Immediate FamilySCREENING INFORMATION
Date: Friday, August 25
Time: 7:15pm
Location: Marquis Main- 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 most Israelis are concerned, she defends the indefensible. As far as Palestinians are concerned, she’s more than an attorney, she’s an advocate. Advocate follows Tsemel’s Read More…
- 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 Havel, banned singer Marta Kubišová, and the underground rock group the Plastic People of the Universe – became the most recognizable dissidents during the 1970-80s. Read More…
- August
SYNOPSIS Cuba, summer of 1994. In the midst of “período especial”, one of the greatest economic crises in the country’s history, thousands of Cuban rafters try to reach the United States illegally, never sure if they’ll make it out alive. With holidays starting, Carlos plunges into a carefree August, wandering around with his friends and Read More…
- 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 should prevail. The film follows midwives and doctors in Guerrero and Chiapas, two of Mexico’s most marginalized and violent states, as they fight against huge Read More…
- Colewell
SYNOPSIS For thirty-five years, Nora Pancowski, played by Karen Allen, has been the postmaster of Colewell, Pennsylvania. When the USPS decides to close her office, she must choose whether to relocate for a new position or face retirement in Colewell. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: All hours Access to Read More…
- 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, the Delta Force tried unsuccessfully to rescue the 52 hostages that were detained in the U.S. Embassy and Foreign Ministry buildings in Tehran. This film Read More…
- 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 fractured calls for justice. When he becomes the first NYPD officer to be convicted in a decade, the meaning of justice itself becomes complicated, pitting Read More…
- 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, a soldier is threatened with the loss of his career, a young woman’s right to choose is imperiled at the pleasure of a government official, Read More…
- 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 full of optimism, hoping to also be married and a mother someday. Within weeks of her arrival, Yingying disappears from the campus. Through exclusive access Read More…
- 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 resilient woman who lives in the toughest neighborhood of the heroin-battered town of Rutland, Vermont – relates her story with candor and honesty. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Read More…
- Freeland
SYNOPSIS An aging pot farmer suddenly finds her world shattered as she races to bring in what could be her final harvest, fighting against the threat of eviction as the ensuing legalization of the California cannabis industry rapidly destroys her idyllic way of life. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Thursday, September 3 Time: Read More…
- 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 the campus, Val is pressured into introducing the speaker and serving as the public face of the event. When she discovers that trying to keep Read More…
- 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 United States. This dynamic film charts the mostly forgotten story of how Carter, a lover of all types of music, forged a tight bond with Read More…
- 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 documentary portrays Mr. Lewis’ 60-plus years of social activism and legislative action on civil rights, voting rights, gun control, health-care reform and immigration policy. Using Read More…
- 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 it was founded by a father who saw the need for team sports for girls. Today these skaters lift, leap, and spin together in ways Read More…
- #LIKE
SYNOPSIS On the first anniversary of her sister Amelia’s death by suicide, high school senior Rosie discovers that the mysterious man who sexploited her sister, bullying her into ending her life, is back online trolling for new victims. After the authorities refuse to get involved, she finds a darker side to her personality that she Read More…
- 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 and uncertainty by going to his cousin Noah’s house in the town of Chambly, he meets Juliette, a young employee of the local marina. The Read More…
- 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 unexpected icon of the established street art world. Now, at age 75, Martha must navigate her way through this vastly changed culture. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Read More…
- Murmur
WINNER: Best Narrative Feature SYNOPSIS Donna has recently been convicted of “Driving While Impaired” and is ordered to perform community service at the local animal shelter. When an elderly dog is scheduled to be euthanized, Donna decides to take the dog home and quickly realizes his companionship can ease her loneliness. In a futile attempt Read More…
- 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 groups in the history of popular music, The Band. The film is a moving story of Robertson’s personal journey, overcoming adversity and finding camaraderie alongside Read More…
- 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 to the American west. His mission: to place a Mezuzah, an encased prayer offering, on the doorpost of every Montana Jewish home. As he travels Read More…
- 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 drum corps he co-founded with Zambia Nkrumah in Louisville, Kentucky three decades ago. Together they inspired youth from their West Louisville neighborhood to thrive by Read More…
- 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 demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Indigenous women in the United States. The film follows six women Read More…
- 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 the vicious circle of this modern-day form of labor exploitation. ONLINE AVAILABILITY Dates: Thursday, August 27 – Sunday, August 30 Time: All hours Access to Read More…
- 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 during the late 1960s and early 70s. Told through the actual sights, sounds, and stories of a compelling cast of characters who connected through the Read More…
