Not sure what to see at the 2019 Sedona International Film Festival? Here is the only guide you’ll need for all the full-length feature films. See what’s playing. Click the links to go to the Sedona International Film Festival pages to see still photos from the films, watch trailers and buy tickets to individual screenings.
Narrative Features
In this riveting historical drama, 10 political activists (including Nelson Mandela and his inner circle of Black and Jewish supporters) face a possible death sentence for conspiracy to commit sabotage after they are arrested by the apartheid South African government during a raid in the town of Rivonia during the summer of 1963. Bram Fischer (exceptionally played by Peter Paul Muller), a sympathetic lawyer, risks his career and freedom to defend these men, attempting to hide the fact that he, too, frequently convened on the farm where they were arrested.
With “An Act of Defiance”, Dutch filmmaker Jean van de Velde captures a dark period in South Africa’s recent history, skillfully balancing a nail-biting political thriller with spectacular courtroom intrigue while paying tribute to the legendary figures who fought to end segregation and corruption in their country.
April returns home to Toronto after traveling and working abroad for several years to help her sister, Sara, care for their mother who is facing health problems. Upon April’s return, she literally unearths old family secrets that threaten the gentle balance of home. Sara, who is studying the music of French composer Erik Satie, befriends a homeless man Erik who may have a connection to her mother’s romantic past, while April equivocates on a marriage proposal from her long distance boyfriend she met on her travels. The story culminates on the eve of their mother’s birthday dinner, when Oscar arrives unannounced from Argentina and Sara’s homeless friend shows up for the celebration.
After his mother, (Juliette Lewis), is imprisoned for killing his abusive father, Harley Altmyer (Alex Pettyfer) is left to care for his three younger sisters in rural Pennsylvania. Harley forgoes his college education, working dead-end jobs to pay the bills and raise his siblings, including his rebellious and promiscuous 16-year-old sister, Amber (Nicola Peltz).Scarred by his past, Harley becomes infatuated with Callie Mercer (Jennifer Morrison) the older married woman who lives nearby. Things take a dangerous turn when they embark on an affair and shocking family secrets soon begin to emerge. As Harley’s life spirals out of control, unspoken truths leading to a devastating conclusion come to the surface and threaten to consume him.
Singapore’s official entry to the Academy Awards. In 19th Century Java, a brutal massacre and the murder of Sultan Hamza by Captain Van Trach and his Dutch soldiers force Arana, Jamar and Suwo — the sultan’s brother and infant sons — to flee the country, bringing them halfway around the world to the American Wild West. After working the railroads and learning the cowboy way of life, Arana tells the boys it’s time to return to their homeland and avenge their father’s death.
Back on Indonesian soil, the hunt for their father’s killer begins. Along the way, they meet some villagers including Kiona, the rebellious and beautiful headman’s daughter who Suwo falls for, and soon find out that the treacherous Van Trach still rules the area. Their presence puts the village in danger, quickly turning their quest for revenge into a fight for freedom. With the odds stacked against them, Arana, Jamar and Suwo use the skills they learned from the wilds of America to face Van Trach and his army in a showdown for justice.
Celeste was once Australia’s most beloved opera singer. Yet she threw it all away to follow the man she loved to a crumbling property deep in the rainforests of Tropical North Queensland. Ten years after his tragic death, Celeste is ready to make one final return to the stage. But her stepson Jack, still haunted by the past, arrives at her behest amidst the preparations for the performance and finds Celeste is as he remembered – beautiful, intoxicating and dangerous. When Celeste asks Jack for an impossible favor, the secrets that drove them apart explode back into rhapsodic life.
In this handsome period piece perfectly suited for cinephiles of all stripes, director Michael Engler (Downton Abbey, 30 Rock, Six Feet Under) and screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Downton Abbey, Gosford Park) bring a fascinating slice of pre-Hollywood history to light in a coming-of-age story centering on the relationship between the young, free-spirited and soon-to-be international screen starlet Louise Brooks (a riveting, high-intensity Haley Lu Richardson) and her tee-totalling chaperone (a wonderfully nuanced Elizabeth McGovern). On their journey from the conservative confines of Wichita Kansas to the flash and sizzle of New York City, both women are driven by a kindred desire for self-discovery and liberation from the past.
Based on the book by Laura Moriarty and anchored by a superb supporting cast (Miranda Otto, Géza Röhrig, and Blythe Danner in a key cameo), “The Chaperone” is a sensitive, resonant, and illuminating tale of women’s lives in the early 20th century.
“Cold War” is a passionate love story between a man and a woman who meet in the ruins of post-war Poland. With vastly different backgrounds and temperaments, they are fatefully mismatched and yet condemned to each other. Set against the background of the Cold War in 1950s Poland, Berlin, Yugoslavia and Paris, it’s the tale of a couple separated by politics, character flaws and unfortunate twists of fate — an impossible love story in impossible times.
The film is dedicated to director Pawel Pawlikowski’s parents, whose names the protagonists share.
In a seaside village on the outskirts of an Italian city, where the only law seems to be survival of the fittest, Marcello is a slight, mild-mannered man who divides his days between working at his modest dog grooming salon, caring for his daughter Alida, and being coerced into the petty criminal schemes of the local bully Simoncino, an ex-boxer who terrorizes the neighborhood. When Simoncino’s abuse finally brings Marcello to a breaking point, he decides to stand up for his own dignity through an act of vengeance, with unintended consequences.
Recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder, the drummer of a rock band strikes up an unusual friendship with an institutionalized teen who is suffering from Asperger’s Syndrome. Gabriel is a chaotic young rock drummer desperate to hide his recent bipolar diagnosis from his increasingly exasperated band mates. At the therapeutic mixed ability football game he’s obliged to attend as part of his treatment Gabriel is spectacularly upended by goalkeeper Christopher, an institutionalised 17-year-old with Aspergers Syndrome. Having taken revenge, Gabriel faces expulsion — and the prospect of being sectioned — unless he “makes friends” with Christopher.
This heartwarming story shows the strength of the human bond in the face of adversity.
“The Elephant and the Butterfly”
Produced by the Dardenne brothers and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, this Belgian drama tells the story of a man who returns to his hometown with hopes of reuniting with his ex-girlfriend, only to find himself stuck caring for a little girl, Elsa, who may or may not be his own daughter. An unexpected turn of events leaves Antoine suddenly alone to take care of Elsa.
Sixteen years ago, Tim Faris had a one night stand with an alien, but managed to keep that liaison secret from his wife and the half-alien daughter they are raising. When Andromeda, the sexy alien, returns to Earth intent on re-igniting their passion, and getting to know her daughter, Tim’s cozy life starts to unwind.
The quirky characters are brought to life by Charles Baker (Skinny Pete on Breaking Bad), and Krista Allen (Party Mom, Baywatch, Significant Mother) in this mildly risqué comedy sci-fi. Filmed largely on location in Sedona, this film features many local cast and crew.
The true story of an unlikely romance in a Soviet labor camp. Christmas 1944. Soviet soldiers invade Hungary and drag every young ethnic German woman away from a small village and transport them to a Soviet labor camp where they are forced to work in the coal mines under inhuman conditions. This is where Irén meets fellow prisoner Rajmund, who decides to teach her how to survive. While she is determined to return home to her little daughter and family, history and fate have a different plan: Irén and Rajmund fall in love.
Based on a true story. ” Eternal Winter” is the very first feature film about the 700,000 Hungarian victims of the Soviet labor camps whose stories remained untold for over 70 years.
From Academy Award Winner Bille August (Pelle the Conquerer) comes “A Fortunate Man”. ?On his quest for happiness, Per moves from the dark region of Jutland and a severe upbringing in a strictly religious home. He runs away from his family and his patriarch father, a priest, and sets sail towards Copenhagen to become an engineer and implement a large energy project.
In the capital, Per throws himself into the big city life and with an appetite for life and joy, he soon finds himself in an unconcerned and vivid social environment. Parallel to his studies, he works on a large and visionary energy project based on wind and wave energy. As he gets his projects up and running and is about to marry into a rich Jewish family, he quickly climbs the social ladder. But Per’s childhood keeps haunting him and his dogmatic family cannot accept his new life and Jewish fiancée.
“Ghost Light” is a haunted comedy about the absurd, but very seriously regarded, superstitions of the theatre, specifically those surrounding William Shakespeare’s tragedy “Macbeth.” When a disgruntled and arrogant understudy tempts fate by uttering the forbidden name of the “Scottish King” on stage, the sorcery of the Bard’s witches overwhelms the production leading to chaos, misfortune and death.
All’s well that ends well … but not for everyone.
Based on North Korean reality, “The Gift of Love” is the dramatization of an event that took place in the province of North Hwanghae.
Lee Sojung is the wife of an invalid war hero who alone struggles to support his family. Forced to sell her body Sojung has a great sense of guilt and sadness, and when even prostitution, the last chance to support her husband Kangho’s care and keep her child, falls because of the regime’s repression, the situation will become unsustainable. While the lies continue, Kangho’s suspicions continue to grow, until Sojung tells of meeting Kim Jong Un and having received “love gifts” from the Dear Leader, a lie that will make the family spend a joyful and happy evening with tragic implications.
In this inspiring true story, a group of Inuit students in a small, struggling Arctic community is changed forever through the transformative power of sport. The classmates are initially resistant when the naive and culturally ignorant white teacher from the south introduces them to lacrosse — but gradually, as they begin to connect with each other as teammates, the students find inspiration to make profound shifts in their lives.
Together as “The Grizzlies”, the players learn to lead each other, gain the support of a deeply divided town, and look to compete in the National Lacrosse Championships. The students ultimately discover that success doesn’t lie in the outcome of a lacrosse game, but instead in their awakened spirits and the awareness that even in the toughest of circumstances there is always the possibility of transformation and hope.
A gripping true story of humanity and heroism, “Hotel Mumbai” vividly recounts the 2008 siege of the famed Taj Hotel by a group of terrorists in Mumbai, India. Refusing to leave their guests, the renowned chef Hemant Oberoi (Anupam Kher) and a waiter (Academy Award-Nominee Dev Patel) choose to risk their lives to keep everyone safe. As the world watches on, a desperate couple (Armie Hammer) is forced to make unthinkable sacrifices to protect their newborn child.
In her BAFTA award-winning debut feature, Rungano Nyoni crafts a satiric feminist fairy-tale set in present-day Zambia. When 9-year old orphan Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to a witch camp run by Mr. Banda, a corrupt and inept government official. Tied to the ground by a white ribbon, Shula is told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. As the only child witch, Shula quickly becomes a local star and the adults around her exploit her supposed powers for financial gain. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision – whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom.
A hit at over 50 international festivals, “I Am Not a Witch” is a must-see for anyone interested in new African Cinema and contemporary female filmmakers.
Academy Award-winning writer/director Barry Jenkins’ “If Beale Street Could Talk” is his adaptation of James Baldwin’s novel — the first English-language feature film based on the work of the author, to whom the movie is dedicated.
Set in early-1970s Harlem, “If Beale Street Could Talk” is a timeless and moving love story of both a couple’s unbreakable bond and the African-American family’s empowering embrace, as told through the eyes of 19-year-old Tish Rivers (KiKi Layne).
A daughter and wife-to-be, Tish vividly recalls the passion, respect and trust that have connected she and her artist fiancé Alonzo Hunt, who goes by the nickname Fonny (Stephan James). Friends since childhood, the devoted couple dream of a future together but their plans are derailed when Fonny is arrested for a crime he did not commit.
Through the unique intimacy and power of cinema, “If Beale Street Could Talk” honors the author’s prescient words and imagery, charting the emotional currents navigated in an unforgiving and racially biased world as the filmmaker poetically crosses time frames to show how love and humanity endure.
“If Beale Street Could Talk” is nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actress (Regina King), Best Adapted Screenplay (Barry Jenkins) and Best Original Song (Nicholas Britell).
Suffering from dementia, an ailing woman finds herself at the mercy of a young live-in nurse who is out to kill her and take her life’s fortune. But dementia has given her a taste of her own medicine when she realizes the nurse is actually a hallucination of when she, herself, was a young caregiver who maliciously dismantled a helpless woman’s estate. Literally reliving her past as both victim and aggressor of her own malice, it’s all coming back to her. And it’s killing her.
Aleksander Ristic gives a commanding performance in this meditative drama about love and consequences. Aaron (Ristic) is a petty criminal from the wrong side of the tracks. Wounded, out of breath, and hefting a sack of jewels he breaks into a rest stop bathroom and barricades himself in. It soon becomes clear he’s been part of a robbery gone wrong. Surrounded by police he quickly finds himself backed into a corner, with only a dying cell phone to call for help. Dodging his girlfriend’s prying questions Aaron and his accomplice must devise a plan to hide the jewels before it’s too late.
With a rich supporting cast and striking visuals, “In This Gray Place” is a beautiful story of desperation clashing with destiny.
“Jim Hendrix Experience: Electric Church”
“Electric Church” presents the legendary guitarist in full flight at the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival before the largest U.S. audience of his career. This critically acclaimed film combines color, 16mm multi-camera footage of Hendrix unforgettable July 4, 1970 concert in its original performance sequence together with a new documentary that traces his journey to the festival amidst the dark shadow of civil rights unrest, the relenting toll of the Vietnam War and a burgeoning festival culture that drew together young people across the country who were inspired by the Woodstock festival.
The film details Hendrix integral role in drawing nearly 500,000 people to his Electric Church — a dusty scorching hot pecan orchard in Byron, Georgia some 100 miles south of Atlanta. Together with Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell and drummer Billy Cox, Jimi skillfully blended favorites such as “Purple Haze,” “All Along The Watchtower,” and “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” with confident renditions of new songs such as “Freedom” and “Straight Ahead” that had not yet been released on album. As a colorful fireworks display stretched overhead across the night sky, Jimi performed the “Star Spangled Banner” to the wild delight of the massive audience.
Hendrix’s music and message of universal love made him the ideal artist and, appropriately, was the first act booked for the festival. Features interviews with Hendrix bassist Billy Cox, Hendrix engineer Eddie Kramer, concert promoter Larry Vaughan, artists Paul McCartney, Metallica’s Kirk Hammit, Steve Winwood, Susan Tedeschi, Derek Trucks, Mountain’s Leslie West and Bruce Hampton, publicist Bob Merlis, journalist Anthony DeCurtis, filmmaker Steve Rash and many more.
Paul McCartney freely admits to worshipping him, adding, “We all played guitar. We all knew a bit. But he seemed to know more than us.”
“Leona” is an intimate, insightful, and moving film that tells the story of a young Jewish woman from Mexico City who finds herself torn between her family and her forbidden love with a non-Jewish man. He allows her to discover the world outside the bubble of her community, leading to an important transition in her adult life.
Ripe with all the drama and interpersonal conflicts of a Jane Austen novel, watching her negotiate the labyrinth of familial pressure, religious precedent, and her own burgeoning sentiment is both painful and beautiful – there are no easy choices to be made and the viewer travels back and forth with her as she struggles with her heart to take the best path.
A lonely boy practices an experimental form of therapy after his enigmatic neighbor offers to help him overcome social anxiety and win the girl of his dreams.
Isolated in a big city with no friends, young Zel simultaneously fears and craves intimacy. He has a pitiful obsession with dancer Jasmine and is caught spying on her by eccentric neighbor Elliot (Billy Zane) who offers to help him win her heart. Lust leads Zel on an intense subliminal adventure as Elliot teaches him how lucid dreaming can be used to practice the art of seduction but will Zel be able to charm Jasmine in reality?
“When there is great suffering, you don’t ask questions. You help.” Based on the true story of Elisabeth Eidenbenz (1913-2011) and her female co-workers who saved the lives of almost 600 infants in World War II. In the early 1940’s, refugees from all over Europe seek shelter in South Western France, escaping persecution from the Nazis and from Franco’s regime in Spain. Among them, there are countless women, some of them pregnant, and their little children. The camps are in horrendous shape with refugees holding out with no protection from the cold.
With no further ado, young Red Cross nurse Elisabeth Eidenbenz breathes new life into an old villa. By transforming it into a birth clinic she saves the lives of mothers and children from certain death. Despite all hardship, the villa becomes a safe haven resounding with the children’s laughter. But soon threats from without and within take shape: Authorities in Nazi-occupied France demand that she hand over all Jewish refugees and their children, while Elisabeth’s deputy Victoria sides with the Résistance partisans – a worthy cause but one that puts at stake the lives of everyone in the maternity.
Robert Mapplethorpe is arguably one of the most important artists of the 20th century. Mapplethorpe discovered himself both sexually and artistically in New York City throughout the 70’s and 80’s. The film explores Mapplethorpe’s life from moments before he and Patti Smith moved into the famed Chelsea hotel, home to a world of bohemian chic. Here he begins photographing its inhabitants and his new found circle of friends including artists and musicians, socialites, film stars, and members of the S&M underground Mapplethorpe’s work displayed eroticism in a way that had never been examined nor displayed before to the public.
The film explores the intersection of his art and his sexuality along with his struggle for mainstream recognition. “Mapplethorpe” offers a nuanced portrait of an artist at the height of his craft and of the self-destructive impulses that threaten to undermine it all.
Rose Raynes was crowned Miss Arizona – 15 years ago. Now a bored housewife trapped in a less-than-ideal marriage, and mourning the independence of her 10-year-old son, Rose accepts an invitation to teach a life skills class at a women’s shelter. Digging out the relics of her pageant queen past, Rose attempts to share her “Making Your Presence a Present” platform speech with a room of four disinterested women dodging abusive exes. But when trouble shows up at the shelter, what the women really need is for Rose’s shiny SUV to get them out of dodge. The five embark on an all-night adventure through L.A.’s darkest streets and wildest drag club as the women fight to survive, and in so doing, discover what they need most.
This one’s an anthem for any woman who’s ever been told to sit still and look pretty. This one’s for the marginalized. ? This one’s for the girls.
Magically transformed by her music, yet tested by her aunts Alzheimer’s disease, their love endures. Through this entertaining, touching and exciting story of Ruth and Inez, I know we are helping caregivers whose loved ones are touched by Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The unique creative style used for the movie is helping us toward our goal to create a worldwide conversation about this incurable and deadly disease that entraps thoughts and tortures the feelings of caregivers.
“Nigerian Prince” follows two characters; Eze, a stubborn, first-generation Nigerian-American teenager and his cousin, Pius, who is a desperate Nigerian Prince scammer. After Eze’s mother sends him to Nigeria against his will, Eze retaliates by teaming up with Pius to scam unsuspecting foreigners in order to earn money for a return ticket back to America.
A seemingly minor traffic collision has far-reaching consequences in this story of a well-meaning medical examiner haunted by the death of a child he might have prevented. The forensic pathologist Dr. Nariman has a car accident with a motorcyclist and injures the cyclist’s 8-year-old son. He offers to take the child to a clinic nearby, but the father refuses his help and money. The next morning, in the hospital where he works, DNariman finds out that the little boy has been brought for an autopsy after a suspicious death.
DNariman is facing a dilemma: is he responsible for the child’s death due to the car accident or the child died of food poisoning according to other doctors’ diagnosis? As the story unfolds, his fate becomes inextricably bound up with that of the grieving family. In only his second feature, Vahid Jalilvand coaxes brilliantly understated performances from a superb cast for this compelling, considered meditation on guilt and grief.
Juliette Binoche and Guillaume Canet reunite with acclaimed director Olivier Assayas for this wry, slyly seductive tale of sex, lies, and literature. Set amidst the bohemian intelligentsia of the Parisian publishing world, “Non-Fiction” traces the romantic and emotional fallout that results when a controversial writer (Vincent Macaigne) begins blurring the line between fact and fiction, using his real-life love affairs — including a passionate fling with an actress (Binoche) who happens to be married to his editor (Canet) — as fodder for his explosive new novel.
Balancing dry wit with keen observations on the tensions between art, commerce, and technology, “Non-Fiction” is a buoyant, breezy delight from a master director at his most effortlessly brilliant.
“Promise at Dawn” is based on the acclaimed autobiographical novel by Romain Gary From his childhood in Poland to his adolescence in Nice to his years as a student in Paris and his tough training as a pilot during World War II, this epic drama tells the romantic story of Romain Gary, one of the most famous French novelists and sole writer to have won the Goncourt Prize for French literature two times.
France 1809. The charming Captain Neuville is set to marry the naive Pauline when the war breaks out, forcing Neuville to depart for the battlefield. After not hearing from the captain for months, Pauline soon starts to become ill with worry, pushing her sister Elizabeth to write fake letters on behalf of Neuville thinking he would never come back.
When Neuville finally returns home unexpectedly, he is welcomed in glory but in truth is a war deserter and an opportunistic coward. A suspicious Elizabeth is determined to expose the real Neuville and the two imposters are about to start a ruthless fight, conspiring against each other using the best tricks they can find.
After her husband is killed in an accident, lonely Joyce finds herself destitute and facing an uncertain future. In an effort to make easy money, she turns her house into a Bed & Breakfast, exposing herself to people from an outside world and giving herself a new lease on life. She meets mysterious drifter Bob and takes him in as a long-term tenant.
Captivated by his alluring bad boy image, Joyce becomes obsessed with her younger guest, making him the unwitting object of her deepest romantic fantasies. When a friend’s betrayal causes Joyce’s fantasy world to come crashing down, she seizes control of her own destiny with a deadly mission to finally get what she deserves, putting those around her in danger.
Sedona filmmakers Tommy Stovall and Marc Sterling will open the 2019 Sedona International Film Festival with the world premiere of their latest film “Room for Rent”, shot entirely in Sedona. This is their fourth film to screen at the festival. Their debut film “Hate Crime” won the Audience Choice and Director’s Choice awards here in 2005. This was followed by the world premiere of “Sedona”, as the inaugural event at the newly completed Sedona Performing Arts Center in 2011. And most recently they screened their award-winning genre film “Aaron’s Blood” here in 2017.
Paris 1930. Paul has only ever had one and the same horizon: the high walls of the orphanage, an austere building in the Parisian working class suburbs. Entrusted to a joyful country woman, Célestine, and her husband, Borel, the rather stiff gamekeeper of a vast estate in Sologne, the city child, recalcitrant and stubborn, arrives in a mysterious and disturbing world, that of a soverign and wild region.
The huge forest, misty ponds, heaths, and fields all belong to the Count de la Fresnaye, an elderly taciturn man who lives alone in his manor. The Count tolerates poachers on his estate, but Borel relentlessly hunts them down, most especially, Totoche, the most wily and elusive among them. In the heart of a fairytale Sologne, alongside Totoche, Paul will learn about life, and also about the forest and its secrets. An even heavier secret weighs down the estate, because Paul has not happened to come there by accident
Dr. Jean Markham (Anna Paquin) returns to the town she left as a teenager to take over her late father’s medical practice. When a school-yard scuffle lands Charlie (Gregor Selkirk) in her surgery, she invites him to visit the hives in her garden and tell his secrets to the bees, as she once did. The new friendship between the boy and the beekeeper bring his mother Lydia (Holliday Grainger) into Jean’s world.
In the sanctuary of the doctor’s house, the two women find themselves drawn to one another in a way that Jean recognizes and fears, and Lydia could never have expected. But, in 1950’s small-town Britain, their new secret can’t stay hidden forever.
After losing his wife and daughter in a terrible accident, Preston Avery finds himself suddenly trapped in grief and isolated in a now empty house with nothing but the ghosts of his previous life to haunt him. As the days bleed together and the walls of the house slowly close in around him, all hope seems to be lost until a motorcycle mysteriously appears one morning on his doorstep, but will he be able to leave the past behind?
Unable to exist in his present state a minute longer, Preston eventually turns to the motorcycle in a final act of desperation and sets out on his own to wander the highways and bi-ways of the backcountry as he makes his way across California. Along the road, Preston eventually meets a young woman named Tracey, who is finally able to intuitively break through his fog of grief just long enough to throw him a lifeline back into the land of the living.
Although Preston’s journey is at times very dark, “A Thousand Miles Behind” is ultimately a beautiful and poignant story of hope, that even when life hits at its absolute hardest there is always a way through if you can just hang in there long enough to find your way back to the light.
Grieving the recent death of his wife, Shmuel (Géza Rohrïg), decides that, in order to move on, he must understand the science behind the decomposition process of his wife’s body — despite the blasphemy inherent in any scientific inquiry. To assist his sinful pursuit, he seeks out Albert (Matthew Broderick), a community-college biology professor who Shmuel enlists to teach informal science lessons.
These soon grow to include homemade experiments and a road trip to a body farm, and, as their macabre misadventures and unlikely friendship grow ever more peculiar, the odd couple prove they will stop at nothing to satiate their curiosity and, ultimately find Shmuel the peace he seeks.
Based on the international bestseller by Robert Seethaler and starring Bruno Ganz (“Downfall”, “Wings of Desire”) as Sigmund Freud. “The Tobacconist” is a tender, heart-breaking story about one young man and his friendship with Sigmund Freud during the Nazi occupation of Vienna. Seventeen-year-old Franz journeys to Vienna to apprentice at a tobacco shop. There he meets Sigmund Freud (Bruno Ganz), a regular customer, and over time the two very different men form a singular friendship.
When Franz falls desperately in love with the music-hall dancer Anezka, he seeks advice from the renowned psychoanalyst, who admits that the female sex is as big a mystery to him as it is to Franz. As political and social conditions in Austria dramatically worsen with the Nazis’ arrival in Vienna, Franz, Freud, and Anezka are swept into the maelstrom of events. Each has a big decision to make: to stay or to flee?
A woman disguises herself as her dead brother, Henry, in order to survive in the Confederate ranks during the American Civil War. With the help of Indians hiding in the mountains ‘Henry’ is reunited with the widow, Virginia, who saved his life at the battle of Antietam and marries her to rescue Virginia from an unfortunate arranged betrothal. They keep each others secrets and forge an unusual family. It is the alchemy of gratitude.
A widowed mortician, struggling with agoraphobia, is given a birthday gift from her mother and daughter as a joke. Molly Harrison is not exactly a “regular” mom. And that’s not just because she’s a mortician. She hasn’t left the house since her husband Peter died three years ago of a freak accident on her birthday. Now on Molly’s 40th birthday, her daughter Sam and mother Ivy present her with tickets to Moscow hoping a trip just might finally be the thing to help get her out of the house. But the tickets come with a catch — a gag gift of a life-sized doll named Pedro.
Pedro quickly goes from funny to fantastical, confounding Molly’s attempts to go outside, straining her ties with her family, and threatening her budding relationship with a kind but lonely documentary filmmaker named Joe.
An immigrant’s son takes an epic journey from Mexico to New York City as he searches for his father who was an undocumented worker in the World Trade Center, and has disappeared after 9/11. On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Fernando and his family in Mexico watch the news in horror as the Twin Towers collapse. His father, Balthazar, is an undocumented busboy on the top floor in the Windows on the World restaurant. Three weeks pass, and there is no word from Balthazar. No telephone calls, money orders, or hope that he is alive.
As the family grieves, feeling the emotional and financial toll of their absent patriarch, Fernando’s distraught mother swears she sees her husband on news footage – escaping from the building, alive! Heroic Fernando decides to take the epic journey from Mexico to New York City to find his father and save his family. Along the way, he finds love and befriends an eclectic group of international characters that help him restore his faith in humanity, as Fernando discovers the hard truths about his father, the melting pot of America, and the immigrant experience.
Halla is a fifty-year-old independent woman. But behind the scenes of a quiet routine, she leads a double life as a passionate environmental activist. Known to others only by her alias “The Woman of the Mountain,” Halla secretly wages a one-woman-war on the local aluminum industry. As Halla’s actions grow bolder, from petty vandalism to outright industrial sabotage, she succeeds in pausing the negotiations between the Icelandic government and the corporation building a new aluminum smelter.
But right as she begins planning her biggest and boldest operation yet, she receives an unexpected letter that changes everything. Her application to adopt a child has finally been accepted and there is a little girl waiting for her in Ukraine. As Halla prepares to abandon her role as saboteur and savior of the Highlands to fulfill her dream of becoming a mother, she decides to plot one final attack to deal the aluminum industry a crippling blow.
In a desolate stretch of the Sahara, a mysterious car accident leaves a young woman lost and alone. Jake, a reclusive architect, finds her unconscious. He drives her to the nearest doctor, to discover that she’s suffering from post-traumatic amnesia. Intoxicated by the woman’s beauty, Jake claims to be her husband. He names her Kitty and takes her to his remote desert home to recuperate.
As Kitty struggles to come to grips with who she is, Jake invents an elaborate life they can share – the life he has always yearned for.
Documentary Features
When he started as a comedy writer for the Late Show with David Letterman, Steve Young had few interests outside of his day job. But while gathering material for a segment on the show, Steve stumbled onto a few vintage record albums that would change his life forever. Bizarre cast recordings — marked “internal use only” — revealed full-throated Broadway-style musical shows about some of the most recognizable corporations in America: General Electric, McDonald’s, Ford, DuPont, Xerox. Steve didn’t know much about musical theater, but these recordings delighted him in a way that nothing ever had.
“Bathtubs Over Broadway” follows Steve on his quest to find all he can about this hidden world. While tracking down rare albums, unseen footage, composers and performers, Steve forms unlikely friendships and discovers that this discarded musical genre starring tractors and bathtubs was bigger than Broadway.
The toxic effects of bias make headlines every day: sexual harassment, racial profiling, the pay gap. As humans, we are biased. Yet few of us are willing to admit it. We confidently make snap judgments, but we are shockingly unaware of the impact our assumptions have on those around us. The documentary feature “Bias” follows filmmaker Robin Hauser on a journey to uncover her hidden biases and explore how unconscious bias defines relationships, workplaces, our justice system, and technology.
“Bias” contemplates the most pressing question: Can we de-bias our brains?
A testament to the immense complexity of nature, “The Biggest Little Farm” follows two dreamers and a dog on an odyssey to bring harmony to both their lives and the land.
When the barking of their beloved dog Todd leads to an eviction notice from their tiny LA apartment, John and Molly Chester make a choice that takes them out of the city and onto 200 acres in the foothills of Ventura County, naively endeavoring to build one of the most diverse farms of its kind in complete coexistence with nature. The land they’ve chosen, however, is utterly depleted of nutrients and suffering from a brutal drought.
“The Biggest Little Farm” chronicles eight years of daunting work and outsize idealism as they attempt to create the utopia they seek, planting 10,000 orchard trees and over 200 different crops, and bringing in animals of every kind — including an unforgettable pig named Emma and her best friend, Greasy the rooster. When the farm’s ecosystem finally begins to reawaken, so does the Chesters’ hope — but as their plan to create perfect harmony takes a series of wild turns, they realize that to survive they will have to reach a far greater understanding of the intricacies and wisdom of nature, and of life itself.
Teeming with stunningly beautiful images of flora and fauna — and a pregnant hog that will melt your heart — “The Biggest Little Farm” is a testament to idealism. For urban viewers, it’s a necessary confrontation with how our food is grown. It’s also a family adventure, full of suspense and emotion that will leave a lump in your throa
“The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned from a Mythical Man”
“The Bill Murray Stories” follows one man’s journey to find meaning in Bill Murray’s many unexpected adventures with everyday people. Featuring rare and never-before seen footage of the comedic icon participating in stories previously presumed to be urban legend. Whether it be singing karaoke late at night with strangers or crashing a kickball game in the middle of the afternoon, Bill Murray lives in the moment and by doing so, creates magic with real people.
Personal and crucial, “The Blessing” follows a Navajo coal miner raising his secretive daughter as a single father, struggling with his part in the irreversible destruction of their sacred mountain at the hands of America’s largest coal producer.
“The Blessing” is a feature-length documentary film, co-directed by the Emmy Award-winning filmmaking team Hunter Robert Baker and Jordan Fein. Made with support from the International Documentary Association and the Points North Institute, and captured over the course of five years, the filmmakers join a Navajo family for some of the most deeply personal and important moments in the character’s lives, from a miner enduring a life-threatening injury and confronting the deep spiritual sacrifice he makes to provide for his family. To a young Navajo woman discovering her inner identity and managing the expectations of her traditional father, while playing on the men’s varsity football team and being crowned homecoming queen.
First and foremost a character-driven film, “The Blessing” brings the search for acceptance to broad audiences through the unprecedented and intimate access the filmmakers have been given to this under-reported social and environmental story on the Navajo Nation.
“The Butterfly Trees” is a documentary feature film that captures the transcontinental journey of the eastern monarch butterflies on their epic migration from the forested shores of Southern Canada to the rare and ancient oyamel fir trees of Central Mexico. Part science, part adventure, and part love story, the film is a captivating reflection on the profound mysteries of the natural world and the ties that irrevocably connect us all. The story weaves together a wondrous tapestry of stunning visuals, passion for discovery, and the eclectic mix of the people for whom these butterflies have become a magnificent obsession.
Filled with allegory and poetic contemplations, “The Butterfly Trees” brings to the screen a universal story of life and the search for legacy and meaning by using the monarch migration as a poignant metaphor that embodies love, hope, transformation and connections that transcend borders. The monarch butterfly is emblematic of our fragile and complex ecology. But the monarch is also a potent symbol for our individual life’s journey, intergenerational connection, and the quest for mutual belonging and finding our place in this world.
“Campesino” celebrates the lives of the Cuban tobacco farmer as introduced to us by one American whose passion has been photographing them for over a decade. Carl Oelerich, a skycap at the Salt Lake City International Airport, has returned year after year to photograph the same people.
Two hours west of Havana in the rust colored tobacco fields of Vinales, famous for growing some of the best tobacco in the world, Carl introduces us to the Campesino life. It is through his relationships and images that we embark on this journey with a cast of characters whose candid conversations overflow with insight, love, hardship, humor and gratitude.
Through the unexpected personal journey of Carl, “Campesino”, introduces us to a world preserved by time, on the brink of opening up, in a way few people will ever see again.
“Carlos Almaraz Playing With Fire”
A look at the life and work of the late Los Angeles artist Carlos Almaraz. From the lens of an immigrant child coming to this country to live his American Dream of becoming a famous artist. Through interviews and personal journal entries we explore his inner demons, his passions, his rise as a beloved leader of the Chicano Art Movement and his subsequent success as an artist who is ultimately lost to AIDS in the late 1980’s.
Few artists in fact painted canvases with the fiery passion and commitment of Almaraz. The time has come to fully tell his story and acknowledge an American Master and his impact in the larger art world in general. The famous collected his works from NYC to LA. Yet his challenges, demons, struggles and explorations through sexuality provides the essential stuff of great storytelling. His journals will provide a rare window and essential perspective giving us full dimensionality in his own and often humorous voice.
Carlos once said “Painting is an illusion. It’s a picture that someone makes. It’s a window to something that may or may not be real. It’s there and it’s as real as anything else at the time that you’re viewing it.”
In the midst of the 2008 market crash, investors on the fringes of the financial world feverishly sought new alternatives for high-return investments in the global markets. With Chinese indexes demonstrating explosive growth, the country suddenly emerged as a gold rush opportunity with one caveat: US investors were prohibited from investing directly into the country’s market. Makeshift solutions led to a market frenzy, until one investor discovered the massive web of fraud left in its wake.
Jed Rothstein’s documentary rings the alarm on the need for transparency in an increasingly deregulated financial world by following those working to uncover the biggest heist you’ve never heard of.
Amidst a landmark class action lawsuit over illegal policing quotas, “Crime + Punishment” intimately observes the real lives and struggles of a group of black and Latino whistleblower cops known as “The NYPD 12” and the young minorities they are pressured to arrest and summons in New York City.
Over four years of unprecedented access, the film cinematically exposes the interconnected stories of systemic injustice in New York City policing through the bold efforts of a group of active duty officers, an innocent young man stuck in Rikers and one unforgettable private investigator. They bravely risk their safety, careers and livelihoods to bring light to harmful policing practices which have plagued the precincts and streets of New York City for decades.
For most of the 20th century, government agents systematically forced Native American children from their homes and placed them with white families. As recently as the 1970’s, one in four Native children nationwide were living in non-Native foster care, adoptive homes, or boarding schools. Many children experienced devastating emotional and physical harm by adults who mistreated them and tried to erase their cultural identity. Now, for the first time, they are being asked to share their stories.
In Maine, a historic investigation—the first government-sanctioned truth and reconciliation commission (TRC) in the United States—begins a bold journey. For over two years, Native and non-Native commissioners travel across Maine. They gather testimony and bear witness to the devastating impact of the state’s child welfare practices on families in Maliseet, Micmac, Passamaquoddy and Penobscot tribal communities. Collectively, these tribes make up the Wabanaki people.
“Dawnland” follows the TRC to contemporary Wabanaki communities to witness intimate, sacred moments of truth-telling and healing. With exclusive access to this groundbreaking process and never-before-seen footage, the film reveals the untold narrative of Indigenous child removal in the United States.
In 1945, DuPont introduced Teflon to the marketplace and changed millions of American households. Today, a biopersistent chemical used in the creation of those products is in the bloodstream of 99 percent of all Americans. A compelling and ultimately terrifying watch that will make you question everything in your kitchen.
Tucked in the rolling hills of West Virginia, the town of Parkersburg is described by those who live there as an idyllic place to raise a family. It’s also home to a sprawling DuPont chemical plant that manufactures Teflon. When Wilbur Tennant noticed the cows on his family farm were mysteriously dying, he suspected it might be tied to the adjacent “non-hazardous” landfill operated by DuPont. When he filmed what was happening on the farm and contacted a lawyer, the toxic legacy of C8 – DuPont’s Teflon chemical – was discovered. Then one autumn day in 2000, local schoolteacher Joe Kiger opened his mail and found a letter in his water bill informing him that C8 was in his drinking water, but safe for consumption. Most people would throw the letter away – and most did – but Joe Kiger is different.
The trail of deception he and his wife Darlene uncovered made the sleepy town of Parkersburg the epicenter of one of the largest class action lawsuits in the history of environmental law. As the citizens of Parkersburg rise up against the forces that polluted their town, the story builds out to dozens of other American cities. In fact, at least 6.5 million Americans in 27 states are drinking water tainted by the Teflon toxin.
Ed Asner is widely acknowledged as the most honored performer in American television history (seven Emmys, five Golden Globes), an intrepid spokesman for progressive American ideals, and the bane of the right-wing noise machine that tends to be mainstream media in the USA today. Art and politics, despite routine denials up in the sky boxes, usually intersect.
This full-length documentary probes the ethnic Kansas City roots of Asner’s fascinating life, his early struggles, his inspirations and influences, his remarkable acting career, his brave political activism at personal cost and his unflagging energy to this day as a superb performer on screen and stage. Asner is frank, incisive and often puckish in reflections about himself as well as about friends, associates and enemies.
This two-time former president of the Screen Actors Guild (1981-85) is as devoutly serious about the craft of acting as he is about sticking to ethical action in public life. Like his famous blunt and beloved screen counterpart ‘Lou Grant’, Asner’s personal creed in real life is to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable while remaining the consummate professional. “Ed Asner: On Stage and Off” is an entertaining yet intimately informative portrait of one of the finest American actors of his (or any other) generation. Interviewees include actor Michael Shannon, director Oliver Stone, actor Mike Farrell, theater legend David Shepherd, historian Paul Buhle, theater historian and radio host Janet Coleman, film critic Derek Malcolm and others.
With unprecedented footage, “Elephant Path” captures the beauty and behavior of the rare and elusive Forest Elephants. Our guides on this journey are Sessely Bernard, a tracker and elder of the Bayaka people, and Andrea Turkalo, an American field biologist.
In a remote clearing in the rainforest of the Central African Republic (CAR) called Dzanga Bai, the elephants gather to bathe in the mud and drink the mineral-rich water. Andrea’s presence at the clearing and her close relationship with Sessely have been important factors in keeping poaching to a minimum at Dzanga Bai. Each day Andrea and Sessely sit side by side on the wooden observation platform talking quietly and recording the behavior of the elephants. Moses has a scar. Anatol has rips in his ears. Brice likes to charge. There is Romana, Ezra, Izzy and Madonna. For decades Andrea and Sessely have watched the elephants bathe and play and grow. They’ve seen newborns coaxed along, youths tussle, and young bulls learn to be males. Sharing the platform with Andrea and Sessely is Zephirine Mbele, an eco-guard on the front lines of the anti-poaching efforts.
As their lives converge on the paths of the last wild herd of forest elephants in the Central African Republic, each will be tested by the realities of war and the limits of hope for the majestic animals they have committed their lives to study and protect.
“Every Act of Life” profiles world-renowned playwright Terrence McNally’s pioneering 5-decade career in the theater, focusing on the struggle for LGBT rights and his pursuit of love and inspiration at every age.
Featuring Angela Lansbury, F. Murray Abraham, Larry Kramer, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Edie Falco, Christine Baranski, Patrick Wilson, Billy Porter, and many more. Terrence traveled the world as tutor to John Steinbeck’s children (Steinbeck’s only advice was, “Don’t write for the theater. It will break your heart”); suffered an infamous Broadway flop in 1965 at age 24; and went on to write dozens of groundbreaking plays and musicals about sexuality, homophobia, faith, the power of art, the need to connect, and finding meaning in every moment of life.
He’s won four Tony Awards; had long relationships with Edward Albee and Wendy Wasserstein; lost a lover and many friends to AIDS; stopped drinking through the intervention of Angela Lansbury; helped launch the careers of Nathan Lane, F. Murray Abraham, Audra McDonald, Doris Roberts, Patrick Wilson, and Joe Mantello; was an early champion of marriage equality and faced violent protests for his play Corpus Christi; survived a brutal fight with lung cancer; and finally found lasting love with his now-husband, producer Tom Kirdahy.
In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Sedika Mojadidi follows two compelling Afghan women, within the government and the media, through the pivotal period after the international withdrawal from Afghanistan. Through Sedika’s perspective, we see Afghan women on the front lines struggling to maintain their hard-won rights in a country where lawlessness, political instability, and violence remains the standard way of life.
From worldwide acclaim to a nationwide political battle for survivor’s of sexual abuse, “The Five Browns” captures the emotional journey of the Juilliard trained, sibling piano prodigies – and their remarkable story of determination, healing and bravery as they come to terms with the sexual abuse the three girls suffered from their manager and father.
The best way to predict the future is to invent it. The side of Silicon Valley you never see, “General Magic” is a tale of how great vision and epic failure can change the world. Spun out from Apple in 1990 to create the ‘next big thing’, General Magic shipped the first handheld wireless personal communicator in 1994. From the first smartphones to social media, e-commerce and even emoji, the ideas that now dominate the tech industry and our day-to-day lives were born at General Magic. But this was before the Web, before 3G, before Google, before everyone had a mobile phone in their pocket. The world was not ready in 1994 to hold the world in its hands. And though General Magic died, those concepts and the people who pioneered them went on to change almost everything.
Combining rare archive footage with contemporary stories of the Magicians today, this documentary tracks the progress of anytime, anywhere communication from a thing of science-fiction in 1994 to a reality in our pockets and on our wrists today. With members of the original Mac team and the creators of the iPhone, Android, eBay and many more, this is the story of one of history’s most talented teams and what happens when those who dream big fail, fail again, fail better and ultimately succeed.
Although Hal Ashby directed a remarkable string of acclaimed, widely admired classics throughout the 1970s — “Harold and Maude”, “The Last Detail”, “Shampoo”, “Coming Home”, “Being There” — he is often overlooked amid the crowd of luminaries from his generation.
Amy Scott’s exuberant portrait explores that curious oversight, using rare archival materials, interviews, personal letters, and audio recordings to reveal a passionate, obsessive artist. Ashby was a Hollywood director who constantly clashed with Hollywood, but also a unique soul with an unprecedented insight into the human condition and an unmatched capacity for good. His films were an elusive blend of honesty, irreverence, humor, and humanity.
Through the heartrending and inspiring “Hal”, you feel buoyed by Ashby’s love of people and of cinema, a little like walking on water.
Women and men attend film schools in equal numbers, but women direct only 4% of top grossing feature films in the U.S. Why are women largely shut out of this prestigious, lucrative and culturally influential profession? High profile women directors including Ava DuVernay (“A Wrinkle In Time”), Lena Dunham (“Girls”), Jill Soloway (“Transparent”), among others, offer candid, unfiltered and often humorous tales of their careers in Hollywood, while experts on gender inequality destroy the myths that have allowed discrimination in Hollywood to thrive.
The entertainment industry has denied women’s voices for decades, but with a new Federal investigation into discriminatory hiring in Hollywood and a powerful movement toward equal representation gaining momentum, could this be the dawn of a new era?
“The Heat: A Kitchen (R)evolution”
Restaurant kitchens are a pressurized stew of brutal hours, high stress and sleep deprivation. Acting out goes with the territory and anyone lower on the totem pole is fair game. But the familiar macho posturing of celebrity chefs has reached a tipping point. Now with an influx of women at the helm of restaurants, and a younger generation unwilling to submit to the brutal conditions once considered the norm, the rules of “kitchen culture” as we know it are being rewritten.
It takes a brazen personality to excel in the competitive sport of professional cooking. A woman can only ascend the ranks if she can take the heat. Meet seven women chefs at the forefront of a “revolution.”
“In 1918, the US Army Signal Corps sent 223 women to France as telephone operators to help win the Great War. They wore Army uniforms and swore Army oaths. By war’s end, these women, known affectionately as the Hello Girls, had connected over 26 million calls.
They served during the occupation of Germany and the Paris Peace Conference. The last of the Hello Girls returned home in 1920, only to be told they were never soldiers after all. For 60 years, they fought the US government for recognition. In 1977, they won. Only 33 were still alive.
Told through 100-year old letters, photos, rare archival footage, only known audio of a real Hello Girl, and interviews with family and historians, “The Hello Girls” brings to life a story that was lost to history.
In 2018, two US Senators introduced legislation to award the women the Congressional Gold Medal.”
We humans are a force of nature. At the same time human activities alter the basic elements of life — earth, air, water, and fire — those elements change human life. In this riveting and visually rich drama, blending art and science, we follow renowned environmental photographer James Balog as he explores the impact of wildfires, hurricanes, sea level rise, a struggling coal mining community, and our changing air.
With rare compassion and heart, “The Human Element” highlights Americans who are on the frontlines of climate change, inspiring us to re-evaluate our relationship with the natural world.
“JONI 75:A Birthday Celebration”
Join an incredible array of singers and musicians who came together to honor one of the world’s most remarkable artists, Joni Mitchell, on her 75th birthday. The hand-selected group of peers and protégés including Brandi Carlile, Glen Hansard, Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Chaka Khan, Diana Krall, Kris Kristofferson, Los Lobos with La Marisoul, Cesar Castro & Xochi Flores, Graham Nash, Seal, James Taylor, Rufus Wainwright and more paid tribute to the iconic artist, performing songs from all stages of Mitchell’s life and career, across her entire catalog of 19 studio albums.
Captured over two nights in November 2018 by The Music Center at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, the entire concert, along with special behind-the-scenes interviews with the artists, will be shown at this special event. As an artist, Mitchell performed with an emotional honesty that resonated with a wide audience.
The unifying effect of Mitchell’s music rings out with a closing group singalong to “Big Yellow Taxi” during which Mitchell herself is captured on camera. But the biggest moment, the most emotional, is saved for the end when the celebrated singer takes to the stage to blow out candles on a cake after the crowd serenades her with “Happy Birthday.”
“Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People”
Joseph Pulitzer is an American icon who spoke of “fake news” over one hundred years ago. He fought the dangers that the suppression of news had for a democracy long before our present threats to press freedom. While he is remembered for the prizes that bear his name, his own heroic battles in the face of grave illness and presidential ire have been forgotten as has the artistry and game changing originality he brought to newspapers. How did Pulitzer, once a penniless young Jewish immigrant from Hungary, come to challenge a popular president and fight for freedom of the press as essential to our democracy?
Adam Driver narrates the film. Liev Schreiber is the voice of Pulitzer. Tim Blake Nelson is the voice of Teddy Roosevelt and Rachel Brosnahan is the voice of Nelly Bly.
“The Judge” provides rare insight into Shari’a law, an often misunderstood legal framework for Muslims, told through the eyes of the first woman judge to be appointed to the Middle East’s religious courts. When she was a young lawyer, Kholoud Al-Faqih walked into the office of Palestine’s Chief Justice and announced she wanted to join the bench. He laughed at her. But just a few years later, Kholoud became the first woman judge in the Shari’a courts.
“The Judge” offers a unique portrait of Kholoud — her brave journey as a lawyer, her tireless fight for justice for women, and her drop-in visits with clients, friends, and family. In the process, the film illuminates some of the universal conflicts in the domestic life of Palestine — custody of children, divorce, abuse — while offering an unvarnished look at life for women under Shari’a law.
Multiple Sclerosis societies around the world maintain that the cause and the cure of MS are still unknown. Yet pharmaceutical companies are showing record profits on sales of MS drugs, even though there is no conclusive evidence that they have an effect on the course of the disease. Filmmaker and activist Matt Embry was diagnosed with MS in 1995 and was told there was no cure. His father, Ashton, a research geologist, helped him develop simple dietary and exercise guidelines. He has since remained healthy.
Now in his early forties and showing no signs of physically slowing down, he sets his sights on shaking up a system that has so far refused to listen. Treatments by top-tier scientists that have shown major improvement on patients’ mobility have systematically been shut down by big pharma and delays from the FDA since, as Embry argues, they don’t offer the prospect of a marketable product (read: a drug). Perhaps more surprising and shocking is the refusal of some charitable associations to partake in crucial information sharing.
“Living Proof” is an incendiary, disciplined and heartbreaking exposé on the reasons sick people might be staying sick. Embry brings a profoundly personal approach to the lack of transparency and questionable morality in the policies of medical development—policies that have direct impacts on the patients he meets. He follows the money, and it doesn’t lead to a good place.
“Metamorphosis” bears witness to a moment of profound change: the loss of one world, and the birth of another. Forest fires consume communities, species vanish, and entire ecosystems collapse. Economic growth, tied to increased speed of resource extraction, has created a machine with the capacity to destroy all life. But this crisis is also an opportunity for transformation. Through a tidal flow of stunning images, “Metamorphosis” carves a path from the present to the future.
Woven together with stories of creativity and reinvention from artists, scientists, thinkers, and young children are creative, systemic solutions for our planet, and for our communities. “Metamorphosis” cinematically delves into how humanity is being transformed in new ways by the environmental crises we have created.
“Moving Stories” is about six dancers from the acclaimed Battery Dance Company who travel the world, working with youth who’ve experienced war, poverty, prejudice, sexual exploitation, and severe trauma as refugees. The film follows them to India, where they work with girls rescued from sex trafficking and gender violence; to Romania, with Roma (gypsy) kids from one of Europe’s worst slums; to South Korea, with young North Koreans who risked their lives to escape; and to Iraq, where they work with a gifted young Muslim dancer, fighting to survive.
Incredibly, they have just one week to teach the tools of choreography and collaboration to kids who may be enemies, who may have been abused, who may be suspicious and fearful, so that they can create dances to perform for their communities. As they struggle to break through, the dancer-teachers confront their own frustrations. Yet their students respond in extraordinary ways; and as they prepare to perform in public in what seems an impossibly short time, both students and teachers experience surprising transformations, unlocking feelings and stories in wellsprings of creativity.
A man battling reclusion and a racehorse on the brink of death save each other in unexpected ways.
Trapped in an Israeli hospital with his grandfather, young Muhi provides a unique window into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The words “Israeli-Palestinian conflict” are often wielded broadly, in ways that ignore its impact on daily lives. Anyone unfamiliar with the results of this division on a human level would benefit from watching “Muhi: Generally, Temporary,” a powerful look at a young child trapped between two sides of a battle that has nothing to do with him.
Jerusalem-based journalists Rina Castelnuovo-Hollander and Tamir Elterman direct this engaging portrait of Muhi (short for Muhammed), who was rushed to an Israeli hospital in his infancy, where his limbs were amputated as a result of an infection. Then he was stuck there, alongside his doting grandfather Abu Naim, as both wound up trapped in an immigration limbo that made it impossible for them to leave. With Muhi’s citizenship unclear, and Abu Naim denied a work permit or visa, the pair reside solely within the constraints of the hospital walls. As the years pass by, the setting becomes a kind of sanctuary for them — or a prison, depending on the day.
Shot over the course of several years, “Muhi” focuses on the progress of the energetic child as he bounds through the hallways of the hospital, his cherubic face and jubilant attitude belying the sad backdrop. Dashing about on prosthetic limbs when not forced to make do with his stumps, Muhi displays a general understanding of his situation but displays none of the complex distress of his elders. The result is an compelling contrast between obliviousness and anxiety that forms a strong allegory for the broader challenges that surround Muhi’s complicated existence — and speaks to the competing emotions embedded in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict itself.
“Promise at Dawn” is based on the acclaimed autobiographical novel by Romain Gary From his childhood in Poland to his adolescence in Nice to his years as a student in Paris and his tough training as a pilot during World War II, this epic drama tells the romantic story of Romain Gary, one of the most famous French novelists and sole writer to have won the Goncourt Prize for French literature two times.
Barry Avrich’s gripping new documentary tells the fascinating story of Ben Ferencz — the last surviving Nuremberg prosecutor and lifelong advocate of “law not war.” After witnessing Nazi concentration camps shortly after liberation, Ferencz became lead prosecutor in the Einsatzgruppen case at Nuremberg, which has been called the biggest murder trial in history.
He was 27 years old and it was his first trial. All 22 Nazi officials tried for murdering over a million people were convicted. Ferencz went on to advocate for restitution for Jewish victims of the Holocaust and later for the establishment of the International Criminal Court. His fight for justice for victims of atrocity crimes continues today.
“The Push” is an inspirational documentary about the power of never giving up. Grant Korgan is a world-class adventurer, nano-mechanics professional, and husband. On March 5, 2010, while filming a snowmobiling segment in the Sierra Nevada back country, the Lake Tahoe native burst-fractured his L1 vertebrae, and suddenly added the world of spinal cord injury recovery to his list of pursuits.
On January 17, 2012, along with two seasoned explorers, Grant attempted the insurmountable, and became the first spinal cord injured athlete to literally PUSH himself — nearly 100 miles (the final degree of latitude) to the most inhospitable place on the planet — the bottom of the globe, the geographic South Pole. Grant and his guides reached their destination on the 100th anniversary of the first explorers to travel to the South Pole. Facing brutal elements, demanding topography and presumed physical limitations are just some of the challenges they faced along the journey.
With this inspirational documentary, The Push team hopes to inspire people in all walks of life to achieve the seemingly insurmountable in their life, to push their own everyday limits, and to live their ultimate potential.
“Reversing Roe” is a deep historical look at one of the most controversial issues of our time, highlighting the abortion debate from various points along the ideological spectrum in a winding story of abortion in America. The Supreme Court declared abortion legal 45 years ago in Roe v. Wade, and the ruling has been under siege nearly as long.
As Sedona Film Festival alumnae Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg chronicle in “Reversing Roe”, over the decades legal challenges and restrictions have chipped away at women’s access to abortion, and the issue itself has become a hugely effective political tool. Those are the main, if unsurprising, take-aways from this solid, straightforward history of abortion rights in America.
Many documentaries about abortion rely on emotional, first-hand stories from women who have chosen, or been denied the choice, to end a pregnancy. “Reversing Roe” takes a more cerebral approach, using news footage and current interviews on both sides of the divide to try to illuminate the subject. Although the film makes no eye-opening revelations, it slowly gains power by conveying the weight of history that has led to the present moment, with abortion rights hanging in the balance of the Supreme Court.
“Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor“
“Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor” is a documentary about a woman who has to make a choice after learning her personal — and very intimate — diaries have been stolen. As an actress — an employee of the Hollywood studios — it means risking everything. Using interviews with Astor’s daughter Marylyn, along with film historians Molly Haskell and Leonard Maltin, the film tells the story of Astor’s 1936 child custody case. Coincidentally, at the same time the trial is taking place, the actress is filming the movie “Dodsworth”, directed by William Wyler. David Wyler, the director’s son, and L.A. Times critic Kevin Thomas are also interviewed and give their perspectives on this amazing — and very timely — struggle.
Hailed by critics as “immensely likeable,” “brilliant and quirky” and an “ode to the teenage science geeks on who our future depends,” and winner of the audience award at Sundance and SXSW, National Geographic Documentary Films’ “Science Fair” follows nine high school students from around the globe as they navigate rivalries, setbacks and, of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at The International Science and Engineering Fair.
As 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries face off, only one will be named Best in Fair. The film offers a front seat to the victories, defeats and motivations of an incredible group of young men and women who are on a path to change their lives, and the world, through science.
Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios present one of the most important but untold science stories of our time — a tale with profound implications for the fate of life on our planet. Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth — from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools — they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life.
Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology share the stories of their adventures, reveal how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head, and give us a chance to re-imagine the world as it could and should be.
“A Thousand Girls Like Me” is an awe-inspiring vérité documentary that tells the story of a young Afghan woman’s brave fight to seek justice and protect her children after experiencing years of abuse at the hands of her father. Khatera Golzad’s father physically and sexually abused her for more than thirteen years, and after several aborted pregnancies, she gave birth to a daughter and a son. Despite her many attempts to file charges, neither the Afghan police nor the legal system helped her. In 2014, she appeared on national television to publicly accuse her father, finally succeeding in bringing her case to court despite threats from male relatives and judges who labelled her a liar.
Shedding light on the broken Afghan judicial system and the women it seldom protects, “A Thousand Girls Like Me” is the story of one woman’s battle against cultural, familial, and legal pressures as she embarks on a mission to set a positive example for her daughter and other girls like her. In a country where the systematic abuse of girls is rarely discussed, Afghan filmmaker Sahra Mani’s film is ultimately a story of bravery, love, hope and resilience.
“Toxic Puzzle: Hunt for the Hidden Killer”
Dying from diseases like ALS and Alzheimer’s is a tormenting process. The illnesses are on the increase and scientists believe an environmental toxin is to blame. Ellie O’Connell has ALS. She becomes the inspiration that informs scientist Paul Cox in his quest to find a cure.
This is a medical and environmental detective story where documentary filmmaker Bo Landin follows Cox and his team around the world in a hunt for the hidden killer. The pieces come together in a toxic puzzle where cyanobacteria in our waters becomes the culprit. Are these organisms, fed by human pollution and climate change, staging nature’s revenge by claiming human lives?
This is a story about hope. One by one the puzzle pieces fall into place. Science has opened up doors to a future which is both threatening and yet promising. Their work has created hope for ALS patients and their families. We now know that changing our diet can prevent the toxins from destroying our brains. Maybe soon, the scientists will lay down the missing piece, which allows us to bring back our loved ones from the darkness of brain disorders, to regain lucidity and perfect health.
Ever since its transformation from an over-the-hill mining town to a world class ski resort, Telluride has been a diverse mix of ski bums, trust funders, back-to-the-land hippies, liberal second-home owners, urban dropouts and savvy business entrepreneurs. But the one thing they all agreed upon was that they weren’t going to let developers run the show. So when a multinational corporation proposed an Aspen-style development of trophy homes on the 600 acre gateway to Telluride’s box canyon, the citizens of Telluride said NO.
“The Valley” is their story — an eclectic community’s monumental challenge to raise $50 million dollars in three months to purchase the Valley Floor and pull off an environmental triumph.
Inspired by the traditional sacred music of Syria, filmmaker Amar Chebib traveled to Damascus and Aleppo in 2010. Six months later the Syrian Civil War began, escalating into a bloody war and the largest humanitarian crisis of our time. Touched by the harrowing experiences of the friends he made, Wajd transformed into the stories of three musicians turned refugees.
Over five years, we witness the struggles of Ibrahim, Abdulwahed, and Mohamed as they face their traumatic past. Forced to rebuild their lives in exile, they turn to their love of music to help them find meaning in the aftermath of destruction and atrocity. Intimate footage of their daily lives weaves together with bittersweet musical performances, extremely rare Sufi ceremonies, and poetic imagery of a pre-war Syria that no longer exists.
What unfolds is a cinematic meditation on loss, yearning, and faith.
Lt. Wes Van Dorn, a 29-year-old U.S. Naval Academy graduate and the married father of two young sons, died when the helicopter he was piloting crashed off the coast of Virginia during a 2014 training exercise. Motivated by her grief, his wife Nicole sought an explanation for the cause of the disaster. Her efforts spurred an investigation that uncovered a long history of negligence and institutional failings around the 53E helicopter—the model Van Dorn was piloting when he was killed, and the deadliest aircraft in the U.S. military.
Through incisive reporting and interviews with Van Dorn’s colleagues and family, “Who Killed Lt. Van Dorn?” is at once a poignant picture of one family’s tragedy, as well as a revelatory inquiry into the murky inner-workings of the American defense establishment.
The life of Andrew Wyeth in bold strokes. “Wyeth” tells the story of one of America’s most popular, but least understood, artists. While his exhibitions routinely broke attendance records, art world critics continually assaulted his work. Through unprecedented access to Wyeth family members, archival materials, and his work, “Wyeth” presents the most complete portrait of the artist ever — bearing witness to a legacy just at the moment it is evolving.
“If somehow I can, before I leave this Earth, combine my absolutely mad freedom and excitement with truth, then I will have done something.” — Andrew Wyeth
Animated Films
Set against the backdrop of a vast, frozen tundra; a grizzled fisherman gets his comeuppance from a vindictive, yet familiar fish.
After a weary lineman is lulled to sleep by a hypnotic tone, he sees his life pass before his eyes and gains a new appreciation for those close to him.
“Prizefighter” is an animated sportrait depicting three days in the life of heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, fighting his fiercest opponent — racism.
An overweight corgi can’t bring his owner the morning newspaper so he turns to aerobics as a last ditch effort.
Special Events
Enjoy Tinseltown’s brightest stars on Hollywood’s biggest night LIVE — right here in Sedona on Sunday, February 24! Join in the fun and festivities at “Oscars on the Rocks”, the official spot to catch the Academy Awards on the big screen. You will feel like you are right in the midst of the Oscar action —showing at TWO festival locations: the Mary D. Fisher Theatre and Harkins Theatres.
Roll out the red carpet, make your Oscar picks and join your fellow movie-lovers for a night out on the town!
“Down to Earth: The remarkable Science of Grounding”
From Sundance Award-Winning, Oscar-shortlisted filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell (“Fuel”, “The Big Fix”, “Pump”, “Good Fortune”) comes “Down to Earth”, a groundbreaking and vitally important film that reveals that the answer to America’s biggest health crisis may be literally right under our feet. It’s called “grounding” or “earthing” and it means directly connecting one’s body to the Earth to restore the electromagnetic balance needed to maintain optimal health. As the film reveals, the surface of planet Earth is negatively charged. This negative charge, when connected to human skin, reduces inflammation throughout the body, thins the blood, regulates sleep, balances hormones and contributes to other positive health effects.
“Down to Earth” shows a growing mountain of peer-reviewed research that shatters modern medical thinking. From reducing heart disease, to restoring balance in prenatal babies, to reducing or eliminating restless leg syndrome, to radically decreasing the recovery time for athletes, the film shows that study after study proves the effectiveness of grounding the human body.
“Down to Earth” features exclusive interviews with scientists, physicists, medical doctors and well-known grounding advocates who explain both the science and their often life-changing personal experience with grounding. Along with wellness expert Deepak Chopra, M.D, actress Amy Smart and actress Mariel Hemingway, filmmakers Josh and Rebecca Tickell take you on a surprising healing journey. If you or somebody you know suffers from any form of chronic pain, “Down to Earth” just might bring you back to life.
