US PREMIERE Despite imprisonment, journalist Khadija Ismayilova courageously exposes the intricate corruption tactics of the families ruling Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan. Their dictatorships violate multiple human rights and launder public funds. Ismayilova strips the regimes of their democratic veneers to reveal their use of “caviar diplomacy”—e.g. American pop stars, six-figure cash gifts, and five-star hotel […]
NYC Premiere: For centuries, Dalits, deemed untouchable within Hinduism’s caste hierarchy, have been denied access to education. Amidst rising Hindu nationalism, Dalit women fight the double-edged sword of caste and patriarchy as they manage Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run by women. Described as a “rousing and inspirational tribute” by Variety, Writing with Fire traverses […]
NYC PREMIERE Reality Winner (her actual birth name) is a U.S. Air Force veteran who became a whistleblower in her 20s by leaking classified documents about Russian cyber-warfare attacks on the 2016 U.S. elections. Award-winning filmmaker Sonia Kennebeck (National Bird; Enemies of the State), supported by executive producer Wim Wenders, digs into her case, exploring […]
US PREMIERE In the 1970s, under the thumb of unprecedented repression, journalist Elias Barahona infiltrated the heart of the Guatemalan government. Becoming known only as “The Mole,” his work uncovering the regime’s transgressions revealed brazen acts of political violence and helped lift the wall of silence that had fallen over the nation. In this chilling […]
NYC PREMIERE From belly dancing to synchronized swimming and golf: everything that a pensioner’s heart desires is offered at The Villages, the world’s largest retirement community. Valerie Blankenbyl’s enthralling and amusing portrait of the fastest growing “town” in the US—soon to be four times the size of Manhattan—explores its complexities and contradictions while shedding light […]
NYC PREMIERE Filmmakers Jerry Risius and Beth Levison celebrate the vitality of local journalism as it undergoes a crisis with this portrait of a small-town Iowa paper, The Storm Lake Times. Editor Art Cullen oversees the family-run business that was recognized with a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on dark money in corporate agriculture. “Storm […]
WORLD PREMIERE A fifty-year-old clump of grass, a sweater that once belonged to a French actress, and a forty-year-old sugar egg have become emotional treasures for the unique characters in Vincent Liota’s endearing, entertaining, and existential film. An NPR correspondent, a literary author, and a graphic designer let us in on the secret life of […]
US PREMIERE Acknowledging his position of privilege, director Rahul Jain adeptly captures the effects of climate change in Delhi and the environmental cost of India’s fast-growing economy, while meditating on the aesthetics of human disconnection with the natural world. Told through striking images and eye-opening accounts from everyday citizens, the film delivers an immersive, poignant, […]
US PREMIERE Newlyweds Natasha and Sasha are living a fairy tale until they decide to start Dozhd, the only independent TV station in Russia. Armed with charm, naivité, determination, and a team of doe-eyed journalists, Natasha embarks on a ten-year journey of growth and resistance that will make them all a government target. Dozhd’s coverage […]
In this thoroughly original and unpredictable documentary, Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios plays with the boundaries of nonfiction and immerses the audience into the human experience of police work within a dysfunctional system. The film takes us deep into the Mexican police force with the story of Teresa and Montoya, together known as “the love patrol.” […]