Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner latest film, ALL GOD”S CHILDREN, explores the intersection of race, religion and family and explores whether the truism “we’re more alike than we are different” is more than a pithy bumper sticker. In an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism, and combat the rising racial and ethnic tension in their Brooklyn communities, the largest reform synagogue and the oldest black Baptist Church in Brooklyn attempt to quell the racism and anti-semitism that has plagued their  communities for decades and bring about peace, by becoming family.  Shot over five years, ALL GOD’S CHILDREN follows her sister, activist Rabbi Rachel Timoner, and her Congregation Beth Elohim’s partnership with Reverend Dr Robert Waterman of Antioch Baptist Church as their faith is put to the test, and both congregations struggle to not let their differences drive them apart. Though it’s a fraught partnership, they refuse to walk away, no matter how hard it gets, and ultimately emerge with a powerful model for how other communities might bridge divides and foster enduring partnerships across religious, racial, economic differences. The rabbi and the pastor lead delegations to their places of worship to learn from each other, but soon tensions emerge, testing their dreams of unity. Tackling their complex histories head on, these two New York City devotional institutions find communal traction, fighting side-by-side for justice and compassion. Director Ondi Timoner (Last Flight Home) joins us for a conversation on all the different way this high wire enterprise could have gone sideways, what it was like working along side her sister on this project while at the same time helping their mom during their father his last days and the level of satisfaction this project has brought to her as a filmmaker and as a sister.

For more go to: interloperfilms.com

DOC NYC SCREENINGS:

World Premiere – Thurs Nov 14, 6:30pm – Village East by Angelika*

Second Screening – Sat  Nov 16, 1:45pm – IFC Center

The first and second screening will be followed by a Q&A with director/producer Ondi Timoner, executive producer Travon Free, and film subjects Rabbi Rachel Timoner and Reverend Dr. Robert Waterman. The first screening will be moderated by MSNBC’s Ari Melber. 

About the filmmaker – Ondi Timoner is an internationally-acclaimed filmmaker whose work focuses on “impossible visionaries.” She has the rare distinction of being the only person to win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance twice: for DIG! (2004), about the collision of art and commerce through the eyes of two rival rock bands, and for WE LIVE IN PUBLIC (2009), which predicts the loss of privacy with life online and the advent of social media through a bunker in Manhattan over the turn of the millennium. Both films were acquired by New York’s MoMA for its permanent collection. Ondi’s most personal film, LAST FLIGHT HOME, about the extraordinary life and intentional death of her father, Eli Timoner, premiered at Sundance and Telluride in 2022, was acquired by MTV Documentary Films / Paramount for a theatrical release, Shortlisted for the Academy Award, nominated for the WGA Award for Best Documentary and for the Emmy for Exceptional Merit, and received The Humanitas Award for Best Documentary, the Impact Award at Hamptons Docfest, the Critics Award at Key West Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize at the Woodstock Film Festival.  Ondi’s 2023 film, “THE NEW AMERICANS: Gaming a Revolution”, is a visceral journey into the intersection of finance, media and extremism which uncovers the explosive and irreversible ramifications of our digital future. It premiered at SXSW where it was acquired by Paramount, and it is currently on Netflix. In 2023, Ondi and her brother David reunited to create DIG! XX, enhanced, extended and reimagined cut of her cult classic film DIG! – which premiered at Sundance in 2024, in honor of its 20th anniversary. DIG! XX features a new narration from BJM frontman Joel Gion and brings this timeless tale up to today and is having a theatrical release across the world in January 2025.  Ondi’s catalog of distinguished feature documentaries also includes: the award-winning feature COMING CLEAN (2020) about solutions to the opioid epidemic; BRAND: A Second Coming (Opening Film, SXSW 2015) about the evolution of comedian / author / activist Russell Brand; COOL IT (TIFF Premiere / Roadside Attractions 2010) about controversial economist Bjorn Lomborg and solutions to climate change; the award-winning JOIN US (2007) about mind control; the award-wining film THE NATURE OF THE BEAST (1994) about Bonnie Jean Foreshaw and the miscarriage of justice she endured; and the critically-acclaimed 10-hour nonfiction series JUNGLETOWN about building “the world’s most sustainable town” (Viceland, 2017.) Her first scripted film, MAPPLETHORPE, which she also wrote, produced and edited, starred Matt Smith and premiered at TriBeCa Film Festival in 2018, winning the 2nd Audience Award, & nine Audience and Best Feature Awards at festivals across the world before being acquired by Samuel Goldwyn for a theatrical release and Hulu. The original version, “MAPPLETHORPE The Director’s Cut” was Official Selection for Sundance 2018, can be found on Amazon now and is the recommended version. Ondi’s most notable short films include: Recycle (2005), Library of Dust (SXSW 2011), Amanda F***ing Palmer On The Rocks (TriBeca 2013), Obey The Artist (SXSW 2014), RUSSELL BRANDS THE BIRD (2014), The Last Mile (SXSW 2015). Her career began with a Grammy nomination for Best Long-Form Video (“Fastball: They Wanted the Highway”) and since, she has directed music videos for The Jonas Brothers, The Vines, OK GO, DMC, The Dandy Warhols and commercials for State Farm, Ford, and President Clinton, among others. Ondi is an Emmy and WGA-Nominated filmmaker who was awarded the prestigious Humantis Award and the Visionary Award for Observational Filmmaking at Doc NYC in 2022. Some other career achievement awards include Kodak’s Auteur Award, the Maverick Award, the Rogue Award, and the No Limits Award. She serves as the Chair of Nonfiction for Special Projects at the DGA, is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the WGA, the IDA, Film Fatales & Women in Film.

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Take one look at award-winning songwriter / artist Allee Willis and you see someone unafraid to be themselves. Dressed in a cacophony of prints and colors, her signature asymmetrical haircut and famed parties at her real-life Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Allee didn’t waste any opportunity to tell you what she was about. But privately, Allee struggled with not fitting established gender and sexual norms. She buried herself in her work, until true love manifested her ultimate masterpiece – self-acceptance. Allee began filming her life in 1950s Detroit and never stopped. THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS is the realization of her wish that her “final art piece be someone putting together the trail I have left behind.” The film features interviews with Mark Cuban, Cyndi Lauper, Brenda Russell, Lily Tomlin, Paul Reubens, Lesley Ann Warren, Michael Patrick King, Patti LaBelle, Pet Shop Boys, Siedah Garrett , Pamela Adlon, Stephen Bray, Paul Feig, Patti LaBelle, Mark Mothersbaugh and many others. Her music includes the massively popular songs that include September and Boogie Wonderland, recorded by Earth, Wind and Fire, The Pointer Sister’s Neutron Dance, the Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, the theme song for the sitcom Friends and dozens of songs written for Pet Shop Boys, Patti LaBelle, Cyndi Lauper, Gladys Knight, Herbie Hancock and many, many other recording artists. Director Alexis Spraic stops by to talk about the dazzling life of Allee Willis, her creativity, her boundless energy, her generosity, her embrace of collaboration, her Museum of Kitsch and her impact on the world of music, television, film, art and the people who came to know her.

For more go to: magpictures.com/alleewillisdoc

The official Allee Willis website: alleewillis.com

THE WORLD ACCORDING TO ALLEE WILLIS in NY, LA and Detroit Theaters on November 15th

Nationwide One-Night-Only Theatrical Screenings on November 19th, 2024 On Digital November 22nd, 2024

About the filmmaker – Alexis Manya Spraic is an award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter based in Los Angeles. As a fourth generation Angeleno, she’s drawn to stories hidden-in-plain-sight: stories of women and people of color languishing in the footnotes of history and culture. Previous documentary credits include “Shadow Billionaire” (Hulu), “Ray Charles’ America” for A&E (produced by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville), State of Play: War on Sports (HBO / produced by Peter Berg) and is finishing a docuseries about the family that started the Magic Castle in Hollywood. She also produced and edited: “Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child” (PBS), “Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story” (PBS, Grammy-nominated)), “Cat Dancers” (HBO), “Search and Destroy: Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power” (Sony) and “Maxed Out” (Showtime). Alexis also works as a screenwriter. She sold her first original pilot to A&E Networks and has written for Warner Bros, Macro Film Studios, Storyline Entertainment, Flower Films and others. She is currently prepping for her upcoming narrative directorial-debut DOROTHEA starring Holly Hunter starring and packaged by CAA.  Alexis is a member of the DGA and WGA and is repped by CAA. 

About the filmmaker – Prudence Fenton is a producer, filmmaker, executive, animator, multi-media artist, and Internet visionary, she has changed the ways things look, and our experience of them for over thirty-five years. Credits include MTV IDs, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, animated Peter Gabriel Videos, Liquid Television, ABC’s One Saturday Morning, Drew Carey’s Greenscreen Show, and many others. She spent over 11 years as a think tank consultant at Disney R&D. Six years at Magic Leap with the digital human team and working on spatializing data. Prudence has won three Emmys, a Grammy, and a Clio, as well as MTV VMAs. Since 2020 after the death of her partner Allee Willis Prudence founded the Willis Wonderland Foundation whose mission is to amplify the songwriters of the upcoming generation. 

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Reviews:

“Director Alexis Manya Spraic crafts a documentary that strives to be just as fascinating as its subject.” – Jourdain Searles, Hollywood Reporter

“The World According to Allee Willis is one of the best films I saw at SXSW” – Vulture

“Digs through a dizzying mountain of material in Willis’s archive from childhood on – of multi-hit, award-winning songs, art, fashion, parties, to internet plans, with Famous Friends interviews. Doc sensitively slows down to reveal her personal struggles.” – Nora Lee Mandel, Maven’s Nest

How is happiness measured? Can satisfaction with one’s life be rated on a scale from one to ten? The Kingdom of Bhutan’s famous – and highly exoticized – government policy measuring its nation’s Gross National Happiness operates on the idea that the basic tenets of fulfillment can and should be quantified when calculating their nation’s development. Happiness Agents Amber Gurung and Guna Raj Kuikel traverse the Himalayan mountains to survey the contentment of citizens from different households and lifestyles. While Amber dutifully administers this census, he too is forced to confront his own struggles with fulfillment, and question what makes him happy. Filmmakers Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó join us to talk about their own journey documenting the lives of the Agents of Happiness, Amber and Guna, as they look into the people and the stories of the Bhutanese people behind the “survey” as well as getting to know each other, in this carefully crafted and visually stunning, and revealing of the age-old quest to find the purpose of life.

For more go to: filmmovement.com/agent-of-happiness

About the filmmaker – Arun Bhattarai (director, cinematographer, co-producer, Bhutan) premiered his first feature-length documentary ‘The Next Guardian’ (co-directed by Dorottya Zurbó) – an intimate family story set in Bhutan – at IDFA in 2017. The lm has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, Ambulante, SFFILM, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Before becoming an independent lmmaker, he worked as a TV director at the Bhutan Broadcasting Service for 5 years. He graduated from the rst edition of DocNomads Joint Master in documentary directing in 2014. His recent short documentary ‘Mountain Man’, about Bhutan’s only glaciologist won the best pitch prize at If/Then Global Short-Pitch at IDFA 2019 and is supported by the IDA-XRM Media incubator program. The lm has been screened at IDFA, DOC NYC, Chicago IFF ect. His new lm ‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. He established his own production company – Sound Pictures – dedicated to creative documentaries in 2015. He is one of the few independent documentary filmmakers in Bhutan. 

About the filmmaker – Dorottya Zurbó (co-director, Hungary) premiered her first feature-length documentary ‘The Next Guardian’ (co-directed by Arun Bhattarai), – an intimate family story set in Bhutan – at IDFA in 2017. Since then, it has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, San Francisco IDFF, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Parallelly, she worked on her rst directorial debut ‘Easy Lessons’, a feature-length documentary about a young Somalian refugee girl who tries to adapt to Hungary, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival Critics Week section in 2018. The lm participated in more than 40 international festivals (HotDocs, Camden IDFF, Sarajevo IFF etc.) receiving awards such as the Hungarian Critics Award for Best Documentary in 2019. Her new lm ‘Agent of Happiness’ is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. Beside lmmaking she has been teaching at the prestigious DocNomads Joint Master program in Europe. 

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93% on RottenTomatoes

“This quiet, gently absorbing documentary follows two “happiness agents” as they travel door-to-door, like census workers, collecting data for the government’s happiness survey.” – Cath Clarke, Guardian

“A complex, observant, and bittersweet look at the nature of fulfilment viewed through the infrequently glimpsed lens of Bhutanese culture.” – Andrew Parker, The Gate

“The quiet, intimate charms of Agent of Happiness pulse from poignant collective consideration, filtered through the personal experience of a professional happiness inspector.” – Jacob Oller, Paste Magazine

“Something this personal kind of inspires you to reflect as well. This is a lovely and kind documentary that handles big subjects with an unusual amount of honesty.” – Sarah Manvel, Critic’s Notebook

““Agent of Happiness” uses meaningful visual contrast to scrutinize Bhutan’s narrative about itself. It re-injects a vibrant sense of nuance into an exercise that, though nominally geared toward gauging humanity, too often reduces it to a number.” – Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 tells the little-known story of a deadly race massacre and carefully orchestrated insurrection in North Carolina’s largest city in 1898 — the only coup d’état in the history of the US. Stoking fears of “Negro Rule,” self-described white supremacists used intimidation and violence to destroy Black political and economic power  and overthrow Wilmington’s democratically-elected, multi-racial government. Black residents were murdered and thousands were banished. Following the white supremacist insurrection, many newspapers throughout the country reported the incident as a “race riot” and suggested that Black citizens were the aggressors. More than 2000 African Americans fled the city. Wilmington, which had a Black majority of 56% in the 1890s, became a majority-white city. In 1899, North Carolinians passed a Constitutional amendment requiring voters to pay a poll tax and take a literacy test unless a father or grandfather had voted  before 1867 — effectively disenfranchising the Black population. No Black citizen from Wilmington served in public office again until 1972, and no Black North Carolinian was elected to statewide office for nearly 100 years. No one was ever prosecuted or held responsible for the violence. The story of what happened in Wilmington was suppressed for decades until descendants and scholars began to investigate. Today, many of those descendants — Black and white — seek the truth about this intentionally buried history. Directed by award-winning filmmakers Brad Lichtenstein and Yoruba Richen in association with PBS North Carolina and executive produced by Cameo George and Rachel Raney, American Coup: Wilmington 1898, premieres Tuesday, November 12, 2024, 9:00-11:00 p.m. ET (check local listings) on AMERICAN EXPERIENCE on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS App.

For more go to: pbs.org/show/american-experience

About the filmmaker – Yoruba Richen (Director, Writer, Producer) is a Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker and founder of Promised Land Film. She was recently awarded the Trailblazer Award by Black Public Media, and her work has been featured on multiple outlets, including Netflix, MSNBC, Peacock and FX/Hulu. Her film, The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks,won a Gracie Award and was honored by the Television Academy. Other recent work includesthe Emmy-nominated films American Reckoning, How It Feels to Be Free, The Sit In: Harry Belafonte Hosts the Tonight Show, and Green Book: Guide to Freedom. Her film, The Killing of Breonna Taylor,won an NAACP Image Award. Her films The New Black and Promised Land won multiple festival awardsbeforeairing on PBS’s INDEPENDENT LENS and POV. Richen’s other work includes directing an episode of the award-winning series Black and Missing for HBO and High on the Hog for Netflix. Richen is a recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker’s Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. She is the Founding Director of the Documentary Program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.

About the filmmaker – Brad Lichtenstein (Director, Writer, Producer) is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of 371 Productions. He won a 2022 Primetime Emmy for When Claude Got Shot. He was nominated for a Sports Emmy for the VR filmAshe ’68, which premiered at Sundance in 2019, and a News and  Documentary Emmy for the 2012 INDEPENDENT LENS/PBS filmAs Goes Janesville. He’s won two Dupont Awards: one for the 2016 Al Jazeera America series Hard Earned (with Kartemquin Films) and another for his 2001 filmGhosts ofAttica (with Lumiere Productions). His 2022 film,American Reckoning (with producer/director Yoruba Richen) for the PBS series FRONTLINE, was nominated for a Peabody and a News & Documentary Emmy for Best Historical Documentary. With Emily Kuester, he directed Messwood for Participant, which premiered in 2021 at DocNYC. His radio series about gun violence,Precious Lives, was nominated for a Peabody. Since 2003, his company has been committed to nurturing the careers of emerging women and BIPOC storytellers.

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When 28-year-old aspiring journalist Shiori Ito goes public in May 2017 with her rape allegation against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s closest journalist and biographer, she feels she has no other choice in order to change Japan’s antiquated sexual assault laws. Her press conference shocks the public in a society where speaking up on such matters is considered shameful. Within days, Shiori is swept into the center of Japanese politics — the right wing views her as a threat to bring down the Abe government and the left hails her a hero for the same reason. Death threats, cyberbullying, and hate mail take Shiori into a downward spiral. When she files a civil case, the accused rages all-out war against her. Determined not to set a bad example for other victims, Shiori pushes forward with her case and resolves to publish a book about her experience. Directed by herself with the most personal of material, BLACK BOX DIARIES captures Shiori’s tumultuous, heart-wrenching, and ultimately triumphant journey, going behind the headlines to reveal what it has been like to walk in her shoes. The documentary reveals the personal toll of a society’s web of politics, media, and technology on the humanity of its individuals. Being both victim and journalist investigating her own case, the documentary shows that what Shiori did was not only to create social change but ultimately to keep herself alive. Director and Subject, Shiori Ito joins us to talk about her emotionally grueling five year journey to tell her story, the challenge of being a journalist and a filmmaker, as well the support she received from Swedish journalist and filmmaker Hanna Aqvilin, and her videographer friends.

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Los Angeles – Laemmle Royal

Friday, November 1

San Francisco – Roxie

Friday, November 1

Chicago – Gene Siskel Film Center

Friday, November 1

**IDA 2024 Emerging Filmmaker Award**

**DOC NYC Short List – 2024 Documentary Features**

**Golden Eye Award for Best Documentary – 2024 Zurich Film Festival**

**Audience Award – 2024 Zurich Film Festival**

**Human Rights Award – 2024 CPH:DOX Festival**

**Special Jury Award – 2024 San Francisco International Film Festival**

**Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision – 2024 Seattle International Film Festival**

**Audience Award – 2024 New Zealand International Film Festival**

**Audience Award – 2024 Sarajevo Film Festival**

About the filmmaker – Shiori Ito is a director, producer, camera person, journalist, and writer. Her primary focus is gender-based human rights issues. She co-founded Hanashi Films, a Tokyo and London-based production company that has collaborated with NHK, BBC, and Al Jazeera, amongst others. In 2017, Shiori wrote the book “Black Box,” based on her own experience of rape. The book reveals the sexism in Japan’s society and institutions and won the Free Press Association of Japan Award for Best Journalism in 2018. It has been translated into a number of languages. In 2020 she was listed as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. BLACK BOX DIARIES is her feature documentary debut. For more go to: shioriito.com

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98% on RottenTomatoes

“Shiori Itō changed the world. And Black Box Diaries is a monument to her determination and sacrifice, as well as one of the best documentaries you’ll see all year.” – Marlow Stern, Rolling Stone

“A pulverising illustration of truth and its consequences.” – Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International

“A remarkably intimate non-fiction exposé about the ordeals women suffer after being sexually assaulted—and the strength, courage and togetherness required to change that status quo.” – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

“Throughout the film we viscerally feel Ito’s courage as speaks truth to power.” – Marya E. Gates, RogerEbert.com

“Ito’s work is more than breaking down a systemic pattern of abuse but redefining how a country protects women, so it is a compelling mission that needs to be supported.” – Katie Smith-Wong, Flick Feast

Tommy Hyde’s beguiling feature documentary debut UNDERDOG follows a hardscrabble Vermont dairy farmer Doug Butler. Doug has an offbeat passion – dog mushing. A local folk hero, Doug trains his team of mutts on the family farm with a dream to compete at the world championships in Alaska. But the demands of being a small-scale family farmer in a changing world are constant. Keenly aware of the fate of the other family farms that used to dot the landscape, Doug has managed for years to play one creditor off against the next to survive another season. But with the debt now insurmountable and Doug’s thoughts plunging into depression, his dogs offer solace…and perhaps a way out. On a cold March morning Doug pulls out of his driveway in a rusted-out truck carrying 22 dogs, bound for Alaska. The journey will prepare him for what he’ll confront when he gets back: the sale of his farm and a race to craft a new destiny. Director, cinematographer, editor Tommy Hyde joins us for a conversation on how met his charismatic subject, being welcomed into Doug’s energetic world, traveling across country with Doug and working how working with UNDERDOG producer and writer, Aaron Woolf and producer Kyra Schaefer from Mosaic Films Productions made this possible.

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For more go to: underdogfilm.org

Check out other great films at: First Run Features

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Don’t miss the theatrical premiere of UNDERDOG at Laemmle Royal this Thursday, August 10th. Screening to be followed by a Q&A with filmmakers Tommy Hyde and Aaron Woolf, as wells as the film’s unforgettable subject Doug Butler.

About the filmmaker – Tommy Hyde (Director, Camera, Editor) is a documentary filmmaker whose work explores people and stories at the fringes of society. Underdog, a film ten years in the making, is his directorial debut. He frequently collaborates with Mosaic Films, and is currently in production on two docu-series with them as a producer and writer. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and resides in Burlington, VT.

Kyra Schaefer (Co-Producer) is a NY-based documentary producer and editor whose work centers around the intersection of faith and feminism. She holds a B.A. in digital media and video production from Marymount Manhattan College. She is the co-producer of The Happening (in production) and Ordinary Saints (in production), both Mosaic Films Productions.

Aaron Woolf (Producer & Writer) is a Rockie, Logie and Peabody award-winning documentary filmmaker who tells stories that depict the human dimension of government policy. His work has been released theatrically in the US, Europe and Japan and broadcast on PBS, the Sundance Channel, and numerous international networks including RAI, ARTE, and SBS. Aaron is active in community and conservation efforts in New York’s Adirondack North Country, and in 2014 he was the Democratic nominee for Congress from the New York’s 21st district.

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“Tommy Hyde’s heartwarming documentary traces the life of an aging Vermont dairy farmer. Hyde’s subtlety as a filmmaker, along with the fabulous, eccentric central figure, bring to mind David Lynch’s The Straight Story. Both films are remarkable for how seemingly unremarkable they are. Stick with it, and the film’s subliminal power will sneak up on you.”-Alex Saveliev, FILM THREAT

In AFTER: POETRY DESTROYS SILENCE, contemporary poets confront the Holocaust. In this dramatic hybrid  documentary, with performances by Melissa Leo, Géza Röhrig, and Bo Corre, poets respond to the Holocaust and address the responsibility and necessity for art. The first of its kind, where poetry and cinema combine and transcend time.  AFTER is an exploration of poetry written about the Shoah. Contemporary poets respond to the Holocaust and talk about the importance and necessity for poetry in a world that still grapples with genocide. Rather than seeing the devastation, AFTER shows how poets respond to catastrophe and write in its aftermath. The film is ultimately about human resiliency, the power and courage to forge new lives, and the value of poetry in looking to the past to help create a better future. Weaving a narrative, each poem has its own story, main character(s), and point of view, each acting as a short island with the entire film. AFTER also interlaces sequences of music, archival footage, personal photographs, and documents. The power of the words, performances, commentary, cinematic interpretations, sounds, and silences bring the poems to life on screen, offering a modern chronicle of poets examining history and the current day. As survivors leave us each day, their voices live inside the poems we include in AFTER. One poet speaks the line, her father, a survivor, told her, “Home is anywhere they let you in.” The film serves as both a model and a warning for an increasingly divided and violent planet. Director Richard Kroehling (Albert Einstein: How I See The World, Confessions) joins us to talk about his powerful and eerily prescient multi-dimensional documentary film that benefits from a spectacular contribution from cinematographer Lisa Renzler, and bolstered by a cast of actors, poets, writers and educators that includes; Melissa Leo, Geza Rohrig, Bo Corre, Joanna Wallfisch, Josh Harto, Taylor Mali, Janet Kirchheimer, Paul Celan, Yehuda Amichai, Edward Hirsch, Sabrina Orah Mark, Charles Carter, Christine Poreba, Walter Fiden and Cornelious Eady

To find out more go to: after.film

Watch in a theatre: after.film/screenings

AFTER: POETRY DESTROYS SILENCE opens Friday, November 8 at the Laemmle Royal Theater in Los Angeles, with other cities to follow

About the filmmaker – Richard Kroehling’s work includes dramatic features, documentary, crime TV, and intimate portraits of some of the world’s renowned thinkers, as well as film and video art that looks to transcend existing forms. He directed “Albert Einstein: How I See The World” with William Hurt for PBS American Masters and the feature “World Without End” for England’s Film Four. A two-time Emmy award winner, he has directed over fifty hours of crime docudramas for networks in the United States and Europe. He created the controversial TV series “Confessions”, hailed as “visionary and stunning”, which was later installed at the Palazzo della Triennale in Milan. His films and video art installations have been exhibited at film festivals, networks, and art museums around the world, including MOMA, The Jewish Museum in New York City, and the Lars Von Trier’s Gesamt project at the Kunsthalle in Copenhagen. “Dollarland”, a multi-screen installation of an imaginary American city, is a collaboration with his long-time cinematographer Lisa Rinzler. “Dollarland” premiered at the Woodstock Artist Association Museum (WAAM) and showed at Art Basel Miami in 2019. Richard Kroehling will direct his adaptation of Swedish playwright Lars Noren’s “War” in 2024.  He received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the New York Council on the Arts.  richardkroehling.com

About the filmmaker – Lisa Rinzler is known as a master of lighting, has an international reputation, and lensed many documentaries, feature films, and experimental works. Her credits include Academy Award nominated “Pollock“, “Dead Presidents”, “Menace II Society”, and she worked with Martin Scorsese on “American Masters” and “No Direction Home: Bob Dylan”, as well as “It’s The Soul of a Man” with Wim Wenders. Lisa Rinzler won the Sundance Independent Spirit Award in 1993 and 1999. She was featured in the American Film Institute’s “Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography” featuring nine of the world’s greatest motion picture camera artists. In 2016, Lisa Rinzler shot the documentary “Don’t Blink”, a portrait of Robert Frank. Most recently, she lensed “A Man of His Word”, a portrait of Pope Francis directed by Wim Wenders, as well as the Academy Award winning documentary short in 2019 called “How to Skate in a Warzone (If you are a Girl)”. lisarinzler.com

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Reviews:

“The film’s look and sound are lyrical, providing an apt setting for the poets who recite their work and discuss the kind of communication that fills in the gaps left by recitations of fact, archival images, or dramatic re-enactments.” – Nell Minow, RogerEbert.com

“A provocative, enlightening and engrossing protest against hate.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

STARRING JERRY AS HIMSELF drops the viewer into the “normal” life of Jerry Hsu. Jerry is a retired, divorced Taiwanese immigrant living in Orlando. All of the normal is knocked out of Jerry’s world when he gets an urgent call from a People’s Republic of China’s Chinese police officer. The officer informs him that he’s the prime suspect in an international money laundering investigation where $1.28mm was  illegally moved through his Florida bank account. Under threat of arrest and extradition to China, the police force Jerry to cooperate and be an undercover agent in their case. Over the next few weeks, Jerry helps the police investigate an international money  laundering case by taking surveillance photos of his bank, making top secret transfers, and even wearing a wire to spy on bank tellers. After months of keeping the investigation a secret, Jerry finally reveals everything to his family. His three sons decide to document his ordeal and discover the truth about what really happened and how it changed Jerry’s life forever. Director Law Chen and screenwriter Jonathan Hsu join us to talk about their genre-busting “documentary” family drama suspense story that stars all of Jerry’s American-based family and gives the audience a unique cinematic experience.

For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/starring-jerry-as-himself

Slamdance Film Festival Grand Jury and Audience Award winner

About the filmmaker – Law Chen is an award winning director based in Brooklyn His narrative, documentary, and commercial films have earned 19 Cannes Lions, as well as multiple Webby Awards, Vimeo Staff Picks, and screened at film festivals around the world. His first feature ‘Starring Jerry as Himself’ will premiere at Slamdance, and tells a personal story about an immigrant’s pursuit of the American Dream. 

About the filmmaker – Jonathan Hsu has been making films since he could first get his hands on his family’s Digi8 Camcorder. Since then he has produced multiple award winning commercials, music videos, and films. He founded his commercial production services company HsuBox Productions Inc. with the mission to share and produce content that is as diverse as his crew and clients. Jon is an alumni of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. in his free time he makes large dinners, performs Magic, and mentors up-and-coming filmmakers. He recently Executive Produced the horror movie “A Wounded Fawn” for Tribeca 2022’s Midnight Program and also a short film “Closing Dynasty” for the inaugural Netflix x Gold House x Tribeca 2022 Future Gold Fellowship. 

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“Starring Jerry as Himself manages to pull off something of a magic trick. Not only is the film a compelling documentary that keeps audiences guessing, it also stands alone as a work of scripted fiction.” – Tina Kakadelis, Beyond the Cinerama Dome

“Surprising is the operative word here. A compelling, thoroughly engaging documentary with a huge payoff by the end that is satisfying, moving and ultimately, quite sad. One of the year’s most fascinating films with a memorable lead “character” in Jerry.” – Jim Laczkowski, Director’s Club

“So much of this is recreation, in fact, that it begs the question of whether this really qualifies as a documentary. Nevertheless, it’s engrossing.” – Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Festival Today

“Chen finds a way to lure the audience into understanding a horrible phenomenon that we all know about, but can only understand through Jerry’s eyes.” – Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

Homegrown is an unflinching chronicle of Americans at war with each other. Three right-wing activists—a newly politicized father-to-be in New Jersey, an Air Force veteran organizing conservatives in New York City, and a charismatic activist from Texas—crisscross the country in the summer of 2020, campaigning for Donald Trump and building a movement they hope will outlast him. When they become convinced that the election is stolen, they take their fight to the streets. A fascinating portrait emerges in Michael Premo’s look at three impassioned right-wing activists. Having won their trust in the lead-up to the 2020 election, the Brooklyn filmmaker follows them through election night, the January 6 riot, and beyond. Contradictions abound— Texas native Thad attends Trump rallies with Black Lives Matter activist Jacarri; New Jersey resident Chris participates in a “Back the Blue” march yet charges the line of police defending the Capitol—but their commitment to a particular red, white, and blue vision of America can’t be denied. Each is a combustible mix of delusional cosplayer, stalwart patriot, and potential threat, with the line between blood and bluster further blurred by cameos from Enrique Tarrio and Roger Stone. Director / Producer / Cinematographer Michael Premo joins us for a conversation on his on-going exploration of White Nationalism, working class anger around immigrants and immigration, economic hardship, the normalization of political violence, as well as working with his producing partner Rachel Falcone.

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For more go to: homegrown.film

To watch, go to: homegrown.film/watch

About the filmmaker – Michael Premo is a journalist, filmmaker, and artist. He directed the award-winning short film and photo exhibition WATER WARRIORS  (POV), a story about a community’s successful resistance to the oil and gas industry. It has since been rebroadcasted hundreds of times by PBS stations across the country, including annually in November. He also co-directed the participatory documentary SANDY STORYLINE (Jury Award winner at the Tribeca Film Festival), the site-specific performance  SANCTUARY (The Working Theater), and the PBS series VETERANS COMING HOME. Michael has directed, produced, and co-written original film, radio, and theater with numerous companies including The Foundry Theater, The Civilians, and the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR. Michael’s photography has appeared in publications like The Village Voice, The New York Times, and Het Parool. He has been an artist-in-residence with Camargo Foundation, The Laundromat Project, and the National Resource Defense Council. He is the recipient of an NBC News Studios Original Voices Fellowship, a Creative Capital Award, A Blade of Grass Artist Files Fellowship, and a New York State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Award.

About the filmmaker – In addition to being the Executive Director of Storyline Media Rachel Falcone is a documentary filmmaker and multimedia artist. She produced the short film and exhibition Water Warriors (POV), which won more than 10 awards and has screened at hundreds of festivals, schools and communities around the globe. Rachel co-directed the participatory web documentary and exhibition Sandy Storyline (winner of the Jury Award at the Tribeca Film Festival), the site-specific performance Sanctuary and the multi-platform project Housing is a Human Right. She has directed and produced dozens of short films for clients like the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Earth Island Institute. Previously, Rachel produced content with the award-winning national oral history project StoryCorps and EarSay, Inc., and was an associate producer on Incite Picture’s Young Lakota  (Independent Lens). She has taught oral history and storytelling in collaboration with institutions like the Museum of the City of New York and Parsons The New School for Design. Rachel is also a sound recordist for film and radio, including most recently Knock Down The House (Netflix) and To the End (Hulu).

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Reviews:

“Premo’s documentary (Homegrown) refuses to sensationalize its timely material, which only makes the picture that much more troubling. (T)he disturbing ordinariness of these men is chilling.” – Tim Grierson, Screen Daily

“Nuanced and profound” – Tommaso Koch, El Pais

“What Premo discovered was a movement that was far more multicultural than ofter depicted.” – Jada Yuan, Washington Post

“Illuminating and gripping” – The Guardian

“…among the most powerful and unforgettable of the 81st Venice FIlm Festival” – Di Carlo Pisani, NPC Magazine

“Premo’s commitment and grit are palpable — especially when one notes how close to the action he gets during the Capitol insurrection, so that the camera shows every jostle and bump.” –  Leslie Felperin, Hollywood Reporter

Hannah Peterson’s quietly compelling, slow-burn feature debut, set in the final weeks of a high school academic year, explores the long-term psychological and emotional aftermath of a school shooting on its survivors, graduating students and faculty both, with standout performances coming from Mina Sundwall as a young woman still mourning the death of her boyfriend, Moonlight’s Alex Hibbert as a basketball team star who’s been MIA since the  tragedy, and John Cho as the coach struggling to keep up a brave face through unendurable heartbreak. A somber and sobering portrait of a community searching for ways to heal, they turn to each other to find hope and a way forward. Director/ Writer / Editor Hannah Peterson joins us for a conversation on how for millions of school age young people in America the horrifying idea of a mass shooting in their classroom is not the stuff of fiction, what went into her approach to cast this exceptionally talented ensemble of young actors that also includes Yasmeen Fletcher, Ewan Manley, Maria Dizzia, and Kelly O’Sullivan, working with the award winning cinematographer, Carolina Costa, and her own trajectory as a filmmaker after working with Sean Baker and the film’s Co-Executive Producers John Cho and Academy Award winner Chloé Zhao.

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For more go to: futureoffilmisfemale.com/The Graduates

THE GRADUATES premiered at Tribeca Festival in 2023 where it was awarded Best Cinematography in U.S. Narrative.

The Graduates opens at Metrograph in New York on November 1

About the filmmaker – Director, Writer, Editor Hannah Peterson is a writer and director. Filmmaker Magazine named her one of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film.” Her work has screened at Sundance Film Festival, MoMA, REDCAT, Tribeca Film Festival, and Slamdance Film Festival where she was awarded the AGBO fellowship for her short film, East of the River. She holds an MFA in Film Directing from California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and a BA in Screen Studies from the New School. Prior to her work as a director, Hannah mentored under filmmakers Sean Baker and Chloé Zhao. For more go to: hannahloganpeterson.com

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94% on RottenTomatoes

“a moving slice of life, capped off with a stirring performance from Mina Sundwall.” – Kate Erbland, Indiewire

“If there was ever a film to watch about mourning and learning to adjust to a new normal, it’s Peterson’s poignant masterpiece.”- Mae Abdulbaki, Screenrant

“Void of emotional exploitation, Peterson’s film is a quiet drama that is searingly powerful.” – Emily Maskell, WeLoveCinema

“A quiet but wrenching drama.” – Matt Zoller Seitz, RogerEbert.com

“A story that needs to be told, made by a filmmaker who we can only hope has many more tales to share.” “a moving slice of life, capped off with a stirring performance from Mina Sundwall.” – Kate Erbland, IndieWire

“Features a star-making performance from its lead, Mina Sundwall… A compelling drama with incredible performances across the board and confident direction.” – Taylor Gates, Collider

DUSTY AND STONES intimately chronicles the remarkable ride of cousins Gazi “Dusty” Simelane and Linda “Stones” Msibi, a determined duo of struggling country singers from the tiny African Kingdom of Swaziland* who long for their big break. When they are unexpectedly invited to record their songs in Nashville and compete in a Texas battle of the bands, Dusty and Stones embark on their long-awaited first pilgrimage to the ancestral heart of country music. Over a momentous ten-day road trip through the American South, Dusty and Stones bring their music to life in a top Nashville recording studio, explore the storied locales of their favorite country songs, and excitedly engage with the culture they’ve long felt part of from afar. But this sense of kinship is abruptly thrown into question when they arrive in the small town of Jefferson, Texas to compete in the battle of the bands. There, the hostile leader of the local backing band threatens to derail the cousins’ debut American performance. As their family and friends back home wait for good news, a shell-shocked Dusty and Stones must take the stage and fight to bring home an award for Swaziland, now known as Kingdom of Eswatini. Director Jesse Rudoy stops by to talk about how he discovered Dusty and Stones on Facebook, when he decided to embark on this remarkable journey that has lasted over four years, getting to know these two cousins, and seeing how their talent, following and legacy continues to grow in the Kingdom of Eswatini and around the world.

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For more go to: dustyandstonesfilm.com

Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature – Atlanta Film Festival

Jury Award for Best Director – RiverRun International Film Festival

Jury Award for Best Debut Feature – Florida Film Festival

Audience Award for Best Documentary – San Luis Obispo International Film

Festival Jury Award for Best Feature – Thin Line Festival

About the filmmaker – Jesse Rudoy is a filmmaker, musician, and born-again country fan based in New York City. He was most recently an editor on Season 2 of HBO’s The Jinx. Jesse has composed original music for brands like Adidas and National Geographic and released music on the record label Let’s Play House. His work has been supported by HBO, the Gotham Film & Media Institute, Film Independent, and Durban FilmMart. Dusty & Stones is his first film.

About the filmmaker – Melissa O. Adeyemo is a Nigerian-American producer and the founder of Ominira Studios, a New York-based production company. Her first feature, Eyimofe, premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, has shown at over 20+ festivals, and was acquired by Janus Films. It is currently a part of the Criterion Collection, where Melissa is the first-ever African female producer to be featured in her own standalone spotlight interview. Eyimofe was nominated for an NAACP Award and won five African Movie Academy Awards. Dusty & Stones is her first documentary feature film. Melissa started her filmmaking career with Spike Lee’s Inside Man and Steven Spielberg’s Munich.

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Reviews:

“An often captivating crowd-pleaser that weaves contemporary politics in its backdrop…a character study rife with terrific music and presence.” – The Film Stage

“A wondrous ten-day road trip through the American south.” – DOC NYC

“One of the most compelling and joyful music documentaries of the year.” – Living Life Fearless

“A triumph of musical storytelling.” – Sonic Cinema

Directed by Hasan Oswald and Executive Produced by Emma Thompson, this award-winning film is an incredible story of resilience. Mediha, a 15-year-old Yazidi girl, roams the fields surrounding a refugee camp in Northern Iraq with a camera, making intimate, poignant video diaries. Captured by ISIS and sold into sex slavery at age 9, Mediha was traded among four different men, while her mother, Afaf, went missing, her younger brothers, Adnan and Ghazwan, were also enslaved, and her entire community systematically murdered. Mediha turns her camera on herself to process her trauma after surviving captivity from ISIS. The film leaves us in awe of the budding activist, who has already lived many lives and is nowhere near done. In his sophomore feature, Hasan Oswald (HIGHER LOVE) sensitively tracks the devastating aftermath of her escape and survival, empowering Mediha to share her experience through her own eyes and voice, as she seeks legal justice with the help of Yazidi rescuers and mounts a courageous search for her mother, and, most of all, fights for healing. Hassan joins us for a conversation on this powerful story of unbelievable resilience and love for of family, including her brothers Adnan, Ghazwan, and Bazan, her uncles Gazan and Omar, her mother Afaf and her father Ibrahim.

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For more go to: medihafilm.com

For more on how you can help go to: Mediha/impact

About the filmmaker – Director and Producer Hasan Oswald has covered the water crisis in Flint, Michigan (Forgotten USA), drug trafficking and homelessness in Camden, NJ (Higher Love), and the international diaspora of conflict refugees for NatGeo (Hell on Earth). His latest documentary, Mediha, is executive produced by Emma Thompson and follows a teenage Yazidi girl processing her trauma after being held captive by ISIS. ‘Mediha’ won the Grand Jury Award and Audience Award runner-up at Doc NYC 2023. Hasan was also named one of Doc NYC’s 40 under 40 documentary rising stars to watch co-presented by HBO Documentary Films.

About the Subject – Mediha Alhamad (subject / cinematographer) was an integral part of the making of the Mediha documentary. She filmed herself and her family for three years, bringing the audience into the most authentic telling of her story. She’s brave and determined beyond her years and has become an advocate for her community. She has the potential to help other Yazidi women and girls in very similar circumstances, and we believe that she, a Yazidi survivor herself, is the best person to do this. 

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“Mediha Ibrahim Alhamad was 10 years old when Islamic State fighters raided her Yazidi village and sold her into sexual slavery. The gift of a film camera ‘saved her life’ and led to an award-winning documentary.” – Saeed Kamali Dehghan, The Guardian

“Through it all, Mediha remains a marvel, finding the inner strength to be there for her brothers at the same time as steeling herself to try to identify her kidnapper.” – Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

“Revelatory…pulsates with a devastating optimism. Mediha offers what few documentaries covering this region’s conflicts do…By entrusting Mediha with the camera, Oswald has given her and her brothers an opportunity to exercise hope. They in turn have offered audiences a sacred invitation.” –  Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter

“Crushingly beautiful… One of the 10 Must-See Films at DOC NYC.” – David Ehrlich, IndieWire

“I am so honored to be a small part of this incredible film, which shines a light on forgotten voices and overlooked injustices. From the earliest versions I watched, I could see how gracefully and empathetically made the film was…” Brilliantly crafted… uniquely collaborative…it captures the raw reality.”  – Emma Thompson, Deadline

Based on a true story, THE KEEPER tells a sweeping story of US Army veteran George Eshleman, a man heavily impacted by his fellow veteran’s suicides, he decides to help raise awareness for military member suicides by hiking the entire nearly 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. On the trek, he carries 363 name tapes from the uniforms of military members who committed suicide, given to him by their families. Along the way he is given the trail name of “The Keeper” (of the names) and finds support and comfort from fellow hikers, civilians, military and veteran hikers (Michael Maclane, Haley Babula, Andrew Ferguson, Nicholas Asad) who shadow his hike, motivate his efforts along “Hiker Universe.” Despite their support, his depression threatens to overtake his judgment as the days pass. With his darkness only a few paces from his mind as he travels the trail, George struggles to prove his mettle, conquer his depression, and focus on the mission. Co-director, Co-Producer and lead actor Angus Benfield joins us to talk about the importance of remembering those who have sacrificed and died while in and out of uniform, how he sought to honor them and the support he received from his film crew, his cast and the people he met along the Appalachian Trail, many of whom are on the trail for the same reasons he made The Keeper. 

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For more go to: thekeepermovie.info

For more on the filmmaker go to: angusbenfield.com

About the filmmaker – Angus Benfield is an Australian-born, accomplished, multi-award-winning, and incredibly versatile actor, having acted in an extensive number of roles in film as well as roles in television and theater. Angus is also an award-winning director, producer, and writer and has appeared on multiple news shows and podcasts to talk about his body of work. Angus has acted alongside some of the biggest names in Hollywood including, Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid, Eric Roberts, Julia Garner, Bob Gunton, Brian Doyle-Murray, Angus Macfadyen, Doug Jones, Corbin Bernsen Brian Posehn, Kris Poloha, Cate Blanchett, Anna Chlumsky, Kathy Garver, Judy Norton, LL Cool J, Eric Christian Olsen and Chris O’Donnell. In 2023 demonstrated a broad range and versatility as an actor, starring as Pro Football Coach Stan Jacobs in STAN THE MAN, Army Veteran George Eschelan in true story THE KEEPER, DJ Connor McCloud in THE GREAT TURKEY TOWN MIRACLE, grieving father and accused murderer Jet Sanders in THE POST, as ex-cult member Ben Green in THE DEPROGRAMMER, crooked lawyer Jo Fortune in PURGATORY STATION and once successful P.R. Specialist, turned Grocery Store Manager, Jake Rush in YELLOW BIRD. Angus started off January 2024 co-starring alongside legendary American comedians Chevy Chase, Randy Quaid and Brian Doyle-Murray in Christmas Comedy, THE CHRISTMAS LETTER and Angus Macfadyen, Doug Jones and Corbin Bernsen in thriller THE WEIGHT OF DARKNESS (March 2024). Films featuring Angus have been released theatrically and can be found streaming on Amazon, AppleTV, Prime, YouTubeTV, Tubi, Vimeo, Roku, PureFlix, and many other digital platforms. For more: angusbenfield.com

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On May 7, 2023, a Washington Post/ABC poll revealed that only 42% of likely voters favored Joe Biden’s re-election, while 49% favored Former President Trump. “That poll,” declared legendary Democratic political operative James Carville, “it knocked me right off my fucking horse.” Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid chronicles eighteen tumultuous months inside what many consider the most consequential election in U.S. history from the distinctive vantage point of one of the most influential, charismatic, and combative voices in the Democratic Party: James Carville. The film features intimate interviews and verité footage with famed Republican operative—and James’s wife of over 30 years—Mary Matalin. Democratic Party luminaries such as Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos, Paul Begala, Donna Brazile and others help trace the story of Carville’s rise from the bayou to the Beltway, culminating in his masterminding of Bill Clinton’s stunning presidential upset in 1992. Carville’s biography is intercut with his present-day efforts to shape the Democratic Party landscape by taking on the ultra-progressive “woke” wing of the party (which he believes subscribes to an election-losing ideology) and to get Joe Biden to step aside—a high-stakes gambit that puts him at odds with the very establishment he helped build. Interwoven throughout is the unlikely love story of Carville and Matalin—a union that defies political tribalism and offers a glimmer of hope in our highly polarized times. Their eccentric, endearing, and occasionally hilarious dynamic, captured in intimate moments and conversations, serves as a counterpoint to the gladiatorial nature of modern politics. Director Matt Tyrnauer (Where’s My Roy Cohn?, Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City) joins us for a conversation to talk about the inspirational tale that has been the life of  the most consequential voice for the people who “matter” inside the Democratic Party.

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For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/carville-winning-is-everything-stupid

About the filmmaker – Matt Tyrnauer is an award-winning writer, journalist, and director whose films include Valentino: The Last Emperor, which was short-listed for an Academy Award for best documentary feature; the multi-part, Emmy-nominated series Victoria’s Secret: Angels and Demons, about the man behind the commercial empire; Where’s My Roy Cohn?, about the Svengali behind Joseph McCarthy and Donald Trump; Studio 54, about the famed New York City nightclub that became a cultural phenomenon; Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, about the secret history of sex in Hollywood in the pre-Stonewall era; and Citizen Jane: Battle for the City. His latest projects include The Reagans a four-part documentary series for Showtime that re-examines Reagans’ America and the impact of their politics, policies and beliefs on our society today, and the documentary series Home, for Apple. Tyrnauer’s upcoming projects include feature documentaries on James Carville, chef Nobu Matsuhisa, a series on disgraced crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried,  and the dramatic adaptation of Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood with Fox Searchlight, written by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. As a journalist, Tyrnauer has written for Vanity Fair, where he was editor-at-large and special correspondent. His work has also appeared in other publications including GQ, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, L’Uomo Vogue, and Numero. For more go to: altimeterfilms.com

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“Tyrnauer does an excellent job showing his audience exactly who James Carville is — and how he’s remained relevant all these years. No matter what you may think of his politics, there is no denying there will never be another “Ragin’ Cajun” like him.” – Jeanne Kaplan, Kaplan vs. Kaplan

“It helps a lot that “Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid” intersperses scenes depicting the high drama of the 2024 presidential race with the relentless evolution of Carville from political neophyte to indefatigable kingmaker.” – Joe Leydon, Variety

“Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid is a unique must-watch election season documentary, if only because it’s also the celebration of a legacy.” – Danielle Solzman, Solzy at the Movies

“A non-fiction affirmation of Carville’s belief that you can’t affect change without power, and you can’t attain power without winning.” – Nick Schager, The Daily Beast

An immersive viewing experience of sound and imagery, the film weaves together an intricate and poetic tapestry of our world. Ecologist Mansi sets out on a quest to study moths in one of the most vibrant places on earth. She teams up with Bicki, a young man from the indigenous Bugun community, to seek clues about what the future has in store for the moths. Together, Mansi and Bicki traverse the landscape, meticulously  working night after night to put up light screens that transform into a dynamic canvas with moths of varying sizes, designs and textures, creating a painterly effect with their form, movement and color. Meanwhile, the human beings wait, watch and listen with patient anticipation and wonder. By focusing on a small, ephemeral, nocturnal creature like the moth, NOCTURNES seeks to question a human-centric view of the world. The lush forest, throbbing with a vast diversity of life, emerges as a breath-taking character as the film responds to the symphony of sounds and the inherent rhythms of the trees, the wind and the rain. The result is a rare and transformative experience that invites us all to look with more attention and care at the hidden interconnections in nature. Co-directors Anirban Dutta and Anupama Srinivasan stop by to talk about meeting the ecologist Mansi and being struck by her dedication to understanding how these moths migration patterns, behavior and health might foreshadow a future for people living in eastern India, as well as their discovery of the nocturnal splendor of these magnificent creatures.

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For more go to: grasshopperfilm.com/film/nocturnes

Nocturnes co-directors Anirban Dutta & Anupama Srinivasan doing Q&A’s after 7:30 P.M. screenings on Friday, 10/25 & Saturday, 10/26 at the Laemmle Royal

Nominee

Grand Jury Prize ~ World Cinema: Documentary

2024 Sundance Film Festival

Winner

Special Jury Prize ~ World Cinema: Documentary

2024 Sundance Film Festival

About the filmmakers – Anirban Dutta is a filmmaker, still photographer and a media educator based in Delhi, India. He set up his company, Metamorphosis in 2003. He has directed and produced several documentary films and created many photographic essays on diverse topics such as children’s rights, biodiversity, environmental issues, health, and gender and sexuality. His films have traveled to various film festivals such as Busan International Film Festival, IDFA, New York Short Film Festival, the San Sebastian Human Rights Film Festival, Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Al Jazeera International Film Festival, and Mumbai International Film Festival. ‘Flickering Lights’, the feature documentary that he co-directed with Anupama Srinivasan received the Best Cinematography Award at IDFA international competition 2023. Anirban has been a Visiting Artist at the University of Boise, Utah, USA (2009), Stanica Slovakia (2013) and exhibited in University of Lima, Peru (2007) in addition to having exhibitions in India. He was part of the Eurodoc Training Program for Creative Producing in 2021. He was also part of Film Independent’s Global Media Makers LA Residency in 2022 with the project ‘Nocturnes’ that he has produced and co-directed. ‘Nocturnes’ will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.

About the filmmaker – Anupama Srinivasan is a filmmaker, film educator and curator based in Delhi, India. She did her BA in Applied Mathematics from Harvard University and went on to study filmmaking at the Film & Television Institute of India, Pune. She has been making documentaries for the past two decades, often shooting and editing her own work. Her films have been screened at various film festivals including IDFA, Busan International Film Festival, 100 Years of Cinema Centenary Festival, Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, FIPA Biarritz, Mumbai International Film Festival, Film Southasia Kathmandu, ImagineIndia Madrid Peloponnisos Film Festival and Kara Filmfest. ‘Flickering Lights’, the feature documentary that she co-directed with Anirban Dutta received the Best Cinematography Award at IDFA international competition 2023. Anupama was part of Film Independent’s Global Media Makers LA Residency in 2022 with the project ‘Nocturnes’ that she co-directed and co-edited. ‘Nocturnes’ will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024 in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. Anupama has been visiting faculty at National Institute of Design, Ashoka University, SUPVA Rohtak, and Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts & Communication and Indian Institute of Mass Communication. She was the Festival Director of the IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival for three years (2013-15), and of the Peace Builders International Film Festival in 2016.

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86% on RottenTomatoes

‘Immersive visuals and richly rewarding soundscape”  – Screen International

“Nocturnes positions nature as a wonder to behold”  – POV Magazine

“Meditative and mesmerising…unlike anything you’ve ever seen…Intimate and expansive…breathtakingly vivid….Anirban & Anupama have created a film that stimulates your senses” – Hindustan Times

“Dazzling. An introspective and captivating documentary. A True Cinematic Escape.” – Kate Erbland, IndieWire

“By night, Shreyank Nanjappa’s inspired sound design captures the furious beating of wings and, layered on top of them, the shuffling and chirrupping and all the curious calls of the moths as they rush in to land.” – Jennie Kermode, Eye for Film

“It’s in transporting viewers into the heart of this jungle, where the moths calibrate the ecosystem, that Nocturnes most its most compelling case for protecting these exquisite creatures and our planet.” – Lovia Gyarkye, Hollywood Reporter

“Dutta and Srinivasan have effectively reverse-engineered an aesthetic approach from the basic concept at the heart of these entomologic studies, with sheets painted in light as the central object of allure for the moths, and for the audience.” – Siddhant Adlakha, Variety

“Nocturnes, an insightful documentary that hopes to whisper the poetry of such creatures to its audience, is an educational and compelling look at these curious insects.” – Kristy Strouse, Film Inquiry

From F. Javier Guiterrez, director of BEFORE THE FALL and RINGS comes a dark, brooding folk horror thriller that’s a “macabre descent into hell”. Deep in the Andalusian countryside, Eladio (Victor Clavijo) has been hired to watch over the hunting grounds of Don Francisco’s estate, somewhere in rural Spain. The estate is divided into ten hunting stands, spaced far enough apart to avoid incidents. After three years of service, Don Carlos — Don Francisco’s second in command — offers him a bribe to add an additional three stands to the property. Eladio initially hesitates, but his wife eventually convinces him to take the money. Eladio’s greed has unfortunate consequences that drag his entire family to perdition, and plunges him into the depths of guilt, hatred, and revenge. Director F. Javier Gutierrez joins us for a conversation on the films and filmmakers from whom he drew inspiration from, particularly in his use of close-ups and framing shots,his casting of Manuel Moron, Pedro Casablanc, Ruth Diaz and the breakout performance of Victor Clavijo, as well as all the production roles he took on; director, screenwriter, producer, editor and production designer.

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Available at filmmovementplus.com/The Wait (La Espera)

NOMINATED FOR BEST MOTION PICTURE AT SITGES,

THE HAUNTING TALE OF LOSS AND REVENGE

AVAILABLE NOW VIA VOD & DIGITAL

About the filmmaker – Known as one of Spain’s most acclaimed independent filmmakers, his work has earned over a hundred film prizes and nominations worldwide, being selected in Festivals such as Berlin, Shanghai, Moscow, Karlovy Vary, AFI Fest, Edinburgh, Vancouver, Sitges, etc. Two-time “Golden Melies” nominee (Best European Fantastic Film), Javier’s filmography crosses genres such as drama, horror, sci-fi and thriller. Before the Fall, Javier’s first feature, premiered in the Official Section “Panorama Special” at the Berlin Film Festival. In Spain, the film received top honors at Malaga Spanish Film Festival (Best Film and Best Screenplay), and the TVE Miradas Awards (Best Motion Picture of the Year). After its North American premiere at AFI Fest, the film came to the attention of the US industry, landing #3 in the Hollywood International Watchlist. That same year, Before the Fall received an offer for a remake from legendary filmmaker Wes Craven. Javier’s second film, Rings, the third installment of The Ring franchise, was produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald for Paramount Pictures. Praised by Koji Suzuki, author of “The Ring” novels, Rings opened #2 in the US box office and grossed $83M worldwide. Javier’s latest work, THE WAIT, had its world premiere at the 30th Oldenburg Film Festival (Germany), and has been selected in Festivals worldwide such as Vancouver International Film Festival, Sitges International Film Festival, and Moscow International Film Festival.

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85% on RottenTomatoes

“Clavijo gives a gripping performance as a man driven to desperation in more ways than one….” – Joseph Perry, Horror Fuel

“A slow burn film done right …” – Emilie Black, Cinema Crazed

“…Best enjoyed for its haunting visuals and grime embedded aesthetic. It is precise filmmaking on many levels” – Nadine Whitney, AWFJ.org

“Love letter to the horror/fantasy genre,” that “takes viewers along on a macabre descent into hell.” – Screen Zealots

“A brooding, potent tale of calamity, loss, revenge, and class divides. It would do it a disservice to call it merely a horror film, as there is so much more here and plenty of food for thought.” – Martin Unsworth, Starburst

Ricocheting between comedy, apocalyptic horror, and swooning soap opera, Rumours follows the seven leaders of the wealthiest democracies in the world at the annual G7 summit, where they fumble their way towards an attempt to draft a provisional statement regarding an unidentified looming global crisis. With unexpected, uproarious performances from a brilliant ensemble cast that  includes; Cate Blanchett, Alicia Vikander, Roy Dupuis, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Takehiro Hira, Rolando Ravello, Zlatko Burić, Denis Ménochet, and Charles Dance, these so-called leaders become spectacles of incompetence, contending with increasingly surreal obstacles in the misty woods as night falls and they realize they are suddenly alone. A genre-hopping satire of political ineptitude, the latest film from  directors Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson is a journey into the absurd heart of power and institutional failure in a slowly burning world. All three filmmakers join us for a conversation on a prolonged creative process led them to pack Rumours with a mash-up of genre tropes and wildly funny storylines, as well as working with an immensely talented cast of international actors.

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For more go to: bleeckerstreetmedia.com/rumours

About the filmmaker – Guy Maddin was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Herdis Maddin (a hair-dresser) and Charles “Chas” Maddin (grain clerk and general manager of the Maroons, a Winnipeg hockey team). Maddin studied economics at the University of Winnipeg, working as a bank manager, house painter, and photographic archivist before becoming a film-maker. Maddin produced his first film in 1985, and since then his distinctive style of recreating and renovating silent film conventions and international critical acclaim have made him one of Canada’s most celebrated directors. Guy Maddin is a writer, visual artist, and award-winning filmmaker who has directed 13 feature-length films, including THE GREEN FOG (2018), THE FORBIDDEN ROOM (2015), MY WINNIPEG (2007), and THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD (2003), as well as innumerable shorts. Additionally, he has produced over seventy performances around the world of his films each featuring live elements such as orchestra, sound effects, singing, and narration. THE GREEN FOG won the LA Film Critics Association prize for Best Experimental Film of 2018. Twice Maddin has won America’s National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Experimental Film, with ARCHANGEL (1991) and THE HEART OF THE WORLD (2001). He has been bestowed many other awards, including the Telluride Silver Medal in 1995, the San Francisco International Film Festival’s Persistence of Vision Award in 2006, and an Emmy for his ballet film DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN’S DIARY (2002).

About the filmmaker – Evan Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba is most noted for his frequent collaborations with Guy Maddin. He was codirector of Maddin’s The Forbidden Room, which was the winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association‘s Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2015. Evan Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba, most noted for his frequent collaborations with Guy Maddin. He was co-director of Maddin’s The Forbidden Room, which was the winner of the Toronto Film Critics Association‘s Rogers Best Canadian Film Award at the Toronto Film Critics Association Awards 2015.

About the filmmaker – Galen Johnson is a Canadian filmmaker from Winnipeg, Manitoba is most noted for his frequent collaborations with Guy Maddin. He was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Art Direction/ Production Design at the 4th Canadian Screen Awards in 2016 for his work on Maddin’s The Forbidden Room. He and his brother Evan Johnson were also codirectors of Maddin’s short films Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton (2015),  Seances (2016), The Green Fog (2017),  Accidence (2018), Stump the Guesser  (2020) and The Rabbit Hunters (2020), as well as the feature film Rumours  (2024). In 2020, Johnson released the experimental short film Thursday, which was shot entirely from his and Evan’s bedroom windows during the lockdown phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada.

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80% on RottenTomatoes

“Absurd and hilarious. ‘Night of the Living Dead’ meets ‘Dr. Strangelove.’” – Inverse
“Bizarre and brilliant.” – The Telegraph

“The legendary Guy Maddin’s funniest film to date.”– Vulture
“A laugh out loud political satire. Cate Blanchett is impishly funny.” – Variety
“A wild romp.” – Screen Anarchy

“Hilarious and deceptively thought-provoking.”– RogerEbert.com
“Smart, sharp, and quirky.” – Deadline

Matt Cascella’s feature film debut, HANGDOG, follows the disheveled Walt (Desmin Borges, Only Murders in the Building, FX’s You’re the Worst), a fish out of water in his own skin. He’s now also a fish out of water in Portland, Maine, having recently moved with his girlfriend, Wendy (Kelly O’Sullivan, Ghostlight, Saint Frances), to be closer to her parents. Without a job or a plan, and with a new dog competing for Wendy’s affections, Walt has reached peak anxiety.When Wendy leaves town for the most important business trip of her career, she entrusts Walt with one task: taking care of her fur baby, Tony.  After a careless mistake gets Tony stolen, Walt embarks on a wild goose chase to retrieve the dog before Wendy returns, or risk losing them both. Along the way, he connects with locals Marianne (Barbara Rosenblat, Orange is the New Black), a wisecracking nonconformist, and Brent (Steve Coulter, Oppenheimer), a recent widower, who force him to confront his anxieties and embrace human (and canine!) connection.

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To watch, go to: hangdogmovie.com or instagram.com/hangdogmovie

About the filmmaker – Matt Cascella was a hyperactive child, with fits of singing and laughter amplified by an untethered attention span. Teachers didn’t like him, and coaches even less. Thankfully when he was 12 years old, a mini DV camcorder fell into his hands and he was immediately lovestruck. A way to channel his hyperactivity, filmmaking became an anchor. After many scrappy short films and a BA in Directing from the School of Visual Arts in NYC, Matt stumbled into the wonderful world of documentary at Maysles Films in Harlem, where he had the pleasure of getting yelled at by Albert Maysles for bad boom operating. Since then, as Editor and Story Producer, Matt’s work has been nominated for two Emmys (Netflix’s LONG SHOT and ESPN’s RUN MAMA RUN) and a Critic’s Choice Award (The Atlantic Selects’ THE UNCONDITIONAL), and has premiered at Sundance (I AM YUP’IK / 2016), Tribeca (RUN MAMA RUN / 2017 & ESPN’s ENHANCED / 2018), and Telluride (LONG SHOT / 2017). His commercial directing credits include MoMA, Amazon, Ancestry.com, and the Maine CDC. His most recent short, TALKING DOG, premiered at the Camden International Film Festival and was a Vimeo Staff Pick. 

About the filmmaker – Jen Cordery grew up in six countries, speaks four languages, holds two passports, and is one-half Uruguayan. She has a B.S. in Communication from Boston University, an apt acronym for the value of the degree. Jen has written comedy for McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Ancestry.com, and Audible; crafted scripts for Leguizamo Does America, L’Oreal, NFWF, and Amazon; and produced TV for Oprah, Rev Run, and MSNBC. In their “Best Humor Writing of the Year,” Vulture once said Jen’s writing “would make Paul Feig proud.” She lives in Portland, Maine with Matt and their dog, Ollie, who elicits grotesque displays of affection from her. HANGDOG is her first feature screenplay. 

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Reviews:

“….one of the best feature filmmaking debuts of the year. This thoroughly charming film features an extraordinary ensemble cast, all the people Walt meets during his multi-day adventure…making indelible impressions.” – Laura Clifford, Reeling Reviews

“Walt is the hero you didn’t know you needed. He is so ordinary and so fallible and his personal triumph so hard-fought that he is an easy character to root for and it is an easy film to love.” – Pamela Fortier, Media Women Worldwide

“Frustration can be a great launching point for laughs, and the comedy “Hangdog” revels in it.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation

“Director Matt Cascella and writer Jen Cordery have made a film that’s charming, original, and sweet in its own deliberately shaggy way.” – Maine International Film Festival

“A heartwarming, nerve-snapping, dognapping comedy.” – JP Devine, Morning Sentinel

“Hangdog is less about the out loud laughs and more about finding the quiet humor of everyday life.” – Richard Propes, TheIndependentCritic.com

Filmmaker Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough THE BODY POLITIC documentary feature is a harbinger of hope in a country plagued by gun violence. Brandon Scott is a young Mayor who grew up during Baltimore’s most troubling years and sets out, with unyielding idealism, to change the course of his battered and beloved city. He is elected Mayor amid nationwide unrest following the murder of George Floyd. With unfettered access, cameras follow Brandon throughout his first year in office as he introduces an ambitious plan for violence reduction and police reform that he promises will lower the city’s murder rate. Pundits claim Brandon’s political health and the city’s health are tied to the number 348 – the total murders Baltimore had the previous year, more homicides than New York City, a city 15 times its size. After entering office and barely getting a chance to enact his first safety reforms, violence surges to new highs. As the media and political foes attack his holistic approach, his commitment to his plan and principles put his political future in jeopardy. Will his holistic approach lead to healing and serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation? Director Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough (Agave: The Spirit of a Nation) for a conversation on ascendency of unconventional politician willing do scuttle his own career in service to breaking the cycle of violence that has decimated generation after generation of his fellow citizens.

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For more go to: thebodypoliticfilm.com

Definition of Body Politic: A metaphor by which the people of a city, state or nation are seen as a group or body of citizens. Collectively, the well-being of each individual is linked to the health of the whole.

About the filmmaker – Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough is a proud third-generation resident of Baltimore, Maryland. He is passionate about crafting documentaries that challenge conventional narratives about people from places like his hometown. He began his career as a production assistant on the TV series HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS, later becoming a camera assistant on projects such as A BEAUTIFUL MIND & THE SOPRANOS. He served as a camera operator on the HBO series K STREET and has been a cinematographer on documentaries for PBS, Netflix, and HBO. In 2017, he co-produced the Mexican / United States co-production of the feature documentary AGAVE: THE SPIRIT OF A NATION (SXSW, 2018). From 2018-19, he worked in the Philippines photographing and co-producing Ramona Diaz’s Emmy Award-winning documentary A THOUSAND CUTS (Sundance, 2020) about Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa. After returning from the Philippines, Gabriel was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Treatment for the disease has left him disabled and without full mobility in his right leg. Unable to return to his previous career as a full-time vérité cameraperson, he has kept his passion for documentaries alive by shifting his focus to directing. THE BODY POLITIC represents his first time as a feature documentary director. Gabriel is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and a 2018 Katherine Davis Fellow For Peace. He is fluent in Spanish and has worked on several projects in Latin America.

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Reviews:

“I am knocked out by this movie… I can’t say enough… it’s a beautifully crafted piece of art.” —Ann Hornaday, Movie Critic, The Washington Post

“The Body Politic is another great example of the new generation of politicians, young people who deeply care about their community, doing everything they can to improve it. You have to hope that in the future people like Brandon Scott won’t be a standout, they’ll be the norm.” – FILM CARNAGE

In “The Last of the Sea Women,” an extraordinary band of feisty grandmother warriors wage a spirited battle against vast oceanic threats. Often called real- life mermaids, the haenyeo divers of South Korea’s Jeju Island are renowned for centuries of diving to the ocean floor — without oxygen — to harvest seafood for their livelihood. Today, the majority of haenyeo are in their 60s and 70s. Kim puts this generation at the centre of the film while also including a pair of younger women using TikTok to document their dives. The future of haenyeo life is now in peril thanks to ever-increasing amounts of sea garbage and its toxic effect on marine  creatures, changing ocean temperatures due to global warming, and the release of water contaminated by the Fukushima nuclear accident into the seas where they ply their trade. This threat galvanizes the haenyeo to organize politically to sound an alarm. One elderly woman even flies to Geneva to testify before the United Nations. The power of their story won the support of Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, who joined the film as an executive producer. The Last of the Sea Women is an emotional journey that will leave you fervently rooting for the preservation of these gutsy and noble warriors of the sea. Peering into what drives haenyeo young and old, this moving documentary zeroes in on their tight-knit friendships, savvy independence and infectious sense of empowerment. Director and Producer Sue Kim (The Speed Cubers) joins us for a conversation on she got to know the haenyeo divers of South Korea’s Jeju Island, working with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and the personal and professional joy of chronicling this uplifting tale of women taking on world powers to protect their beloved ocean and inspire a new generation.

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For more go to: a24films.comthe-last-of-the-sea-women

About the filmmaker – Sue Kim is a Korean-American director and producer, originally from the Detroit area and currently based in Los Angeles. After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in English literature and then receiving an associates degree for graphic design, she ran an independent record label before landing in the advertising industry as a commercial producer. She spent almost 20 years making award-winning content, commercials and short form documentaries for brands like Nike and Adidas before pivoting into directing. Her directorial debut, “The Speed Cubers,” launched in July 2020. “The Speed Cubers” went on to be nominated for a Critics Choice and Peabody Award as well as shortlisted for an Academy Award in the category of Best Documentary Short Subject. Kim recently executive produced a documentary series about K-pop set to launch on Apple TV+. She is currently in development on a biographical documentary about two-time snowboarding Olympic gold medalist Chloe Kim. 

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96% on RottenTomatoes

“Kim’s compelling storytelling…immerses viewers in the calm beneath the waves and turmoil on land, exploring the struggles and triumphs of these “sea women” as they navigate societal change, pollution, and personal loss.” Sherin Nicole, AWFJ.org

“Kim makes “The Last of the Sea Women” a perfect mixture of elegy and epic, mourning the dwindling numbers while burnishing the legacy of the culture at the same time.” – Dan Bayer, Next Best Picture

“What’s most lovely about “The Last of the Sea Women” is the humanism of its portrait of the haenyeo, balancing humor and friendship and creativity with serious concerns and a sense of elegy.” – Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

“There are no solutions offered here, alas, other than a call for awareness, and the film instead remains a beautifully photographed and elegiac depiction of a lifestyle that’s slowly fading even as the women within it burn bright.” – Kevin Maher, Times (UK)

“It perfectly honors these women. It’s an intimate and global story. You might not even realize how much this film is until you’re done with it. It washes over you, fittingly. It’s quite something.” – Christopher Campbell, Nonfics

Director Nicholas Ma’s LEAP OF FAITH follows 12 diverse Christian leaders, who over the course of a year, struggle to find hope and fellowship at a series of boundary-breaking retreats in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Brought together by Michael Gulker of The Colossian Forum, five women and seven men explore some of today’s most contentious issues; Immigration, Race, Gun Control, Gender Identity, Class, Abortion, Racism, and Same Sex Marriage. The divisions between them become apparent and test both their common belief in the universal importance of love and kindness and the bonds they build over the course of a year. LEAP OF FAITH explores whether we can disagree and still belong to each other in a divided world. Director Nicholas Ma joins us for a conversation on what led up to his decision to move forward with this project, how he was able to capture the awkward, disquieting and the transformative moments, gaining the confidence and trust of 13 individuals who came their to be honest and vulnerable and working again with his Executive Producer Morgan Neville (20 Feet from Stardom, Won’t You Be MY Neighbor). 

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leapoffaithmovie.com

Featuring:

Michael Gulker, President of the Colossian Forum

Molly Bosscher, Rector, St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

Kim Delong, Pastor, Wyoming Park United Methodist Church

Ashlee Eiland, Co-Lead Pastor, Mars Hill Bible Church

Troy Hatfield, Co-Lead Pastor, Mars Hill Bible Church

Ben Kampeier, Campus Pastor City Harbor Church

Artie Lindsay, Pastor of Spiritual Formation, Tabernacle Community Church

Tierra Marshall, Pastor of Formation and Strategic Leadership, Fellowship Reformed Church

Chase Stancle, Lead Pastor, Unison Christian Church

Dr. James Spokes, Senior Pastor, New Life Tabernacle Church of God

Cornelius Ting, Pastor, Grand Rapids Chinese Christian Church

Joan Vandessell, Associate Pastor and Director of Community Outreach and Mission, Grand Rapids First United Methodist Church

Andrew Vanover, Lead Pastor, Thornapple Covenant Church

About the filmmaker – Nicholas Ma is an award-winning director, writer and producer based in Brooklyn. He produced the documentary Won’t You Be My Neighbor? about the life of Fred Rogers, which premiered at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, and most recently the WNBA documentary Unfinished Business, which premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival.His feature directorial debut, Mabel (San Francisco International Film Festival, 2024), which he co-wrote with Joy Goodwin, was awarded the Sloan Prize. Previously, he directed the award-winning short documentary Suite No. 1, Prelude (New York Film Festival, 2019). Nicholas has been a DOC NYC fellow and Film Independent Fellow. Prior to his career in film, he covered global economic policy on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, after working as a consultant in New York and Shanghai. He received his M.F.A. from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and is a graduate of Harvard College.

About the filmmaker – Morgan Neville, the filmmaker behind Focus Features’ upcoming animated documentary Piece by Piece, which recently played the Telluride Film Festival as well as the Toronto International Film Festival, is an Academy Award, Grammy Award, and Emmy Award-winning director and producer known for his work as a cultural documentarian. His acclaimed film Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, a documentary about Fred Rogers, was released by Focus Features in 2018 and has become one of the best-reviewed and highest-grossing documentaries of all time. His 2013 film, 20 Feet From Stardom, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, as well as a Grammy Award for Best Music Film. His film, Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain, premiered theatrically in 2021, and was the highest grossing documentary of the year. Other films include the Emmy-winning Best of Enemies, about the debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead, about the production of Orson Welles’ final film and Keith Richards: Under the Influence, about the rock legend. Recent projects include STEVE! (martin) a documentary in 2 pieces for Apple TV+, The Saint of Second Chances for Netflix and Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman, and a docu-special for Disney +. For TV, Neville directed Shangri-la about music producer Rick Rubin, Watch The Sound with Mark Ronson, Abstract: The Art of Design, Song Exploder, Ugly Delicious, and The Painter and the Thief.

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Reviews:

“‘Leap of Faith” features stunning cinematography (shot by four different camera people). Even the interiors showcase beautiful compositions and lighting. It makes for an engaging visual side to what is frequently a talk-filled movie.” – Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Film Festival Today

“‘Leap of Faith’ is exactly that – a leap of faith, a calling of sorts into choosing love over not just via some artsy t-shirt but by wrestling with the conflicts, taking off the masks, choosing to be present, and willing to be transformed.” – Richard Propes, TheIndependentCritic.com

From award-winning filmmaker Edmond Stenson (Finding Fukue) and Academy Award winning director Daniel Roher (Navalny) comes the emotionally wrenching story of a family facing an existential question / crisis. It comes in the form of a devastating medical condition, three of their four children are diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a rare and incurable disease that leads to severe visual impairment.  Knowing that their family’s world is facing something that will  change their lives forever, the parents, Edith Lemay and Sébastien Pelletier organize, with  their children’s guidance, a journey that will take them around the world to experience all its beauty while they still can. As Mia, Leo, Colin and Laurent fill their memories with breathtaking destinations and once-in-a-lifetime encounters, the family’s love, resilience and unshakeable sense of wonder ensure that their uncertain future does not define their present. Co-directors Edmund Stenson and Daniel Roher join us for a conversation on how they learned about the Pelletier family situation, approaching the Pelletier’s with the idea of documenting something so intimate without disrupting the delicate family balance, and how this emotionally charged project has impacted each of them.

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For more go to: nationalgeographic.com/blink

About the filmmaker – Daniel Roher is a filmmaker from Toronto, Canada. His first film, “Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and the Band,” was a music documentary executive produced by Martin Scorsese. His follow-up, “Navalny,” won Sundance’s 2022 Festival Favorite Award, the BAFTA Award for Best Documentary, as well as the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature. His latest project, “BLINK,” will premiere at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival and will be released by National Geographic Documentary Films in the late fall. In addition to his work in film, he is an accomplished visual artist whose work has been exhibited in galleries around the world. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, son, and dog, Moose.

About the filmmaker – Edmund Stenson’s work as director, producer and editor spans both documentary and fiction and focuses on social issues, loners and nomads. He recently directed “BLINK,” a National Geographic feature about the Lemay-Pelletier family, who dropped everything and traveled the world after learning three of their four children were losing their vision. Before that, he was an associate editor on BAFTA- and Oscar®-winner  “Navalny” (2022), a documentary-thriller about the Russian dissident’s poisoning.In 2018, he directed the award-winning “Finding Fukue,” the viral CBC success that has amassed over 14.5 million views online. He has also cut award-winning documentary features, shorts and television series in English, French and Japanese: most notably, Canadian Screen Award winner “Being Black in Toronto” (2020), “Ciao Plastique” (2020), “Ghosts of Our Forest” (2017), “Ma vie Made in Canada” (2017), “Sourtoe: The Story of the Sorry Cannibal” and “Retour aux sources” aka “The Roots Remain” (2015).Stenson is also somewhat obsessed with the Chilean filmmaker and magician Raúl Ruiz, as well as another kind of magician: Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy. For more go to: edmundstenson.com

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86% on RottenTomatoes

“A poignant and inspiring story told with exemplary restraint and skill…” – Peter Keough, Arts Fuse

“Directors Daniel Roher and Edmund Stinson wisely allow the innate drama of this journey to rise to the surface amid the recognizable rhythms of daily life” – Christy LemireRogerEbert.com

“More than anything, “Blink” succeeds as a film about the lengths that parents will go to give their children every possible ounce of joy in an indifferent world that too often has cruel other plans for them.” – Christian Zilko, indieWire

“Life comes at you fast, after all, and “Blink” reminds us to look at each day as if it might be the last.” – Nicolas Rapold. New York Times

Filmmakers Elisa Levine and Gabriel Miller’s SWEETHEART DEAL tells the story of our sex workers caught in the spiral of addiction who turn to a self-proclaimed healer offering friendship and a path to salvation away from Seattle’s Aurora Avenue.  When the dangers of the streets close in on a group of sex workers battling addiction, they find refuge in the roadside motorhome of a man with a mysterious past. But just as they begin to rebuild their lives, a shocking betrayal comes to light that will change them all. Rather than fall victim to another cruel injustice, they discover the strength to stand up for themselves and for each other. SWEETHEART DEAL is heavily influenced by the Cinema Verité genre, the single largest  inspiration being the iconic work of the late Mary Ellen Mark. Mark’s stunning photography of unhoused Seattle street kids sparked the heartbreaking 1984 Academy Award nominated documentary Streetwise. Co-director Elisa Levine joins us for a conversation on the professional and personal commitment that went into making Sweetheart Deal, the loss of her friend and colleague, co-director Gabriel Miller, how getting to know the women in the film, Kristine, Tammy, Sara and Krista (Amy), has changed her own life, the constant danger that these women face and their resiliency in the face of trauma and daily hardship.

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For more go to: sweetheartdealmovie.com

Premieres in Seattle on September 27, 2024

Premieres in Los Angeles on October 18, 2024

About the director – Director / Producer ELISA LEVINE is a Seattle-based filmmaker with a passion for exploring subcultures hidden in plain sight using verité storytelling. Sweetheart Deal, her directing debut, was hailed by RogerEbert.com as, “one of the most astonishing studies of a real-life predator ever committed to film”, and lauded as, “an astounding feat of documentary filmmaking” by Film Threat. Notably, Elisa served as lead researcher on Robinson Devor’s haunting documentary Zoo, featured at Sundance and Cannes. Elisa’s work has screened at numerous festivals, including Seattle International Film Festival, Slamdance, and BendFilm, garnering multiple jury and audience awards. She is a fellow of Film Independent, Points North Institute, Sundance Documentary Film Program, and Sundance Edit & Story Lab. Elisa has served on the BendFilm and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival programming teams, and recently served on BendFilm’s 2023 Documentary Shorts Jury. 

About the director – Director / Director of Photography Gabriel Miller (1972 – 2019) was an award-winning cinematographer and director. Miller worked with a number of Oscar-winning and Oscar- nominated filmmakers, including Cynthia Wade, Sari Gilman, and Liz Garbus. Productions he worked on have been broadcast on HBO, the BBC, the Sundance Channel, PBS, MTV, Discovery, A&E, and ARTE. Miller was a Points North, Garrett Scott, and Sundance Institute fellow. Miller’s cinematography credits include the 2019 Peabody award winning HBO documentary A Dangerous Son; the Oscar nominated King’s Point; and Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines, which aired on PBS. 

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“The footage of these four women is so intimate. They allow us into their lives, to see them at their worst. The film is handled so sensitively that it never feels exploitative.” – Sheila O’Malley, RogerEbert.com

“Sweetheart Deal takes an unflinching look at four drug-addicted sex workers in Seattle, but what they experience can happen to anyone with the same struggles anywhere. This documentary is a cautionary tale that offers glimmers of hope.” – Carla Hay, Culture Mix

“…a staggering achievement in documentary filmmaking” – Michael Ward, Should I See It

“The documentary creates a complete story, never favoring the shame-heavy or the cliche inspirational versions of the steered-straight narrative; instead, Levine and Miller give us reality.” – Josiah Teal, Film Threat

“If you are a student of the human condition or studying psychology or criminology, this is a fantastically worthwhile film to seek out. It will show you and reinforce what tuned-in healthy people already know: The weak will always feed the strong.” – April Neale, AWFJ.org

In the documentary, AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY, comedian Amy Hoggart (Full Frontal with Samantha Bee) dives deep into the controversial world of cat declawing in the United States. On the surface, it appears as a simple, harmless surgery for the convenience of pet owners, but as Hoggart digs deeper, a disturbing nationwide conspiracy unfolds. Through interviews with veterinarians, activists, and pet owners, the documentary unveils a powerful industry lobby that not only promotes but profits from this inhumane procedure. As Hoggart navigates the maze of misinformation, she discovers the profound physical and psychological effects declawing has on our feline friends. AMERICAN CATS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE CUDDLY is a thought-provoking exposé that challenges the ethical implications of our choices and calls for a nationwide reflection on our treatment of animals. And also lots of jokes and cute kittens. Director Todd Bieber and film subject Dr. Jennifer Conrad stop by to talk about the history of declawing, the enormous sums of money made from this procedure, the effort being made by Dr. Conrad’s PAWS project to end this cruelty, enlisting Amy Hoggart to be the charming and effective inquisitor, holding declawing advocates own paws to the fire.

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For more go to: pawproject.org/americancatsmovie

About the filmmaker – Todd Bieber is a Peabody Winner and Emmy Nominee who has spent 20 years making documentaries. Recent highlights include being embedded with a militia in Georgia for the Comedy Central special, “Jordan Klepper Solves Guns”; directing the comedy improv tribute, “Thank You, Del: The Story of the Del Close Marathon”; and following the adrenaline-fueled steps of bank robbers in Beirut for The New York Times. In addition to being a Producer/Director for “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” and “The Opposition” with Jordan Klepper, Todd served as Creative Resident at Viceland when the network launched, Creative Director of UCB Comedy when it was still cool, and Writer/Footage Coordinator for The Onion when the footage was coordinated most impressively. 

About the Subject – Dr. Jennifer Conrad has cared for wildlife on six continents for over two decades. Dr. Conrad has participated in many programs to protect and improve the lives of wild animals. She has traveled to Namibia to de-horn rhinos, making them unattractive targets for slaughter by poachers who prize the horns for ornamental uses. While in Africa, she worked with the Cheetah Conservation Fund, collecting information to help fortify the dwindling numbers of this species. In Nepal, Dr. Conrad treated endangered Asian elephants, and in the Galapagos Islands, she joined government scientists treating a threatened population of sea lions. Dr. Conrad is a graduate of the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine and is a member of the American Veterinary Medicine Association (AVMA), the American Association of Zoo Veterinarians (AAZV), and the European Association of Zoo and Wildlife Veterinarians (EAZWV). Currently, Dr. Conrad’s professional responsibilities are divided between working with nonprofit wildlife sanctuaries for unwanted and abused animals in southern California and administering her own company, Vet to the (Real) Stars, which provides humane veterinary care to animals appearing in television and movies. Dr. Conrad founded the Paw Project, which rehabilitates big cats, such as lions, tigers, cougars and jaguars maimed by declawing. Actually an amputation of the last bone in the cat’s toe, declawing often cripples these magnificent creatures, both from the pain caused by the bone fragments left behind, and from the progressively debilitating arthritis produced by abnormal stress on other joints as the cats try to avoid walking on their painful, amputated toes.

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Director Michele Josue’s (Matt Shepard is a Friend of Mine) latest feature documentary, NURSE UNSEEN, explores the little-known, but exceedingly powerful history and  humanity of the unsung Filipino nurses who tirelessly risked their lives on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic, all while facing a resurgence of anti-Asian hate. NURSE UNSEEN looks back on the troubling history and unearths the colonial ties between  the Philippines and the United States that have led to Filipino-American nurses becoming the unknown backbone of the United States health industry. Director and Producer Michele Josue (Happy Jail) joins us for a conversation on a key segment of our nation’s immigrant population that was integral to keeping an over burdened healthcare system that from collapsing during the worst health emergency over a century as told by the people who lived through it.

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For more go to: nurseunseen.com

About the filmmaker – Michele Josue is an Emmy award-winning Filipino filmmaker. Her debut MATT SHEPARD IS A FRIEND OF MINE is the winner of several film festivals worldwide and a 2016 Daytime Emmy Award. Michele directed HAPPY JAIL, the Netflix Original documentary series about the world-famous Filipino “Dancing Inmates” that won the 2021 Silver Telly Award for Series Documentary for Television. Michele’s films have screened at film festivals including IDFA, DOC NYC, Mill Valley, Cleveland International and at venues including the Washington National Cathedral and U.S. Department of State. Recent works include the multi award-winning feature documentary NURSE UNSEEN about our unsung Filipino American nurses, for which Michele was selected as a 2021 Film Independent Fast Track Fellow, and the upcoming FOOD ROOTS, premiering at the Nashville, Newport Beach, and Chicago International Film Festivals.  In 2022, Michele was selected by the Philippine Embassy and the Ayala Foundation as a delegate of the Filipino Young Leaders Program, a network of high-performing, next-generation leaders who advance the Philippines and the Filipino people through their advocacy and expertise in various industries. Michele has served as a juror at several film festivals and has participated as a speaker and guest on various film panels, podcasts, and shows including “The View.” Her essays have been featured in Indiewire, The Huffington Post, and The New York Times Upfront.

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Reviews:

“Nurse Unseen is taking the brightest spotlight and shining it on people who rarely find themselves on the receiving end of acclaim and recognition.” – Tina Kakadelis, Beyond the Cinerama Dome

“Heartfelt, well-edited and illuminating.” – Avi Offer, NYC Movie Guru

FOOD AND COUNTRY focuses on Ruth Reichl,—trailblazing NY Times food critic, groundbreaking Gourmet Magazine editor, best-selling memoirist, and for decades one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture—grows concerned about the fate of small farmers, ranchers, and chefs as they wrestle with both immediate and systemic challenges as the pandemic takes hold. Reichl reaches across political and social divides to discover innovators who are risking it all to survive on the front lines. As one person leads her to the next, she follows the unfolding stories of ranchers in Kansas and Georgia, farmers in Nebraska, Ohio, and the Bronx, a New England fisherman, and maverick chefs on both coasts. As she witnesses them navigate intractable circumstances, Reichl shares pieces of her own life, and in doing so, begins to take stock of the path she has traveled and the ideals she left behind. Through her eyes, we get to know the humanity and struggle behind  the food we eat. As Reichl says: “How we grow and make our food shows us our values – as a nation and as human beings.” FOOD AND COUNTRY director and co-producer Laura Gabbert joins us to talk about this informative and entertaining film and how she enlisted subject, co-producer and trailblazing food writer, Ruth Reichl, to be our guide into the precarious state of America’s food system. Through Reichl’s eyes we see the humanity and struggle behind the food we eat.

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For more go to: greenwichentertainment.com/food-and-country

About the filmmaker – Director/Producer Laura Gabbert’s critically-acclaimed films deploy humor and emotion to tell penetrating, character-driven stories about American culture and society. Her newest documentary, Food and Country is premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Her previous film, Ottolenghi and the Cakes of Versailles (IFC/Hulu 2020), explores chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art. of Gold (Sundance 2015), the feature documentary about Pulitzer Prize winning food writer Jonathan Gold, which was released theatrically by IFC Films in over 50 markets and named by Vogue Magazine among their “66 Best Documentaries of All Time.” Additional work includes feature documentaries No Impact Man (Sundance 2009, Oscilloscope) and Sunset Story (Tribeca 2005, Independent Lens), as well as the non-fiction short Monument / Monumento (Field of Vision 2017). Gabbert executive produced the Netflix Original Disclosure, and is currently completing a 6-part non-fiction series, The Power of Film, based on the work of legendary film scholar  She also directed City Howard Suber. Gabbert is a member of AMPAS. For more go to: lauragabbertfilms.com

About the subject – Producer / Participant Ruth Reichl is arguably one of the most influential figures shaping American food culture since the 1970s, Ruth Reichl served as restaurant critic for the Los Angeles Times and New York Times, editor-in-chief of Gourmet Magazine, and has written five bestselling memoirs: Tender at the Bone, Comfort Me with Apples, Garlic and Sapphires, For You, Mom, Finally and Save Me the Plums. Her novel, Delicious! was published in 2014, and her cookbook, My Kitchen Year, 136 Recipes that Saved My Life in 2015. She edited Best American Food Writing 2018, and The Modern Library Food Series, which currently includes ten books. She was Executive Producer and host of the public television series, Adventures with Ruth and a judge on Top Chef Masters. She is the recipient of six James Beard Awards. Her newest novel is forthcoming and a documentary film she produced, Food and Country, is premiering at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

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Reviews:

“An invitation into caring about the truth of how we eat.” – Vox

“That sounds like too many things to pack into a movie, but Reichl is a winsome guide who uses some of her own history as an activist, a critic and an avid cook to guide us through the maze of questions.” – Alissa Wilkinson, New York Times

““A dynamic look at the precarious state of America’s food system.” – The Hollywood Reporter

“Through this Herculean task of bringing so many voices and frontline food workers into the spotlight, Gabbert serves an audience who would like to know more and make a change for the better.” – Sabina Dana Plasse, Film Threat

“In introducing us to people who care deeply about the work they do, the animals they ranch, the people they employ and the food they bring to market or offer at their tables, the documentary stirs a sense of possibility.” – Lisa Kennedy, Variety

“Food and Country is a surprisingly comprehensive documentary that offers a spread of compelling perspectives and stories.” – Joel Copling, Spectrum Culture

Award-winning filmmaker Erik Nelson takes us back to one extraordinary week in American counter-culture. Beginning on February 14th, 1972, the revolution was televised. DAYTME REVOLUTION shines a bright and beautiful light on the week that John Lennon and Yoko Ono descended upon a Philadelphia broadcasting studio to co-host the iconic Mike Douglas Show, at the time the most popular show on daytime television with an audience of 40 million viewers a week. What followed was five unforgettable episodes of television, with Lennon and Ono at the helm and Douglas bravely keeping the show on track. Acting as both producers and hosts, Lennon and Ono handpicked their guests, including controversial choices like Yippie founder Jerry Rubin and Black Panther Chairman Bobby Seale, as well as political activist Ralph Nader and comic truth teller George Carlin. Their version of daytime TV was a radical take on the traditional format, incorporating candid Q&A sessions with their transfixed audience, conversations about current issues like police violence and women’s liberation, conceptual art events, and one-of-a-kind musical performances, including a unique duet with Lennon and Chuck Berry and a poignant rendition of Lennon’s “Imagine.” A document of the past that speaks to our turbulent present, Daytime Revolution is a time capsule reminding us of art’s power to break down barriers, and the bravery of two artists who never took the easy way out as they fought for their vision of a better world. Directed by Emmy and IDA Award-winning filmmaker Erik Nelson (Encounters At The End Of The World, Apocalypse ’45) with creative consultation from Yoko Ono and Sean Ono Lennon, Daytime Revolution features archival footage from each of the five episodes as well as interviews with six of the original guests, all reconstructing the music, the magic, and the behind-the-scenes madness of this unprecedented and historic week of television.

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For more go to: kinolorber.com/daytime-revolution

DAYTIME REVOLUTION opens on October 9th as a special cinema event timed to John Lennon’s 84th birthday, with screenings in over 50 cities nationwide, including New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami, Washington D.C., and many more. See the full list of cities here.

About the filmmaker – ERIK NELSON | Director Multiple Emmy and IDA award winning filmmaker Erik Nelson has produced and directed a wide range of feature documentaries for his company “Creative Differences”. These range from producing four films with Werner Herzog (“Grizzly Man”, “Cave Of Forgotten Dreams”, “Into The Abyss” and their Oscar nominated “Encounters At The End Of The World”), to directing “Dreams With Sharp Teeth” (2008) a biographical look at iconoclastic writer Harlan Ellison. Nelson’s three most recent films, “A Gray State” (2017), a harrowing true crime look at the madness inducing culture of conspiracy, and the immersive World War II documentaries “The Cold Blue” (2019) and “Apocalypse ’45” (2021) all demonstrate the director’s range and ability to weave a provocative story out of exquisitely restored archive footage. 

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“It is touching now to witness the faith with which so many in 1972 assumed war, poverty, sexism, consumerism and so forth must inevitably crumble before humanity’s newly evolved higher consciousness…” – Dennis Harvey, 48 Hills

“This recap of a unique and deeply sincere bid to demystify utopian ideals for the conservative masses using the platform of popular television offers a fascinating glimpse into a very different period in this country’s past.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter

“What IS remarkable, and kind of awesome, is that these confabs were beamed directly into the living rooms of some 40 million Americans via a rather unlikely platform…” – Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times

“There was a charming ordinariness to it, no big woo that a Beatle had landed, a vibe he orchestrated. enjoyable, a time capsule, a portrait of a beloved artist. The Richard Nixon White House went to war with the couple two weeks after the broadcasts.” – Anne Brodie, What She Said

Daniel Reisinger’s beguiling  dramedy AND MRS is an authentically independent, London-set and shot rom-com, born out of a collective feeling of grief shared by Daniel, the cast and crew – their message is very much one of using laughter as a coping mechanism to get a new perspective on the pain. When Gemma (Aisling Bea) suddenly loses her fiancé, Nathan (Colin Hanks) just days. before their wedding day. Never a true believer in modern marriage, Nathan’s death makes Gemma re-evaluate the promise of a life spent together. With some encouragement from Nathan’s chaotic and unconventional sister, Audrey (Billie Lourd), she decides to go ahead with the wedding anyway, needing to overcome public opinion, the law of the land, and even her own family’s objections for the right to finally say “I do.” Director Daniel Reisinger joins us for a conversation the making of his debut feature film, his collaboration with Screenwriter Melissa Bubnic, striking the right balance between broad comedy and poignant drama, and assembling an outstanding cast of young and veteran actors that includes; Susan Wokoma (Enola Holmes 1 & 2, Cheaters), Harriet Walter (Succession), Elizabeth McGovern (Downton Abbey), Omari Douglas (It’s A Sin), Peter Egan (After Life), Paul Kaye (Game of Thrones) and much loved comedian Nish Kumar.

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And Mrs. is currently streaming on the mubi

About the filmmaker – After studying and living in London for a number of years, Director Daniel Reisinger rose through the ranks in Sydney and LA directing commercials and music videos, before making the jump into series work, co-creating  SIDESWIPED in the US with Carly Craig, Jason Sudeikis and Rosanna Arquette; and the Aussie version of Drunk History with Rhys Darby. “AND MRS” marks his feature debut and Daniel Reisinger is a big advocate for speaking out about grief and mental health, particularly in places where people find it so societally difficult to openly talk about their struggles, and where dealing with grief is often left to ones own devices without much support. Netflix now has the rights to AND MRS.

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Reviews:

“Here, the humour is less raw, more calculated to deliver warm, fuzzy feelings. And director Daniel Reisinger can’t resist giving east London a bit of the old Richard Curtis treatment. Still, there’s a knockout supporting cast.” – Cath Clarke,Guardian

“The premise of And Mrs is a touch bizarre—a woman determined to marry her dead fiancé—but somehow the movie sidesteps anything too uncomfortable or schmaltzy, instead offering plenty of humor and some well-earned emotional moments.” – Kat Halstead, Common Sense Media

“The barreling tonal shifts hit some sense of truth about grief, with all of its wild swings… has more than enough talent behind it – and a tangy hint of weirdness – to see it through.” – Kevin Wight, The Wee Review

“An enjoyable experience that packs a surprising emotional punch, depicting a make-the-best-of-it situation that audiences will surely hope never to live for themselves but will likely very much enjoy watching.” – Abe Friedtanzer. Awards Buzz

Set in rural Hawai’i and featuring an entirely AANHPI cast, CHAPERONE follows Misha Miyamoto, an unambitious 29-year- old woman who finds a dangerous acceptance in a bright 18-year-old athlete who mistakes her for a fellow high school student. Misha lives alone in the house her grandmother left her, has held the same job since high school, and likes her life as is: simple. Unfortunately, her satisfaction disappoints everyone around her. Her boss can’t fathom why she won’t take a promotion, her lack of ambition dissuades potential love interests, and with no interest in starting a family, her parents push her to sell the house. Finding solace in Jake’s lack of expectation and teenage antics, their relationship grows… along with Misha’s reckless behavior. Director and writer Zoë Eisenberg joins us to talk about her directorial debut, pulling together an outstanding cast of locally connected actors that includes; Mitzi Akaha, Laird Akeo, Kanoa Goo, Jessica Jade Andres, Krista Alvarez, and Ioane Goodhue, and the current state of the Hawaiian filmmaking community. 

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For more go to: zoeeisenberg.com

About the filmmaker – A queer writer, filmmaker and circus producer, Zoë creates stories and spaces in and about her home on Hawai’i island. Her work has been supported by Tribeca Studios and Netflix, and has played on PBS, Hawaiian Airlines, and theatrically across Hawai’i. Her solo feature length directorial debut CHAPERONE premiered at Slamdance in 2024 and took home the Grand Jury Award for Breakouts. She co-founded and served as Executive Director of the Made in Hawai’i Film Festival from 2018 through 2022, and co-founded and presently serves as Creative Director for Aerial Arts Hawai’i, a queer and allied circus performance collective and community training space. For more go to: zoeeisenberg.com

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100% on RottenTomatoes

“Everything about Chaperone is superb, from the cast, location, writing, and directing to the cinematography. Mitzi Akaha and Laird Akeo have instant chemistry onscreen, and everyone else plays their roles perfectly.” – Jason Delgado, Film Threat

“Rather than screwball comedy or anguished melodrama, the film allows its narrative to unfold in [a] languid, unfussy manner… It’s a lovely portrait of a particular milieu.” – Daniel Gorman, In Review Online

“This movie has spunk, heart and isn’t afraid to tackle some big issues with whatever it decides to talk about. It’s not the greatest movie on Earth, but it’s still worth a good look for people.” – Richard Schertzer, Battle Royale With Cheese

“Chaperone is not an easy watch and it does not shy away from the often uncomfortable ethical terrain its storyline demands it explore, but it is also thoughtful and humane.” – Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, AWFJ.org

“Chaperone is a worthy piece of cinematic exploration that sees a wonderful debut for Zoe Eisenberg!” – Carson Timar, Clapper

LEE, the directorial feature from award-winning Cinematographer Ellen Kuras, portrays a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller (Kate Winslet). Miller’s singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century’s most indelible images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub. Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Her images display both the fragility and ferocity of the human experience. Above all, the film shows how Miller lived her life at full-throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price, forcing her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood. Award-winning Cinematographer and director Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I Shot Andy Warhol, The Betrayal) joins us for a conversation on working with Kate Winslet as Executive Producer and lead actor, the impact  of Lee Miller’s career on her life and the opportunity to put Miller’s work and personal courage on full display.

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For more go to: roadsideattractions.com/lee

About the filmmaker – Ellen Kuras, ASC is the first woman to join the elite ranks as the recipient of the ASC Lifetime Achievement Award Kuras’  cinematography in such films as Swoon, I Shot Andy Warhol (AC April ’96), Summer of Sam (AC June ’99), Blow (AC March ’01), Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (AC April ’02) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(AC April ’04) sets her apart as a bold stylist with an uncanny ability to visualize characters’ emotional and psychological landscapes. Her commitment to nonfiction filmmaking, exemplified by her own Emmy-winning, Oscar-nominated documentary, The Betrayal – Nerakhoon  (AC April ’08) — which she directed and shot — as well as 4 Little Girls  (AC Jan. ’98) and Pretend It’s a City, testifies to her anthropological curiosity and sense of artistic mission. Kuras’ nonfiction work, which includes Neil Young: Heart of Gold (AC March ‘06),  Berlin, Dave Chappelle’s Block Party and David Byrne’s American Utopia, dates back to her first cinematography credit, the Student Academy Award-winning short   Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia, and continues today, even as she also focuses on directing. In the weeks before the ASC Awards ceremony, she was in the midst of producing and editing the globe-spanning Covid-19 documentary anthology Chronicle (AC Oct./Nov. ’20), as well as prepping her scripted-feature directing debut, the biographical period drama LEE, about photographer Elizabeth “Lee” Miller, a fashion model who became a war correspondent for Vogue during World War II.

About the subject – Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, born in 1907 in Poughkeepsie, New York was, as Winslet explains, “An unstoppable force of nature with a tremendous lust for life.” She became a model for Vogue and Vanity Fair magazines before moving to Paris to study photography with Man Ray. She set up her own photographic studios in Paris and New York before relocating to Cairo. It was then a chance meeting with Roland Penrose that led her to move to London at the outbreak of WWII. Her surrealist images, along with her pack shots, portraits and extraordinary WWII photographs rightly earned her a key place in history as challenges and traveled to Europe to report for British Vogue from the frontline. one of the most fascinating figures of 20th Century photography. 

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Reviews:

“What follows is an illuminating portrait of a woman of conviction and the hurdles she clears to do the job she is born to do…” – Lisa Trifone, Third Coast Review

“For all its sentimentality in the quiet moments, Kuras’ film captures the dangers of being a war journalist and the importance of documenting history so as to provide indisputable evidence of unthinkable crimes.” – Nadira Begum, Paste Magazine

“Winslet is…a one woman argument for why what Lee Miller documented and how she documented it mattered in a movie that honors her memory, and the memories that haunted her to the end of her days.” – Roger Moore, Movie Nation

““Lee,” based on Antony Penrose’s biography of his mother, “The Lives of Lee Miller,” is an interesting look at an artist whose true importance, unfortunately, became apparent only many years after her death.” – G. Allen Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a penetrating biopic, and while it may take a familiar shape, the pioneering woman at the center was anything but traditional.” – Katie Walsh, Tribune News Service