46th CIFF College Program
FREE Matinee and Late Night Screenings
Thursday, March 31, 2022 12:00 PM - Friday, April 08, 2022 10:00 PM
Attention college students! CIFF is offering FREE matinee and late night screenings for college students who present a valid college I.D.
Select films will be screened for free on each weekday of the in-person Festival at Playhouse Square between 12 Noon and 4:00 PM. Select films will also be screened on the Thursdays, Fridays, and first Saturday of the Festival after 10:00 PM (these late night films are a College Program favorite!).
Free tickets will be available one hour before screening start times and distributed on a first-come, first-served basis while supplies last. Simply stop by the Film Festival Box Office located at Playhouse Square with a valid college I.D. to obtain your ticket for admittance. One ticket per filmgoer per film.
Use code COLLEGE to receive $1 off the ticket price for other Festival screenings. Discounts are also available to students at the Box Office.
Films:
Thursday, March 31, 2022 11:50 AM
Thursday, March 31, 2022 12:05 PM
As World War II unfolds in Berlin, so, too, does Charlotte’s passion for art. Loved ones and the city’s Academy of Fine Arts affirm her natural talent, but the Nazi influence grows stronger each day and ultimately upends her ambitious dreams. After danger arrives at her family’s doorstep, Charlotte’s parents urge her to leave Germany to care for her aging grandparents in the French Riviera. Miles from the war and just steps from the sea, Charlotte finds love and solace in her growing portfolio of artwork and freehand sketches of the world around her before a devastating tragedy strikes. Determined...
Thursday, March 31, 2022 2:15 PM
The King of Laughter (Qui rido io)
Performing for a full house night after night in 19th century Naples, Eduardo Scarpetta adores the spotlight. Known for his hilarious stage plays, he lives for opulence and his pompous, self-absorbed self. A man of many roles—father, uncle, and rumored womanizer—Eduardo flourishes in his lavish villa, home to his wife, children, and a growing number of relatives who can’t help but hate to love their famous benefactor. After attending a performance written by the famous poet D’Annunzio, Eduardo dreams of bringing an adapted version to his own theatre company. His, by contrast, will entertain audiences as a comedic parody rather...
Thursday, March 31, 2022 2:20 PM
Palestinian Bedouins have lived on their ancestral land for centuries. Defined by their nomadic and agricultural traditions, they have worked hard to keep their way of life alive—something that has become increasingly difficult. With the creation of Israel in 1948, most Bedouins were forced from their homeland. Today, a small number of Bedouin people remain on the land, despite the obstacles the Israeli military have put into place to force them out. Without running water, permits to build permanent structures, or the ability to find work in their communities, the Bedouin people don’t have a lot of options to make...
Thursday, March 31, 2022 2:35 PM
When Sarah Jones wrote and performed her one-woman off-Broadway production Sell/Buy/Date, she aimed to tackle the age-old question, “Is sex work empowering or exploitative?” For her work, Jones received a plethora of praise for tackling the complexities and nuanced viewpoints in the sex industry. She also received a lot of criticism from sex workers for potentially exploiting an issue she had no real experience with. Incorporating the characters from her one-woman show, Jones tackles the backlash from her project head on, talking to a variety of people across the widely varied spectrum that is the sex industry: some who find...
Friday, April 01, 2022 11:45 AM
What happens when your city’s largest nonprofit health provider becomes a monopoly? When the multi-billion-dollar nonprofit hospital system University of Pittsburgh Medical Center decided they would no longer accept Highmark Insurance after June 2019, Pittsburgh patients faced a lose-lose decision: switch to debt-inducing health care plans or give up their beloved doctors. The two entities—both monopolies of their respective industries in western Pennsylvania—gave residents few options and a ticking timeline to overturn the impending breakup. INHOSPITABLE follows the stories of a number of UPMC cancer patients and underserved community members who face life-or-death consequences in the wake of the hospital’s...
Friday, April 01, 2022 11:50 AM
Whoever said a dog was man’s best friend certainly didn’t have the patience for cats and their, at times, aloof capacity for love and companionship. Director Mye Hoang’s documentary CAT DADDIES serves as evidence that the bond between human and feline is more than meets the stereotypical eye. Told through the stories of men across different geographic and demographic backgrounds, CAT DADDIES at its core is woven together through its subjects’ deep and undying bond with their furry comrades, complete with sumptuous glamour shots of these gentle, majestic animals. Through its runtime, the film meanders into explorations of loneliness, masculinity,...
Friday, April 01, 2022 11:55 AM
Amidst the ongoing political and civil unrest in Lebanon, Lilas and Shery find a much needed outlet for their fury and frustration in their band “Slaves to Sirens.” As members of the Middle East’s first all-female thrash metal band, these women face an endless string of obstacles, one of the biggest being the lack of a thrash metal scene in Lebanon. Chasing big dreams, the musicians work day and night to achieve their goals, grappling with internal conflicts, secret relationships, and the controversy surrounding their boundary-pushing group. To achieve their goals, Lilas and Shery must balance self-expression and sexuality against...
Friday, April 01, 2022 12:00 PM
Nine-year-old Samay is obsessed with film. Unfortunately, because he is from the intellectual Brahmin caste in India, his father believes that cinema is against their values and forbids Samay from watching. But just like the romance in the movies, no obstacle can prevent true love. And Samay will do everything he can to immerse himself into the fantastic stories he sees on 35mm film, finding refuge from his simple life in the small town of Chalala. Befriending a local projectionist, Samay exchanges his lunches for time in the projection booth where he begins to learn everything he can about the...
Friday, April 01, 2022 12:05 PM
As she’s wrapping up her workday, transcriber Connie stumbles on the recording the world has been searching for: the 18½-minute gap of conversation missing from the scandalous Nixon tapes. With Watergate flooding the news cycle, Connie understands the powerful weight of the truth in her possession and feels it’s her civic duty to share her discovery with the public. To publish the findings, Connie secretly meets with Paul, a trusted journalist whose byline she’s been following for years. To listen to the recording together, Connie and Paul check in to the nearby Silver Sands Motel, the closest place with working...
Friday, April 01, 2022 12:10 PM
When Amparo arrives home to an empty house after a long shift, she worries what the streets of Medellín, Colombia have done with her children. She finds eight-year-old Karen still with the babysitter, but 18-year-old Elías, who never came to pick up his younger sister after school, is nowhere to be found. After speaking with the neighbors, Amparo learns Elías was taken by the Colombian army battalion and forced to enlist. With no job or degree, the military defines Elías as a “regular soldier,” an ideal recruit to fight on the frontlines in the most dangerous region of Caquetá. Terrified...
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:15 PM
Margaret (Rebecca Hall) leads a successful and orderly life, perfectly balancing the demands of her busy career and single parenthood to her fiercely independent daughter Abbie. But that careful balance is upended when she glimpses a man she instantly recognizes, an unwelcome shadow from her past. A short time later, she encounters him again. Before long, Margaret starts seeing David (Tim Roth) everywhere—and their meetings appear to be far from an unlucky coincidence. Battling her rising fear, Margaret must confront the monster she’s evaded for two decades who has come to conclude their unfinished business. Writer-director Andrew Semans has crafted...
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:20 PM
It’s 2003 in Guinea-Bissau, and the military has declared a coup. Amidst the violent chaos, a trio of infamous mercenaries called Bangui’s Hyenas are on a mission to smuggle a notorious drug dealer out of the country. When their trip is forced off course by an unexpected complication, the Hyenas find themselves laying low on an isolated nature preserve in Saloum, Senegal, surrounded by the massive river that is the Sine-Saloum Delta. What first seems like a relaxing layover for the weary group, slowly transforms into a waking nightmare, filled with the sinister folklore and rumored curses of this remote...
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:25 PM
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:30 PM
Abandoned by her family, young Mia has been left in the care of Albert, a solemn middle-aged man who takes his daily tasks very seriously. Albert has been given specific instructions in caring for Mia, including replacing her teeth over and over again in a very particular way. Why? Because Mia’s teeth are made entirely out of ice. Fitting Mia with a special contraption that collects her saliva throughout the day, Albert freezes the saliva in the form of Mia’s teeth. Their mysterious routine is carried out in almost complete silence, with all of the shutters closed. Mia is forbidden...
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:35 PM
In rural Louisiana, where education standards are among the lowest in the country, Michael and Tracey Landry wanted to be part of the solution. Their mission began with just five students in their kitchen, but their ambitious T.M. Landry College Preparatory School grew to nearly 200 students over the next decade. The draw? The remarkable 100% college acceptance rate for their predominately Black, working-class student body, 30% of whom are admitted to Ivy League schools. Wildly inspiring college acceptance videos landed the school on every feel-good talk show, touting them as the ultimate underdog story. But, as the school garners...
Friday, April 01, 2022 2:40 PM
In 2016 Myanmar, a predominantly Buddhist country, began an ethnic cleansing campaign began against Rohingya Muslims, blaming them for all of the problems in their communities. Over the last few years, tens of thousands of Muslims have been killed in Myanmar, and hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee the country. Those who remain are some of the most persecuted people in the world, according to the UN. But before the country’s leaders began to spread hatred against Muslims, Buddhist and Muslim neighbors lived peacefully side by side for generations, and some still do…to an extent. Hla, a Buddhist...
Friday, April 01, 2022 9:50 PM
Judith adores her life in Switzerland with Abdel and daughter Ninon. But work takes her away for days at a time to Spain, Poland, and other countries that come to mind when she spins her alibi. In reality she’s commuting to France to live the other half of her life with her husband Melvil and their two sons. As Judith moves swiftly from one life to the other, seemingly undetected, threads of her intricate web of lies begin to unravel when her lovers and children start to ask questions. Judith is well-versed in explaining away her whereabouts to keep suspicions...
Friday, April 01, 2022 9:55 PM
Reeling from her beloved grandmother’s death, Tsidi and her daughter Winnie have nowhere to turn. In reluctant desperation, Tsidi heads to Constantia, a white, well-to-do suburb of South Africa’s Cape Town, where her mother lives and works as an in-home caretaker for bedridden Diane. The gated drive, manicured lawn, and timeless porcelain teacups only bring jarring flashbacks for Tsidi from when she visited as a child. And this stirs up triggering memories and resentment for her mother, who has spent more of her life caring for Diane than her own daughter. Suspicions lurk around every corner, and Tsidi prays every...
Friday, April 01, 2022 10:00 PM
What starts as an exceptionally human, voyeuristic drama steadily expands into an introspective reflection on family, fact, and colonialism. Günter, who was found abandoned in the woods as a child, is now a talented stage actor living a relatively normal life. He balances a tense rehearsal schedule, an extramarital affair with his director’s wife, and regular dinners with his adult daughter. One day a stranger approaches Günter on a pedestrian bridge and whispers a single, foreign word into his ear. Little does Günter know that in this word is the truth of his heritage, the truth of his daughter’s unique...
Friday, April 01, 2022 10:05 PM
In 1991, Guatemala teenagers coming-of-age were either “breaks” (working-class Indigenous youth who often had an interest in break dancing) or “anti-breaks” (their white, upper-class counterparts who hunted them down in city streets). While daily news reports detail the country’s bloody civil war, best friends Beto and Daniel keep busy working shifts cleaning pools and maintaining the grounds for the entitled well-to-do. Whereas both boys would be classified as “breaks,” Beto proudly owns it, while Daniel secretly longs for an escape from his unlucky class assignment. His chance arrives when rich Tony notices Daniel’s soccer skills, and Tony welcomes him into...
Friday, April 01, 2022 10:10 PM
Girl Picture (Tytöt tytöt tytöt)
Mimmi is a surly teenager with an unworn sequin dress in her closet and a job at a local smoothie stand. Luckily, she works with her best friend, Rönkkö, whom she loves fiercely even when Rönkkö drags her to house parties in the suburbs. At one of these parties, she sees Emma, a single-minded figure skating prodigy who has yet to consider a life outside of the sport she loves more than anything. While Mimmi and Emma navigate their unexpected first love, Rönkkö is determined to experience pleasure for herself. Addressing issues of sexual orientation, family abandonment, and performance pressure,...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 9:45 PM
There’s an unsettling side to Ida, who dabbles in harming animals, and her autistic sister Anna. Often tasked with watching Anna while their parents settle into the family’s new apartment, Ida soon befriends loner Ben, while she leaves Anna to play in the sandbox with young Aisha. When Ida and Anna discover Ben’s budding telekinesis and Aisha’s empathic telepathy abilities, the four unlikely friends spend their summer days together testing these powers. But what begins as trivial stunts—moving small rocks or reading each other’s harmless thoughts—quickly progresses into deeds far more menacing. As the children’s abilities grow stronger and they...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 9:50 PM
Modern society’s luxuries would sicken traditional Vikings of centuries past, and Martin won’t stand for it. Cloaked with animal pelts and a bow and arrows slung across his back, burly Martin retreats to the forest to restore his masculine connection to the outdoors, as his ancestors did. Although gas station conveniences and occasional cell phone use tempt his newfound purpose, Martin commits to his hunter/gatherer lifestyle. When Martin stumbles on Musa, a man on the run who’s been severely injured from a recent car accident, the unlikely pair team up to brave the wilderness. Enroute to a village deep in...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 9:55 PM
Private Desert (Deserto Particular)
Sara boldly stares Daniel in the eyes before turning around and unzipping the dress he bought for her. She shimmies out of the garment and holds it out to him, but lets the dress fall before he can grab it. She walks away, unapologetic. After being ostracized by her family, she is used to people not accepting her for who she is, but it stings more from the man she loves. Daniel picks up the dress and leaves, quietly simmering. With a brutality scandal causing his police career to crumble and his family to distance themselves from him, Daniel felt...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 10:00 PM
In 1963 France, Anne, a promising young university student, is devastated to learn she’s pregnant. She immediately insists on termination, but her physician warns of the unsparing laws against either seeking or aiding abortions, and her tentative attempts to reach out to her closest friends are nervously rebuffed. As weeks pass, without support or clear access, an increasingly desperate Anne unwaveringly persists in seeking any possible means of ending the pregnancy in hopes of reclaiming her hard-fought future. Adapting Annie Ernaux’s memoir, Diwan creates an expressively evoked period piece of undeniable current resonance. HAPPENING never sensationalizes, but directly and graphically...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 10:05 PM
It’s hard to be a teen. The girls who relentlessly torment Sara make the infamous bullies in “Carrie” seem tame. Online and in person, they heckle her with jeers of “Piggy.” While it’s an unimaginative and cruel nickname about Sara’s weight, it also refers to her family’s butcher shop where she spends the hot summer days isolated from the other teens in her Spanish town. Sara is unable to stand up to anyone, be it her tormentors or her hyper-critical mother. Exceedingly shy and self-conscious, she simply retreats into the music constantly blasting from her headphones. But as Sara stumbles...
Saturday, April 02, 2022 10:10 PM
For anyone who lived through the 1990s, one-hit-wonder Chumbawamba’s Tubthumping was undeniably part of the decade’s nostalgic soundtrack. The band’s unexpected success and leap into the mainstream, however, was a stark contrast to the group’s foundational anti-establishment roots. As self-proclaimed anarchists, led by lead vocalist Dunstan Bruce, bandmates took every opportunity on and off stage to share their frustrations with the political status quo and inspire audiences to take action for causes against racism, unfair labor laws, and corporate greed. The newfound mega platform that their famous chart-topper afforded them provided access to a massive global audience. But at what...
Monday, April 04, 2022 11:45 AM
Riveting from start to finish, TIGER 24 takes a deep dive into who is responsible when animals kill humans in the Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve in India. The answer is a lot more complex than meets the eye. Filmmaker Warren Pereira introduces us to Ustad, aka Tiger 24. He has been labeled a maneater by the local government for killing more than one person, and his fate at the moment is unclear. The fascinating documentary TIGER 24 explores the ethics of the situation at hand through footage and interviews with locals. But, at its core, Pereira explores what can happen when...
Monday, April 04, 2022 11:50 AM
In TERRIBLE CHILDREN, director Shanti Thakur shares a deeply personal account. Her father, Hari, gives her a letter written by his dad that he didn’t open for 20 years. When he hands it to her, he says, “maybe you can do something with this.” Spoiler alert, she does. Thakur discovers her father was banished by his family for marrying her mother, a woman from Denmark. She learns numerous stories about her father’s intergenerational trauma and forging a new path for himself. This documentary explores many themes and topics, from masculinity and race to the partition of India in 1947. Thakur...
Monday, April 04, 2022 11:55 AM
Digital photography, with its sharper edges, higher definition, and instant gratification, dramatically changed the way we capture and consume the imagery in front of us. But these “perfect” shots we see on our phones—in a world more distorted than ever—may be doing us all a great disservice. Millennials worldwide, whose childhoods were slowly overrun by all-things-digital and looming screen time addictions, are driving the return to film photography and the need for a slowdown. Film photographers praise the analog process of the good ol’ days for its deliberate, intentional, and creative techniques. While shooting, the focus remains on what they...
Monday, April 04, 2022 12:00 PM
It is essential that we learn what everyday life is like from a variety of viewpoints. Empathy is an important skill and one we should all possess. EVERYBODY DANCE is a documentary that gives us a glimpse into the lives of children who have developmental disabilities. Director Dan Watt takes us on a journey as we explore the trials, tribulations, and daily lives of five kids of different abilities as they prepare for their dance recital. Instructor Bonnie Schlachte, founder and creator of Ballet For All Kids, aims to create a safe space for anyone wanting to indulge in their...
Monday, April 04, 2022 12:05 PM
Living in a cheap motel in Atlanta and separated from his wife and child, former U.S. Marine veteran Brian Easley is desperate. Driven to the brink by forces beyond his control, the soft-spoken, kind man decides to rob a bank and hold hostages with a bomb. As police, media, and family members descend on the bank and Brian, it becomes clear he’s not after money—he wants to tell his story and have what is rightfully his, even if it costs him his life. In her debut feature, director Abi Damaris Corbin hauntingly blends together the dramatic tension of a hostage...
Monday, April 04, 2022 12:10 PM
"Every step you take, you're moving forward a moment in time. But what if the opposite were true?" Faced with the looming start of middle school, four young girls go on one last childhood adventure at the tail end of their summer. However, a day that starts as lighthearted and innocent turns abruptly dark when the girls make a disturbing discovery. While they work together to unravel the mystery of their encounter, their mothers (played by Lake Bell and Megan Mullally) are frantic to find them. They turn to each other for support and, in doing so, rediscover the kinship...
Monday, April 04, 2022 2:20 PM
The Chang siblings live vastly different lives: Margaret is a perfectionist, Roy is sad about his divorce, and Larry has no interest in leaving his parents’ house. When Margaret gets word that their dad isn’t acting like himself and has barely gone out, she decides to take matters into her own hands and drags Roy along with her in the process. The siblings and their dad haven’t always seen eye-to-eye, with Margaret getting the brunt of their father’s anger and disappointment. As they try to figure out what to do, they begin to remember experiences they had growing up, which...
Monday, April 04, 2022 2:25 PM
It’s 1948 in Palestine, and British rule is coming to an end. Laughing children tauntingly chase the departing military vehicles with rocks and slingshots…but whispers of a different war are spreading through the countryside. Not particularly concerned with the looming conflict, 14-year-old Farha goes about her days, dreaming of a future in the city with her best friend Farida, and of someday opening her own school for girls. But Farha’s tranquil day dreams are abruptly halted as the first bombs of the Arab-Israeli conflict fall upon her village. In an effort to protect her, Farha’s father locks her in a...
Monday, April 04, 2022 2:30 PM
Monday, April 04, 2022 2:40 PM
In 2014 Patricio Galvez’s daughter Amanda married an infamous jihadist and moved from Sweden to Syria to fight for ISIS. After both Amanda and her husband are killed in the collapse of the caliphate, their seven young children, ages one to eight, were left orphaned and trapped in a Syrian prison camp in dire conditions, while the debate over government responsibility for “children of the enemy” drags on. Without support from any of the countries involved, the orphaned children of ISIS fighters have been left in squalor and neglect. Desperate to bring his grandchildren back to Sweden safely, Patricio sets...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 9:30 AM
In LaFayette, Georgia, where roadside farm stands of peaches are as commonplace as the Confederate flag, Chris is full of rage. After enlisting in the U.S. Army in response to 9/11, Chris spent 13 years defending his country and learning a deep hatred for the Muslim community. When he returned home, he found solace in narcotics and the KKK in an attempt to make peace with his wounds from combat. Two hours south in the peaceful pocket of Clarkston, the state’s largest resettlement area for refugees, lives Syrian refugee Heval. Forced to flee his country at the age of 12,...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 11:45 AM
In the aftermath of the election of Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, the Martins family struggles to navigate the complexities of their working class lives. Balancing their financial realities with their individual aspirations, each family member is chasing down their own dream. And each person’s dreams might conflict with everybody else's. To her parents dismay, Eunice longs to move out of the family home and in with her girlfriend. Despite his father’s insistence on pursuing a professional career in soccer, Deivinho dreams of following in the footsteps of his hero, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and exploring space. Tercia, the mother, wants the...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 11:50 AM
Just two years apart in age, Jamie and Jordan Boyle were inseparable growing up. Wherever older sister Jordan went, Jamie followed. And when Jordan fell in love with figure skating, Jamie tagged along as well. But what Jamie saw as a fun hobby, Jordan dedicated herself to completely, and soon the majority of the family’s time and resources were devoted to Jordan’s figure skating career. Hoping to make it to the Olympics, Jordan worked tirelessly toward her goals. But after developing nerve damage in her feet, her dreams were abruptly halted. As Jordan was lost, devastated, and developing different waves...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 12:00 PM
Jane had a bright and promising future until a traumatic event derailed her senior year of college. So much so that instead of finishing her last semester of college as planned, she now must return home to her family’s lake house and complete an extra credit project in order to graduate. As Jane reconnects with old friends and acquaintances around town, she runs into her former classmate, Amber, and her young son. Realizing Amber’s son might need help with communication and speech—subjects Jane studied at college—Jane offers to babysit him and teach Amber sign language. The slow and relaxed pace...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 12:05 PM
What can be captured in three minutes time? Unknown faces? Unmarked buildings? Look harder, and you may find a priceless snapshot of an unsuspecting Jewish town mere months before being devastated by the Holocaust. In 1938, David Kurtz and his wife departed Brooklyn for a grand tour of Europe and stopped off in what would later be identified as Nasielsk, Poland. There, Kurtz let his camera roll over snippets of everyday life: children’s smiling faces in the street, families departing the synagogue, and casual strolls around the town square. THREE MINUTES: A LENGTHENING features these precious moments of home film...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 12:10 PM
imperfect (WITH AUDIO DESCRIPTION)
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For many artists and performers living with disabilities, leading roles and professional careers in the spotlight are few and far between. Cue Denver’s Phamaly Theatre Company, comprised entirely of actors with disabilities, which creates a supportive space for artists to pour themselves into their craft and thrive. The company’s artistic director, Regan, leads a passionate group of talent in their own rendition...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 2:20 PM
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 2:25 PM
Our (Almost Completely True) Story
Life in Hollywood has lost its luster for timeless actress, Mariette Hartley. Although her reputation precedes her from the peak of her acting career decades prior, meaningful work these days—and a decent date—are hard to find. When Mariette meets Jerry Sroka, a forever-comic who's also been wading through L.A.’s insufferable dating scene, Jerry immediately falls for her stunning elegance and exceptionally dry humor. Seemingly aloof to Jerry’s advances, Mariette reluctantly caves to Jerry’s goofy impressions and genuine kindness, and the two forge a budding relationship. They compare notes on past marriages, pointless auditions, and their favorite classic movies. But as...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 2:30 PM
Lydia Emily says fondly that she comes from “a whole bloodline of loudmouths.” Her mother was a civil rights activist in Louisiana, Lydia herself is a socially vocal street-artist based in Los Angeles, and both her daughters speak their minds and own their truths. Her defiantly steadfast attitude persists in all aspects of her life, especially in regard to her youngest daughter’s autism diagnosis at one year old and Lydia’s own diagnosis of primary progressive multiple sclerosis years later. Through medical struggles, emotional setbacks, and communities that don’t initially embrace her art, the documentary THE ART OF REBELLION tells Lydia’s...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 2:35 PM
A Radiant Girl (Une jeune fille qui va bien)
It's summer in Paris in 1942 and Irene is in love—in love with her studies as a young budding actress, in love with her life as a young woman in the city, and in love with her doctor’s handsome assistant. Preparing for the biggest audition of her life for a prestigious acting conservatory, Irene dreams about and works exuberantly towards her future. Carefree and joyful, she bounces from her classes to home where she playfully torments her family while practicing her craft, annoying them with her dramatic gestures and rehearsals. A sunny optimist, Irene does not sense the danger creeping...
Tuesday, April 05, 2022 2:40 PM
Mission: Joy - Finding Happiness in Troubled Times
A room has never heard more laughter than when His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu sit down in easy chairs to shoot the breeze in the spring of 2015. The delightful documentary MISSION: JOY – FINDING HAPPINESS IN TROUBLED TIMES features never-before-seen footage that inspired The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World. The film is a witness of the endearing friendship of an Asian Buddhist and an African Christian—both winners of the Nobel Peace Prize, who each manifested their own timeless legacies of nonviolence and compassion for others in their respective corners...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 11:45 AM
Who owns the rights to the violence of the past? Is it the victim or the perpetrator? No one wants to know the answer to this question more than Tamara Lanier. In FREE RENTY: LANIER V. HARVARD, Lanier is desperately trying to get her great-great-great grandfather’s daguerreotype out of Harvard’s possession. Renty, an enslaved man, was forced to pose for this photo in 1850 for the purposes of proving that African Americans are an inferior race by zoologist Louis Agassiz. In 2019 Lanier sued the university in hopes of gaining these photos of her relative. After all, this is her...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 11:50 AM
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 12:00 PM
The acerbic wit and voice of the iconic Mel Brooks welcomes you into the warm arms of THE AUTOMAT. Dripping with panache and pizzazz, this documentary dives deep into these forgotten “centers of paradise.” Automats, known by many through the forgotten Horn & Hardart chain, were once the centerpieces of meeting places for many folks across different backgrounds, coming together over lemon meringue pie and meatloaf. While the innovative technology of the automat paved the way for more modern updates to the concept, the lasting impact is not through cuisine, but through the conversations and connections made around the cuisine....
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 12:05 PM
While monotonous days drag on with tedious chores for inmates at a Ukrainian women’s prison, some find motivation right next door in the children’s ward. 107 MOTHERS dramatizes the remarkable true stories of moms who are allowed to serve their sentences with their children until they turn three years old. Although housed in separate buildings on the prison property, mothers are able to nurse their infants day and night and play with their toddlers on the outdoor playground. These women share their stories about what led them to prison, their desires for the future, and their complicated role as a...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 12:10 PM
Picture it. 1950. Old Hollywood is abuzz over leading lady Gloria Swanson, star of the era’s hit “Sunset Boulevard.” The film’s heroine, Norma Desmond, finds herself falling out of Hollywood’s spotlight and desperate to make a comeback. While Gloria’s own height of success was primarily seen in 1920s silent films, it’s hard to ignore the parallels of Gloria’s personal career trajectory with that of her most notable character. Now at age 50, Gloria’s opportunities have dwindled. So she decides to create one for herself by turning “Sunset Boulevard” into a Broadway musical—reprising her legendary role. When she recruits two young...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 2:15 PM
When 16-year-old Brandon Lee (not that Brandon Lee) first enrolled as a new student at Scotland’s Bearsden Academy, his classmates immediately felt there was something off about him…but they couldn’t quite put their finger on it. After learning he had lived a rather unconventional life, they shrugged off his oddities and began to accept him for who he was—or rather, who he claimed to be. It didn’t take long for Lee to start making a name for himself in his new school by finding friends, hosting parties, and even starring in the school musical. But just as everything seems like...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 2:20 PM
Russian forces are moving in, but Irka refuses to leave her home teetering on the rural Ukraine/Russia border. Her husband, Tolik, caves to the demands of the armed men whose visits grow more frequent, and he urges Irka that they must leave their small Ukrainian village in time for their baby to arrive in a hospital, far from conflict. With their food supply dwindling, fresh water reeking, and a due date just two months away, opportunities for safe refuge look grim. Tensions rise when a civilian plane traveling from Amsterdam to Malaysia is shot down nearby, reportedly by pro-Russian terrorists....
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 2:25 PM
As a female bodybuilder, Edina leads a life that revolves around one thing: pursuing the title of Miss Olympia. Day and night, Edina and her partner/trainer Adam obsessively plan for her success. With all of their time and resources going towards Edina’s training, the couple find themselves in a difficult financial situation. To make ends meet, Edina secretly joins a niche escort service where men can play out their fantasies of being with a strong muscular woman. While first resistant to this controversial side hustle, Edina begins to find a sense of freedom and playfulness in her work as an...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 2:35 PM
Set against the backdrop of the fictional village San Mateo’s annual festival, three people return to their hometown in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. While all three left San Mateo to find work and opportunity in the city as economic migrants, each arrives with their own unique motivation. Maria, once ostracized from her family and community, comes back to attend her mother’s funeral. Esteban, gone three years, suddenly returns to his family home to reclaim his alleged rights as a husband, without taking in account the way he abandoned his wife, Chabela. And Toña, who has long suffered from childhood...
Wednesday, April 06, 2022 2:40 PM
When the state of Israel was established in 1948, war broke out and Palestinian villages saw their populations decimated. The true nature of these events still prompts heated debate: for Israelis, it’s the “War of Independence;” but to Palestinians, it’s known as the “Nakba,” or the “Catastrophe.” A dark moment in Israeli history, the Nakba has become such a taboo topic that it’s rarely discussed. In the 1990s, graduate student Teddy Katz interviewed hundreds of people while researching a rumored civilian massacre in the village of Tantura during the 1948 war. Based on his findings, Katz concluded the brutal killings...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 11:45 AM
In the spring of 1972, police raided an apartment on the South Side of Chicago. Seven women were arrested and charged. The accused were part of a clandestine network. Using code names, blindfolds, and safe houses to protect their identities and their work, they built an underground service for women seeking safe, affordable, illegal abortions. They called themselves Jane. Facing off against the mafia, the church, and the state, the Janes exhibited unparalleled bravery and compassion for those most in need. Co-directors and Sundance Film Festival alumni Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes unearth this incredibly timely story to demonstrate how...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 11:50 AM
Thursday, April 07, 2022 11:55 AM
Vera Dreams of the Sea (Vera Andrron Detin)
As a sign language interpreter, Vera often speaks for others, but less so for herself. This time will be different. When her husband Fatmir takes his own life, the Kosovo community mourns the loss of its well-respected judge. Condolences flood in, but Vera also receives a visit from Fatmir’s cousin Ahmet, who claims Fatmir promised him the couple’s home in the nearby village before his death. With no written proof of her husband’s alleged wishes, Vera is resistant. She instead hoped to pass on the home to her daughter, even if it opposes the village’s antiquated tradition of male-only heirs....
Thursday, April 07, 2022 12:00 PM
Whenever Will Steger leaves his home in northern Minnesota to go on an expedition, he looks at his woodshed and wonders if he’ll be back to burn the wood. This has been the mindset of the polar explorer since he went on his acclaimed Antarctic expedition in 1989—the goal of which, with a team of six people from six different countries, was to bring international attention to the effects of climate change. And it is his mindset today when departing for solo expeditions in the Arctic. But expeditions are more than research and adventure for Steger, who has overcome both...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 12:05 PM
Whether they’re performing at an animal rescue center benefit, a church fundraiser, or a shrimp parade, the Calendar Girls give it all they’ve got. And they have a lot to give—impressive makeup; handmade costumes; elaborate dance routines; and, most notably, their unparalleled enthusiasm and sparkling personalities. They are a group of hardworking senior volunteer dancers in Florida, determined to prove that age is just a number. Through a series of intimate portraits seamlessly interwoven with dance scenes, directors Maria Loohufvud and Love Martinsen craft a loving look at these incredible women in all their 60-plus glory. They refuse to become...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:15 PM
My Emptiness and I (Mi vacío y yo)
Raphi, young and naive, enjoys writing love poems and dreams about falling in love. She decided to leave her native France and moved to Barcelona, where she works in a call center. Her many attempts to maintain relationships with other boys gave her anxiety. And even with an official diagnosis from her psychologist—gender dysphoria—Raphi struggles with what that means. As a trans woman, Raphi not only needs to define and defend herself to anyone who asks, but also she needs to deal with the social pressures to move forward with irreversible reassignment surgery. Even among her trans support group, Raphi...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:20 PM
He’s an anxious, “mostly closeted” wannabe actor who’s wound a little too tight. She’s a directionless free spirit with a dry sense of humor and a drinking problem. Both are late bloomers with a fear of vulnerability. As the two oldest members in their traveling children’s theater troupe, Alan and Jesse are stuck driving across the Midwest together for the next ten months. Bouncing between cramped motel rooms, indifferent audiences, and endless snow-covered plains, they seem to be experts in getting on each other’s nerves. But over the course of the tour, the odd couple begins to break down each...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:25 PM
Isabel spends her days in the same repetitive routine: cooking, scrubbing dishes, hanging laundry, and caring for her dying husband, Mario. When he finally passes, loved ones fill the funeral home, including a gossipy circle of elderly women praising Isabel’s ornate floral arrangements and freshly pressed casket linens. Veiled in excessive flattery, heavy persuasion, and religious guilt, the gals have a proposal for Isabel: use your God-given creativity to help us give members of our community a thoughtful, customized funeral experience. Reluctant at first, Isabel begins creating elaborate décor and personalized pieces for visitation services to suit the desires of...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:30 PM
Depending where you fall on the political spectrum, political commentator Van Jones may evoke an array of different emotions. To some, he is seen as a truth teller and a changemaker. To others, he is a talking head for the Democrats’ “Communist agenda.” And to a group of former supporters, Jones is seen as an untrustworthy traitor. An outspoken progressive voice on CNN, Jones has taken an increasingly controversial approach to getting things done…by reaching across the aisle. During the Trump administration, Jones worked tirelessly to create criminal justice reform, joining with the former president and his supporters to do...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:35 PM
If you're looking for a body swap film in a chaotic “Freaky Friday” style…look elsewhere. Joseph Sackett’s HOMEBODY approaches the trope with a more gentle and steady hand, though chaos does still ensue…Nine-year-old Johnny is attached to his babysitter, Melanie. Her lipstick, her clothes, her humor, her aura. Something about her draws Johnny in, and once he somehow finds himself in her body, he can ask himself why and reflect on the attachment. The exploration of a new body plops Johnny into coming to terms with his identity, simultaneously catapulting him into Melanie’s life, dodging her “boyfriend" and taking on...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 2:40 PM
In THE EXILES, Ben Klein and Violet Columbus work with filmmaker and Academy Award® nominee Christine Choy in completing her documentary about Tiananmen Square. After an introduction of Choy, a character in every sense of the word, we get taken back to China in 1989, where non-violent protesters were attacked by the government. To this day we still don’t know how many lives were lost. Many of these people had to flee their country and haven’t returned since. Choy shares her footage with the exiles, and we get pulled into the personal stories of Wu’er Kaixi, Yan Jiaqi, and Wan...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 9:50 PM
Thursday, April 07, 2022 9:55 PM
In rural Costa Rica, Clara longs to be free of her holy obligations. As a vessel of the Virgin Mary, Clara heals the sick, injured, and unfortunate, but her sheltered life as a grown woman cripples her body and withers her soul. Aside from her deep connection with her horse Yuca, Clara possesses few joys to call her own. Treated as both child and spectacle for religious visitors, Clara quietly envies her 15-year-old niece Maria’s journey to womanhood—a chapter unfairly torn out of her own life story. Although forbidden and punishable by her mother, Clara’s desire to arouse herself is...
Thursday, April 07, 2022 10:10 PM
Tinja’s mother showcases their family’s existence on her popular blog “Lovely Everyday Life” as a brightly hued domestic idyll set amid manicured suburban perfection. Beneath the impeccable veneer, though, friendless tween gymnast Tinja is struggling, spending most of her time striving to please her image-obsessed mom and appease her shrilly obnoxious little brother. After finding a wounded bird in the woods, she brings its strange egg home, nestles it in her bed, and nurtures it until it hatches. The creature that emerges, christened Alli, becomes Tinja’s closest friend, surrogate child, and living nightmare in this tremendously twisted coming-of-age body horror...
Friday, April 08, 2022 11:50 AM
As a private on a Soviet Air Force base during the Cold War, Sergey is counting the days until his service is up. While there’s an unspoken assumption that he and fellow comrade Luisa are in love, both have instead taken an interest in Roman, the base’s newest commander. While Luisa and Roman’s affections are conveniently public, Sergey and Roman’s forbidden romance must be kept secret to avoid the harsh punishment of such love: five years in a hard labor camp with no return to the service. As growing suspicions circulate of their love affair, Roman abruptly ends their relationship,...
Friday, April 08, 2022 11:55 AM
Since colonizers set foot on this soil, violent massacres, forced assimilation tactics, and unjust legislation have been used to eradicate Indigenous People from their sacred lands. Since the 1800s, the U.S. government has broken countless peace treaties with Native tribes on a whim, stripping Natives of their land, food, economic resources, and the ability to practice their traditional cultures. While these resilient tribes have been fighting for their rights for generations, the demonstrations in Standing Rock, North Dakota placed them on an international stage. When construction crews showed up in 2016 to develop the Dakota Access Pipeline near the main...
Friday, April 08, 2022 12:00 PM
Full Out: Inside Ohio Show Choir
If the story of Glee was told by someone who had actually been to Ohio, you’d get FULL OUT: INSIDE OHIO SHOW CHOIR. Bursting with energy, humor, and sparkling personalities, the film follows the journeys of four high school show choirs (three of them in the Northeast Ohio area!) as they prepare for a show-tune soaked season of vocal competition. As the school year progresses, each group faces its own unique challenges—from school levy failures to personal illnesses to competition losses. Though the choirs rarely intersect with each other in person, they are linked by an intense love of performing...
Friday, April 08, 2022 12:05 PM
Friday, April 08, 2022 12:10 PM
Each winter hundreds of thousands of snow birds flock to Quartzsite, Arizona, an offbeat camping and RV haven sitting comfortably between L.A. and Phoenix. Known as the “Desert Phenomenon,” this little-known pocket of sand serves as a temporary home to nomadic families, retirees, veterans, people experiencing homelessness, recreational drug users, deeply religious believers, and die-hard gem and rock enthusiasts. For many this eccentric oasis is safe, supportive grounds in contrast to conventional mainstream society. Kids play freely in the desolate outdoors, climbing trees and brainstorming blueprints of their own religion. Retirees connect through scheduled activities at the community center or...
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:15 PM
As a young single father, Gabriel isn’t the best caretaker. Although he loves his son Jamie, Gabriel spends much of his time partying or wandering the city with his best friend Joel, often leaving Jamie alone. Reckless and carefree, Gabriel and Joel are partners-in-crime, chasing after adventures and adrenaline rushes. But everything about the friends’ dynamic changes when Joel’s girlfriend Corey is thrown into the mix. From the moment he meets his best friend’s girlfriend, Gabriel finds himself completely infatuated with Corey, creating a consuming love triangle that threatens to destroy everyone involved. Emotions run high on all sides, and...
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:20 PM
With the vibrancy and pop of the movement it covers, TRAMPS! is a colorful deep dive into the New Romantics. A group of 1980s London artists and creators of film, fashion, music, and visual art, at times they have had their contributions minimized. The film runs through a wide array of stories, each as rich and engaging as the voices who tell the stories themselves—pioneers of the movement. From the tales of the New Romantics’ beginnings in the punk footsteps of the Sex Pistols and the Clash, to the unabashedly queer roots that permeated every inch of the culture, TRAMPS!...
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:25 PM
Fun-loving and 40, Frida meets wallowing Felix over glasses of sparkling wine at the airport bar. A pilot at the end of his shift, Felix is drinking his feelings and mourning the loss of his eight-year relationship with Natalie when Frida sidles up to keep him company. A happy, carefree romance ensues, with a surprise pregnancy just six months later. While a baby wasn’t in the plans, Frida embraces the shift into parenthood…just as Felix rekindles his relationship with Natalie. Undeterred by this minor detail, Frida’s whimsical imagination and perpetual optimism lighten the mood, offering moments of laughter through her...
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:30 PM
In the sprawling city of Paris, strangers, friends, and lovers wander for companionship. Confident of what they want, but not yet knowing what they need, they struggle to find just the right fit to fill their respective voids. Young Émilie, who’s in search of a new roommate and always up for a commitment-free romance, meets Camille, who soon fills both requests. As detached as she claims to be, however, Émilie finds herself falling for Camille, just as he’s pulling away. Enter Nora, whose bright disposition entices Camille immediately, setting off a friendship that Camille wishes will evolve to be more....
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:35 PM
Martin and the Magical Forest (Martin a tajemství lesa)
Martin’s not much for the outdoors, so he’s less than enthused when his mom sends him off to an eco-friendly summer camp: no cell phones allowed. Secluded in a wilderness paradise, campers build campfires, learn survival skills, and explore the lush forest. But they’re not alone. Drillers work nearby in search of rare minerals, and camp counselors fear their work will poison the groundwater and destroy the precious natural resources. When Martin notices sneaky vines, pinecones, and hunks of mischievous brush coming to life, he senses the forest might be trying to tell him something. While teams of campers race...
Friday, April 08, 2022 2:40 PM
Enamored by the humbling experience of witnessing volcanic eruptions, legendary volcanologists and husband-and-wife forces of nature, Katia and Maurice Krafft, were fearless in the face of death. Their shared obsession with volcanoes sparked a lifelong romance with one another and with the ebbs and flows of our planet’s roiling underbelly. The two traveled the world chasing iconic eruptions in the name of science, knowing their unbreakable tether to these unpredictable time bombs would likely be their inevitable demise. Thankfully for the world, Katia and Maurice documented every adventure, capturing never-before-dared footage to learn how to predict the timing and intensity...
Friday, April 08, 2022 9:45 PM
An outsider, Lennon longs to be a part of the thriving underground music scene in Columbus, Ohio. But the only way the quiet and self-conscious Lennon can position herself next to the artists she admires is by interviewing them for her podcast. Obsessed with recording everything around her in an attempt to connect with the indie art scene, what starts out as a passion project slowly transforms into a dark obsession. Lennon’s sense of identity becomes increasingly blurred as she begins to fixate on one artist in particular, Bobbi Kitten, a confident and talented songwriter whose stage presence emulates everything...
Friday, April 08, 2022 9:50 PM
Friday, April 08, 2022 9:55 PM
Told in three parts, CANDELA reveals the frantic and fatal few days before a hurricane in Santo Domingo and discloses the layered tragedy of life in the Caribbean. Cloaked in neon lights and the weight of a predetermined future, a woman takes startling action after visiting a renowned nightclub. A police detective, depressed and disillusioned with the corrupt political system, wallows in a lack of confidence and lets both love and justice slip through his fingers. And finally, sultry and poised as a drag performer, but desperate and heartbroken off-stage, a young man tries to atone for his lover’s past...
Friday, April 08, 2022 10:00 PM
Julia joins her husband when he relocates to his family’s native Romania for a new job. Having recently abandoned her acting career, she finds herself frequently alone and unoccupied. One night, people-watching from her picture window, she spots a vague figure in an adjacent building, who seems to be looking back at her. Soon after, while alone at a local movie theater, Julia’s sense of being watched intensifies, and she becomes certain she’s being followed—could it be the same unknown neighbor? Meanwhile, a serial killer known as The Spider stalks the city. Utilizing near-vacant Bucharest streets and expansive luxury apartments,...
Friday, April 08, 2022 10:05 PM
Samuel's Travels (Sema Celojumi)
While traveling through Eastern Europe in search of his long lost father, Samuel takes a massive and unexpected detour. After hitting a pig on a back country road, Samuel pulls the animal into his car and looks for a spot in the woods to bury him. To Samuel’s surprise, he is caught in the act by Kirke, the farm owner’s daughter. One inexplicable thing leads to another, and soon Samuel finds himself enslaved at the owner’s pig farm at the hands of Kirke, who has fallen in love with him. Living in a pig sty with a chain around his...
Friday, April 08, 2022 10:10 PM
Growing up, Jesse Krimes knew his life was different from the rest of his friends’ lives. Raised by his teenage mother, Jesse and his family struggled financially for most of his childhood. Despite the ups and downs, Jesse was always able to turn to art as an outlet. But Jesse’s life soon started on a downward spiral that would land him with a six-year prison sentence at the age of 27. While locked up, Jesse began to work, in secret, on an awe-inspiring project using bed sheets, hair gel, and other items he was able to tuck away in his...
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