by Ukrainian director Kira Muratova, No Mercy interrogates power, violence, and representation as it blends history, criticism, and manifesto. With contributions from Céline Sciamma, Virginie Despentes, Nina Menkes, Catherine Breillat, Apolline Traoré, Joey Soloway, and more, the […]
WORLD PREMIERE Bodybuilder. Athlete. Gladiator. Shelley Beattie was a proud deaf woman and a graceful powerhouse whose impressive physique often obscured her human struggles. Reaching the height of her fame on American Gladiators as Siren, Beattie’s professional success masked her mental health battles from her family, friends, and partners. Director Irene Taylor joins forces with […]