LIGHT DARKNESS LIGHT

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE When we read profiles of courage in newspapers, we probably don’t read of Natalia Zubkova. A citizen journalist and mother, Zubkova is an army of one who first exposes and then fights the rampant corruption of the Russian government and its coal mafia, despite surveillance, harassment, and threats. In this investigative thriller, witness the story of an environmental warrior who risks it all in her pursuit of justice and accountability from an authoritarian regime. - Bedatri D. Choudhury

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Alina Simone.

This film contains the following accessibility options for viewers:
Closed Captioning for online screenings

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

US PREMIERE The spectre of the Confederacy stands high over Stone Mountain, Georgia, engraved in granite. The community lives in the shadow of a controversial carving, larger than a football field, of rebel leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson. Stone Mountain is shot with a vivid cinematic approach that captures  intimate conversations of those for and against the Confederate iconography. From Oscar-winning executive producer Roger Ross Williams, this exploration of Georgia’s number one tourist attraction serves as a microcosm of America’s civic discourse. - Brandon Harrison

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Daniel Newell Kaufman, executive producer Roger Ross Williams, and film subjects Meymoona Freeman and Richard Rose.


All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

US PREMIERE With a free-wheeling, irreverent approach, author/chef/TV personality/cultural commentator Eddie Huang embarks on a biting look at the rise and fall of the NYC-based Vice Media empire, which was at one time valued at over $4 billion before falling into bankruptcy in 2023. For Huang it’s personal: Of his multitudinous ventures, his own series for Vice’s lifestyle channel Viceland offered him unrivaled creative joy but it soured when Vice’s owners started selling off multimillion-dollar stakes to corporate interests. Channeling the spirit of his late hero Anthony Bourdain, Huang turned his back on thousands of dollars in outstanding residuals from Vice to win back autonomy over his creative work and to inoculate the next generation of cool kids against the tragic cycle of selling out. – Jaie Laplante

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director, producer, and film subject Eddie Huang.


All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

WORLD PREMIERE After the Black Lives Matter movement sees an international tipping point in the summer of 2020, three young Minneapolis community leaders intersect in their local activism to preserve the legacy of George Floyd, fight systemic injustice, and strive for meaningful change. Jeanelle and her team of caretakers work to transform offerings from the recent uprising into artifacts for the Black historical archive; Robin works to replace the police with a new approach to community safety; and Toshira focuses on demanding justice and accountability for lives stolen by policing.  These committed women find they must dig deep to disrupt complacency and reconcile nuanced contradictions within their own communities. – Jaie Laplante

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with film subject Jeanelle Austin, film subject Robin Wonsley, film subject Toshira Garraway, co-director Ashley Tyner, and co-director William Tyner.


All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE The hopes and dreams of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians are sprung anew in the generation represented by an ebullient 11-year-old boy named Vrej, as charismatic a documentary subject as there ever was. Yet the dark clouds of historic conflict rumble again over Vrej’s beloved homeland, and his idyllic childhood is interrupted when his family flees for a brief exile as war erupts between Armenia and Azerbaijan. When the war ends, Vrej returns home to confront devastation, unexploded mines, and the new reality of having to train for future battles himself – but with his characteristic pluck, hope for a better future remains. – Jaie Laplante

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sareen Hairabedian, producer Azza Hourani, and executive producer Beth Levison. The second screening will be followed by a Q&A with director Sareen Hairabedian.

This film contains the following accessibility options for viewers:
Closed Captioning for in-person screenings at IFC Center and Village East by Angelika
Closed Captioning for online screenings

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

WORLD PREMIERE Concerned about escalating tensions between Jewish and Black Brooklynites, the spiritual leaders of Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope and Antioch Baptist Church in Bed-Stuy embark on a radical experiment to bring the change they hope to see in their communities. 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. – Jaie Laplante

All God's Children is also in the US Competition.

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 and the second screening will be moderated by director Barbara Kopple.


All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.

WORLD PREMIERE A renowned and successful record company CEO, known for his brilliance—and his combativeness, Harvey Schein lived a rags-to-riches story that embodied the American Dream. But over time he also became obsessed with how to pass on his wealth to his heirs while avoiding taxes. Director Justin Schein turns the camera on his father as a case study in America’s long and problematic history of tax benefits for the wealthy. This timely film deftly interweaves complex family dynamics with American economic policy, illustrating how the rich stay rich and what it costs our country to keep them that way. - Karen McMullen

The first screening will be followed by a Q&A with director and producer Justin Schein, co-director and producer Robert Edwards,  editors Purcell Carson and Brian Redondo, and special guests.

The second screening will be followed by a Q&A with director and producer Justin Schein, co-director and producer Robert Edwards, editor Brian Redondo, and special guests.

This film contains the following accessibility options for viewers:
Closed Captioning for in-person screenings at IFC Center and Village East by Angelika
Closed Captioning for online screenings

All in-person screening venues provide sound amplification headphones upon request with venue management. IFC Center can also provide a T-Coil loop for compatible devices.