Cinemafile

THE WHITE HOUSE EFFECT is through the lens of entirely archival footage, and we're given an infuriating fly-on-the-wall perspective of the pivotal years surrounding climate change through the George H.W. Bush administration. A time when global warming was first introduced to the public with scientific-backing and as a non-partisan issue, but as chief of staff John Sununu used climate change to further relations with industry power brokers, the country and a hopeful EPA chief Bill Reilly rather found itself in a politicized world crisis sown with the seeds of disinformation, public confusion, and false promises. Now in 2025, as w...

PLAN C for CIVILIZATION tackles one of the most controversial approaches to mitigating and possibly reversing the dire impacts of climate change.  As emissions pour into the atmosphere and world leaders struggle for solutions to a climate emergency, the controversial climate-cooling technology called solar geo-engineering is entering the world’s stage. It’s an idea so powerful and full of uncertainty that even the proposal of research itself is seen as a dire risk by leading environmental activists and scientists. But for physicist David Keith, what matters is not what’s popular but what could help reduce the harms of a he...

Corky Lee was born in 1947 in New York to Chinese immigrants who owned a laundry in Queens. He majored in history at Queens College and became a community organizer in Manhattan’s Chinatown in the 1970s. Over the next five decades he photographed countless protests and cultural events in the Asian American Pacific Islander community. Lee’s photographs documented the birth and growth of the Asian American movement for social justice and he became known as “The Undisputed, Unofficial, Asian American Photographer Laureate.” For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pac...

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lynsey Addario has risked her life to capture the stark realities of war — from the Middle East and Afghanistan to Ukraine. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Academy Award® -winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, “Love+War” chronicles Addario’s ascent in the male-dominated world of conflict photography. But her work comes at a steep personal cost — each assignment means stepping into danger and leaving behind her husband and two young sons. Behind the camera, Addario is torn between her unwavering commitment to the essential work of journalism and the powerful, competing demands of motherhood, grappling w...

A gently humanist story of the American West from Max Walker-Silverman (A Love Song), Rebuilding follows Dusty (Josh O’Connor), a reserved, divorced father whose ranch has burned down in a devastating wildfire. Now living in a trailer community on a government-run campsite, Dusty finds solace with his new neighbors who have also lost everything, quietly reassembles his life, and starts reconnecting with his ex-wife Ruby (Meghann Fahy) and young daughter Callie-Rose (Lily LaTorre). Filmed against the rapturous backdrop of southern Colorado, Rebuilding is a ruminative, moving portrait of resilience and human connection in the wake of loss. Writer an...

Co-directors Bonni Cohen and John Shenk's latest documentary IN WAVES AND WAR follows highly decorated Navy SEAL Marcus Capone, who returns from Afghanistan and attempts to readjust to civilian life. But years of unprecedented warfare have left Marcus with treatment-defiant PTSD, traumatic brain injuries, and severe depression beyond what current government treatment options can effectively address. Fearing for Marcus’ life, his wife, Amber, finds hope in a groundbreaking therapy combining two powerful psychedelics unapproved for use in the U.S., but with seemingly limitless applications. Inspired by Marcus’ remarkable recovery but still confronted with the alarming rate of veteran suic...

Creator / Director Sean King O’Grady’s SUSPICIOUS MINDS is a docuseries that investigates the disturbing rise of artificial intelligence as a trigger for delusional thinking. Through powerful firsthand accounts and in-depth interviews with leading experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, and AI ethics, the series unpacks a growing psychological phenomenon: individuals developing complex, often life-altering delusions rooted in AI technologies. From chatbots to surveillance fears, we examine how emerging technologies are reshaping the landscape of paranoia and how these modern delusions echo, amplify, and challenge our historical understanding of the human mind. Led by psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold and philosopher Ian G...

Director Barak Goodman’s KISSINGER, is a new two-part, three-hour biography, offers an incisive portrait of Henry Kissinger, the enigmatic powerbroker who served in the topmost echelons of American diplomacy. Whether celebrated or reviled, Kissinger’s contradictions reflect those at the heart of America’s foreign policy during the second half of the 20th century, a period in which America became the unchallenged superpower in the world yet often pursued policy at odds with its own highest ideals. As historian and Kissinger biographer Niall Ferguson says in the film, “Nobody, before or since, has played such an important role in Ameri...

Nothing is as it seems when filmmaker Emily Wyland (Brittany O’Grady) teams up with cinematographer Danny (E. J. Bonilla) to shoot an intimate documentary about reuniting with Emily’s estranged mother after a decade apart. When her mother suddenly goes missing, possibly succumbing to the addictions that first tore her family apart, Emily and Danny must piece together increasingly sinister clues to find her before it’s too late. Directed by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Pedro Kos (Rebel Hearts, Lead Me Home) in his first narrative feature, IN OUR BLOOD masterfully blends psychological mystery with chilling horror. Writer / director Pedro...

Surviving racism, homophobia and childhood trauma, Carl Bean found his voice through song – first as a gospel singer in Harlem’s Christian Tabernacle Choir and then later performing with his group Carl Bean and Universal Love on their 1974 album “Universal Love.” But it was the recording of the 1977 Motown hit “I Was Born This Way” that would earn him fame; the song was celebrated as the world’s first gay anthem. Even today, club DJs have this song in heavy rotation bringing this anthem to a new LGBTQ generation world wide. However, Bean eschewed a mainstream music career…instead choosing a vocat...

With unprecedented access to the global migration crisis, ROADS OF FIRE weaves together three powerful, deeply personal narratives: a human smuggler guiding refugees through the treacherous Darién Gap, an asylum seeker rebuilding her life in New York City, and volunteers working on the frontlines of a mounting humanitarian emergency. ROADS OF FIRE offers an unflinching, intimate look at the human cost of forced migration, and the resilience of those navigating one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our time. In our guest Director Nathaniels Lezra’s own words… “Roads Of Fire is the culmination of years of labor execute...

Keith Jarrett’s legendary performance in January 1975 nearly didn’t happen. Based on a true story, Köln 75 follows how the concert was conceived and orchestrated by the efforts of a teenage up and coming concert promoter, Vera Brandes, (played by German actress Mala Emde). Her enthusiasm set her to multitasking – from organizing the concert venue (the Cologne Opera House), promoting the event, and selling the tickets, to convincing Jarrett to perform when he almost dropped out when the Bösendorfer Imperial Grand piano he was promised was nowhere to be found. John Magaro plays Jarrett with his own intensit...

RIVER OF GRASS is a present-day reimagining of Marjory Stoneman Douglas’s groundbreaking book, “The Everglades: River of Grass,” (1947), which transformed the public’s understanding of the area from worthless swamps to an essential source of freshwater, enabling the ecosystem to endure, just barely, today. In the wake of a hurricane, Douglas visits filmmaker Sasha Wortzel in a dream and catalyzes a prismatic study of a wilderness that is home to a rich history and a site of resistance in the face of climate collapse. Seeking a way forward, Wortzel reads Douglas's book and embarks on a deep listening walk throu...

Resurrection, ancient prophecies, and globe-spanning adventures—this is the outrageous true story of Patrick McCollum, an eccentric spiritual leader who’s been identified by Indigenous Elders as the man foretold to fulfill a sacred prophecy to save the Amazon. McCollum has lived a life so improbable, it sounds like a myth. From carnival worker to renowned jewelry designer, kung fu master, reverend, pagan ritual leader, and international peacemaker—his journey defies logic. Pulled into Patrick’s world, acclaimed director Gabe Polsky embarks on a surreal journey where the absurd and the profound blur, and nothing is quite what it seems. O...

Before being the feminist powerhouse that she’s known to be today, Nora “Norita” Cortiñas was a traditional housewife. She was catapulted into her country’s political life when the 1976-82 military dictatorship kidnapped her son Gustavo and thousands of other young activists. NORITA, co-directed by Jayson McNamara & Andrea Tortones, takes viewers on a gripping journey through Argentina's tumultuous history, where Norita's personal tragedy becomes a catalyst for change. As a mother seeking justice for her disappeared son during the dark days of Argentina's dictatorship, her unwavering determination and fearless activism led her to co-found the renowned Mothers of Plaza...

Combining magical realism and evocative hand-drawn animation with revelatory interviews and verité footage, "Among Neighbors" examines the story of a small, rural town where Jews and Polish Catholics lived side by side for centuries before World War II. The film brings the Polish response to the Holocaust to life through the last living eyewitnesses, revealing both love and betrayal as it zeroes in on one of the last living Holocaust survivors from the town, and an aging eyewitness who saw Jews murdered there — not by Nazis, but by her own Polish neighbors. Produced and directed by our guest, award-winning fil...

ISRAEL-PALESTINE ON SWEDISH TV 1958-1989 by archival film maestro Göran Hugo Olsson (The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975) is assembled from a vast stockpile of footage catalogued in the vaults of Sweden’s national television service SVT, where accounts of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are witnessed and represented by Swedish journalists. Stories of the beginning of the Israeli state are interwoven with the Palestinian struggle for independence. News coverage with Yasser Arafat and interviews with Israeli foreign minister Abba Eban during a visit to Sweden have not been shown since the first broadcast. From the tenth anniversary of Israel’s found...

MEN OF WAR is an insider account of the failed 2020 coup in Venezuela as told by former US Army Green Beret Jordan Goudreau, a three-time Bronze Star recipient who organized the ill-fated mission. A harrowing look into the realpolitik world of exiled leaders, private armies and shadowy intelligence operatives and what made one man believe he could change the course of a nation's history. MEN OF WAR chronicles the astonishing true story of Operation Gideon—the failed 2020 coup attempt in Venezuela—and the covert network of ex-generals, mercenaries, and political operatives behind it. Co-Directors Jen Gatien and Billy Corben join...

Obsessed with Light is a meditation on light and the enduring obsession to create. The film pulls back the curtain on Loïe Fuller, a wildly original performer who revolutionized the visual culture of the early 20th century. Creating a dialogue between the past and the present, the documentary delves into the astonishing influence Fuller's work has on contemporary artists including artists like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Taylor Swift, Bill T. Jones, Shakira and William Kentridge. In the process, the film uncovers commonalities that connect these creative luminaries to Fuller and to each other.  The American creator of modern danc...

Director Klaudia Reynicke subtly weaves a tale of shifts and sacrifices that shows, whatever the familial configuration, strength and loss are necessary parts of growth. Grounded by a strong performance from Jimena Lindo as Elena and a wonderfully inquisitive Abril Gjurinovic, a family is brought to life. Reynicke’s effective direction honors each community the camera focuses on, and her Lima, the city where Reynicke grew up, feels personal, like a memory or a version of a city that no longer exists but emerges vibrant and alive in the film. Reinas is truly an emotional trip, transporting the viewer to...

THERE WAS, THERE WAS NOT follows four women living in the Republic of Artsakh, an unrecognized country reckoning with the aftermath of one war while on the precipice of another. In the midst of this uncertainty, four women build a life with the hope of making their home a better place. When war breaks out again, what began as an observational meditation on women’s roles after conflict becomes an urgent and intimate record of their lives interrupted once again by war. From taking up arms on the front lines to fleeing their homes as refugees, each woman’s life...

Award-winning director Kim A. Snyder’s THE LIBRARIANS is four-alarm siren alerting us to nationwide campaign, funded by shadowy network of special interests to censor and deny Americans access to many of the most consequential books and historical information from world celebrated and renown authors, scientists and historians. THE LIBRARIANS highlights a concerted effort in Texas to restrict, ban and censor books and the so-called “Krause List”, a list of 850 books focused on race and LGBTQIA+ stories. After a Texas House Representative issued a list of these books to be removed from school libraries, Librarians across the state found themsel...

Traveling magician Mr. K (Crispin Glover) is down on his luck. Business is slow, and the few gigs he’s picked up along the road have left him adrift. After spending the night in a remote hotel, he is alarmed when he discovers that he is unable to find the exit. As he explores the maze-like corridors, he hears strange noises and encounters a series of curious inhabitants who have formed their own factions within the walls of the hotel. Alone and afraid, he starts mapping out the corridors, desperately hoping to get to the bottom of the building’s la...

Director / writer Fawzia Mirza's THE QUEEN OF MY DREAMS' is a vibrant, heartfelt dramedy about a queer Muslim grad student, Azra, who returns to Pakistan after her father's sudden death, confronting her estranged relationship with her conservative mother. As she navigates grief and exclusion from funeral rites, Azra revisits key moments from her family's past—from her mother’s rebellious youth in 1969 Karachi to their immigrant struggles in 1989 Nova Scotia. Infused with humor, emotion, and the colorful spirit of classic Bollywood, Fawzia Mirza’s semi-autobiographical debut is a rich exploration of identity, family, and belonging, anchored by Amrit Kaur’s award-w...

Director Miguel Llansó’s INFINITE SUMMER finds Mia and her friends, Grete and Sarah, on a summer break. They all end up trying a meditation app that delivers a mind-bending experience. There, they discover a mysterious young man and his exciting new approach to dating. Through an interactive dating app, a new reality unfolds before their eyes. When one of the girls ends up in a hospital and the other one escapes, Mia is grappling with the choice of whether to save them or join them. In this intriguingly playful feature film Infinite Summer, our guest director and writer Mig...

Director Zoë Eisenberg, debut feature film, CHAPERONE focuses on a 29-year-old Misha Miyamoto who lives alone in the house her grandmother left her, has held the same job since high school, and likes her life as is: simple. Unfortunately, her satisfaction disappoints everyone around her. Her boss can't fathom why she won't take a promotion, her lack of ambition dissuades potential love interests, and with no interest in starting a family, her parents push her to sell the house. Feeling alienated by the pressures around her, Misha begins to seek comfort in Jake - an earnest 18-year-old who accidentally m...

An expansive and revelatory inside look at the 18 months John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald and Co-director / Editor Sam Rice-Edwards’ ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO delivers an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon's only full-length, post-Beatles concert. With mind-blowing remastered audio overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon, the film is a seismic revelation that will challenge pre-existing notions of the iconic couple. TV. Filmed in a meticulously faithful reproduction of the NYC apartment the duo sha...

An expansive and revelatory inside look at the 18 months John Lennon and Yoko Ono spent living in Greenwich Village in the early 1970s, Oscar®-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald and Co-director / Editor Sam Rice-Edwards’ ONE TO ONE: JOHN & YOKO delivers an immersive cinematic experience that brings to life electrifying, never-before-seen material and newly restored footage of Lennon's only full-length, post-Beatles concert. With mind-blowing remastered audio overseen by their son, Sean Ono Lennon, the film is a seismic revelation that will challenge pre-existing notions of the iconic couple. On August 30, 1972, in New York City, John Lennon played his only full-length show aft...

In 2003, eight young Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment in a hidden space inside the Providence Place Mall and lived in it for four years, filming everything along the way. Led by local artist Michael Townsend they snuck in furniture, tapped into the mall’s electricity, and even secretly constructed a brick wall with a locking door, smuggling in over 2 tons of cinderblock. Far more than just a wild prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all its inhabitants – a personal expression of defiance against local gentrification, a boundary-pushing work of public/private art, and finally, a 75...

Director and writer Pat Collins’ latest feature film, THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN, is set in the late 1970s in rural Ireland, just before the communications revolution vastly changed the dynamics of these small, close knit communities. Joe and Kate Ruttledge, having returned from London five years earlier to set up home near where Joe grew up, are now deeply embedded in their small, lakeside community. THAT THEY MAY FACE THE RISING SUN is a portrait of a community and a way of life in rural Ireland that remained largely unchanged for many decades until the coming of r...

In 2019, filmmakers visit an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. Off camera, incarcerated men whisper a message: terrible things are going on here that are being kept secret from the public. This sparks an immersive 6-year investigation to discover the reality behind the walls of the nation's deadliest prison system. With unprecedented direct access, our guests, co-directors Andrew Jarecki (The Jinx (Parts One and Two), Capturing the Friedmans) and Charlotte Kaufman (The Jinx (Part Two) Hidden Alibi) learn from incarcerated men about a suspicious and violent death. The story unfolds in real time, revealing it isn't an isolated...

Are We Good? follows the life of comic and podcast pioneer Marc Maron. Loss and growth take center stage as he struggles to evolve in the wake of deep tragedy. The passing of his partner and filmmaker Lynn Shelton weighs on Marc, as the film picks up a year later. We follow him on a self-reflective journey as he builds an hour of comedy, while processing grief both on-stage and off. It chronicles his career from the80’s with Sam Kinison through many career obstacles that eventually led him to the legacy-defining podcast; WTF with Marc Maron. Looking back ov...

THE DEVIL IS BUSY takes viewers on a daylong journey with Tracii, the determined head of security at a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, Georgia as she works to ensure the safety of women seeking abortions in the face of new restrictions and persistent protests. The film follows the routines of the staff who continue to provide a range of medical services, including preventive screenings, checkups, and reproductive healthcare, in an environment where clinics often face daily threats of danger. Grounded in humanity and empathy, THE DEVIL IS BUSY captures a unique snapshot of reproductive healthcare in the wa...

Then eighteen-year-old Nicolas (Nico) Ballesteros is thrust into the eye of the storm that is Ye, a man building empires in music, fashion, and faith. Coming to terms with Bipolar, his collapsing marriage, vanishing sponsorships, and growing public backlash, Ye’s life unfolds alongside a billion-dollar brand and a persona as polarizing as it is powerful. For six transformative years of 15-hour shoot days, Ballesteros did more than document a cultural icon. What began as a silent observation evolved into a profound journey of artistic and personal growth. Immersed in Ye’s world of extremes, he bore witness to bril...

THIRD ACT is an insightful and heartfelt film that showcases a personal story about the director’s relationship with his legendary filmmaker father, Robert “Bob” Nakamura, a pioneer in Asian American cinema - known as “The Godfather of Asian  American Cinema”. THIRD ACT is the moving and beautiful story of Bob’s journey together with his filmmaker son Tad Nakamura as they embark to make their first film together. Along the way, Bob is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and this journey together with his son becomes even more meaningful, as they reflect on their life together as son/father and as artis...

If you’ve listened to the Buena Vista Social Club, then you’ve heard the unforgettable voice of Omara Portuondo. At 90, Cuba's legendary diva has been a driving force in Afro-Cuban music for over half a century. In this first-of-its-kind look at the life of one of the nation’s biggest stars and last grand dames, director Hugo Perez brings audiences along on an intimate journey into the heart of Cuba’s "Bride of Feeling," following Omara as she celebrates and shares the music of her beloved island with the world. Director Hugo Perez stops by to talk about the wind...

Hard Hat Riot revisits the explosive 1970 clash between anti-war student protestors and construction workers in New York City. It was a cultural event that reshaped the American political landscape. The film explores deep-rooted class tensions between working-class laborers and educated elites, the shifting role of labor unions, and proposes that history is repeating itself. By drawing clear parallels between past and present, Hard Hat Riot sparks urgent conversations about identity, division, and the enduring fault lines in American society. Hard Hat Riot director Marc Levin’s and The Hard Hat Riot author and co-producer David Paul Kuhn join us for a c...

Director Bill Haney outstanding documentary, Cracking the Code: Phil Sharp & The Bio-tech Revolution, narrated by Oscar nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, is an inspiring story of vision, perseverance, and the power of science to change the world. Phil Sharp’s journey from a Kentucky farm boy to Nobel laureate embodies the American Dream and the triumph of entrepreneurial spirit. His 1977 groundbreaking discovery of RNA splicing rewrote the rules of molecular biology and ignited a life-saving scientific revolution, laying the foundation for an industry that has become a cornerstone of global innovation and economic growth – and transformed the health of billions of p...

Director David Osit's PREDATORS is a chilling, edge of your seat thriller that delves into the murk of human nature to observe hunter, predator, subject and spectator alike, all ensnared in a complicated web of entertainment as far as the eye can see. A cultural sensation from its inception in the early 2000s, Dateline NBC’s candid-camera investigative series To Catch a Predator ensnared sex offenders and lured them to a film set, where they would be interviewed and arrested while cameras rolled. Looking back on the show and the countless franchises it spawned, our guest, filmmaker David Osit, tu...

Award-winning filmmaker Ondi Timoner latest film, ALL GOD”S CHILDREN, explores the intersection of race, religion and family and explores whether the truism “we’re more alike than we are different” is more than a pithy bumper sticker. In an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism, and combat the rising racial and ethnic tension in their Brooklyn communities, the largest reform synagogue and the oldest black Baptist Church in Brooklyn attempt to quell the racism and anti-semitism that has plagued their communities for decades and bring about peace, by becoming family.  Director Ondi Timoner (Last Flight Home) joi...