NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE | Filmmaker Justin Staple offers an eye-opening exploration of the SoundCloud rap phenomenon, a scene of troubled, young, lo-fi rappers that has emerged within the last few years. Exploiting the possibilities of social media to engage with a rabid fan base, a new breed of stars like Lil Peep, Smokepurpp, and Bhad Bhabie have […]
LOST AND FOUND DIR: Orlando von Einsiedel Kamal Hussein is a Rohingya refugee who has dedicated his life to reuniting children who have been separated from their parents during the campaign of ethnic cleansing and violence perpetrated by the Myanmar military, which has driven more than 700,000 Rohingya from their homes. Courtesy of National Geographic […]
MACK WRESTLES DIR: Erin Sanger, Taylor Hess Mack Beggs, a gifted wrestler from Euless, Texas, struggles against the outside forces that stigmatize transgender athletes. Courtesy of ESPN Films. (USA, 25 MIN) In person: Taylor Hess and Erin Sanger SONG OF PARKLAND DIR: Amy Schatz In the wake of the tragic February 14 shooting at their school, […]
IN THE ABSENCE DIR: Seung-jun Yi When the passenger ferry MV Sewol sank off the coast of South Korea in 2014, over three hundred people lost their lives, most of them schoolchildren. Years later, the victims’ families and survivors are still demanding justice from national authorities. Courtesy of Field of Vision. (USA/South Korea, 29 MIN, […]
LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL) DIR: Carol Dysinger In the war-torn city of Kabul, a class of young girls from disadvantaged neighborhoods learns to read, write—and skateboard—in director Carol Dysinger’s love letter to a place she has filmed in for the last fifteen years. Courtesy of Lifetime Films/A&E IndieFilms. (USA/UK, […]
US PREMIERE Ten years ago, director Thomas Balmès (Babies, Happiness) filmed in Bhutan with a seven-year-old Buddhist monk named Peyangki awaiting the arrival of electricity to his village. Now a decade later, Balmès returns to find Peyangki and the whole monastery obsessed with cell phones. With beautiful cinematography, the film captures nuance, humor and humanity. Witnessing […]
Five-year-old Mason Watson shows us how love can be expressed in complicated ways.
A moment in time, captured in these observational docs. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 87 MIN) Easter Snap | Director: RaMell Ross An examination of five men who resurrect the homestead ritual of hog processing in the Deep South. (USA, 14 MIN) Ataguttak the Hunter | Director: Uncredited In the remote hamlet of Arivat, Nunavut, trace Ataguttak’s coming of age as […]
Short stories from and about New York City. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 78 MIN) A Great Day in Hip Hop Revisited | Director: Nelson George A look back at a historic day in music history, September 29, 1998, when Gordon Parks gathered over 200 hip hop artists to recreate the famed “A Great Day in Harlem” image. (USA, […]
Family, in all its forms. (TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 89 MIN) Lowland Kids | Director: Sandra Winther As climate change erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home for generations. (USA, 22 MIN) A Childhood on Fire | Director: Jason Hanasik When Nick Hurndon […]