“An epic documentary about Nan Goldin and her activism against the Sackler family.” – The Guardian
“Ferociously powerful. A reminder of what can be achieved by those who take pain and turn it into truth.” – Financial Times
“Profound and incendiary. Goldin is an inspiring artist of activism.” – Variety
“Sublime. An intimate look at grassroots political action and a devastating story about family.” – The Hollywood Reporter
94% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
Directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is an epic, emotional and interconnected story about internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family accountable for the overdose crisis.
Real Art Ways has presented multiple works by Nan Goldin over the years, including a group show in 1988 called The Ballad of Sexual Dependency and 15 Years of RAW in 1990.
“A genre work of superior, silken craftsmanship.” – The Daily Beast
“Sumptuous, wrong, and fun” – FilmWeek
“A stunning achievement that ends by deliberately raising more questions than it answers.” – Salon.com
Synopsis
From a mountain peak in South Korea, a man plummets to his death. Did he jump, or was he pushed? When detective Hae-joon arrives on the scene, he begins to suspect the dead man’s wife Seo-rae. But as he digs deeper into the investigation, he finds himself trapped in a web of deception and desire.
94% on Rotten Tomatoes
“Hello, Bookstore is a salute to the sacramental qualities of art that are threaded through everyday life.” – Variety
“Soul-affirming” – TheWrap
“A beautiful thing to behold.” – New York Times
Synopsis:
In the shadow of the pandemic, a small town rallies to protect a beloved local bookstore. A landmark in Lenox, Massachusetts, The Bookstore is a magical, beatnik gem thanks to its owner, Matt Tannenbaum, whose passion for stories runs deep. This intimate portrait of The Bookstore and the family at its heart offers a journey through good times, hard times, and the stories hidden on the shelves.
“Radical, radiant, and riveting.” – Mashable
“Sweeping entertainment. A story of unwavering resistance.” – The New York Times
“Majestic. Monumental.” – The Washington Post
Synopsis
The Woman King is the remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Inspired by true events, The Woman King follows the emotionally epic journey of General Nanisca (Oscar®-winner Viola Davis) as she trains the next generation of recruits and readies them for battle against an enemy determined to destroy their way of life
95% on Rotten Tomatoes, 99% Audience Score
“A gripping act of historical detective work, an exercise in granular film analysis, and a sobering philosophical meditation on cinema as an imperfect window into the past.” Digital Trends
“A narrative of discovery, an exploration of memory, a meditation of loss and cinema, all in a lengthening of three minutes.” – NPR
“An investigative drama, a meditation on the ethics of moving images and a ghost story about people who might be forgotten should we take those images for granted.” The New York Times
Synopsis
Three Minutes – A Lengthening presents a home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland and tries to postpone its ending. As long as we are watching, history is not over yet. The three minutes of footage, mostly in color, are the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust. The existing three minutes are examined to unravel the human stories hidden in the celluloid. The footage is imaginatively edited to create a film that lasts more than an hour. Different voices enhance the images. Glenn Kurtz, grandson of David Kurtz, provides his knowledge of the footage. Maurice Chandler, who appears in the film as a boy, shares his memories. Actress Helena Bonham Carter narrates the film essay.
100% on Rotten Tomatoes
“So rhythmic and well-edited that you could mistake it for a carefully plotted scripted film.” – Vox
“Sirens is a powerful reminder that punk isn’t dead if you know where to look.” – indieWire
“Deeply moving.” – RogerEbert.com
Synopsis
SIRENS intimately chronicles the lives and music of Slave to Sirens, a band made up of five young metalheads whose burgeoning fame is set against the backdrop of the Lebanese revolution. Its members wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction as their music serves as a refuge to Beirut’s youth culture. At the band’s core are its two founding members, Lilas Mayassi and Shery Bechara, whose complicated relationship and subsequent tense fallout threatens the very fabric of the band. An even greater looming threat, however, is Lebanon’s criminalization of homosexuality, as well as the wholly devastating effects of their country’s political regime. Despite their obvious challenges, the members of Slave to Sirens persist in trying to create a revolution of their own: living their truth.
“A film of rare elegance and sophistication.” – RogerEbert.com
“You will leave the theater with questions, arguments, demands – but most of all a supremely fulfilling sense of satisfaction.” – Globe and Mail
“Breathtaking entertainment” – Vanity Fair
Synopsis
From writer-producer-director Todd Field comes TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tár, the groundbreaking conductor of a major German Orchestra. We meet Tár at the height of her career, as she’s preparing both a book launch and much-anticipated live performance of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Over the ensuing weeks her life begins to unravel in a singularly modern way. The result is a searing examination of power, and its impact and durability in today’s society.
“A crackling film…the tension is gripping.” – Telluride Daily Planet
“Anyone watching this film will have an emotional reaction to it.” Outside Magazine
“A meditation on life lived at nature’s wild edge among forces beyond control.” – SF Chronicle
Synopsis:
In 1982, a massive avalanche descended on Alpine Meadows Ski Resort in Lake Tahoe, California, triggering a desperate five day search for eight missing people. BURIED chronicles the third deadliest avalanche in US history, the miraculous rescue efforts and the traumas that still haunt the survivors today.
“A must watch.” The Observer (UK)
“A gripping portrait of an endangered community for whom nature is both their precious environment and the facet of humanity that can all too easily be turned malicious.” The Los Angeles Times
“…is more than meets the eye, revealing its most profound observations in stages across its running time.” – The New York Times
“It’s a beautiful film, and certainly an enraging one.” – Vox
97% on Rotten Tomatoes
Synopsis:
THE TERRITORY provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by illegal settlers and an association of nonnative farmers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the settlers illegitimately burning and clearing land along with a network of farmers fighting to legitimize their illegal land grab. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.
“A total dream.” – Variety
“The whodunnit as hoot, with lots of laughs, oodles of style and played with verve by a quality cast.” – Empire Magazine
“I can’t remember the last time I laughed this much at the cinema.” – The Jewish Chronicle
Synopsis:
In the West End of 1950s London, plans for a movie version of a smash-hit play come to an abrupt halt after a pivotal member of the crew is murdered. When world-weary Inspector Stoppard (Sam Rockwell) and eager rookie Constable Stalker (Saoirse Ronan) take on the case, the two find themselves thrown into a puzzling whodunit within the glamorously sordid theater underground, investigating the mysterious homicide at their own peril.
“Astounding. Among the best films about any artist that I’ve ever seen.” – Vogue
“Hypnotic.” – The Telegraph
“Evokes the most visionary landmarks of the form.” – Variety
“Loud, bright, and vibrant. It is pure cinema.” – Sight and Sound
Synopsis:
MOONAGE DAYDREAM: a cinematic odyssey exploring Bowie’s creative, spiritual and musical journey. From the visionary mind of Brett Morgen, Moonage Daydream features captivating, never-before-seen footage and performances spanning David Bowie’s 54-year career. The film includes 40 exclusively remastered Bowie songs and is the first film ever sanctioned by the Bowie Estate, with local access to the artists’ archives.
Synopsis
Worldwide, more than a million people die in traffic-related crashes each year. Half of those deaths are pedestrians and cyclists. The Street Project is an inspiring story about a massive movement across the US and around the world to reclaim our largest public spaces, our streets.
Event Information
Film showing at 7pm followed by a Q&A with filmmaker Jennifer Boyd.
Proceeds from this event will go towards the youth programs of the Center for Latino Progress.
This event is in partnership with Transport Hartford Academy at the Center for Latino Progress.
Jennifer Boyd: Boyd Productions
Jennifer Boyd is founder of Boyd Productions, LLC, a documentary production company that prides itself on creating films that spark curiosity, connectivity and societal change. Her multilingual, female-led team has more than 20 years of experience in filmmaking, music television and journalism.
Jennifer has produced and directed 25 documentaries on topics ranging from climate change to gun control. Nine of those films have won EMMY awards. Recent projects include 3 Seconds Behind the Wheel, which Good Morning America called “groundbreaking.” The film used in-car cameras and tracking technology to monitor the often-hidden behavior of distracted drivers. MIT, Google, and the University of Connecticut assisted with the project. The project is distributed through PBS International, APT and Amazon Prime Video.
In addition, she has partnered with NASA, Caltech, Argonne National Laboratory, the Department of Energy and others to tell stories about how big data and high-performance computing are changing lives.
More information on Boyd Productions can be found here.
“Sentimental, fantastical, and unabashedly moony, it’s a romance and a storytelling apologia all in one.” – Vox
“A visual dazzler.” – Financial Times
“It’s a curious and consistently transfixing, an earnest labor of love—and one about love.” – Vanity Fair
Synopsis:
Dr. Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is an academic — content with life and a creature of reason. While in Istanbul attending a conference, she happens to encounter a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. This presents two problems. First, she doubts that he is real and second, because she is a scholar of story and mythology, she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. The Djinn pleads his case by telling her fantastical stories of his past. Eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.
Directed by Academy Award winner George Miller.
Featuring Academy Award winner Tilda Swinton and Golden Globe winner Idris Elba.
“An engaging wisp of magic realism.” – Entertainment Weekly
“Transports you to a place of pure movie enchantment.” – ABC News
“An escape from the troubles of the world.” – Boston Globe
Synopsis:
In partnership with the House of Dior, Mrs. Harris Goes To Paris tells the story of a widowed cleaning lady in 1950s London who falls madly in love with a couture Dior dress, and decides that she must have one of her own. After she works, starves and gambles to raise the funds to pursue her dream, she embarks on an adventure to Paris which will change not only her own outlook, but the very future of the House of Dior.
Synopsis:
Fire of Love tells the story of two French lovers, Katia and Maurice Krafft, who died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of our planet, while simultaneously capturing the most explosive volcano imagery ever recorded. Along the way, they changed our understanding of the natural world, and saved tens of thousands of lives. Previously unseen hours of pristine 16-millimeter film and thousands of photographs reveal the birth of modern volcanology through an unlikely lens — the love of its two pioneers.
“The greatest lava-fueled love story ever told.” – Rolling Stone
“Commits to a mad embrace of destiny.” – Toronto Star
“A poem of matrimony and magma.” – RogerEbert.com
“My 8-year-old self, no less than my present-day one, would have thrilled to the majestic images in ‘Fire of Love,’ which deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible.” – Justin Chang, LA Times
New York Times Critics Pick
One night only film screening! Followed by an informal costume contest and Q&A with our Cinema Coordinator Ian Ally-Seals and the film’s director, live from the San Diego Comic-Con!!!
Synopsis:
Featuring industry leaders such as Stan Lee and Yaya Han, as well as expert competitors in the World Cosplay Summit, this fascinating documentary feature explores this growing global trend and the psychology behind this extreme form of self-expression. Cosplay Universe captures the magic of personal transformation that allows cosplayers to step outside themselves, emulating the heroes whose qualities they aspire to attain.
Synopsis:
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song is a definitive exploration of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah. This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times. The song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit. And moving testimonies from major recording artists for whom Hallelujah has become a personal touchstone.
Featuring: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley, John Cale, Brandi Carlile, Eric Church, Judy Collins, Bob Dylan, Glen Hansard, Sharon Robinson, Rufus Wainwright and many others
“In a class by itself…a majestic, almost symphonic documentary.” – The Wall Street Journal
“A source of illumination for both die-hard and casual fans.” – New York Times
“An interestingly stitched together film that starts at the end and rewinds to the beginning of his songwriting career to trace how he got there.” – Associated Press
“An affectionate and open-hearted tribute to Cohen and his work.” – TheWrap
Synopsis:
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPEN tells the heartwarming true story of Maurice Flitcroft (Mark Rylance), a dreamer and unrelenting optimist. This humble crane operator from Barrow-in-Furness managed to gain entry to The British Open Golf Championship qualifying in 1976, despite never playing a round of golf before. He shot the worst round in Open history and drew the ire of the golfing elite, but became a folk hero in the process and, more importantly, showed his family the importance of pursuing your dreams.
“It is impossible not to be inspired by his incredible story.” – Salon.com
Synopsis:
A dance of seduction set in Regency era England (early 19th Century). Jane Austen in color. Starring Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) and Ashley Park (Emily in Paris). Directed by Emma Holly Jones
“Lush, lavish, frisky, delightful, vital” – IndieWire
“I wanted these women to reflect our society today and our audience today and, most importantly, I wanted to create a film that gave lots of young brown and Black girls around the world the ability to have their own Jane Austen film.” – Jones
“A witty tale of 19th-century London’s competitive marriage market.”
-The Hollywood Reporter
When she fails to meet an item on his list of requirements for a bride, Julia Thistlewaite (Zawe Ashton) is jilted by London’s most eligible bachelor, Mr. Malcolm (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù). Feeling humiliated and determined to exact revenge, she convinces her friend Selina Dalton (Freida Pinto) to play the role of his ideal match. Soon, Mr. Malcolm wonders whether he’s found the perfect woman…or the perfect hoax.
Synopsis:
Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family. A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners.
“Rossellini effortlessly keeps [it] intact with intelligence, beautifully controlled phrasing and a soft, melodious warmth that feels like a tender caress.” – The New York Times
“Pack a hankie. But don’t miss this strange, special little film.” – Variety
“An animated film like no other I can recall.” – Slate
“Valuable; big; loud; colorful.” – Vanity Fair
