‘animal.’ (2025) Eat, meat, repeat. Can a carnivore diet cure all?

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animal.posterAuthor and personal trainer Zane Griggs guides us through an hour-and-a-half argument for a carnivore diet. Often called “The Caveman Diet,” a meat-led way of eating has been all the rage in certain circles for years now. ‘animal.’ features doctors and a select few nutritionists presenting the benefits of consuming a diet contradictory to generations of teaching. Griggs uses testimonials from those who tout the life-changing effects of red meat. 

animal. meatThe film feels like one lengthy infomercial with cherry-picked science for effect. There is no mention of pollution and the links to socioeconomics. I’m not arguing the diet is faulty. I would have loved to have seen unbiased medical charts. I’m suggesting that the food chain accessibility should be half of the film. The fact that the only two black individuals interviewed are UK residents, a former bodybuilder, and his health coach daughter, Eddie and Selina Abbew (dad has 4m Instagram followers) is glaring. 

The nature footage and scientific recreation transitions are undeniably beautiful. Overall, the editing wavers between sharp and choppy. To make a more concise argument, speakers sometimes appear glitchy rather than inserting a scientific slide to smooth the transition. It’s incredibly distracting. The skulls in the background of each sit-down come off as hokey. 

Cells_1 animal.My husband went on a Keto diet in preparation for his half-Ironman competition in 2015. I joined him a few weeks in. On the fourth day, once my body entered ketosis, my body looked entirely different in all the best ways. I was shocked. But remaining on the diet in the real world was incredibly challenging. After a single cheat day, my body fell out of ketosis. I had to restart the process. I became angry, and I was always hungry. It wasn’t a sustainable lifestyle for me. 

Field_1 animal.While it is easy to agree with the profit-driven motivation of the pharmaceutical and processed food industries, it’s challenging to accept that my organically grown vegetables are trying to poison me. It comes down to money and US standards. We allow chemicals, pesticides, dyes, and unregulated factory farming that other countries do not. You can taste the difference. The final 20 minutes encourage regenerative farming and environmental care. It’s a great message, even if the film never delves into food-drought areas. 

Dr Anthony Chaffee_2 animal.A Keto diet worked wonders for my husband, but that was in an intense training setting. I was able to see immediate physical results, even though it did not end up feeling ideal for me. I’m worried that omitting information curves the film into pseudoscience territory. ‘animal’ has good intentions, but withholding information on the healthiest countries and their varied diets feels skewed. Viewers will have to come to their own conclusions based on the information presented, personal health journey, and availability of resources. If nothing else, ‘animal.’ triggers a broader conversation about nutrition and sustainability.

animal. Trailer:

Now Playing in the Following Theaters  

 

NYC at the Village East Cinema

Los Angeles, CA at the Laemmle Santa Monica

Las Vegas, NV at the Downtown Cinemas

Austin, TX at the Violet Crown Cinema

Dallas, TX at the Galaxy Grandscape 15

Houston, TX at the Xscape Theaters Katy Fulshear

 

Written & Directed by JOSH FELDMAN

Executive Producer VINNY LINGHAM

Produced by VINNY LINGHAM, KEVIN CARTER, and JOSH FELDMAN

 Featuring

DR. ANTHONY CHAFFEEDR. KEN BERRYDR. SHAWN BAKER, EDDIE ABBEW, STEAK AND BUTTER GAL, DR. ERIC BERGJUDY CHO, DR. ROBERT CYWES, DR. ROBERT KILTZSALLY NORTONDR. LISA WIEDEMAN, DR. CATE SHANAHAN and ZANE GRIGGS

 SYNOPSIS

animal. unmasks a century-long conspiracy of political, economic, and religious forces that have twisted our natural bond with meat—enslaving us to ill health and Big Pharma dependency. Through bold interviews, historical revelations, and groundbreaking science, it shatters nutritional myths and dares us to reclaim the ancestral diet that fueled our evolution.

 

Documentary | 89 minutes | Not Rated | 2025 | English | USA animal.

 

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‘JIMMY & THE DEMONS’ (Tribeca 2025) A dazzling career of creation.

Tribeca 2025 rainbow logoJIMMY & THE DEMONS

Jimmy and the demons Jimmy & the demons

Cindy Meehl brings the life of larger-than-life artists to Tribeca 2025 audiences in JIMMY & THE DEMONS. James Grashow‘s work has been seen by millions, even if his name is unknown. From album art to 30 years of weekly drawings in The New York Times, his massive installations of cardboard sculptures appear around the world. Jimmy’s work can best be described as if Tim Burton’s stop-motion creations were life-sized and brimming with color. 

In Meehl’s documentary, one of Jimmy’s prominent collectors commissions a piece based on his deep connection to religion. Having never worked with wood in this way, Jimmy is winging it. You’d never know. The intricacy of the work is astounding. The piece evolved over the years into a one-of-a-kind sculptor of demons, tortured souls, and Christ carrying a Cathedral on his very back. Each piece is mocked up in cardboard and then hand-carved. 

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All the while, Meehl features intimate sitdowns with Jimmy and his wife, Guzzy, as they talk about his work. During Jimmy’s in-school cardboard workshops over the years, he says you can pinpoint the moment an artist is born and how the entire class lights up at the realization of talent.

Jimmy’s art is immersive and brimming with joy. Scott Ruderman does a beautiful job capturing the minute details and the wonder of Jimmy’s creations. The film culminates in a grand retrospective of his pieces, and the result is like being transported to a living storybook. Grashow’s ability to manifest pure wonder is breathtaking. JIMMY & THE DEMONS simultaneously feels like a nostalgic hug and a whimsical journey.


Jimmy & The Demons: World Premiere – 2025 Tribeca Festival – Spotlight Documentary

SYNOPSIS
A magical journey into the artistic life and inner mind of celebrated sculptor James Grashow, who, at age 79, devotes four years to creating his magnum opus.


DIRECTED BY
Cindy Meehl (“Buck”, “The Dog Doc”)

PRODUCED BY
Elizabeth Westrate

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Jennifer Wastrom

CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
Scott Ruderman

FEATURING
James Grashow, Guzzy Grashow

RUN TIME: 93 Minutes


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‘YANUNI’ (Tribeca 2025) A woman’s climate work is never done.

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From producer Leonardo DiCaprio and director Richard Ladkani, YANUNI closes out Tribeca 2025 with a call to action and the story of a feminist hero who should be a household name. Juma Xipaia has survived six assassination attempts as the first female Indigenous chief of her people in the Middle Xingu. She and her husband are fierce environmental warriors in a raging battle for ownership of the Amazon.

Ladkani’s camerawork and sound design are immersive. You can feel each unnerving protest moment in your bones. Footage in Juma’s home is viscerally spiritual and powerfully juxtaposed with the devastating destruction of the surrounding forests. Illegal mining pits are poisoning the water, and the criminals invading the lands are raping and murdering the villagers.

Juma and her people are emotionally, physically, and spiritually drained. Juma’s safety keeps her separated from her children, and her relentless speaking schedule wears her down. It is no surprise that it is a woman, a mother, who stands to protect others. The most successful governing bodies have female leadership. “With great power comes great responsibility,” and Yuma accepts all that entails.

The film follows the 2022 Brazilian elections. The volatility in the streets is palpable. Speaking to eligible voters is life-threatening. While the outcome of the election is positive for the progression of the country, new roles for both Yuma and her husband, Hugo Loss, put them in even more danger than before.

Ladkani takes us inside the infiltration of an illegal mining operation and its subsequent controlled burn destruction. Their missions are high-risk and heavily armed on both sides.

Juma’s action mirrors every indigenous population’s fight against deeper colonization and capitalism. The film premieres at Tribeca during a particularly auspicious time in America, on the same day nearly 11 million people took to the streets for the No Kings protests. But Juma has had to fight for many more generations to protect her people, territory, and culture. The fight continues.

YANUNI is the type of educational feature that deserves to loop on IMAX screens in every museum. It is an inspiring war cry for climate justice. Juma Xipaia is a role model for every young person. She is the personification of Mother Earth. Her bravery and passion serve as an example. She is all of us.


YANUNI –

Director: Richard Ladkani
Producer: Juma Xipaia, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anita Ladkani, Richard Ladkani, Jennifer Davisson, Phillip Watson
Screenwriter: Richard Ladkani
Cinematographer: Richard Ladkani
Composer: H. Scott Salinas
Editor: Georg Michael Fischer
Executive Producer: Dax Dasilva, Joanna Natasegara, Laura Nix, Eric Terena, Martin Choroba, Philipp Schall
Second Camera: Fábio Nascimento
Original Title Song: Katú Mirim
Vocals: Djuena Tikuna
Cast: Juma Xipaia, Hugo Loss YANUNI 

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‘HOW DARK MY LOVE’ (Tribeca 2025) Marriage and the Macabre

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In HOW DARK MY LOVE, Scott Gracheff offers Tribeca 2025 audiences a one-of-a-kind love story between an artist and his photographer/dominatrix wife. Joe Coleman and Whitney Ward are a match made in some weirdly curated heaven of their making. Joe specializes in painting serial killers. The morbid nature of Joe’s larger-than-life paintings is akin to a MAD magazine cartoon from the pits of hell. Joe’s attention to detail is mind-blowing. He uses jeweler’s magnifying lenses to create minute details, from individual hairs and veins on the human figures to the tiny writing that accompanies each personal vignette surrounding the central subject. The paintings are unlike anything I’ve seen before. You would need hours of focus to do each one cognitive justice.

In the film, Joe is working on his penultimate creation: a painting of Whitney. Gracheff tells us a tale of twenty-five years of marriage and the two artists who thrive on each other’s presence. Eccentrics to the bone, they were married by a ventriloquist dummy with guests dressed in elaborate costumes. They have accumulated so many unique and macabre items that they maintain two apartments.

Tyler Hubby‘s editing is a marvel. Joe’s storytelling serves as narration over his creations and home videos. He talks about his heroin addiction, his volatile relationship with his first wife, and his childhood. In conversation with musician Dave Navarro, Joe divulges to the audience his traumatic upbringing. Art is his outlet and rebellion. Whitney was ambushed by a profile in The New Yorker as her professional alter ego, dominatrix Nurse Wolf, in 1998. Her motivation was therapy and not sex. The death of Whitney’s mother, directly followed by an abusive relationship, shaped her art forms. Friend Iggy Pop poses questions to Joe about the motivation and their storied connections. Asia Argento sought him out in her 20s. All these peculiar individuals make one hugely connected chosen family.

During filming, Joe turns 60. Mortality smacks both him and Whitney in the face. After four years, the unveiling of Whitney’s portrait occurs at an exclusive exhibition in Miami. The emotion tied to this one special creation hits differently. A move upstate, a shift in mindset, and the continued worship of one another’s talents deliver exquisite peace. HOW DARK MY LOVE honors the catharsis in art. Joe discusses the struggle in humanity, and it perfectly captures the essence of the film, their lives, and the work. The culmination of a life and love most dream of, HOW DARK MY LOVE celebrates the good, the bad, and the ugly and makes it a masterpiece.

HOW DARK MY LOVE

World Premiere – Viewpoints

| United States | 109 MINUTES | English |

Directed by Scott Gracheff

Produced by Jim Muscarella, Josh Diamond, Jason Diamond, Scott Gracheff, Gregg de Domenico


ABOUT HOW DARK MY LOVE
A tale of painter and muse, at the core of which smolders a timeless love story between artist Joe Coleman and Whitney Ward, husband and wife of 25 years. Known for painting serial killers and outlaws, Joe chooses Whitney to be the subject of his next portrait, and, at nearly 7 feet tall by 4 feet wide, it will be his largest work to date. Teeming with candid biographical details, every aspect of Whitney’s life is vulnerable to exposure, and Joe is taking a leap of faith that Whitney will be able to accept his uncompromising perspective when she is the focus of his gaze. Plunging into darkness in search of the truth, the film intimately explores the relationship between life, love, death, and art.

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‘THE END OF QUIET’ (Tribeca 2025) Hardwired disconnection.

Tribeca 2025 rainbow logoTHE END OF QUIET


The end of quiet Poster_WEBFilmmakers Kasper Bisgaard and Mikael Lypinski bring Tribeca 2025 audiences documentary, THE END OF QUIET, a thought-provoking exploration of human connectivity. In an isolated town in West Virginia, the world’s largest radio telescope can pick up the murmurings of signals across the universe. To achieve this, the telescope resides in the Quiet Zone, the only place in the U.S. where Wi-Fi and cell phone signals are not permitted.

Part 1: The Quiet

Through the everyday lives of its residents and the beauty of the sound design by Freja Printz and Mathias Gaarde Mikkelsen, the audience experiences what the world might be like without round-the-clock communication. Dr. Jay Lockman, an astronomer at The Green Bank Observatory, has lived in town for over two decades with his wife. He has accepted that technology could eventually disrupt any messages from beyond our atmosphere.

the end of quiet stillHow do they fight the boredom? Brionna and her gun enthusiast grandfather, David, spend time together shooting his 37 guns and rifles and blowing things up. Choosing to reside in The Quiet Zone due to electromagnetic hypersensitivity, Clover and her dog, Beautiful, live for landline phone calls from her husband, who lives abroad. Her original poetry also serves as beautiful transition audio. A lonely but contented elderly vet named Willard spends his days drinking a lot of coffee and attending local funerals. Kirsten, 17, and Frankie, 23, are a young, engaged couple who dream of having a child.

Part 2: The Noise

Halfway through the film, we jump three years, only to discover that there are 70-80 Wi-Fi Hotspots within 2 miles of the Observatory disrupting the data. Oh, how times have changed. Willard has passed away. Clover is now almost entirely estranged from her long-distance husband. Our young couple now has a tiny toddler, Leo. It is unclear if they are still together. Our grandfather figure has tumbled down the right-wing rabbit hole, beginning a rift between him and his granddaughter, Brionna. It is honestly such a cliche.


The film delves into disconnection and isolation as much as the bleak effects of doom-scrolling. What would happen if the global grid ceased to exist? With so much new technology dependent on Wi-Fi, would society remain civil? A study of connection in every sense, THE END OF QUIET begs some of the most massive questions in the universe and beyond.

World Premiere

The End of Quiet

Documentary Competition

Feature | Denmark | 83 MINUTES | English | English subtitles The end of quiet

the end of quiet brionna and davidTHE FILM IS SUPPORTED BY
DANISH FILM INSTITUTE
THE SWEDISH FILM INSTITUTE
DEN VESTDANSKE FILMPULJE DR

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Kasper Bisgaard & Mikael Lypinski

PRODUCED BY Sara Stockmann
CO-PRODUCED Daniel Pynnönen
CINEMATOGRAPHY BY Mikael Lypinski
MUSIC COMPOSED BY Uno Helmersson
EDITED BY Charlotte Munch Bengtsen, Johan Löfstedt SFK
SOUND DESIGN BY Freja Printz, Mathias Gaarde Mikkelsen

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‘TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN’ (Tribeca 2025) Masterpiece or Mastermind. Either way, it’s brilliant.

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TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN- Spotlight Documentary 

In his Tribeca 2025 doc, TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN, Ole Juncker takes us behind the scenes of a story that rocked the art world. Jens Haaning is internationally known for his tongue-in-cheek approach to art. The Kunsten Museum commissions Haaning to recreate an original piece for an exhibit centered on labor. They gave Jens half a million kroner, meant to be displayed. When the frames showed up at the museum, the canvases were empty. Kunsten decides to sue. The flurry of international press sparks a broader debate about paying artists and who determines the value of art.

Editor Lars Juul utilizes animation sequences, home videos, and photos as transition packages under Haaning’s narration. Jens describes a rather sad childhood, and when we discover he is coping with bipolar, the manic behavior he exhibits up until this point in the film suddenly makes sense. Jens is a whirling dervish, both physically and in erratic decision-making. The camera almost struggles to keep up with him, pacing the room as he tries to find 800,000 kroner in a few hours. With his new assistant, Ditte, a woman with the patience of a saint, we observe Jens yelling at the bank, unloading ideas onto his agents, and offloading one of his pieces for half price. The audience begins to question their reality.

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TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN is wildly immersive. Rune Palving‘s sound design heightens the chaos by piping in high-frequency tones over Jens’ manic episodes, while Juul’s quick-take editing that mimics his brain is brilliant.

Is Take The Money And Run a work of genius or a scam? Jens is adamant that his art comes from a damn-the-man mentality, and his argument is entirely valid. Once Juncker reveals more about Jens’ previous exhibits, all of them unsold, a clearer picture comes into view. Or does it? Alongside this head-spinning race for cash, Kunsten’s trial against Jens rapidly approaches. The verdict sends him spiraling. It is then, and only then, in the final few minutes of the film, that we discover what inspired the piece. But is it the truth?

Ole Juncker puts us inside the dizzying mind of an artist. If you’re an art fan, you will love it. If you weren’t one before, I defy you to say no to a gallery visit. TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN allows the viewer to decide what art is and who the potential villain is. It will have everyone talking, and isn’t that the point? What a perfect match of film and festival.


Directed by Ole Juncker
Director: Ole Juncker
Producer: Mette Heide
Screenwriter: Ole Juncker
Cinematographer: Ole Juncker
Editor: Lars Juul
Co-Producer:Bjarte Tveit Mørner


DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
By Ole Juncker

Documentaries can be an escape into a completely different world and another person’s mind. TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN is just such a film. If you live an ordinary life like me, it’s liberating and intoxicating to enter the twisted mind and tumultuous life of artist Jens Haaning as he does what we all dream of but dare not: namely, run with all the money. Jens’ action set off a firework inside my head. For me personally, it was an escape from everyday life to follow Jens’ adventure. Are you crazy or a genius if you dare to change the rules so drastically? I was immediately fascinated by Haaning and the story, which was both humorous and thought-provoking, and I love how an art-piece ended up being widely discussed in all parts of society and around the world.

ABOUT JENS HAANING

Jens Haaning (born 1965) is a Danish conceptual artist who graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He has had solo exhibitions at Wiener Secession, San Francisco Art Institute, and Gallery Nicolai Wallner, among others, and has participated in group exhibitions around the world, such as Documenta XI in Germany, the Istanbul Biennial, MoMA in New York, and the Sydney Biennale. TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

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‘AN EYE FOR THE EYE’ (Tribeca 2025) A brutal blame game seeped in patriarchal injustice.


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AN EYE FOR AN EYE

AN EYE FOR AN EYE

Tanaz Eshaghian and Farzad Jafari‘s Tribeca 2025 documentary, AN EYE FOR AN EYE, tells the story of Tahereh, an Iranian woman who murdered her husband following 18 years of abuse. One shocking night leads to Hossein’s strangulation and secret burial inside their home. After 14 years in prison and two years out on bail, now Hossein’s family, specifically his brother Bashir, gets to decide Tahereh’s fate – accept a blood money payment or order her execution.

While hearing details from Tahereh, we witness the ongoing negotiation process. Ms. Jabarzegegan, an anti-execution activist, convinces Bashir to lower his settlement demand from 1.5 billion tomans ($36,000) to 800 thousand tomans. But two weeks after the verbal agreement, Bashir dies of a heart attack. His arrangement was never notarized. Now, it falls onto the shoulders of his son, a young man much more influenced by his new grief and the words of his elders. Tahereh and her children are running out of time.

Behind the two families battling for their desired outcome is the initial police investigation and the suggestion that Tahereh hired a hitman. But, not just any hitman, a man the police want to suggest was her lover. This question hangs in the air like a dark cloud, but Tahereh proclaims she would rather be known as a murderer than a whore. That is somehow worse in her community.

AN EYE FOR AN EYEEshaghian and Jafari use the investigative narrative as a thread throughout the film. The film opens with the discovery of the body and the subsequent search for who and how. Crime photos are relatively tame if you are an avid Discovery ID watcher.

The blame game between the families is difficult to watch. The cherrypicking of religious teachings is incredibly infuriating. Watching Tahereh’s youngest son openly show emotion over his childhood terror will wreck you. He has to hear potential donors, the police, the courts, and his religious leaders tell him again and again that 18 years of domestic abuse is not an excuse for murder.

The gender disparity looms large. The patriarchal structure defies humanity. This is not just an Islamic issue. All over the world, women are killed by abusers after authorities do nothing to protect them when they reach out for help. Statistics do not lie. Tahereh says something that sums up their entire journey. “I killed him once, he killed us a thousand times.”

Directed by Tanaz Eshagian and Farzad Jafari

Producers: Christoph Jörg, Katayoun Arsanjani, Joey Marra, Gelareh Kiazand

Co-Producers: Kasper Lykke Schultz, Andreas Dalsgaard

Executive Producers: William Horberg, Zhang Xin, David Cowan, David & Nina Fialkow, Tanaz Eshaghian

With the support of the Danish Film Institute
Editors: Soren B. Ebbe, Hayedeh Safiyari


“An Eye For An Eye” follows Tahereh, a mother of three in Tehran who, after being repeatedly denied a divorce, decided that her only way out of an abusive marriage was to murder her husband.

Under Sharia Law, when a murder is committed in Iran, the family of the victim gets to decide whether to execute the murderer – an eye for an eye – or to grant them total forgiveness in exchange for a “blood money” settlement. The story unfolds after Tahereh has been released from serving her prison sentence and negotiations begin with her in-laws to decide her fate.


“An Eye For An Eye” is a complicated murder mystery, that quickly pivots into a ticking clock thriller as Tahereh and her son race around Tehran to scrape together the money in time to save her life. It culminates in a high-stakes courtroom drama as judgment day arrives, and both sides of the family stand before a judge to complete their negotiation – when they leave the room, she will either be free for the first time in her life or be sentenced to death.

In Farsi with English Subtitles

84 minutes. AN EYE FOR AN EYE AN EYE FOR AN EYE

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‘RUNA SIMI’ (Tribeca 2025) A beautiful story about inclusion and the preservation of language.

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RUNA SIMI

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Augusto Zegarra‘s heartwarming first feature follows a father who yearns to bring the joy of The Lion King to millions of children in their language, Quechua. RUNA SIMI is a bona fide David and Goliath story.

Voice actor and radio host Fernando Valencia lives in Cusco, Peru, with his young son, Dylan. After his dubbing clips went viral, Fernando embarks on a journey to have Disney agree to let him dub the entirety of Simba’s story. It is an uphill battle.

Quechua has slowly been branded a lower-class language. Some children are still teased for speaking it. In reality, there are approximately 10 million Quechua speakers across six South American countries.

We meet Fernando’s mother. We discover the parallels between his childhood and Simba’s. Fernando tries to call Disney but reaches the legal department’s voicemail again and again. After a barrage of DMs to all corporate arms, it is one message to The Lion King’s director, Rob Minkoff, that finally gets traction. Minkoff gives Fernando the reality check we fear in our gut, but he does think the idea has legs and comes from the right place.

To any Disney fan or parent watching, this idea seems like a no-brainer. If you expose more people to films, your revenue and brand thrive. As a former employee of the company (on the performance side), I can tell you their contracts are ironclad and very lengthy. You will undoubtedly find yourself rooting for Fernando’s mission.

Runa_Simi-Clean-16x9-02Defying all the odds and the lawyers’ advice, Fernando gathers a local Quechua cast, including little Dylan as young Simba, creating a dazzling version of the beloved tale in his studio. The result is a triumph.

I am fully aware of the irony of how I know Cusco. It is the setting for the Disney film The Emperor’s New Groove. Renzo Rivas‘s camerawork is patient and breathtaking. In wide shots of the Peruvian landscape, Fernando honors the spirits of nature and has deep discussions with his son. Fernando is the kind of parent we all strive to be. He imbues the importance of all things, big and small, creating a safe place for empathy and learning.

Fernando is trying to preserve not just the Quechua language but his people’s culture and identity. RUNA SIMI is a celebration of family and the importance of our past. One of the film’s most poignant moments comes at a dubbing conference where Fernando shows clips to an audience of Indigenous speakers. The pure delight on the faces of the viewers is beyond magic.

RUNA SIMI is another stunning example of why representation matters. If a child can see themselves on the screen, they can dream bigger. But it is also about access and equity. Indigenous voices are vital in our quest for authentic storytelling. Tribeca 2025 audiences, get ready for a warm hug of nostalgia while cheering for a genuine hero. “Every child in the world has a right to entertainment.” Full stop.


RUNA SIMI. Peru, 2025, 81 min. In Spanish, Quechua, and English with English
Subtitles.

Written and directed by Augusto Zegarra

Producers: Claudia Chávez Lévano
and Paloma Iturriaga

Executive Producers: Ellen Schneider, Benjamin Bratt, Peter
Bratt, Alpita Patel,Dominique Bravo, Bill and Ruth Ann Harnisch.

 

Production Company: Alaska 88

Director of Photography: Renzo Rivas

Editor: Carlos Rojas Felice

Composer: Pauchi Sasaki.

Main subjects:
Fernando Valencia, Dylan Valencia.

About the Director:

Augusto Zegarra is a Peruvian filmmaker based in Lima with a BFA in Film and Media Arts from the University of Utah. His first short film, Wiñaymanta, was one of the winners of the Ministry of Culture of Peru National Prize in 2014. With a deep passion for storytelling, he uses film as a tool to explore identity, language, and memory. In 2017, he started the research for his first feature-length film Runa Simi, later produced with support from the Ministry of Culture of Peru, the Sundance Institute, the Embassy of Switzerland in Peru, CineLatino of Rencontres Toulouse and Storyboard Collective. Runa Simi has participated at the IDFA Forum (Rough Cut), GLAFF WIP, DocsBarcelona, ChileConecta, ARCA Residency in Cabo de Hornos, and FIFDH Impact Lab.

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Tribeca 2025 is almost here. Get ready for the buzz to get loud with world premieres galore.

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Tribeca is back with a vengeance. This year, the festival features new and exciting storytellers who break barriers, make us laugh, and spark conversations. This year’s fest runs from June 4th to the 15th. 

 

ABOUT THE TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms, including film, TV, music, audio storytelling, games, and immersive. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. Tribeca champions emerging and established voices, discovers
award-winning talent, curates innovative experiences, and introduces new ideas through exclusive premieres, exhibitions, conversations, and live performances.

The Festival was founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001 to spur the economic and cultural revitalization of lower Manhattan following the attacks on the World
Trade Center. The annual Tribeca Festival will celebrate its 24th year from June 4–15, 2025, in New York City.

In 2019, James Murdoch’s Lupa Systems bought a majority stake in Tribeca Enterprises, bringing together Rosenthal, De Niro, and Murdoch to grow the enterprise.

ABOUT THE 2025 TRIBECA FESTIVAL PARTNERS
The 2025 Tribeca Festival is presented by OKX and with the support of our partners: AT&T, Audible, Bulleit Frontier Whiskey, Canva, CHANEL, City National Bank, Don Julio Tequila, Indeed, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, NBC4 and Telemundo 47, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, National CineMedia, New York Magazine, Spring Studios New York, The Wall Street Journal, Variety, Vulture, and Whalar.


Take a look at a few Tribeca 2025 films, long and short, and pilots we’re keeping our eyeballs peeled for. For the entire lineup, click here!



THE BEST YOU CAN – World Premiere – Spotlight Narrative Tribeca 2025
The Best You Can
Directed & written by: Michael J. Weithorn
Starring: Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Bacon, Judd Hirsch, Brittany O’Grady


Reuniting Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon on screen for the first time in twenty years, THE BEST YOU CAN is a sharp, touching, and laugh-out-loud exploration of change, losing our bearings, and finding connection in the most unexpected places. This character-driven comedy is a reminder that sometimes the people who understand us best are the ones who are nothing like us.

RT: 103 Minutes


ARE WE GOOD? – New York Premiere – Spotlight+ Tribeca 2025

Are We GoodDirected by: Steven Feinartz
Starring: Marc Maron


An intimate portrait of comedian and podcast pioneer Marc Maron, following the sudden loss of his partner and filmmaker Lynn Shelton. Maron struggles with grief, disillusionment, and a shifting comedy landscape.

RT: 95 Minutes Tribeca 2025


OUR HERO, BALTHAZAR -Viewpoints

Our Hero BalthazarDirector: Oscar Boyson

Cast: Jaeden Martell, Asa Butterfield, Chris Bauer, Jennifer Ehle, Anna Baryshnikov, Noah Centineo, Becky Ann Baker, Avan Jogia, Pippa Knowles

Wealthy New York City teenager Balthazar “Balthy” Malone (Jaeden Martell) has a crush on a classmate who organizes gun control protests. To gain her attention, he creates dramatic social media videos pleading for stricter gun laws. When an online troll (Asa Butterfield) begins mocking his videos, Balthy becomes convinced that he is communicating with a potential mass shooter and impulsively decides to travel to Texas to confront him in person. What starts as a misguided hero’s journey evolves into a complex encounter between two young men from vastly different worlds, each struggling to find their place in a divided America. 

91 MINUTES Tribeca 2025


BIRD IN HAND – World Premiere – US Narrative Competition Tribeca 2025
bird in hand
Directed by: Melody C. Roscher
Starring: Alisha Wainwright, Christine Lahti, James Le Gros, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, Jeffrey Nordling, K. Todd Freeman

Bird in Hand follows Bird Rowe, a biracial bride-to-be who arrives unannounced at her charismatic hippie mother Carlotta’s rural home, to plan her wedding. As the two scout wedding venues, their attempts at bonding quickly unravel as buried truths surface, revealing an emotionally complex and fraught relationship. Bird enlists the help of the new neighbors who have recently bought a nearby plantation, sparking an unlikely connection. A darkly comedic and emotionally raw exploration of race, family, and identity, Bird in Hand is a sharp portrait of a young woman’s desperate search for connection—no matter how messy it gets.

RT: 87 Minutes Tribeca 2025


HORSEGIRLS – World Premiere – US Narrative Competition Tribeca 2025
HorsegirlsDirected by: Lauren Meyering
Starring: Lillian Carrier, Gretchen Mol, Jerrod Haynes
Produced by: Alix Madigan, Michael Sherman, Mackenzie Breeden

After her mother’s illness returns, 22-year-old Margarita, a young woman with autism, discovers the world of hobbyhorsing and sets out to prove her independence to her mother—stick horse and all.

RT: 101 Minutes

“As a mother of neurodivergent children, this film’s authenticity screams off the screen. It is a must-see.”


JIMMY & THE DEMONS – World Premiere – Spotlight Documentary Tribeca 2025

Jimmy and the demons Jimmy & the demonsDirected by: Cindy Meehl

A magical journey into the artistic life and inner mind of celebrated sculptor, James Grashow, who, at age 79, devotes four years to creating his magnum opus.

RT: 93 Minutes

 


DEAD LANGUAGE – Viewpoints

large_Dead_Language-Clean-16x9-0While waiting at the airport for her husband, Aya (Sarah Adler) is mistaken for someone else. Intrigued, she decides to pick up a complete stranger (Ulrich Thomsen) on a whim. Their encounter sparks an unexpected intimacy that unsettles Aya’s sense of certainty and awakens a yearning she neither fully understands nor knows how to fulfill. Her quiet search for meaning unfolds in a hotel room, a customer service chat and in subtle disruptions to her daily routine, as we are taken through a woman’s delicate and honest search for something meaningful.

Director: Mihal Brezis, Oded Binnun

Cast: Sarah Adler, Ulrich Thomsen, Yehezkel Lazarov, Lars Eidinger

110 MINUTES Tribeca 2025


RE-CREATION – World Premiere – Spotlight Narrative
re-creationDirected by: Jim Sheridan & David Merriman
Starring: Vicky Krieps, Jim Sheridan, Aidan Gillen, and Colm Meaney


In a fictitious trial, twelve members of a jury must decide whether British journalist Ian Bailey is guilty of the murder of French filmmaker Sophie Toscan Du Plantier in 1996. Based on real events, the film reconstructs, through the discussions between these twelve people, a case that ultimately invites the viewer to draw their own conclusions.

RT: 89 Minutes


SHE DANCES – World Premiere – Spotlight Narrative Tribeca 2025
She dancesDirected by: Rick Gomez
Starring: Steve Zahn, Audrey Zahn, Mackenzie Ziegler, Ethan Hawke, Sonequa Martin-Green, Rosemarie DeWitt


Forced to reconnect on the road to her final dance competition, a father and daughter must confront their fractured relationship. As they navigate a shared tragedy, the whirlwind of the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Finals becomes the backdrop for their journey toward healing. She Dances is a story about rediscovering family and finding yourself—about accepting what is, letting it shape you, and recognizing who you are through the memories of those you love most.

RT: 93 Minutes


LEMONADE BLESSING (Section: US Narrative Competition) Tribeca 2025

LEMONADE BLESSING

WORLD PREMIERE

Directed and written by: Chris Merola

Starring: Jake Ryan, Jeanine Serralles, Skye Alyssa Friedman, Miles J. Harvey, Michael Oloyede, Todd Gearhart, and Keith William Richards

Freshly tossed into a private Catholic high school by his devout mother, John (Jake Ryan) falls head over heels for a devious classmate ready to push his faith (and morals) to the brink with a series of increasingly uncomfortable actions, all in the name of love. ‘

100 MINS

“This former Catholic school product approves of all the messaging and coming-of-age authenticity!”


DEEP COVER – Spotlight Narrative

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Directed by Tom Kingsley

Cast: Bryce Dallas Howard, Orlando Bloom, Nick Mohammed, Paddy Considine, Sonoya Mizuno, with Ian McShane and Sean Bean

DEEP COVER is a fast-paced action comedy starring Bryce Dallas Howard as Kat, an improv comedy teacher beginning to question if she’s missed her shot at success. When an undercover cop (Sean Bean) offers her the role of a lifetime, she recruits two of her students (Orlando Bloom and Nick Mohammed) to infiltrate London’s gangland by impersonating dangerous criminals.

Coming to Prime Video June 12, 2025

109 MINUTES Tribeca 2025


THE WOLF, THE FOX AND THE LEOPARD (International Narrative Competition)

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A film by David Verbeek

 Starring: Jessica Reynolds, Nicholas Pinnock, Marie Jung and Naomi Kawase

A feral young woman raised by wolves is captured and thrust into modern society, only to be rescued by a radical couple who isolate her on an abandoned oil rig. As she uncovers the lies of her new “parents”, she is forced to stand on her own two feet and ultimately decide whether to integrate into society or return to the wild.

124 MINUTES

“This hybrid fairytale about trauma is not to be missed.”


WIZKID: LONG LIVE LAGOSSpotlight+

WIZKID: LONG LIVE LAGOSDirector: Karam Gill 

Subjects: Femi-Anikulapo Kuti, Ayodeji Balogun, Jada Pollock, Julie Adenuga, Seni Saraki, Sunday Are, Matthew Temitope Solomon, Karen Binns, Adosu Segan, Tops Bademosi

From Lagos to London, this powerful documentary follows Wizkid’s rise as a global icon reshaping how Africa is seen — and heard — around the world. Blending intimate moments, explosive performances, and cultural commentary, the film captures how Wizkid is using his platform to change perceptions, reclaim African identity, and inspire a new generation. Directed by Karam Gill. Produced by Karam Gill, Daniel Malikyar. An HBO Documentary Films Release.

83 MINUTES  Tribeca 2025


HONEYJOON (Viewpoints)

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Written & Directed by Lilian T. Mehrel

Starring Ayden Mayeri & Amira Casar, José Condessa

HONEYJOON is a sexy, emotional comedy about… a mother-daughter trip. 

Persian-Kurdish Lela (Amira Casar) and her American daughter June (Ayden Mayeri) take a trip to a romantic Azorean island, for the one-year anniversary of Dad’s death. They planned this trip to be together, but Lela & June have opposite views about why they’re there, how to grieve, and June’s tiny bikini. Surrounded by honeymooners, doom-scrolling for Woman Life Freedom, and taken on a tour by their hot philosophical guide, João (José Condessa); Lela and June find each other… coming back to life.

75 minutes Tribeca 2025


AN EYE FOR AN EYE (Documentary Competition)

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Directors: Tanaz Eshaghian, Farzad Jafari

Convicted of murdering her husband, Tahereh served her sentence and now faces a ticking clock to negotiate with her in-laws who, under Sharia law in Iran, have the legal right to either execute her or forgive her- for a price.

84 MINUTES


THE END OF QUIET (Documentary Competition)

the end of quiet still

Directors: Kasper Bisgaard, Mikael Lypinski

A meditative documentary that offers a glimpse into one of the few inhabited places on Earth where Wi-Fi and phone signals are not allowed to reach.

83 MINUTES


TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN- Spotlight Documentary 

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN- Spotlight Documentary 

Director/Producer: Ole Juncker

Brilliance or bold-faced theft? In 2021, the Kunsten Museum got more than it bargained for when Danish artist Jens Haaning borrowed $83,000 for a commissioned piece—then delivered an empty frame. Titled with brazen wit, Take the Money and Run ignited a global firestorm: was it a scathing critique of capitalism, or the slickest art-world heist in history?

82 MINUTES


COUNTING CROWS: HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY? – Spotlight Documentary

COUNTING CROWS: HAVE YOU SEEN ME LATELY? Director: Amy Scott

Subjects: Adam Duritz, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Kerr, Chris Martin, Jeff Ross, Mary-Louise Parker

Catapulted into overnight fame by their massively successful debut album, San Francisco indie rock band Counting Crows and their introspective frontman Adam Duritz were suddenly the biggest rockstars in the world, defiantly facing whatever came next. Counting Crows: Have You Seen Me Lately? captures this pivotal crossroads through revealing interviews and evocative 1990’s archival to craft a rare story of artistic integrity in the spotlight. Directed by Amy Scott. Produced by Brian Morrow, Jonathan Lynch. An HBO Documentary Films Release.

90 MINUTES Tribeca 2025


YANUNI (Closing Night Gala)

Yanuni still 1

Directed by RICHARD LADKANI 

Produced by ANITA LADKANI, RICHARD LADKANI, JUMA XIPAIA, LEONARDO DICAPRIO, JENNIFER DAVISSON, PHILLIP WATSON

Executive Producers include JOANNA NATASEGARA, LAURA NIX, ERIC TERENA, DAX DASILVA, MARTIN CHOROBA, PHILIPP SCHALL

YANUNI is a cinematic portrait of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon who rises from a remote village to the frontlines of climate justice. After surviving six assassination attempts, she is appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights—while her husband, a federal IBAMA agent, leads dangerous operations against illegal gold miners. As Juma navigates political power, growing threats, and impending motherhood, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. At once intimate and epic, YANUNI is a powerful story of Indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent fight to protect the planet we call home.

112 MINUTES 


SEASONED (World Premiere — Indie Episodic (NOW)

seasoned

Directed by Ewen Wright

Written by Gideon Grody-Patinkin, Ewen Wright

Starring Mandy Patinkin, Kathryn Grody

Synopsis: Based on the real lives of Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody, “Seasoned” follows the delightfully tumultuous relationship and life of this successful, gregarious, deeply committed, slightly insane married couple. They’re each other’s greatest cheerleaders and harshest critics. The source of their unending magic is the same as their unending woe: that they’ve stayed together all these years. They struggle, they fail, they forgive, they learn, they remain bewildered, and most importantly, they hold everything together through love. As they navigate a society that feels as if it’s crumbling around them, will they remain standing?

Pilot Episode “Hangry” Synopsis: When Mandy and Kathryn miss their anniversary dinner reservation, they’re forced to try and find a new place to eat. Wandering New York City in an effort to salvage the occasion, 40 years of marital dynamics are laid bare as everything falls short – first with the food, then with each other.

96 MINUTES


84 MINUTESbeca 2Tribeca 2025 icon

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‘UNBROKEN’ (2025) Netflix honors Holocaust Remembrance Day with release of astounding doc

greenwich ent logoUnBroken

unbroken poster

Beth Lane’s captivating documentary, UnBroken, tells the story of seven siblings who survived Nazi Germany. Following the arrest of their hero mother and previously imprisoned Catholic father, marked for a concentration camp, Lane’s mother and siblings were smuggled to safety in the back of a truck in the dead of night by their farmer neighbor. A journey of unbelievable resiliency, Lane retraces their steps from Berlin to America and into the pages of history.

unbroken animationLane pieces together the Weber children’s story using archival footage, family photos, letters of eldest brother Alfons, and the foggy memories of the five remaining sisters. She travels to Berlin, stopping at each location where the siblings were hidden and nurtured. Lane discovers her grandfather’s original fascist concentration camp papers and the entry log of all seven children in a nunnery, finding that her mother Bela’s instinct about her middle name was correct.

UNBROKEN-motw-no-logo-800x445Misfit delivers enchanting line-drawn animation to fill in the visual gaps. Aaron Soffin and Dina Guttmann’s editing is award-worthy. Jonathan Snipes’ score is haunting. The film plays out like historical fiction from one moment to the next.

unbroken teensOne particularly intriguing moment happens as Beth runs into a small group of young people listening to music outside the siblings’ old apartment. After she tells them what the film is about, she asks if they would hide her if history repeats itself. Their honesty will burn into your memory. The echoes of trauma and triumph rear their ugly heads in many ways, but the knowledge that in saving seven siblings, there are now 72 thriving Weber family members is something to celebrate.

unbroken searchThe similarities to the systematic dismantling of the United States’ democracy should serve as a stark warning, but UnBroken also shines a light on the goodness of the human heart. One phrase from the film perfectly captures the message. “When you’re faced with adversity, who do you become?”

Here’s the link to the trailer on YouTube
 
 

Streaming on Netflix today!

 

About the film:  
UNBROKEN is the miraculous true story of the seven Weber siblings, ages 6-18, who evaded certain capture and death, and ultimately escaped Nazi Germany relying solely on their youthful bravado and the kindness of strangers, following their mother’s incarceration and murder at Auschwitz. 
 
After being hidden in a laundry hut by a benevolent German farmer, the children spent two years on their own in war torn Germany. Emboldened by their father’s mandate that they ‘always stay together,’ the children used their own cunning instincts to fight through hunger, loneliness, rape, bombings and fear. Climactically separated from their father, the siblings are forced to declare themselves as orphans in order to escape to a new life in America. Unbeknownst to them, this salvation would become what would finally tear them apart, not to be reunited for another 40 years. 
 
Filmmaker Beth Lane, daughter of the youngest Weber sibling, embarks on a quest to retrace their steps, seeking answers to long-held questions about her family’s survival. The film examines the journey of the Weber family as told through conversations with living siblings – now in their eighties and nineties – while Beth and her crew road trip across Germany, following the courageous, tumultuous, and harrowing path taken by her family over seventy years ago.
 
UnBroken is Beth Lane’s feature directorial debut, and it is both a professional milestone and a personal quest to immortalize the incredible story of the Weber siblings’ survival as the only family of seven Jewish siblings living in Nazi Germany known to have survived and emigrated together. 
 
The film had its world premiere at the 23rd Heartland International Film Festival, where it was awarded Best Documentary Feature Film. It also won the Audience Choice award at the River Run Int’l Film FestivalJulien Dubuque Int’l Film Festival and The Berkshire Int’l Film Festival
 
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‘MOLA: A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss (SXSW 2025) A thoughtful exploration of grief AND a celebration of life.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3Mola: A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss

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Filmmakers Martin Brauen and Yangzom Brauen give SXSW 2025 audiences many things in their intimate documentary Mola: A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss. Kunsang Wangmo is a firecracker. A Tibetan nun exiled from her homeland in 1959 to escape the Chinese occupation turns 100, and her final wish is to die in her homeland. The film explores respect, a stunning cultural snapshot, and generational healing.

The audience gets a boot camp lesson in Buddhism. The religion relies on the concept of embracing life to achieve full consciousness. In this practice, death is more fulfilling. Mola displays respect for all creatures through prayer and everyday gestures, some as small as encouraging flies to feast upon her leftover fruit.

Archival footage from Tibet is equal parts magical and devastating. Mola recalls her life’s journey in voice-over narration. Her harrowing escape to an Indian refugee camp as a young mother is difficult to hear but hauntingly parallels the current global upheaval. Twelve years later, a move to Switzerland with Sonam and Martin changed everything, finally providing well-deserved stability and forty-five years of family life.

Mola_ A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss_ - [schedule.sxsw.com]However, the underlying generational trauma manifests in a contentious mother-daughter relationship. Mola uses humor and cutting words as shields. Patrick Kirst‘s score captures each beat, whether melancholy or joy. Sonam wishes for her to stay for all the reasons one would expect a loved one to feel.

Mola’s birthday wish is to go home. Martin works diligently toward obtaining a visa for her return to Tibet. After months of back-and-forth emails, Mola begins a new adventure in her homeland, while Sonam starts a new stage of grief. Watching her mother experience pure joy after 40 years is draining. Six months later, the Chinese government denied Mola’s visa renewal, but she is ready to return to Switzerland. Unsurprisingly, Mola’s health rapidly declines upon her return, and a new wave of acceptance falls upon the shoulders of the entire family. Witnessing the decline of a loved one is something you can never prepare yourself for.

There is something peaceful about MOLA. Its quiet, contemplative nature delivers an unexpected universality. It honors the life of a woman whose faith extended until her last breath.

MOLA - A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss portrait


Kunsang Wangmo – known as “Mola” to her family – is a Tibetan nun exiled from her homeland in 1959 to escape the Chinese occupation. Now 100 years old, and after living with her daughter Sonam in Switzerland for the past 45 years, she decides her last wish is to die in Tibet. This is the story of a mother and daughter coming to terms with this phase in Mola’s life, and Sonam and her husband Martin’s journey to make Mola’s last wish come true.

Molafilm.com

Mola Trailer

Yangzom Brauen

yangzom-brauen-303042 (1)

Yangzom is an award-winning Film & TV Director recognized for her short film Born in Battle, which won UNESCO and audience awards. She has directed over 30 hours of TV, including NCIS LA, Hawaii Five-0, and American Horror Stories. A bestselling author of Across Many Mountains, she’s a passionate Tibetan Freedom advocate, fluent in five languages.

Martin Brauen

martin-brauen-303042 (1)

Martin Brauen (b. 1948) is an anthropologist, curator, and author specializing in Tibetan, Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Japanese cultures. Former chief curator of the Rubin Museum in NYC, he has curated nearly 100 exhibitions and authored many works, including The Mandala. A filmmaker, he explores cultural traditions through films and 3D animations.

Credits

Directors:

Yangzom Brauen, Martin Brauen

Executive Producer:

Sonam Brauen, Martin Brauen, Yangzom Brauen, Daniel Stanca-Di Marco, James Haygood, Michael Raimondi

Producer:

Katherine LeBlond

Screenwriter:

Yangzom Brauen, Martin Brauen

Cinematographer:

Martin Brauen, Yangzom Brauen

Editor:

James Haygood, Samir Samperisi

Sound Designer:

Peter von Siebenthal, Arlind Sermaxhaj, Eliot Martig

Music:

Patrick Kirst

Principal Cast:

Kunsang Wangmo, Sonam Dolma Brauen, Martin Brauen

Additional Credits:

Co-Producer: Kevin Merz, Co-Producer: Samir Samperisi, Co-Producer: Silvana Bezzola Rigolini, Co-Producer: Michael Beltrami, Co-Producer: RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera

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For all things SXSW, click here!

‘Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus’ (2025) Music, movies, and mystery. One inspiring and heartbreaking path to stardom.

GOODBYE HORSES:

THE MANY LIVES OF Q LAZZARUS

goodbye horses poster

Filmmaker Eva Aridjis Fuentes‘s fascination with an unknown singer leads her on an unexpected journey sparked by the luckiest cab ride of her life. 

Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus opens with a song that fans will immediately associate with one of the most iconic villains in cinematic history. Diane Luckey penned Goodbye Horses in the 80s while working as a taxi driver. Following a cameo in the film Philadelphia in the mid-90s, Q Lazzarus disappeared. But why? 

Goodbye horses Q lazzarus 1The chance meeting of Fuentes and Luckey gives us insight into a music industry mystery. Diane, aka Q Lazzarus, tells us her history with music, beginning in her childhood Baptist church choir. She knew her tastes were different and embraced her unique and powerhouse presence. 

We get treated to many of Q’s unreleased songs, most of which she performed live in clubs downtown and during her days on the London rock scene. Serving as the doc’s soundtrack, you will wonder how the rest of her discography fell by the wayside. American audiences and record labels weren’t ready for Q, even as the locals embraced her. 

Goodbye horses Q lazzarus 3With all the elements of a successful career at her fingertips, her romance with club promoter Richard slowly changed things for the worse. The lack of recognition took its toll. Richard’s leaving, combined with the Philadelphia soundtrack snub, was the final straw, and the drugs introduced by Richard led to Q’s world crumbling. But out of destitution and depression, Q rises from the ashes of sex work, crack addiction, rehab, finding her husband, getting clean, and fighting to bring her son James home. 

Goodbye horses Q lazzarus 2James, now an adult, encourages his mother to reclaim her work. Eva, Q, and her former bandmates plan an upcoming concert. Chasing the dream of finally making her music and onstage persona a household name. Q’s newfound enthusiasm is infectious. Even though life had different plans, Q Lazzarus and Diane Luckey gave us one unforgettable story.

The montage of vastly different bands covering Goodbye Horses possesses an effervescent energy. It’s that sense-memory magic a brilliantly written song triggers. GOODBYE HORSES is an intriguing unraveling of dreams and the rebuilding of a life. I hope audiences furiously download and stream her music to honor an artist worth celebrating. 


Trailer: Goodbye Horses

Upcoming Screenings information:
March 22 Asbury Park (Showroom Cinema)
March 25 Denver (Sie Film Center)**JUST ADDED
March 25-27 Albuquerque (The Guild Cinema)**JUST ADDED
March 30, April 3 Austin (Austin Film Society)
March 31 Seattle (Here-After Theater, programmed by Grand Illusion)**JUST ADDED
March 31-April 2 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada (Tivoli Cinema)
April 2 Winchester, Virginia (Alamo Drafthouse) **JUST ADDED
April 7 Saugerites, New York (Orpheum Theater, Upstate Films/Sonic Wave Series) **JUST ADDED
April 9 Rochester, New York (The Little) **JUST ADDED
May 28-June 1 Romania (Dokstation Music Documentary Film Festival) **JUST ADDED
May 29 Chicago (Facets) **JUST ADDED


*Winner of the Audience Award at the Morelia International Film Festival*


SYNOPSIS
Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus is an intimate film in the vein of Searching for Sugarman, which solves a musical mystery while taking the viewer on a rollercoaster ride through the life of enigmatic singer Diane Luckey, aka Q Lazzarus. Discovered by Jonathan Demme in 1987 during a fateful cab ride, Q had a moment of fame after her cult hit song “Goodbye Horses” was featured in The Silence of the Lambs. But while Q had a following in the New York and London club scenes, she was unable to get a record deal and completely vanished from the public eye in 1995. Not even her friends and bandmates knew what had happened to her, that is until another fateful car ride 25 years later brought her together with filmmaker and fan Eva Aridjis-Fuentes. Q entrusted Eva with the incredible story of her life, told in the film for the very first time through Q’s own words and music, and through dozens of never-before heard songs.


Eva Aridjis-Fuentes

Director: Eva Aridjis-Fuentes (The Favor, La Santa Muerte)
Producer: Howard Gertler (All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Crip Camp)
Co-producer: Kathy Rivkin Daum (Moonage Daydream, DEVO)
Executive Producers: Cyrus Etemad, Betty Ferber, Clate Korsant
Editors: Eva Aridjis-Fuentes, Connor Kalista
Cinematographers: Nathan Corbin, Eva Aridjis-Fuentes
Sound: Danny Hole
Music Supervisor: Dawn Sutter Madell
TRT: 103 min
Country: USA

Film website: goodbyehorsesmovie.com

For more documentary films, click here!

‘TIGER’ (SXSW 2025 short) Tragedy, art, and family legacy bloom in this mesmerizing short.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3TIGER

tiger posterTragedy follows a family of creatives. Dana Tiger‘s artist father was the creator of the t-shirt brand Tiger. After his untimely death, her mother pushed his art into the homes of millions in the 80s. The entire family begins silkscreening orders to JCPenney day and night. When the youngest sibling, Chris, unexpectedly passes the same way, the business halts, and hope fades. But the Tiger story does not end there.

Tiger Dana TigerHome videos, family photographs, original art, and a haunting ancestral voice carry us through the family’s past and present. Dreamlike editing, filled with dynamic choices, creates a mesmerizing 12 minutes. An extraordinary story of resiliency, loyalty, and validation, TIGER is an inspiring short about generational healing and legacy.

Credits

Director:

Loren Waters

Executive Producer:

Loren Waters, Robert L. Hunter

Producer:

Dana Tiger, Loren Waters

Screenwriter:

Loren Waters

Cinematographer:

Robert L. Hunter

Editor:

Amanda Moy, Eva Dubovoy

Sound Designer:

Amanda Moy, Eva Dubovoy

Music:

Trevor Kowalski

Principal Cast:

Dana Tiger, Lisa Tiger

Additional Credits:

Senior Colorist: Andrew Francis, Associate Producer: Dylan Brodie, Post Sound Mixer: James Russell, First Assistant Camera: Marissa Shoemaker, Production Assistant: Serena Jones

sxsw2025_banner_860For all things SXSW, click here!

‘UVALDE MOM’ (SXSW 2025) One mother’s courageous journey to fight through tragedy and for all families.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3

UVALDE MOM

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1 shooter. 77 minutes. 376 officers on sight. 21 lives gone. The Uvalde mass school shooting was one of the deadliest in the world. As gunfire rang out and the police didn’t move, the parents tried to get their children. Under the threat of arrest, one mother jumped the fence and got her kids out. UVALDE MOM is the story of national hero Angeli Rose Gomez and the community still fighting for justice through their grief.

Cell phone footage from Angeli and her mother shows the harassment by the police of the Robb Elementary School parents. Her escape with the boys was captured on surveillance footage. Her sons’ reactions as they reach safety across the street speak volumes. The trauma on their faces is still there today. The moment Angeli defied the police and told the world, the living nightmare only got scarier.

UVALDE MOM_Aurelius Achilles Gomez Martinez_Angeli Rose Gomez_Vladimir Jorge BazanCivil Rights Attorney for the Institute for Justice, Marie Miller, breaks down the law surrounding the retaliation for Angeli speaking out about her experience. Angeli was pulled over on trumped-up charges, threatened, and stalked by police.

Uvalde is a small town in Texas. There is a clear socioeconomic divide within its borders. The Mexican-American population grew up understanding the invisible town line between the white part of town and everyone else.

The film dives into Angeli’s childhood and tumultuous relationship with her children’s father. Anyone in their right mind would see a victim of domestic abuse, but the fallout from her history gives vengeful police a twisted talking point.

The ever-evolving details of the shooting remain one of the most disgusting parts- The lack of action, cops on their phones, and the subsequent coverup and blame game. The 21 families of the victims advocate for new gun laws, but the backlash from the 2nd Amendment fans and Governor Gregg Abbott stalls any forward movement.

uvalde-momMeanwhile, out of the blue, Angeli is sent to a correctional facility 7 hours away from Uvalde for allegedly violating her parole. While there are zero consequences for the failed police, Angeli is served with an injustice the audience will feel in their bones.

The argument for gun safety seems like a no-brainer. But, like we’ve said in the past, if Sandy Hook didn’t move the needle, I’m not sure anything will. The desperation for change is real. I watched Columbine unfold in real-time as a senior in high school, practicing my first lockdown drill three days later. My two small children have been doing drills since they were two years old. This is not the life I ever imagined for any of us.

UVALDE MOM is hard to watch but vitally important. Something has to give. It should not be another child’s life.


Credits

Director:

Anayansi Prado

Executive Producer:

Davis Guggenheim, Julie Parker Benello, James Costa, Rahdi Taylor, Patty Quillin

Producer:

Ina Fichman, Anayansi Prado, David Goldblum

Screenwriter:

Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza

Cinematographer:

E.J. Enríquez, M.J. Johnston

Editor:

Pablo Proenza

Music:

Ramachandra Borcar

Principal Cast:

Angeli Rose Gomez, Arnulfo Reyes, Tina Quintanilla, Lavonne De Leon



UVALDE MOM follows the extraordinary story of Angeli Rose Gomez, a farm worker and single mother who risked everything to save her two sons during the May 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, TX. While nearly 400 armed officers waited 77 minutes to act, Angeli ran into the school, pulled her children to safety, and became a viral symbol of courage. But as she spoke out against law enforcement’s inaction, she faced intense harassment from authorities, who weaponized her past to discredit and silence her.

From award-winning director Anayansi Prado (Maid in America, The Unafraid), UVALDE MOM is a powerful, heart-wrenching look at Angeli’s relentless fight for justice. As Uvalde confronts systemic failures and the U.S. Department of Justice launches an investigation, conflicting narratives emerge, deepening the town’s grief and anger. With the first anniversary of the tragedy approaching, Angeli must navigate the weight of what happened to her community while continuing her personal battle for truth and accountability.



Remaining SXSX screenings for UVALDE MOM:

PREMIERE: Monday, March 10 at 5:45 PM CT – Rollins Theatre at The Long Center

Tuesday, March 11 at 5:00 PM CT – AFS Cinema

Friday, March 14 at 6:00 PM CT – SXSW Film & TV Theater at the Hyatt Regency

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‘CREEDE U.S.A ‘ (SXSW 2025) The powerful hope between theatre and politics.

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CREEDE U.S.A.CREEDE U.S.A.

A mining boomtown wanted to expand their minds by inviting a repertory theatre to establish themselves in the 1960s. Kahane Corn Cooperman SXSW 2025 is a peak behind the curtain of the country’s political landscape. Leave your judgment at the door. Welcome to a genuine snapshot of small-town America. Welcome to CREEDE U.S.A. 

A town of roughly 300 asks the hard national questions, from guns to LGBTQ curriculum inclusion. CREEDE U.S.A. features school board meetings that seem to put empathy on trial as the months pass, but discussions occur with the utmost civility and open ears. Sit-down interviews with the residents are charming, insightful, and raw. The cinematography by Jilann Spitzmiller and Graham Willoughby is stunning, and Osei Essed‘s score feels like home. 

Boasting theatre legend alum Mandy Patinkin, Creede Repertory Theatre is a machine with three productions in a single season, with a local audience from every street in town. Deliciously diverse casting and productions that challenge preconceived notions. 

The positive impact of the rep theatre is undeniable. Like all theatre spaces, it is a safe and inclusive place filled with new ideas, challenging an audience to think. One does not usually equate theatre and conservative values. As a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in NYC, a homeowner in the city and CT, a children’s theatre director, and a writer, I speak from firsthand knowledge over my 44 years. We’ve seen the national impact over the past 10 years, with groups like Moms For Liberty infiltrating school boards and banning books in counties they don’t even live in. 

CREEDE U.S.A. is an unbelievably fascinating microcosm of the country. Big ideas are not abstract because the town is so small and close. Civility is the key to communicating. They are the perfect example of how important local government remains. CREEDE U.S.A is a how-to guide to getting involved, listening, authentic problem-solving, and open-mindedness. This community obliterates political bias and cliché. We should all aspire to be more like them. The film is a celebration of tradition and art. It honors the complexity of humans.


Director: Kahane Corn Cooperman

Producer: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman

Running Time: 94 mins 

In Kahane Cooperman’s lyrical CREEDE U.S.A., a remote Colorado mountain mining town becomes an unexpected model for public discourse. For generations, Creede’s residents have held tightly to their heritage and values. But when the town brought in a theater company to revitalize the economy, the citizens were introduced to new ideas and perspectives—creating an ongoing tension between tradition and change.

Nearly 60 years and countless performances later, Creede is a stunning microcosm of America’s national divisions. Issues like guns in classrooms and gender pronouns spark tense debates, yet the town remains bound by a shared sense of place and community. Through intimate portraits, charged town meetings, and a rich historical lens, CREEDE U.S.A. explores how this evolving community continues to find common ground – both inside and outside of the mining shafts, ranches and the Creede Repertory Theatre. Hopeful and urgent, the film offers a poignant reflection on the challenges and possibilities of coexistence in an increasingly polarized world.

 

REMAINING CREEDE U.S.A. SXSW SCREENINGS:

  • PREMIERE: Sunday, March 9 at 9:00 PM CT – SXSW Film & TV Theater at the Hyatt Regency
  • Monday, March 10 at 5:00 PM CT – AFS Cinema
  • Thursday, March 13 at 9:30 PM CT – Violet Crown Cinema theaters 2 and 4 

 

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‘YOUR HIGHER SELF’ (SXSW 2025) A wacky journey in search of dopamine hits.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3YOUR HIGHER SELF

your Higher selfLife Coaching has become a rather broad term in our culture, akin to “Wellness.” Director Annie St-Pierre explores the various methods in her SXSW 2025 film YOUR HIGHER SELF. Everyone is looking for enlightenment, even if it means wading through the good, the bad, and the ridiculous.

There is an immediate irony to the film as audiences experience the training of life coaches. The overarching theme of these classes focuses on the idea that a coach is not a therapist but an advisor on present and future encouragement and self-realization. Yet, with humans, the transition seems inevitable. One has to weigh the side effects of toxic positivity when not confronting past trauma. 

We witness practical workshopping, where a client rehearses for a meeting or event from start to finish. The coach serves as a theatre director, adjusting each word’s delivery and every physical movement, including micro-expressions. Bring in the horse therapy, personal soul cycle session, zoom calls, music, and group work. You name it, we get a taste. 

As a product of child therapy, holding a degree in performance, as a choreographer and children’s theatre director, I know so many of these methods in my bones. I provide guidance and feedback like the dopamine hits I craved in my youth. It all falls under a broader umbrella of feel-good self-expression and the need to feel useful. 

The camerawork is as engaging as the editing. The film unfolds in nuanced snapshots of industry variations. YOUR HIGHER SELF leans into the absurdity and honors that each person’s path to self-help is a personal choice while acknowledging it is ultimately business. Bravo to those who agreed to appear in the film. Kudos to Annie St-Pierre for giving everyone the confidence and trust to participate. 

YOUR HIGHER SELF is a visual and emotional dream board for anyone seeking inspiration. Whatever your motives for watching, you will undoubtedly find yourself fully immersed in these methods while simultaneously poopooing them. SXSW audiences are in for quite the ride and the beginning of long conversations. Equal parts cringe and intriguing, YOUR HIGHER SELF is undeniably entertaining.


Your Higher Self SXSW Remaining Screenings:

Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 10, 2025

 5:45pm — 7:05pm

 

Your Higher Self at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 10, 2025

 5:45pm — 7:05pm

 

Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 5

Mar 13, 2025

 2:30pm — 3:50pm

 

Your Higher Self at Alamo Lamar 6

Mar 13, 2025

2:30pm — 3:50pm


Credits:

Director:

Annie St-Pierre

Executive Producer:

Sylvain Corbeil

Producer:

Audrey-Ann Dupuis-Pierre

Screenwriter:

Annie St-Pierre

Cinematographer:

Etienne Roussy

Editor:

Myriam Magassouba

Sound Designer:

Marie-Pierre Grenier, Bernard Gariepy Strobl, Jean-François Caissy

Music:

Christophe Lamarche-Ledoux

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‘ARREST THE MIDWIFE ‘ (SXSW 2025) A powerful look at another reproductive right being mandated by ignorance.

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ARREST THE MIDWIFE

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Filmmaker Elaine Epstein follows the case of Elizabeth Catlin, a midwife charged with 95 felony counts after the death of one baby. However, Liz is not the first or last midwife to find themselves in court.

The Mennonite community uses midwives as per tradition. Liz is part of a tight group of women that serve these mothers and their families. Suddenly, Yates County begins targeting one midwife after another, putting further stress on the health and safety of women.

The state of NY has increased the requirements of education to maintain accreditation. Liz and her fellow care providers are CPMs (Certified Professional Midwives), each assisting in 100s of births, but according to NY State, that isn’t enough to exist legally.

We don’t get the details of Liz’s specific case until halfway through. When you hear them, your jaw will drop. No one in their right legal mind would ever bring charges against Liz. Going against their tradition of staying within their community, the Mennonite women come to court, write letters, and travel down state in drives to support advancing legislative change. Women supporting other women move the needle.

As a mother who had two births in Manhattan, I envy the homebirth experience 9 years after my first birth. At 35, the term geriatric pregnancy was insulting enough. After numerous ultrasounds and tests, when my son was in crisis during my 16 labor, all that science went out the window, leading to an emergency c-section. Birth trauma is real.

The film is a beautifully structured freight train of activism. Our rights are under attack. This is another example that most of us weren’t even aware of. ARREST THE MIDWIFE is a prime example of how a state’s rights governance hurts its population. Whether it’s midwifery or abortion, this causes care deserts, leading to a high likelihood of deaths. You cannot watch this film and tell me this isn’t a story about body autonomy. ARREST THE MIDWIFE is a fierce feminist film about choice in the face of another oppressive patriarchal and capitalist structure. Let women choose.

Director: Elaine Epstein

Producers: Elaine Epstein & Robin Hessman

Running Time: 82 minutes

 

Caught between the law and the well-being of the Amish and Mennonite families they serve, midwives in upstate New York operate in a healthcare desert—risking jail time simply for providing critical care. As their midwives are arrested, the women from these insular communities break from their traditions to become unexpected activists, fighting for systemic change.

With exceptionally rare and intimate access, director Elaine Epstein crafts a powerful David-and-Goliath story of resilience and resistance. Set against the backdrop of America’s maternal health crisis and the erosion of reproductive rights, ARREST THE MIDWIFE is both a poignant portrait of a community in crisis and an urgent call to protect every woman’s right to choose how she brings the next generation into the world.


 SXSW SCREENINGS:

  • PREMIERE: Sunday, March 9 at 2:15 PM CT – Alamo Lamar 5 and 6
  • Tuesday, March 11 at 2:45 PM CT – Alamo Lamar theaters 2 and 7
  • Thursday, March 13 at 2:45 PM CT – Violet Crown Cinema theaters 2 and 4

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‘BABY DOE’ (SXSW 2025) A shocking and complex case of pregnancy denial and the trauma is stems from.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3BABY DOE

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BABY DOE explores the nuanced case of Gail Ritchey and the baby she left in the woods over 30 years ago. Director Jessica Earnshaw skillfully brings the audience into the inner circle of Ritchey and her conservative Christian community in rural Ohio while digging into the psychological trauma behind it all. 

When I tell you your jaw will be on the floor in the first five minutes, it is not an exaggeration. It will not be the last time the facts surrounding this case give you pause or take your breath away. Earnshaw uses a mix of police footage, news clips, and sit-down interviews with every family member, including the father of the child- her current husband. She brings cameras into the meetings with Gail and her defense team as they ask all the right questions. It is a gateway to the deep-seated trauma.

The most fascinating aspect has to be religion. Gail’s connection to Christianity is complex as hell. Her daughter’s church welcomes her into their community while she awaits trial, but part of me believes that had she approached these sane people 30 years ago as an unwed mother, she would have been shunned. The home video of her Baptist youth group and the story of her relationship with Mark honestly explain everything. 

Her lawyers struggle to reconcile Gail’s lack of memories, but to women who have ever been involved with the church, the shame associated with premarital sex, pregnancy, and abortion, not to mention the patriarchal structure, all scream off the screen. The psychological complexity of pregnancy denial is connected to all these issues. Earnshaw uses other cases to draw parallels in Gail’s story. It is a powerful insight. 

I give a lot of credit to Mark for never wavering in his support for Gail. Audiences must go into the film with an open mind and honestly, taking a page from Mark’s playbook in unconditional love. My heart breaks for the guilt carried by Gail. I cannot imagine her burden. I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge her church community. At the very least, their current support genuinely surprised me in the best way.

Endlessly compelling, BABY DOE has you in its grip from start to finish. SXSW audiences will not stop talking about this film.


Credits

Director:

Jessica Earnshaw

Executive Producer:

Jenny Raskin, Kelsey Koenig, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Debbie L. McLeod, Jamie Wolf, Nathalie Seaver, Meadow Fund, Peggy Case, and Tom Meadows

Producer:

Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw

Cinematographer:

Jessica Earnshaw and Emily Thomas

Editor:

George O’Donnell and Leah Boatright

Music:

Gil Talmi

Principal Cast:

Gail, Mark, Courtney, Evan, Steven, Mark M.

Additional Credits:

Co-Producer: John Rudolf, Co-Executive Producer: Rebecca Lichtenfeld and Chandra Jessee for InMaat, Co-Executive Producer: Drew Scott , Co-Executive Producer: Chris Boeckmann, Co-Executive Producer: Erika A. Christensen, Contributing Producer: Chicken & Egg Films , Assistant Editor: Jessie Adler, Associate Producer: Liz Yong Lowe


Remaining Screenings of BABY DOE:

 

Baby Doe at Violet Crown Cinema 2

Mar 9, 2025

 5:00pm — 6:40pm

 

Baby Doe at Violet Crown Cinema 4

Mar 9, 2025

 5:00pm — 6:40pm

 

Baby Doe at Alamo Lamar 1

Mar 13, 2025

 9:30pm — 11:10pm

 

Baby Doe at Alamo Lamar 8

Mar 13, 2025

 9:30pm — 11:10pm

BABY DOE (Documentary Feature Competition) – Thirty years ago, Gail Ritchey, a young woman from a conservative Christian community in rural Ohio, gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Now a devoted mother of three, her quiet suburban life is shattered when DNA evidence links her to the infamous cold case of “Geauga’s Child,” leading to her arrest for murder. Authorities dismiss her claim that the baby was stillborn, and the media swiftly vilifies her.

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‘DEAR TOMORROW’ (SXSW 2025) Raw and important, a doc about the epidemic of loneliness will crack the hardest of hearts.

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dear-tomorrow-SXSW 2025SXSW 2025 documentary DEAR TOMORROW delves into the epidemic of loneliness. Filmmaker Kaspar Astrup Schröder follows two Japanese citizens who suffer from severe loneliness. Schröder quietly observes them through their physical and emotional isolation and a subsequent few conversations with the mental health hotline, “A Place For You.”

The film features chat text scrawling across the screen. Masato and Shoko seem to lead similar lives. Both in their forties with no family around them to cushion the blow of isolation, they try different things to lessen the sadness. Masato gets a pet owl, while Shoko takes the advice of a volunteer and reaches out to a former classmate. While these momentary actions provide a dopamine hot and hope, the underlying echoes of doubt remain steadfast.

Founder Koki Ozara uses data to prioritize calls, but with over 1000 a day, the demand far outreaches their ability to serve the population. Nationally, Ozara works in tandem with the Japanese government to address the problem with a global symposium. But, as the film progresses, the most basic solutions prove complicated. Red tape, like everywhere else in the world, stands in the way of genuine help.  

The exquisite music instills a deep longing that beautifully mirrors the desire to connect with the two subjects. The film’s structure forces us to slow down and authentically watch.

DEAR TOMORROW is an excellent companion watch for Steve Buscemi‘s THE LISTENER. Viewing is a mix of emotions, from crestfallen to hopeful. All I kept thinking about in the film’s quiet moments were hastily put-together solutions brought about by my fixer mentality. I understood much of what Masato and Shoko felt, as I am a mother in my forties who now contemplates daily feelings of isolation and identity. It can feel like a vice. 

Masato and Shoko are undeniably brave to share their most intimate fears. Mental health often comes with a stigma that becomes politicized and kept at arm’s length out of fear. If Covid-19 lockdowns taught us anything, we cannot continue to sweep it under the rug. Humanity must do better for each other. DEAR TOMORROW puts all of these things front and center in a universally relatable way. Revealing, raw, and relentlessly touching SXSW audiences will be moved. 


Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm


In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)


Remaining Dear Tomorrow Screenings:

Dear Tomorrow at Violet Crown Cinema 1

Mar 9, 2025

 9:30pm — 11:01pm

 

Dear Tomorrow at Violet Crown Cinema 3

Mar 9, 2025

 9:30pm — 11:01pm

 

Dear Tomorrow at Alamo Lamar 5

Mar 13, 2025

 11:00am — 12:31pm

 

Dear Tomorrow at Alamo Lamar 6

Mar 13, 2025

 11:00am — 12:31pm


Credits

Director:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Executive Producer:

Katrine A. Sahlstrøm, Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Katrine Philp, Patricia Drati, Boris B. Bertram

Producer:

Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm

Screenwriter:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Cinematographer:

Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Editor:

Laura Skiöld Østerud, Kaspar Astrup Schröder

Sound Designer:

Ted Krotkiewski

Music:

Jon Ekstrand

Additional Credits:

Co-producer: Michael Krotkiewski, Co-producer: David Herdies, Co-producer: Huang Yin-Yu

 

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SXSW 2025: This year is all about kicking ass and making names with new filmmakers taking the leap.

SXSW 2025_Website-SEO-3SXSW 2025

SXSW 2025 is back with a vengeance. Brimming with talent new and old, the festival grows each year, giving audiences what they love. This year is no exception with Film and TV’s coolest, latest, and greatest. On the docket are hotly anticipated titles like DEATH OF A UNICORN with its insane ensemble cast, Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively return in ANOTHER SIMPLE FAVOR, and Peter Cilella‘s Midnighter DESCENDENT. Take a peek at some of the films we’re watching this year…

For more info on SXSW 2025 click here!


ODYSSEY

odyssey SXSW 2025Director: Gerard Johnson, Producers: John Jencks, Isabel Freer, Matthew James Wilkinson, Patrick Tolan, Screenwriters: Gerard Johnson, Austin Collings


Natasha Flynn is an estate agent on a mission—and she’s going to make a killing. Cast: Polly Maberly, Mikael Persbrandt, Jasmine Blackborow, Guy Burnet, Ryan Hayes, Charley Palmer Rothwell, Kellie Shirley (World Premiere)


ARREST THE MIDWIFEarrest-the-midwifeDirector: Elaine Epstein, Producers: Elaine Epstein, Robin Hessman


The arrest of midwives in a rural healthcare desert ignites an unexpected rebellion: Amish and Mennonite women who break from tradition, and emerge as fierce political activists fighting for reproductive justice and birthing rights. (World Premiere)


GLORIOUS SUMMER (Poland)

glorious-summer Directors/Screenwriters: Helena Ganjalyan, Bartosz Szpak, Producers: Maria Gołoś, Monika Matuszewska


A sun-drenched renaissance palace. Three women remain in a carefree state of limbo, tended to by an unseen, all-providing system. But as cracks in the paradise begin to appear, they are faced with a choice: escape or remain in the perfect illusion? Cast: Magdalena Fejdasz, Helena Ganjalyan, Daniela Komędera, Weronika Humaj (World Premiere)


DEATH OF A UNICORN

death-of-a-unicorn SXSWDirector/Screenwriter: Alex Scharfman, Producers: Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, Alex Scharfman, Lars Knudsen, Tyler Campellone, Tim Headington, Theresa Steele Page


A father and daughter accidentally hit and kill a unicorn while en route to a weekend retreat, where his billionaire boss seeks to exploit the creature’s miraculous curative properties. Cast: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega, Will Poulter, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Jessica Hynes (World Premiere)


REELING

reeling SXSW 2025Director: Yana Alliata, Producer: Jack Forbes, Screenwriters: Yana Alliata, Amy Miner


After a life altering accident, Ryan struggles to fit in with old friends and family at a birthday luau but the celebration boils over when he uncovers the missing memory of when his life took a tragic turn. Cast: Ryan Wuestewald, Hans Christopher, Nikki DeParis, Fabrizio Alliata, Makena Miller, Nyah Juliano, Michael Carter (World Premiere)


BABY DOE

baby doe SXSW 2025Director: Jessica Earnshaw, Producers: Holly Meehl Chapman, Jessica Earnshaw


At 22, Gail gave birth alone and left her newborn in the woods. Decades later, she’s arrested for murder, even though she says the baby was stillborn. Baby Doe explores the fallout when young women cannot accept the reality of an unplanned pregnancy. (World Premiere)


CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

clown-in-a-cornfieldDirector: Eli Craig, Producers: Marty Bowen, John Fischer, Wyck Godfrey, Screenwriters: Carter Blanchard, Adam Cesare, Eli Craig


A fading midwestern town in which Frendo the clown, a symbol of bygone success, reemerges as a terrifying scourge. Cast: Katie Douglas, Will Sasso, Cassandra Potenza, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Verity Marks, Dylan McEwan, Daina Leitold, Vincent Muller, Kaitlyn Bacon (World Premiere)

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DEAR TOMORROW (Denmark, Japan, Sweden)dear-tomorrow-SXSW 2025Director/Screenwriter: Kaspar Astrup Schröder, Producers: Maria Helga Stürup, Katrine A. Sahlstrøm


In Japan, where loneliness has become a national crisis, the film follows three individuals battling isolation. Through a volunteer chat service, compassionate connections, and government initiatives, they find hope and paths to reclaim their lives. (World Premiere)


FOR WORSEForWorse-1440x810-1Director/Screenwriter: Amy Landecker, Producers: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Valerie Stadler, Jenica Bergere, James Portolese


Fresh off a messy divorce, a 50-year-old sober mom tries to rebuild her life and stumbles into a new beginning after finding herself at a Gen Z wedding behaving like a 25-year-old drunk bridesmaid. Cast: Amy Landecker, Bradley Whitford, Nico Hiraga, Gaby Hoffmann, Ken Marino, Missi Pyle, Kiersey Clemons, Claudia Sulewski, Simon Helberg, Liv Hewson (World Premiere)


O’DESSA

ODESSADirector/Screenwriter: Geremy Jasper, Producers: Michael Gottwald, Noah Stahl


Set in a post-apocalyptic future, O’Dessa is a rock opera about a farm girl on a quest to recover a family heirloom. Her journey leads her to a dangerous city, where she must use the power of destiny and song to save her true love’s soul. Cast: Sadie Sink, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Murray Bartlett, Regina Hall, Pokey LaFarge (World Premiere)


CREEDE U.S.A.

creede-u-s-aDirector: Kahane Corn Cooperman, Producers: Innbo Shim, Kahane Corn Cooperman


Welcome to Creede – a remote mining town with no stop light, a theater company and 300+ folks at 9,000 feet. This unlikely setting – with its miners, ranchers and theater people – offers an unexpected lens on divisions felt by Americans everywhere. (World Premiere)


THE SURRENDER

the-surrender
Director/Screenwriter: Julia Max, Producers: Mia Chang, Lovell Holder, Julia Max, Ian McDonald, Robert J. Ulrich


When the family patriarch dies, a grieving mother and daughter risk their lives to perform a brutal resurrection ritual that will bring him back from the dead. Cast: Colby Minifie, Kate Burton, Neil Sandilands, Vaughn Armstrong, Mia Ellis, Pete Ploszek, Chelsea Alden, Alaina Pollack, Riley Rose Critchlow, Lola Prince Kelly (World Premiere)


UVALDE MOMuvalde-momDirector: Anayansi Prado, Producers: Ina Fichman, David Goldblum, Screenwriters: Anayansi Prado, Pablo Proenza


When a school mass shooting rocks a small town in Texas, a mom desperate to save her kids is launched into the public eye. She speaks out against a system that never protected her. The community challenges these powers and exposes those who failed to protect its most vulnerable – children. (World Premiere)


IDIOTIKAidiotka
Director/Screenwriter: Nastasya Popov, Producers: Tess Cohen, Camila Mendes, Rachel Matthews, Saba Zerehi, Nastasya Popov


In this sharp, irreverent comedy, a disgraced fashion designer with a dangerously low credit score, Margarita (Anna Baryshnikov) enters a reality show with a six-figure cash prize to save her babushka’s West Hollywood apartment. But as the competition intensifies, slick producer Nicol (Camila Mendes) pushes her to spin her family’s struggle into spectacle, forcing Margarita to decide whether to play along or take control of her own narrative, one unhinged look at a time.

Cast: Anna Baryshnikov, Camila Mendes, Julia Fox, Benito Skinner, Saweetie, Owen Thiele, Galina Jovovich, Mark Ivanir, Nerses Stamos, Ilia Volok (World Premiere)


NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE (Canada)nirvanna-the-band-the-show-the-mDirector: Matt Johnson, Producers: Matthew Miller, Matt Greyson, Screenwriters: Matt Johnson, Jay McCarrol


When their plan to book a show at the Rivoli goes horribly wrong, Matt and Jay accidentally travel back to the year 2008. Blah blah blah blah blah.  Cast: Jay McCarrol, Matt Johnson (World Premiere)


BROTHER VERSES BROTHER


brother-verses-brotherDirector: Ari Gold, Producers: Michelle Stratton, Starr Sutherland, Screenwriters: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan

Synopsis: Inspired by Francis Coppola’s concept of Live Cinema, Brother Verses Brother is a radically personal musical odyssey. Combative twin musicians hunt for their dying poet father, in an improvisation performed by the director’s own family, and presented as an unbroken real-time shot through the streets of San Francisco.


One brother seeks love, while the other seeks an audience. But as night falls and their father remains missing, their increasingly frantic safari leads them from the secret haunts of the Beat poets into the heart of their family. Their tale becomes a testament to the power of music, the bonds of brotherhood, and the lifeblood of a city – experienced by the viewer in real-time.


Cast: Ari Gold, Ethan Gold, Lara Louise, Brian Bell, Herbert Gold, Tongo Eisen-Martin, John Flanigan (World Premiere)


OUT FOR DELIVERYout-for-delivery-3Director/Screenwriter: Chelsea Christer, Producers: Clinton Trucks, Alexa Rocero, David B. Lyons


When terminally ill Joanna makes the difficult decision to pursue end of life options through the Death With Dignity law, the systems set up to make her death peaceful and dignified become the opposite. (Texas Premiere)


BAGGAGE (Australia, United Kingdom)

baggage-SXSW 2025Director/Screenwriter: Lucy Davidson, Producers: Vanessa Batten, Amy Upchurch


Anthropomorphic suitcase best friends bring their emotional baggage on holidays. (International Premiere)


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