2020 Films
Feature Films
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Preview
The Accused: Damned or Devoted?
SYNOPSIS In Pakistan, the blasphemy law prescribes a compulsory death sentence for disrespecting The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and life imprisonment for desecrating the Holy Quran. The Accused: Damned or Devoted?...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Advocate
SYNOPSIS Since the early 1970s, attorney Lea Tsemel has made a career out of defending Palestinians in Israeli courts: feminists and fundamentalists, non-violent demonstrators and armed militants. As far as...
Read more...
x
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Preview
The Art of Dissent
SYNOPSIS The Art of Dissent celebrates the power of artistic engagement and inspired resistance in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary’s main protagonists – playwright Václav...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Birth Wars
SYNOPSIS Told through deeply personal stories in the trenches of the healthcare sector, “Birth Wars” chronicles a power struggle between doctors and midwives in Mexico about whose vision of childbirth...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Desert One
SYNOPSIS In April 1980, the U.S. government launched Operation Eagle Claw, their response to the hostage crisis that was happening in Iran at that time. Helmed by then-President Jimmy Carter,...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Down a Dark Stairwell
SYNOPSIS When a Chinese-American police officer kills an unarmed black man in a darkened stairwell of a New York City housing project, it sets off a firestorm of emotion and...
Read more...
x
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Preview
The Fight
SYNOPSIS An inside look at the legal battles that lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union are waging during the Trump administration. When a mother is separated from her child,...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Finding Yingying
WINNER: Best Documentary Feature SYNOPSIS Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old Chinese student, comes to the U.S. to study. In her detailed and beautiful diaries, the aspiring young scientist and teacher is...
Read more...
x
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Preview
For the Love of Rutland
SYNOPSIS As her small, blue-collar city struggles to emerge from the opioid epidemic and gets caught up in battles over change, identity, and self-mythology, Stacie Griffin – a remarkable and...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Gotta Get Down To It
SYNOPSIS Valerie Martin, a young African-American college professor, works at Sedalia College, a small midwestern liberal arts school. When the college’s invitation to a controversial conservative speaker threatens to divide...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
SYNOPSIS If it hadn’t been for a bottle of scotch and a late-night visit from musician Gregg Allman, Jimmy Carter might never have been elected the 39th President of the...
Read more...
x
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Preview
John Lewis: Good Trouble
SYNOPSIS An inspiring chronicle of the life and career of the legendary civil rights activist and Democratic Representative from Georgia, John Robert Lewis. Using interviews and rare archival footage, the...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Life in Synchro
SYNOPSIS Welcome to the beautiful, cold, hard world of synchronized ice skating – the toughest sport you’ve never heard of. Synchro has been empowering generations of women since 1956 when...
Read more...
x
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Preview
The Marina
SYNOPSIS By the summer of his 19th birthday, Charlie Hall, champion wakeboarder, doesn’t know if he’ll ever get back on a wakeboard following an injury. When he flees his anguish...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Martha: A Picture Story
SYNOPSIS In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of bold graffiti appearing on the city’s subway cars. Decades later, she realizes she’s become an...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
SYNOPSIS Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band is a confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robertson’s young life and the creation of one of the most enduring...
Read more...
x
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Preview
The Rabbi Goes West
SYNOPSIS A fish out of water story about a young and charismatic Hasidic Chabad rabbi who moved from Brooklyn, New York to Bozeman, Montana to bring his brand of Judaism...
Read more...
x
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Preview
River City Drumbeat
SYNOPSIS River City Drumbeat is a powerful and uplifting story of music, love, and legacies set in the American South. Edward “Nardie” White devoted his life to leading the African-American...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Sisters Rising
WINNER: Thaddeus Stevens Award for Social Engagement by a Vermont Filmmaker SYNOPSIS Sisters Rising is an urgent call to action, a stunning portrait of women acting in solidarity, and a...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Sorry We Missed You
SYNOPSIS Hoping that self-employment through the gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife, struggling to raise a family, end up trapped in...
Read more...
x
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Preview
WBCN and the American Revolution
SYNOPSIS The amazing, untold story of the radical underground radio station WBCN-FM, set against the dazzling and profound social, political, and cultural changes that took place in Boston and nationally...
Read more...
x
Short Films
Documentary Program 1: Poetic
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Preview
La Pastora
SYNOPSIS Laura decides to leave behind a promising career as a biologist in Barcelona and pursue her real dream: to become a shepherd in the remote Catalonian Pyrenees. She gamely...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Nightsongs
SYNOPSIS To avoid hawks and navigate by the stars, millions upon millions of birds migrate at night, skimming over our rooftops while we sleep. To experience this invisible wonder, birdwatcher...
Read more...
x
-
Preview
Depot Asmara
SYNOPSIS In 1993, Eritrea, a small country in the Horn of Africa, finally gained independence from Ethiopia after a thirty-year war of liberation that has left its marks – on...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Huo Zhe
SYNOPSIS Hands are us, water is how life is treating us, and we as audiences are watching life from afar. The title “Huo Zhe” means “living” in Mandarin. ONLINE AVAILABILITY...
Read more...
x
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Preview
A Different Place, Altogether
SYNOPSIS Artist Ross Sheehan sets out to examine the fluctuating suburban-city of South Burlington, Vermont. He walks throughout the quasi-urban landscape in search of vanishing landmarks such as an abandoned...
Read more...
x
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Preview
How We See Water
SYNOPSIS How We See Water follows the lives of two young women, Juana Gomez Ramirez and Rosa Maria Hernandez, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, as they grow from...
Read more...
x
Documentary Program 2: Portraits
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Preview
This Is The Way We Rise
SYNOPSIS A vibrant exploration into the creative process, the film follows kinetic slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio as her calling to protect Mauna Kea (a dormant volcano on the island...
Read more...
x
-
Preview
Little Rink
SYNOPSIS In the sphere of revered sporting events, there’s the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the World Series. And then there’s the TJ Rugg Table Hockey Tournament. Eighteen of North...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Driven
SYNOPSIS In a world of adrenaline and speed, a quadriplegic race car driver pushes to keep his dream of racing alive. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September...
Read more...
x
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Preview
The Twins (Rise & Fall)
SYNOPSIS This experimental short film contrasts the original 1976 commercial about the construction of New York City’s Twin Towers with rare footage of the clean-up efforts at Ground Zero from...
Read more...
x
-
Preview
Desert Mourning
SYNOPSIS What is lost when landscapes change? Focused on the ongoing conflict over the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument in southern Utah, this short documentary investigates how individuals from different communities...
Read more...
x
Documentary Program 3: Engaged & Committed
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Preview
Nine
SYNOPSIS The film portrays the story of a brave group of powerful young women who came together to petition for the inclusion of Woman’s Crew as a varsity sport at...
Read more...
x
-
Preview
Our Own House
SYNOPSIS The locals in Punta Gorda, a small remote town in Southern Belize, remember a time without electricity, roads, and plastics. Amidst the influx of single-use plastics, an activist and...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Lowland Kids
SYNOPSIS As climate change literally erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on pastoral Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Teranga – Life in the Waiting Room
WINNER: Best Documentary Short SYNOPSIS A stunning observational short documentary about youth, music and collective trauma set in Naples, Italy, and filmed over two years, Teranga – Life in the...
Read more...
x
Narrative Program 1: Outside
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Preview
The Neighbors’ Window
SYNOPSIS Winner of the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short, The Neighbor’s Window is the story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when...
Read more...
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Preview
Bride. Groom. Herring.
SYNOPSIS Even back in one’s hometown after a long absence, you’re not safe from condemnation, assumption and punishment. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: All...
Read more...
x
Narrative Program 2: Inside
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Preview
The Magical Forest and the Things
SYNOPSIS A six year old narrator teams up with an adult illustrator during Covid-19 to tell a hand-drawn animated story about human consumption and the social reinforcements that affect it....
Read more...
x
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Narrative Program 3: The Two of Us
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Preview
Whiteout
WINNER: Best Narrative Short SYNOPSIS When a young couple encounters a strange old man wandering in a snowstorm, they must decide if he needs their help or if he has...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Love Lives in a Void
SYNOPSIS Anthony has hit rock bottom – broken-hearted and fired from his job. Krystal works at an establishment near Anthony’s job. They’ve always shared a connection but never followed through...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Time’s Up
SYNOPSIS A woman on her way home must deal with the unseen horrors of sexual harassment. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: All hours Access...
Read more...
x
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Preview
In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts
SYNOPSIS Myanmar, 2013. A 12-year-old Burmese child soldier, imprisoned for deserting battle, is forced to either kill her older brother, a fellow deserter, or die alongside him. Based on actual...
Read more...
x
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Preview
A Shore
SYNOPSIS A businessman is led down a vast and isolated beach in search of the one thing that has evaded him his whole life – a way out. ONLINE AVAILABILITY...
Read more...
x
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Preview
A Living Sculpture
SYNOPSIS Francesca, a horn player and music composition student, is contemplating the pros and cons of continuing a relationship with Nick, an artist. A Living Sculpture explores and dissects the...
Read more...
x
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Preview
Home From Home
SYNOPSIS Clara, an older woman, takes in Samir, a young Kurdish refugee. Two people, both dreaming of home, keep missing each other’s track in a short film about the absurdity,...
Read more...
x
-
Preview
The Accused: Damned or Devoted?
SYNOPSIS In Pakistan, the blasphemy law prescribes a compulsory death sentence for disrespecting The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and life imprisonment for desecrating the Holy Quran. The Accused: Damned or Devoted?...
Read more... x -
Preview
Advocate
SYNOPSIS Since the early 1970s, attorney Lea Tsemel has made a career out of defending Palestinians in Israeli courts: feminists and fundamentalists, non-violent demonstrators and armed militants. As far as...
Read more... x -
Preview
The Art of Dissent
SYNOPSIS The Art of Dissent celebrates the power of artistic engagement and inspired resistance in Czechoslovakia before and after the 1968 Soviet-led invasion. The documentary’s main protagonists – playwright Václav...
Read more... x -
Preview
Birth Wars
SYNOPSIS Told through deeply personal stories in the trenches of the healthcare sector, “Birth Wars” chronicles a power struggle between doctors and midwives in Mexico about whose vision of childbirth...
Read more... x -
Preview
Desert One
SYNOPSIS In April 1980, the U.S. government launched Operation Eagle Claw, their response to the hostage crisis that was happening in Iran at that time. Helmed by then-President Jimmy Carter,...
Read more... x -
Preview
Down a Dark Stairwell
SYNOPSIS When a Chinese-American police officer kills an unarmed black man in a darkened stairwell of a New York City housing project, it sets off a firestorm of emotion and...
Read more... x -
Preview
The Fight
SYNOPSIS An inside look at the legal battles that lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union are waging during the Trump administration. When a mother is separated from her child,...
Read more... x -
Preview
Finding Yingying
WINNER: Best Documentary Feature SYNOPSIS Yingying Zhang, a 26-year-old Chinese student, comes to the U.S. to study. In her detailed and beautiful diaries, the aspiring young scientist and teacher is...
Read more... x -
Preview
For the Love of Rutland
SYNOPSIS As her small, blue-collar city struggles to emerge from the opioid epidemic and gets caught up in battles over change, identity, and self-mythology, Stacie Griffin – a remarkable and...
Read more... x -
Preview
Gotta Get Down To It
SYNOPSIS Valerie Martin, a young African-American college professor, works at Sedalia College, a small midwestern liberal arts school. When the college’s invitation to a controversial conservative speaker threatens to divide...
Read more... x -
Preview
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President
SYNOPSIS If it hadn’t been for a bottle of scotch and a late-night visit from musician Gregg Allman, Jimmy Carter might never have been elected the 39th President of the...
Read more... x -
Preview
John Lewis: Good Trouble
SYNOPSIS An inspiring chronicle of the life and career of the legendary civil rights activist and Democratic Representative from Georgia, John Robert Lewis. Using interviews and rare archival footage, the...
Read more... x -
Preview
Life in Synchro
SYNOPSIS Welcome to the beautiful, cold, hard world of synchronized ice skating – the toughest sport you’ve never heard of. Synchro has been empowering generations of women since 1956 when...
Read more... x -
Preview
The Marina
SYNOPSIS By the summer of his 19th birthday, Charlie Hall, champion wakeboarder, doesn’t know if he’ll ever get back on a wakeboard following an injury. When he flees his anguish...
Read more... x -
Preview
Martha: A Picture Story
SYNOPSIS In 1970s New York, photographer Martha Cooper captured some of the first images of bold graffiti appearing on the city’s subway cars. Decades later, she realizes she’s become an...
Read more... x -
Preview
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band
SYNOPSIS Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band is a confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robertson’s young life and the creation of one of the most enduring...
Read more... x -
Preview
The Rabbi Goes West
SYNOPSIS A fish out of water story about a young and charismatic Hasidic Chabad rabbi who moved from Brooklyn, New York to Bozeman, Montana to bring his brand of Judaism...
Read more... x -
Preview
River City Drumbeat
SYNOPSIS River City Drumbeat is a powerful and uplifting story of music, love, and legacies set in the American South. Edward “Nardie” White devoted his life to leading the African-American...
Read more... x -
Preview
Sisters Rising
WINNER: Thaddeus Stevens Award for Social Engagement by a Vermont Filmmaker SYNOPSIS Sisters Rising is an urgent call to action, a stunning portrait of women acting in solidarity, and a...
Read more... x -
Preview
Sorry We Missed You
SYNOPSIS Hoping that self-employment through the gig economy can solve their financial woes, a hard-up UK delivery driver and his wife, struggling to raise a family, end up trapped in...
Read more... x -
Preview
WBCN and the American Revolution
SYNOPSIS The amazing, untold story of the radical underground radio station WBCN-FM, set against the dazzling and profound social, political, and cultural changes that took place in Boston and nationally...
Read more... x
Documentary Program 1: Poetic
-
Preview
La Pastora
SYNOPSIS Laura decides to leave behind a promising career as a biologist in Barcelona and pursue her real dream: to become a shepherd in the remote Catalonian Pyrenees. She gamely...
Read more... x -
Preview
Nightsongs
SYNOPSIS To avoid hawks and navigate by the stars, millions upon millions of birds migrate at night, skimming over our rooftops while we sleep. To experience this invisible wonder, birdwatcher...
Read more... x -
Preview
Depot Asmara
SYNOPSIS In 1993, Eritrea, a small country in the Horn of Africa, finally gained independence from Ethiopia after a thirty-year war of liberation that has left its marks – on...
Read more... x -
Preview
Huo Zhe
SYNOPSIS Hands are us, water is how life is treating us, and we as audiences are watching life from afar. The title “Huo Zhe” means “living” in Mandarin. ONLINE AVAILABILITY...
Read more... x -
Preview
A Different Place, Altogether
SYNOPSIS Artist Ross Sheehan sets out to examine the fluctuating suburban-city of South Burlington, Vermont. He walks throughout the quasi-urban landscape in search of vanishing landmarks such as an abandoned...
Read more... x -
Preview
How We See Water
SYNOPSIS How We See Water follows the lives of two young women, Juana Gomez Ramirez and Rosa Maria Hernandez, in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, as they grow from...
Read more... x
Documentary Program 2: Portraits
-
Preview
This Is The Way We Rise
SYNOPSIS A vibrant exploration into the creative process, the film follows kinetic slam poet Jamaica Heolimeleikalani Osorio as her calling to protect Mauna Kea (a dormant volcano on the island...
Read more... x -
Preview
Little Rink
SYNOPSIS In the sphere of revered sporting events, there’s the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the World Series. And then there’s the TJ Rugg Table Hockey Tournament. Eighteen of North...
Read more... x -
Preview
Driven
SYNOPSIS In a world of adrenaline and speed, a quadriplegic race car driver pushes to keep his dream of racing alive. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September...
Read more... x -
Preview
The Twins (Rise & Fall)
SYNOPSIS This experimental short film contrasts the original 1976 commercial about the construction of New York City’s Twin Towers with rare footage of the clean-up efforts at Ground Zero from...
Read more... x -
Preview
Desert Mourning
SYNOPSIS What is lost when landscapes change? Focused on the ongoing conflict over the Grand Staircase-Escalante national monument in southern Utah, this short documentary investigates how individuals from different communities...
Read more... x
Documentary Program 3: Engaged & Committed
-
Preview
Nine
SYNOPSIS The film portrays the story of a brave group of powerful young women who came together to petition for the inclusion of Woman’s Crew as a varsity sport at...
Read more... x -
Preview
Our Own House
SYNOPSIS The locals in Punta Gorda, a small remote town in Southern Belize, remember a time without electricity, roads, and plastics. Amidst the influx of single-use plastics, an activist and...
Read more... x -
Preview
Lowland Kids
SYNOPSIS As climate change literally erases the Louisiana coast, the last two teenagers on pastoral Isle de Jean Charles fight to stay on an island that’s been their family home...
Read more... x -
Preview
Teranga – Life in the Waiting Room
WINNER: Best Documentary Short SYNOPSIS A stunning observational short documentary about youth, music and collective trauma set in Naples, Italy, and filmed over two years, Teranga – Life in the...
Read more... x
Narrative Program 1: Outside
-
Preview
The Neighbors’ Window
SYNOPSIS Winner of the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short, The Neighbor’s Window is the story of a middle-aged woman with small children whose life is shaken up when...
Read more... x -
Preview
Bride. Groom. Herring.
SYNOPSIS Even back in one’s hometown after a long absence, you’re not safe from condemnation, assumption and punishment. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: All...
Read more... x
Narrative Program 2: Inside
-
Preview
The Magical Forest and the Things
SYNOPSIS A six year old narrator teams up with an adult illustrator during Covid-19 to tell a hand-drawn animated story about human consumption and the social reinforcements that affect it....
Read more... x
Narrative Program 3: The Two of Us
-
Preview
Whiteout
WINNER: Best Narrative Short SYNOPSIS When a young couple encounters a strange old man wandering in a snowstorm, they must decide if he needs their help or if he has...
Read more... x -
Preview
Love Lives in a Void
SYNOPSIS Anthony has hit rock bottom – broken-hearted and fired from his job. Krystal works at an establishment near Anthony’s job. They’ve always shared a connection but never followed through...
Read more... x -
Preview
Time’s Up
SYNOPSIS A woman on her way home must deal with the unseen horrors of sexual harassment. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: All hours Access...
Read more... x -
Preview
In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts
SYNOPSIS Myanmar, 2013. A 12-year-old Burmese child soldier, imprisoned for deserting battle, is forced to either kill her older brother, a fellow deserter, or die alongside him. Based on actual...
Read more... x -
Preview
A Shore
SYNOPSIS A businessman is led down a vast and isolated beach in search of the one thing that has evaded him his whole life – a way out. ONLINE AVAILABILITY...
Read more... x -
Preview
A Living Sculpture
SYNOPSIS Francesca, a horn player and music composition student, is contemplating the pros and cons of continuing a relationship with Nick, an artist. A Living Sculpture explores and dissects the...
Read more... x -
Preview
Home From Home
SYNOPSIS Clara, an older woman, takes in Samir, a young Kurdish refugee. Two people, both dreaming of home, keep missing each other’s track in a short film about the absurdity,...
Read more... x
© Copyright 2014 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
Middlebury, Vermont
EIN: 47-1462141
Middlebury, Vermont
EIN: 47-1462141