RAPINOE

WORLD PREMIERE American runner Nikki Hiltz is on the brink of triumph, steps away from achieving the ultimate goal of representing the US in the Olympic Games. As Nikki approaches this career milestone, they reconcile their identity as a trans nonbinary athlete in a fraught political atmosphere. A love story that centers queer joy, Kick revolves around an athlete’s humanity amid the backdrop of cynical cultural conversations and increasingly policed bodies and identities. - Brandon Harrison

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Julia Schwalb and protagonists/athletes Nikki Hiltz and Emma Gee.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Many accounts of Cape Town’s Cape Flats fixate on its gangs, poverty, and systemic inequities that have scarred the neighborhood for decades. But it is also where the young Logan Maart meets Mark “Bull” Linden and tries to find a way out of the circles of her life through the unexpected sport of car spinning. The lives of the teacher and the pupil merge as both chase a reclamation of their pasts and presents. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Julia Jansch, producer Sheena-Lee Hendricks, editor Rebecca Adorno, and protagonists Logan Maart and Mark Linden.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

NYC PREMIERE A new breed of sumo wrestlers trains in Master Sakaigawa's Tokyo stable. The power, technique, and humanity of his pupils are on display as they take on both a centuries-old cultural tradition and a life-changing physical burden in their quest to become yokozuna. Lush cinematography frames the extraordinary athletes in this intimate survey of Japan’s national sport. - Brandon Harrison

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Erik Shirai and producer Carolyn Hepburn.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

NYC PREMIERE Mandy Horvath, a bilateral amputee, faces the inconceivable challenge of climbing Mount Kilimanjaro using only her hands. While the uncertainty of achieving her feat looms over her, it pales in comparison to the nefarious circumstances surrounding her life-altering injury. Horvath’s story blends an inspirational sports epic with a true crime thriller as the traumatic ordeal subtly comes into focus. - Brandon Harrison

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with directors Edward Drake and Scott Veltri.

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.