WHAT HAPPENED TO DANNY

WHAT HAPPENED TO DANNY

Investigations
78 min
BUY TICKET

WORLD PREMIERE When 19-year-old Chinatown native Danny Chen dies while serving in Afghanistan, the official account raises troubling questions for the family who knew his ambitions and devotion to loved ones. As disturbing details surrounding his final weeks emerge, his grieving parents and New York community mobilize to uncover the truth. Both an intimate investigation and stirring portrait of collective resistance, the film honors a young life while confronting racism, institutional power, and the difficult pursuit of accountability. – Ruth Somalo

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer ManSee Kong; producer/editor Samuel J. Rong; and protagonists Elizabeth OuYang, Banny Chen, and Jacky Wong Tik.

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.

Director: ManSee Kong
Producer: Lorraine Ma, Samuel J. Rong, Jennifer Ngo, Corinne Manabat Cueva, ManSee Kong
Executive Producer: ManSee Kong, Donald Young
Cinematographer: Herman Lew, Hye Mee Na, Michael E. Wood, Samuel J. Rong, ManSee Kong, Kirsten Tan, Chananun Chotrungroj, Clarissa de los Reyes
Editor: Samuel J. Rong, Jessica Lee Salas, Andrea Lewis
Composer: Lia Ouyang Rusli, Ariel Loh
Archival Producer(s): Rosemary Rotondi
Language: English, Chinese
Year: 2026
Activism
Asian/Asian American
Community
Crime
Law and Justice
NYC
Programmer: Ruth Somalo
Race
True Crime
Women Directors
World Premiere
Youth

Event details

In-Person Date

Sunday, November 15, 2026 7:15 PM

Venue

IFC Center

Buy Tickets

Online Dates

Monday, November 16 - Sunday, November 29, 2026

Venue

Online Screening

Buy Tickets

Explore More

NYC PREMIERE Across the globe, people turn to dating apps in search of love, connection, and companionship, navigating the highs and lows of finding a mate by swiping a screen. Through candid testimonies, expert insights, and revealing statistics, the film explores the psychology behind the apps, from dopamine-fueled matches and successful pairings to rejection, despair, anger, misuse of personal data, and user violence. Timely and thought-provoking, the film examines how technology is reshaping our search for love. - Karen McMullen

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Shalini Kantayya and protagonists Jerry Allen Carnegie, Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz, and Lakshmi Rangarajan.

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.
WORLD PREMIERE What’s funny about the failing of the American justice system? Nothing. But first-time filmmaker and lawyer Suja A. Thomas takes the grim reality of the country’s failing justice system and presents a case that argues for an urgent overhaul—all with a side of humor. She examines real-life cases and juxtaposes them with the way pop culture presents the legal system. A film that will simultaneously make you laugh and fill you with rage. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Suja A. Thomas.

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.

WORLD PREMIERE American tech can seem like an irresistible yet absolutely toxic romantic partner. Who can be trusted? In the case of 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried, it seemed like the cryptocurrency world had finally found a moral leader. He built his company, FTX, into a beacon of effective altruism, amassing a $32 billion empire. The fantasy crumbled with jaw-dropping speed, and in the first two parts of a forthcoming series, Nanette Burstein takes us on a forensic autopsy of what went wrong. - Jaie Laplante

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Nanette Burstein and executive producer Ben Silverman.

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.

WORLD PREMIERE Dr. Thomas Carr leads the Institute of Paleontology at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. When his team uncovers juvenile T. rex fossils in Montana’s Hell Creek Formation, it’s a scientific achievement for the small program, but financial implications loom over the institute. Commercial bone hunters, fossil brokers, and billionaire buyers cloud the supposedly noble work of the scientific community. In this incisive examination of the commercial fossil industry, modern paleontology goes under the magnifying glass. - Brandon Harrison

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/editor Kyle Lloyd Arpke, producer Jessica Knap, and protagonist Dr. Thomas Carr.

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.