DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
in competition
A CALL FOR PEACE | New York Premiere
Juan C Borrero - Melodie Carli | USA (Columbia, Ireland, UK) | 2018 | 54'
After 50 years of war, the Colombian peace process is the latest world success in peace agreements due to a very diverse and experienced group of experts, along with the support of the international community, coming together to support this initiative. A Call for Peace is our journey around the world to unravel many intriguing questions and reveal a previously unseen view into the work of notable peace-builders that are responsible for transforming conflicts around the world. The film is not only a moving historic document but also a striking story of reconciliation in the 21st century.
BIRTH WARS | New York Premiere
Janet Jarman | Mexico | 2019 | 73'
Told through deeply personal stories in the trenches of the healthcare sector, “Birth Wars” chronicles a power struggle between doctors and midwives in Mexico about whose vision of childbirth should prevail. Taking viewers on a journey into the two worlds riven by prejudices and antagonism, the journeys of a newly graduated professional midwife in Guerrero, and a traditional midwife in Chiapas, are juxtaposed to explore how these worlds could help save lives by working together.
CAN'T STOP THE SUN FROM SHINING
New York Premiere
Teresa Mular | USA | 2019 | 48'
A documentary about four centenarian women between 94 and 105 years old living in New York
who unravel their courage, strength, and zest for life in unique and inspiring ways. Conveying a message against ageism, "Can't Stop the Sun from Shining" is an homage to older individuals who, in spite of adversities and life challenges, age without regrets and arrive with dignity and charm to the autumn
of their lives.
INSIDE/OUTSIDE | New York Premiere
Nandini Sikand | USA | 2019 | 95'
Inside/Outside is a feature length documentary film about women and mass incarceration in the United States as they struggle with the challenges of sexual assault, substance abuse, and often motherhood. Seen through the lens of a predominantly white county jail in a rapidly gentrifying town in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania, this film explores challenges the women face inside and outside jail. Hearing from a chorus of women who share what it is like to be in Northampton County Jail, experts, and correction workers, Inside/Outside addresses the hard and cold facts of the prison industrial complex.
MICROPLASTIC MADNESS | New York Premiere
Atsuko Quirk, Debby Lee Cohen | USA | 2019 | 76'
As an inspirational and optimistic take on the local and global plastic pollution crisis, fifth graders from PS 15 in Red Hook, Brooklyn - a community on the frontline of Climate Change that was severely impacted by Superstorm Sandy. With stop-motion animation, heartfelt kid commentary, and interviews of experts and renowned scientists who are engaged in the most cutting edge research on the harmful effects of microplastics, this alarming, yet charming narrative, conveys an urgent message in user-friendly terms with a take action message.
MOTHER OF TIBETANS | New York Premiere
Niklas Goslar | Germany (Germany, India, Poland) | 2018 | 90'
A woman decides to have a meaningful life after entering pension age. For 30 years, Irmtraut Wäger headed German Aid To Tibetans and helped the Dalai Lama and Tibetans in exile. She collected about 30 million Euros in donations and took care of over 5,000 Tibetan godchildren. Furthermore she facilitated the construction of schools, hospitals, kindergardens and old people's homes all over India. Today Irmtraut Wäger is seen as a shining example of successful refugee relief, and this is her story.
POT LUCK: The Altered State of Colorado
World Premiere
Jane Wells | USA | 2019 | 77'
The war on drugs has failed, but is legalization of cannabis the answer? Five years after full legalization of cannabis, filmmakers Jane Wells and Barbara Bossuet looks beyond the headlines and hysteria to take an intimate journey into the lives, homes and thoughts (sometimes drug-fueled) of Coloradans either invested in cannabusinesses or committed to teaching the world what legalization has wrought. Meanwhile, overwhelmed law enforcement juggle with the blazed new world, still finding out what the new normal looks like in the still-evolving world of legal cannabis.
STONEWALL WITH A 'T' | New York Premiere
Samy Nemir Olivares | USA | 2019 | 80'
The film examines the New York City transgender activism movement - spanning from Stonewall era to the present - in a decades-long struggle to acquire civil rights, recognition under the law and society and fighting against discrimination, including the fight for SONDA and GENDA. It's an untold chapter of the LGBT history revisited 50 years after Stonewall. Interviews with the most active transgender activists of recent times, especially transgender women of color, as well as never-seen-before footage of key events of LGBT history, pioneer icons Sylvia River and Marsha P Johnson, highlight the film.
TELL MY STORY | New York Premiere
David Freid | USA | 2020 | 90'
A grieving father seeks answers after his 14-year-old son dies by suicide. He uncovers painful truths about the lives of teens, the impact of unfettered access to internet and social media, and the shocking rise of depression among America’s youth. The journey brings him together with young suicide survivors, prevention experts, and parents trying to understand the 70% increase in adolescent suicide. Seeking to find the warning signs that were missed, he instead finds ways to reverse the isolation and disconnectedness that is killing our youth.
UNDERMINED: Tales from the Kimberley | North American Premiere
Nicholas Wrathall | Australia | 2018 | 92'
Australia’s vast and unspoiled Kimberley region is under threat, with mining, pastoralism and irrigated agriculture driving an unprecedented land grab. The film investigates the politics of an area now branded “the future economic powerhouse of Australia,” and what this means for our First People and their unique cultural landscapes. As pressure from industry exposes the limits of Indigenous land rights, what will remain of over 200 remote Aboriginal communities? We follow a young leader, a veteran cattleman and a Senior Elder through David-and-Goliath battles to preserve their homelands, asking the question: for whose benefit is this development?