NYC PREMIERE Sesame Street’s Big Bird may be one of the world’s most recognizable characters, but far less familiar is Caroll Spinney, the man who has brought to life the yellow- feathered Muppet—as well as the irascible Oscar the Grouch—since 1969. Through Spinney’s rich personal archive and behind-the-scenes show footage, this endearing film celebrates a […]
Nostalgia and changing times. The Photo Man (USA, 7 min., Ben Kitnick) trades in old photographs. An antique store owner welcomes visitors in Not for Sale (USA, 10 min., Matthew C. Levy). The Final Note (USA, 16 min., Mayeta Clark) profiles a South Bronx piano warehouse. A young couple takes over The Mercantile (USA, 16 […]
These five shorts capture the honesty and wisdom of youth. Cancer upends a dancer’s dreams in Like a Dance (USA, 6 min., Jill Orschel). Follow My Steps (USA, 16 min., Andrew Hida) details a friendship between a 13-year-old and a 21-year-old, bonded by physical disability. An undocumented young woman shares her story in I Was […]
This program demonstrates the bonds of family, even under the most trying circumstances. In Beyond Broken, Vasso, dependent on her family after a brutal attack, turns to art to find the will to go on (USA, 38 min., Andrew Morreale). A grandson realizes his late grandfather’s secret dream of becoming a filmmaker in quicksand (USA, 8 min., Lance […]
2013 AUDIENCE AWARD WINNER WORLD PREMIERE Director Michael Kleiman follows Peruvian families living in remote regions as their children experience the One Laptop per Child program, gaining access to the Internet for the first time. Web considers both the benefits and complications that arise from digital connections. Alongside the poignant and sometimes humorous local stories, […]
WORLD PREMIERE In a rock band twist on the 7 Up series, Lucy Kostelanetz intermittently checks in on a white teen funk band—three brothers and their friend—whose plan of making it big in 1980s NYC didn’t exactly pan out. In 1983, Miller, Miller, Miller & Sloan seemed on the brink of stardom, with positive press […]
NYC PREMIERE Though raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish New Jersey household, director Anna Wexler rejected religion as a teen, finding friends with similar backgrounds. After they studied in Israel, however, these once-rebellious friends re-committed to their faith, puzzling her in the process. Teaming with Nadja Oertelt, who was raised secular, Anna follows three diverse […]
NYC PREMIERE China’s top drama academy stages the American musical Fame in the country’s first official collaboration with Broadway. During the eight-month rehearsal, five students compete for roles, struggle with pressure from family and authority, and prepare to graduate into China’s corrupt entertainment industry. Part of China’s single-child generation, they must confront complex social realities […]
NYC PREMIERE Kathleen Hanna, known to many as the lead singer of seminal bands Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, was one of the music world’s most outspoken performers and a pioneer of the riot grrrl movement—until she inexplicably vanished from the scene for several years. Sini Anderson’s candid and intimate portrait reveals why, while also […]
US PREMIERE Director Sarah McCarthy (The Sound of Mumbai: A Musical) looks at the timely topic of Americans adopting Russian orphans—just prior to the controversial ban imposed by Vladimir Putin. Former Disney employees Claudio and Cheryl Diaz decide to adopt a girl and twin boys at once, but nothing can prepare them for what’s to […]