DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
A DIGNIFIED DEATH | North American Premiere
Jesse van Venrooij | Netherlands | 2018 | 52''
Eelco choses death by legal euthanasia. Under strictly specified circumstances, physicians in the Netherlands are allowed to perform euthanasia and assisted suicide at the request of a patient. The films shows the last moments of a man with unbearable and hopeless mental suffering. It was Eelco’s wish to record the last stage of his life but also to show the world how his bereaved deal with his death afterwards. His mission: to bring mental suffering and death as a solution into the open in our society.
Individual tickets for specific films are available here at the regular $12 price online ($15 at the door).
Student tickets are $5 here (with valid ID).
BACKLASH | North American Premiere
Sara Jegeman| Switzerland | 2018 | 72'
Zeliha Dagli, a feminist and activist, takes us on a journey to the suburbs of Stockholm, where human rights are being violated by the romanticized waves of fundamentalism. Intertwined with Zeliha's personal story five womens rights activists hailing from Turkey, Tunisia and Iran speak up about integration, cultural relativism, honorary killings as well as Political Islam.
Danseur | New York Premiere
Scott Gormley | USA | 2018 | 70'
Enter any dance studio in the US and the classes will be brimming with little bunheads dreaming of crossing the stage at Lincoln Center. But you will be hard pressed to find a single boy among them. The film explores why in a country that strives for gender equality where young women are encouraged to cross the gender barrier and participate in male-dominated fields does this disparity exist?
In the name of Your Daughter | New York State Premiere
Giselle Portenier | Canada | 2018 | 84'
Terrified of bleeding to death, young Tanzanian girls as young as eight have to make the most difficult choice of their young lives: to submit to female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, or to risk their lives and run away from home not knowing if they’ll ever see their families again. Rhobi Samwelly, one of the most charismatic women in Africa, risks her life to give the girls a safe haven; a story of courage and hope.
Isaac Pope: The Spirit of an American Century
Rock Grant | USA | 2018 | 58' 10'' | World Premiere
Intimate view of 100 years of American history seen through Isaac Pope, an African-American centenarian who's a spellbinding storyteller and unsung hero of war, the civil rights and workers' movements, and the tale of the nation's spirit, loss and love. Grandson of enslaved people, son of sharecroppers, he yearned toward the American Dream. His life shows tectonic shifts in some interactions between races that show the way forward.
It Will Be Chaos | New York Premiere
Lorena Luciano, Filippo | USA | 2018 | 90'
Life in Southern Italy is thrown into a tailspin when refugees arrive by the thousands and the locals are left to fend for themselves. Eritrean survivor Aregai, trapped in the Italian faltering immigration system, goes underground to reach Northern Europe. Through his journey, intercut with the road trip to Germany of a Syrian family, the clash between the newcomers and the locals escalates.
Monument of Pride | New York State Premiere
Sebastiaan Kes | Netherlands | 2017 | 82'53‘’
For decades Holland is known as one of the LGBTQ-friendliest countries in the world. But how did gay emancipation develop in the Netherlands? How did this country get from executing sodomites in the 18th century to being the first in the world to legalize gay marriage in 2001? The documentary Monument of Pride tells the story of the 'pink revolution' in the Netherlands. Historical images alternate with current events held on the Amsterdam Homomonument with portraits of todays activists.
Musa Dagh - The Road Home | North American Premiere
Mariam Ohanyan| Armenia, Turkey | 2018 | 53'
During the 1915 Armenian Genocide, the residents of six Armenian villages surrounding Musa Mountain (Musa Dagh near the Mediterranean Sea) refused to obey the deportation decree of the Ottoman Empire and organized a defense force with 5000 people, only 600 of whom were warriors with limited weapons and ammunition. The film is a road movie about an Armenian family visiting the land of their ancestors on the day of commemorations on the anniversary of this defense.
Piripkura| New York Premiere
Mariana Oliva, Renata Terra, Bruno Jorge | Brazil | 2018 | 82'
The last two surviving members of the Piripkura people, a nomadic tribe in the Mato Grasso region of Brazil, struggle to maintain their indigenous way of life amidst the region’s massive deforestation. Living deep in the rain forest, Pakyî and Tamandua live off the land relying on a machete, an ax, and a torch lit in 1998. The camera team, trek deep into the uninhabited region to find traces of the men as the systemic violence used against indigenous Amazon people is revealed, a situation likely to become more perilous with Brazil’s newly elected President.
Public Figure | Premiere
Brian Corso | USA | 2018 | 70'
In an exploration of our society’s increasing obsession with social media, the film’s insightful documentation of social media use and addiction invites the viewer to question if what we see online is reality or a complete delusion. The film follows the lives of our established Instagram influencers around the globe - beginning in New York all the way to Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver and Johannesburg, South Africa.
Seeing is Believing: Women Direct
Cady McClain | USA | 2018 | 83'55‘’ | New York Premiere
An intimate conversation with female directors who are using their voices to tell stories that matter to them. The film strives to encourage, inspire, and provide mentorship for those who are looking to find and use their own unique voice.
The Advocates | Premiere
Rémi Kessler | USA | 2018 | 87'
Over half a million people are homeless in the United States—25% of whom are in California. Amid public outcry over the ballooning homeless population—nearly 54,000 people on any given night in Los Angeles— three advocates with three different organizations show what the lost ideal of “care in the community” looks like amid a changing policy landscape. Intensely human and humanizing, The Advocates provides a sweeping look at the historic and current causes of this unprecedented crises.
The Creepy Line | New York Premiere
M. A. Taylor | USA | 2018 | 80'
An eye-opening documentary, The Creepy Line reveals the stunning degree to which society is manipulated by Google and Facebook and blows the lid off the remarkably subtle – hence powerful – manner in which they do it.
An eye-opening documentary, The Creepy Line reveals the stunning degree to which society is manipulated by Google and Facebook and blows the lid off the remarkably subtle – hence powerful – manner in which they do it.
The man who mends women
- The wrath of Hippocrates | Spotlight Screening
Thierry Michel & Colette Braeckman | Belgium | 2015 | 112'
Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 and the Sakharov Prize 2014, Doctor Mukwege is internationally known as the man who mends thousands of women raped during the 20 years of conflicts in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the poorest countries on the planet despite its extremely rich sub-soil. His endless struggle to put an end to these atrocities and denounce the impunity enjoyed by perpetrators is not welcome. The women to whom he has restored physical integrity and dignity, however, stand beside him as true activists for peace and justice.