Every day for the last 67 years, 90-year-old cab driver Johnnie “Spider” Footman has shown up for work at one of New York City’s most eclectic communities—the taxi garage across from the United Nations. The garage is a kind of a refugee camp in the heart of New York, a city where drivers have come for protection from […]
US PREMIERE This remarkable documentary explores the untold story behind one of the most iconic images of the twentieth century: the 1932 photograph of workmen taking their lunch perched on a girder high above New York City on the 69th floor of Rockefeller Center. Part homage, part investigation, this is the beautiful tale of an American icon, an unprecedented race […]
WORLD PREMIERE Stretching beyond the limits of the classic character study documentary, More Than the Rainbow not only chronicles the life and times of street photographer and former taxi driver Matt Weber, it becomes a vibrant conversation about the photographic medium, artistic expression, and New York City. Reflecting upon photography at the end of the analog age, the film […]
To some, George Plimpton was best known as the founder of America’s premiere literary magazine, The Paris Review. To others, he was a participatory sports journalist. Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself shows the many facets of this writer, editor, amateur sportsman and friend of the rich and famous. Using Plimpton’s own narration—along with thoughts and stories from friends, […]
2012 METROPOLIS COMPETITION WINNER US PREMIERE Featuring interviews with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, Robin Williams, Jude Law, Josh Brolin, Whoopi Goldberg, Tina Fey and more, Radioman tells the story of an extraordinary eccentric, the eponymous New Yorker who overcame homelessness and addiction to become an unlikely New York City movie legend, with over 100 small […]
WORLD PREMIERE Small-time ride operator Eddie Miranda proudly runs a carnival contraption called the Zipper in the heart of Coney Island’s gritty amusement district. Eddie and his ride are driven away when the City of New York and an opportunistic real estate mogul lock horns over the future of the “People’s Playground.” A film about greed, politics, land […]
Co-presented by Cowan DeBaets Abrahams & Sheppard LLP. When it comes to Wall Street corruption, the worst criminals rarely grant interviews. But Unraveled marks an exception. Prominent attorney Marc Dreier committed fraud on a scale that made him second only to Bernie Madoff. While confined under house arrest, he opened his life to filmmaker and attorney Marc H. Simon […]
WORLD PREMIERE Billboards and commercial messages dominate the public space like never before. Can we reverse this visual pollution? This Space Available looks at diverse activists from the worlds of advertising, street art, and politics. Influenced by the writing of Marc Gobé (Emotional Branding), his daughter Gwenaëlle directs with tremendous verve in her depiction of New Yorkers and others […]
WORLD PREMIERE Whatever happened to The Sugarhill Gang? After scoring a mega-hit with “Rapper’s Delight,” the band’s creative leaders Master Gee and Wonder Mike became the victims of nightmare contracts. They lost their income and even their names. Twenty-five years later, they set out to reclaim their identities and place in hip-hop history, going up against ruthless adversaries […]
2011 METROPOLIS COMPETITION WINNER US PREMIERE Inside the legendary (and soon to be transformed) Chelsea Hotel, first-time director Corinne van der Borch discovers Bettina, a resident since the 1960s, once a mysterious beauty and now a recluse. Filmed over two years, Bettina lets down her guard and reveals a treasure trove of her artwork. This exquisite portrait captures […]