In an effort to use her tragic story as a catalyst for change, Ana Wagner began advocating for children’s civil rights in New York State. Despite the demands of motherhood, the demands of marriage, cultural oppression, and the haunting memory of her devastating experience, Ana is doing what she once wasn’t able to as a […]
A look at the powerful connection between a pair of outdoor ping pong tables in the heart of New York City and the unlikely group of people they’ve brought together, from homeless people to investment bankers to gangbangers.
NYC PREMIERE . Years after the suicide of her sister Ruth, a talented but troubled artist, director Hope Litoff tries to make sense of her loss. Renting a studio, Hope begins a meticulous forensic investigation of the belongings Ruth left behind, filling the space with her artwork, diaries, datebooks and a pharmacy’s worth of prescription-drug bottles. […]
Abacus Federal Savings Bank is a modest institution of New York’s Chinatown that came under harsh prosecution in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. While other banks were considered ‘too big to fail,’ Abacus was ‘small enough to jail.’ Filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) follows the bank’s founder Thomas Sung and his family as […]
2017 METROPOLIS COMPETITION WINNER NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Antonio Lopez was the most influential fashion illustrator of 1970s New York and Paris. He was known for discovering talents such as Pat Cleveland, Grace Jones and Jerry Hall. Filmmaker James Crump takes us back to the swinging seventies when fashion designers and their entourages gained the prominence […]
NYC PREMIERE Architect Bjarke Ingels made a name for himself and for his design firm BIG in his native Denmark, winning international acclaim for his bold, untraditional designs. Director Kaspar Astrup Schröder follows Ingels over six years as he takes on his largest project yet, relocating to New York City to create the new 2 […]
NYC PREMIERE Since the 1920s, New York City’s amateur boxers have competed for glory in the Golden Gloves. The legendary annual boxing tournament now lasts three months and attracts 500 fighters, among them Titus Williams, James Wilkins and Nisa Rodriguez. Director Bartle Bull and his collaborators, including acclaimed cinematographers Tom Hurwitz and Kirsten Johnson, follow […]
WORLD PREMIERE In the early 1900s, an African-American man named Reverend M.J. Divine began a religious movement that would reach over a million followers at its peak, crossing racial divisions and advocating for gender and economic equality. Despite his influence and achievements, Father Divine is little remembered today, dismissed by detractors as a con man […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Landscape designer Piet Oudolf has been called a visionary. He’s known for designing public works like New York City’s popular High Line and Chicago’s Millennium Park that redefine our conception of gardens from mere backdrops to works of art in themselves. Five Seasons offers viewers an immersion into this modern-day Dutch master’s […]
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE Uncovering New York City’s neo-burlesque subculture, Getting Naked offers a lingering look at several sexy denizens of the nightlife scene, including Gal Friday, Hazel Honeysuckle and the Schlep Sisters Minnie Tonka and Darlinda Just Darlinda whose acts range from the classic glamorous striptease to more overtly comedic schtick. Followed on- and offstage, […]