Armenians of the World | New York Premiere | Lebanon, Syria, Armenia and Turkey | 56'
CARMEN LABAKI
On a journey that documents
the pain and suffering of the Armenian people from Turkey to Syria, to Lebanon and Armenia, the film tells the stories of agony, death, and lost dreams. It records the lives of the Armenian people, resurrecting their voices from the graves, despite the dangers and taboos encountered during the filming.
Screens March 18, 6:00 PM
Cause Of Death: Unknown | New York Premiere | Norway | 90'
ANNIKEN HOEL
A Norwegian writer, director and camerawoman, Anniken Hoel has studied film in Denmark and at FAMU (the Film Academy in Prague). She has shot and directed documentaries in the Middle East, India, USA and Europe since 2003. She divides her time between Berlin and her hometown Tromsø, where she runs her production company Manifestofilm. CAUSE OF DEATH: UNKNOWN took 11 years to finish, and it´s her feature debut.
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 17, 3:30 PM
Doing Nothing All Day | New York Premiere | Germany | 63'
Margarete Hentze works as an artist and independent filmmaker in Munich and Berlin, Germany. She graduated at the Academy of Fine Arts (Diploma as master student and 1.State Examination in pedagogy). This documentary that she co-directed with Yuval Tzafrir, asks some fundamental questions about how we educate children today. How can we create a society with people who are able to work together? Is democracy a way of life? Can democratic principles be nurtured in our school system, which is in desperate need of reform?
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 17, 1:00 PM
Ellis Island: The Making of a Master Race in America | New York Premiere | USA | 70'
Robert Tutak is Professor of Film at Brooklyn College of the City University of NY, recipient of the Fulbright Foundation Grant in Film, Graduate of the Lodz Film School of Poland, and founder-director of the Manhattan Film Academy. His film credits include five feature films as well as several shorts and documentaries. Tutak's work has been distributed, broadcast on television and screened at festivals in over twenty countries around the world and in the U.S., including the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 19, 9:30 PM
Hotel Everest | New York Premiere |
USA | 39'
Filmed over a tumultuous two-year period, the film follows the efforts and relationship between two unlikely peace activists: Eden Fuchs, a retired Israeli army colonel, and Ibrahim Issa, a Palestinian born in a refugee camp, who are joined by the Idahoan founders of the Centre for Emerging Futures, Whit and Paula Jones at the Hotel Everest.
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 20, 9:30 PM
Acoustic pianos that were once at the heart of our community lives are being dumped. Thousands go to landfill every year. In this film we see how some get rescued and are put on the street for anyone to play. Street pianos become a magnet for a rich diversity of players and bring human connection into urban spaces.
Instrument of Change: Street Piano
| New York Premiere | UK | 43'
Screens March 21, 5:30 PM
Q&A with the filmmaker
AMIR HAR-GIL
Jerusalem In Line | USA Premiere
| Israel | 60'
Dr. Amir Har-Gil's documentaries were well received worldwide with awards, Best Documentary Winner, UK Film Festival, London, UK for "Jerusalem in Line"; Best Documentary Feature, Outer Docs Film Festival, Ithaca, New York for "Uri in the Sky", and many other achievements.
Amir Har-Gil is a filmmaker who loves to observe Israelis. He endeavors to present an honest picture that is sometimes harsh, sometimes favorable.
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens on March 20, 7:30 PM
Keep Believing | USA Premiere
| Netherlands | 51'
“I like to portray pure and authentic stories with a documentary and contribute with this passion to a better world. I think film and genre documentary is a great way to share beautiful messages.”
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens on March 18, 9:30 PM
Journalist, documentary and new media producer Chelo Alvarez-Stehle has worked for over 18 years exposing stories of human trafficking and sexual exploitation through her creative and outreach work. In Japan, she worked on documentary projects on Spain's museums for NHK and became Spain’s El Mundo daily correspondent. Canal+ Spain turned one of her print reportages on child trafficking in the Himalayas into the Tin Girls feature documentary film, and Chelo served as the interviewer, assistant director and consultant
Sands Of Silence: Waves of Courage | USA Premiere | USA | 86'
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens on March 21, 9:30 PM
STACEY TENENBAUM
With over 16 years in the business, Stacey Tenenbaum is an award-winning creative producer and director with a proven track record. Stacey has a passion for finding interesting characters and presenting their stories to international audiences in an engaging fashion. She is skilled at connecting with characters and bringing their stories to life.Stacey co-created and produced the documentary television series The Beat, which followed a team of beat police patrolling the streets of the Downtown Eastside in Vancouver.
Shiners | USA Premiere | Canada | 78'
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 17, 5:30 PM
Prior to her career as a documentary filmmaker, Margaret Galbraith worked for a number of years in legal defense and community development. She assisted immigrants from various regions, including Latin America, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam. In 1997, she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study the Argentine women’s movement and spent a year in Buenos Aires.
Stickman | USA Premiere | USA | 63'
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 16, 9:30 PM
Stitching Palestine | New York Premiere | USA | 78'
Carol Mansour is an independent documentary film maker. She founded Forward Film Production in 2000 in Beirut, Lebanon. With over 25 years in documentary production, Mansour has covered the world from Sri Lanka to Lebanon to Uzbekistan. She has achieved international recognition and honor for her films, with over fifty film festival screenings and official selections worldwide.
Screens March 20, 6:00 PM
Talien | New York Premiere | USA | 87'
Elia Moutamid was born in Fes (Morocco) in 1982. In 1983 he moved with his family to the North of Italy. He has always had a strong relationship with his father who passed down to him the passion for photography. He gradually got interested in moving images and the cinematic language. “Talien” is a road movie that goes deep into the relationship between Elia and his father.
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 22, 5:00 PM
Tampon, Our Closest Enemy | New York Premiere | USA | 52'
AUDREY GLOAGUEN
After working for 5 years for the France 2 channel as an investigative reporter for the News and for the show Complément d’Enquête, she joined the Coyote production company as an Editor-in-chief in charge of magazines. She has created the documentary series called Fourchette et sac à dos (France 5 channel) and has supervised reports for the show Envoyé spécial (France 2 channel).
Q&A with the filmmaker
Screens March 19, 7:30 PM
Transformer | New York Premiere | USA | 75'
Michael Del Monte is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He received his Master's in theology/philosophy from The University of Toronto. His films explore the psychological state of his characters who find themselves in unique and uncharted territories.
Screens March 17, 9:30 PM
When I Stutter | New York Premiere | USA | 67'
John Gomez was born and raised in Northern New Mexico. He attended Colorado College where he earned a degree in Philosophy and American Ethnic Studies. At the age of 24 he pursued an acting career in New York first and then tried his luck in Hollywood. At the age of 31 he decided to return to school to become a Speech-Language Pathologist. He graduated from California State Los Angeles University with a Masters degree in Communication Disorders in 2009.
