SIREN: THE VOICES OF SHELLEY BEATTIE

WORLD PREMIERE Filmmaker Nadia Louis-Desmarchais tries to untangle the complex knot of race and identity that lies at the center of her life. As the daughter of a Haitian mother, adopted by a white family in Quebec, she uses her camera to illustrate an identity that is as intricate and beautiful as she is. Within a world that divides people into Black and white, Louis-Desmarchais discovers a spectrum to which she can belong. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/writer Nadia Louis-Desmarchais.

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.

US PREMIERE An enigmatic portrait of an unconventional life lived with precision and vulnerability. Paul, who calls himself a “simp,” navigates mental health struggles through domestic service for dominant mistresses, finding purpose in cleaning as ritual and discipline. Online, his “Cleaning to Save My Life” philosophy transforms into a performance of self and a lifeline to others. With sensitive, unobtrusive cinematography, the film explores intimacy, stigma, and the enigmatic ways people construct meaning and resilience. - Ruth Somalo



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 Collaging together home videos and phone conversations with her late father, filmmaker Karla Murthy creates a portrait of an immigrant who left everything familiar in pursuit of the American Dream. It is also a singular story of a specific kind of love, distinctive in its special joys and grief. A personal memorial but also a reminder of the resolve and love immigrants bring into this country—especially poignant at a time of divisive America First-ism. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first and second screenings will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer/editor Karla Murthy and producer Rajal Pitroda.

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 dystopic aftermath of China’s one-child policy is a lopsided gender ratio. In a society with more men than women, a male loneliness epidemic looms as men struggle to find wives in a cutthroat dating market. As women find love in AI boyfriends, men—often of lower social class—hire dating coaches who, through their parroting of patriarchal cliches, may just be making things a lot worse. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Violet Du Feng, producer James Costa, executive producer Rebecca Lichtenfeld, and co-executive producer Yao King.

The second screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Violet Du Feng, executive producer Rebecca Lichtenfeld and co-executive producer Yao King.

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 Gorgeously rendered through picturesque cinematography, Always offers a meditative portrait of an adolescent wannabe poet in rural China. Director-cinematographer Deming Chen follows the protagonist from ages 9 to 13, capturing family life, both its hardship and resilience, without sentimentality. Poetry lives in both intertitles and luminous images of land, labor, and people. Expansive and patient, touching on poignant themes of abandonment and perseverance, Always establishes Chen as a striking new voice in documentary. - Murtada Elfadl

The first and second screenings will be followed by a Q&A with producer Hansen Lin.

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.