Festival Guide 10.22.20 - 11.08.20 Welcome Welcome to the 43rd Denver Film Festival!

As Denver Film’s new CEO, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know the organization over the past two months. Thus far, I’m overwhelmed with the passion and dedication of the staff, board members and Denver Film community at large to our core vision of transforming lives through film.

This year has been challenging for us all. However, we remain committed to connecting audiences and building community through thought-provoking storytelling. It is with that in mind that we present this year’s festival on our Virtual Cinema platform. Though we will not be able to convene in person as in years past, DFF43 aims to be the most accessible and inclusive event we’ve ever produced. Being available to all Coloradoans from the comfort and safety of their homes, we present a world of cinema, over 180 films, spanning the globe. We hope you find something that speaks to you, inspiries you, challenges you, and yes, entertains you. The simplistic beauty of the cinema: light illuminating the dark to create magic, will be something to which we will soon return. When we do, I can’t wait to welcome you to the Sie FilmCenter. But for now, kick-back, and enjoy the show.

We are forever grateful for your continued support.

JamesMejia James Mejía CEO of Denver Film

2 INTERACTIVE & PRINTER FRIENDLY GUIDE

Box Office & Ticketing

All Access Pass Every movie. Every Q&A. Every Bonus Feature. The best way to experience fest.

Table of Contents **Most films have limited capacities so be sure to reserve your ticket ASAP to ensure yourself a ticket. This pass does not guarantee you a ticket. 2 WELCOME Denver Film Member: $225 3 BOX OFFICE & TICKETING Non-Member: $250

4 HOW TO FEST > Regular Screenings 5 BEFORE THE FESTIVAL Denver Film Member: $12 9 DURING THE FESTIVAL Non-Member: $15 12 FAQ 14 SUPPORT & CONTACT Special Presentations Denver Film Member: $18 16 IN COMPETITION > Non-Member: $22 17 FILM SECTIONS >

19 SPONSORS > Questions?

25 FILMS A-Z > Contact our Box Office: (720) 381-0813 158 LIMITED SCREENINGS > [email protected]

Show us where you’re watching

DENVERFILM DENVERFILM THEDENVERFILM DENVERFILM How to Fest HOW TO FEST BEFORE THE FESTIVAL

Where do I start? BEFORE THE FESTIVAL 1. Browse Three ways to browse through films:

A. By Films A-Z On the Virtual Festival Hub site, you can browse all of the movies in this year’s festival alphabetically. dff.eventive.org/films Watch Trailers GO TO FILMS A-Z >>>

1. On the Virtual Festival Hub, go to Films A-Z. B. By Film Section dff.eventive.org/films From the Festival Homepage site, you can browse through the film sections 2. Click on a film to go the such as: film page. watch.eventive.org/dff 3. On the film page, click CineLatinx PLAY TRAILER. (See below) Spotlight On Social Justice Late Night Showcase & so many more!

GO TO FILM SECTIONS >>>

C. By Film Type On the Virtual Festival Hub, you can browse through the film genres such as Documentary, Narrative and Shorts. dff.eventive.org/films

GO TO FILM TYPES >>>

5 HOW TO FEST BEFORE THE FESTIVAL

2. Select 3. Watch Use your festival pass or purchase an Press play and watch on your TV, laptop, individual ticket: tablet or phone:

A. Using your Festival A. Watch with our Pass/Ticket Pack Denver Film TV App Log into the Virtual Festival Hub site, If you have a Roku TV device or an Apple TV powered by Eventive. If you purchased a device, you can download our TV App. festival pass or ticket pack, those credits LEARN HOW >>> will already be applied to your account. You can see that on the MY PASSES page. (dff. eventive.org/passes) B. Cast it to your TV On the film watch page, click PRE-ORDER to You can use your smart phone or laptop to reserve a ticket to the film. (This means the “Cast” (Google Chromecast) or “AirPlay” film is not avilable yet.) (Apple) films to your TV. Using a Sarfari or Chrome browser, log into your Eventive Or click UNLOCK to begin your unlock account and pull up the movie under MY window. (watch.eventive.org/dff) TICKETS. Click WATCH NOW. (dff.eventive. A dropdown menu will appear with an option org/tickets) Cast it to your TV. to use your already purchased festival pass or ticket pack. Choose the festival pass/ ticket pack option. Then, click WATCH NOW C. Watch on your to start the film. Laptop/Tablet/Phone Using a Sarfari or Chrome browser, log into B. Using an individual your Eventive account and pull up the movie movie ticket under MY TICKETS. Click WATCH NOW. (dff.eventive.org/tickets) Log into the Virtual Festival Hub site, powered by Eventive. Find the film you’d like and go to the WATCH PAGE. (watch.eventive.org/dff) D. Connect your Laptop to (See pg. 10 for more details) your TV via an HDMI cord Log into your Eventive account and pull up On the film watch page, click PRE-ORDER to the movie under MY TICKETS (dff.eventive. reserve a ticket to the film. (This means the org/tickets). Plug your HDMI cord into your film is not avilable yet.) TV. Change the input of your TV to HMDI. Or click UNLOCK to being your unlock Press play, and enjoy! window. (watch.eventive.org/dff)

A box will appear for you to enter your credit card information to buy a single ticket. Submit your information. Then, click WATCH NOW to start the film. Still need help? See pg. 10 6 HOW TO FEST BEFORE THE FESTIVAL

Types of Screenings

General Limited Screenings Screenings

General Screenings will be available for Some films will have restrictions related Coloradans to unlock anytime from October to date, time and capacity. If a film has a 22 - November 8 with a 48-hour unlock restriction of any kind, it will be listed as window and a 48-hour watch window a limited screening. Look for the lock icon (unless otherwise listed). for specific information regarding any restrictions. Time Windows Types of Restrictions Unlock Window: Time Restrictions & Time Zone:

This refers to the time you have to start Once unlocked, you’ll have a 3 hour watching your film after you unlock it. viewing window instead of the typical (48-hours unless otherwise listed) 48 hours. These films will be scheduled in Mountain Standard Time (MST). Watch Window:

This refers to the amount of time you have to finish watching your film after you hit play. (48-hours unless Click here to see the full list of films otherwise listed) with time restrictions.

Other restrictions:

Geographic Location: Viewing Capacities:

All films are geographically restricted Most films have limited viewing capacities to Colorado unless otherwise listed on so tickets will sell out. Reserve your films their film page. ASAP to be sure to get yourself a ticket. HOW TO FEST BEFORE THE FESTIVAL

Plan your festival Program Key Before you browse, familiarize yourself playlist. with the below program key.

See something interesting? You can now FILM TYPE save your top films by clicking the STAR symbol on the top-right of each film. Star now, watch later. Special Presentations A selection of some of the most anticipated films of the year. 1. Go to the Virtual Festival Hub. (Non-Fiction and Fiction Features) Click here >>> Documentary 2. Log into your account Non-Fiction Feature 3. Navigate to the film guide. Click here >>> Narrative Fiction Feature 4. Click the “Star” button in the top-right corner of any film you Shorts Package are interested in. Non-Fiction, Fiction or Animated Short Film Package 5. Click the “My Starred Films” at the top-right of the menu on that Subtitled same page to see the films you International Feature (Fiction or have starred. Non-Fiction) **English Subtitles

TYPE OF SCREENING

Limited Screening Some films will have restrictions related to date and time. Look for the red lock symbol.

General Screening General Screenings will be available for you to unlock anytime from October 22 - November 8 with a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window. Click here for more details >>>

OTHER

Bonus Feature This film includes an exclusive filmmaker conversation or other bonus content included in the ticket purchase. It will automatically play after the film. Click here for more details >>> 8

8 HOW TO FEST DURING THE FESTIVAL

Subtitles and Closed DURING Captioning THE FESTIVAL All non-English language films will have subtitles that will automatically play as a part of the film program on your device.

Select films offer descriptive Closed Captions for greater accessibility. If a film offers Closed Captions, you will see this message under the film description on Limited Watch the right side of the screening page: Windows

Some of the films in this year’s program will only have specific windows of availability. Look for the red lock symbol To turn on Closed Captioning, begin on the film page for the exact restrictions watching the film and click on the “CC” of each film. button on the bottom right of the Video Playback Menu. For a full list of all films with specific availability windows, click here.

Festival Audience Awards How do I submit my ballot digitally?

Many of the films in the festival are up for the Festival Audience Awards. For eligible films you will see a starred section under the film image that states:

“This virtual screening is eligible for audience awards! Unlock to cast your vote.” Make sure you return to that film page after watching an eligible film to cast your vote. May the best film win! (watch.eventive.org/dff....)

9 HOW TO FEST DURING THE FESTIVAL

Know your way around the

POWERED BY Virtual Festival Hub EVENTIVE:

Film Page: dff.eventive.org/films...

This page is for:

Reading the synopsis and film information.

Watching the trailer.

“Starring” the film to add it to your favorites list.

This SELECT A SHOWING button will send you to the FILM WATCH PAGE. See below.

Film Watch Page: watch.eventive.org/dff...

This page is for:

Pre-Ordering the film if the film is not available yet. This will reserve your ticket.

Unlocking film when the film becomes available. This starts your unlock window.

Pressing play when you’re ready to watch. This starts your watch window.

10 HOW TO FEST DURING THE FESTIVAL

Filmmaker Q&A’s Accessing pre-ordered films: Along with our 2020 program, we have a line-up of exclusive converstaions with filmmakers. The following films will include a When you pre-order a film, you will receive bonus conversation with purchase of the film. an email notification as soon as that film is available to watch. The email will include a link to the WATCH PAGE. THE 8TH Ailbhe Smyth (subject), Andrea Horan (subject), Your pre-ordered films will also appear on Lucy Kennedy (Director) the Apple TV and Roku app as soon as they CITY HALL are available to watch. Make sure to pay Fredrick Wiseman (Director) attention to the specific availability of the film, as some films may only be available for CITY SO REAL a limited time during the festival. Steven James (Director) Zak Piper (Producer)

CODED BIAS Reach out to [email protected] if Shalini Kantayya (Director) you have any questions.

COMING CLEAN Ondi Timoner (Director) Brittany Pettersen (Colorado State Senator)

COOK F** KILL Mira Fornay (Director/Writer/Producer)

FREELAND Mario Furloni (Director/Writer), Kate McLean (Director/Writer), Laura Heberton (Producer), Krisha Fairchild (Actor -Devi), John Craven (Actor - Ray)

KEYBOARD FANTASIES Posy Dixon (Producer)

MEAT THE FUTURE Liz Marshall (Director)

MINARI Steven Yuen (Actor)

NASRIN Jeff Kaufman (Director), Marcia Ross (Producer)

THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN Sandra Wollner (Director/Writer) + additional professor guest from D-Phi

+ more Q&A’s to be announced!

11 HOW TO FEST DURING THE FESTIVAL

FAQ:

GENERAL FESTIVAL Will there be any Filmmaker Q&A’s during the festival?

Yes. This year’s program will feature exclusive filmmaker conversation and other bonus content. Look for the bonus feature symbol on the film listing that signifies a bonus feature is included.

Are there streaming restrictions for any of the films?

Yes. Some films may have restrictions related to date and time. Look for the lock icon on the film listing for any time restrictions on the film.

All films are geographically restriced to Colorado unless otherwise stated. Most films have a viewing capacity, so be sure to reserve your ticket ASAP.

Is this festival platform different than the Denver Film Virtual Cinema?

No. DFF43 will be hosted on the same platform as Virtual Cinema. If you already have an account on Eventive and have been enjoying Virtual Cinema at home, you are ready to enjoy the Fest. No need to create a new account.

How long do I have to watch a film?

Most films have a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-watch window, but the amount of time each film is available will vary. Please check each film description to verify availability windows. 12 HOW TO FEST DURING THE FESTIVAL

FAQ:

GENERAL TECHNICAL How do I watch the films on my TV?

If you have a Roku TV or an Apple TV device, we have a Denver Film TV App that you can download to your TV for easy viewing.

TV Apps are currently only available for those two devices. Make sure you download the correct app for the hardware that you own. The Roku TV App will only work on Roku devices, while the Apple TV App will only work with Apple TV devices. See how with this video tutorial >>>

Can I rewind the film?

Yes, you have complete access to the entire program during your watch window. Pausing for popcorn breaks is allowed.

How do I find my film to start watching?

If you’ve already unlocked the film, visit your Content Library (watch.eventive.org/me) and you should see the film there. You will need to log in first. If you’re on another device, you can also check your email inbox for the order confirmation email and click the WATCH NOW button.

Or, log into your eventive account and find the MY TICKETS page. (dff.eventive.org/tickets). This page show all the tickets you have already purchased. On the right-hand side of the page, there will be a WATCH NOW button.

13 Contact + Support 24 hour Technical Support

Don’t worry, we’re here to assist. Click here to enter a live chat with Eventive support and we’ll get you streaming as quickly as we can.

How to Fest Page

More resources. More answers. Click the button go to the How to Fest page on our website.

Contact Denver Film

Still have questions? If you are still unable to solve your issue, send us an email at: [email protected]

15 In Competition + Awards IN COMPETITION Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Feature Film

Apples Atlantis Nadia, Butterfly Preparations to Be Together For an Unknown Period of Time This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection Undine

Maysles Brothers Award for Best Documentarty

76 Days Acasa, My Home MLK/FBI The Reason I Jump Some Kind of Heaven Songs of Repression

American Independent Award

The Atlantic City Story Farewell Amor Freeland Funny Face Materna Shiva Baby

We need your vote. People’s Choice Award Categories We have 5 different People’s Choice Award categories for our program this year, Best Documentary Feature and the winners are up to YOU. Best Narrative Feature How to vote: Best Colorado Spotlight Film 1. On the WATCH PAGE, see that the film is eligible to receive an audience award. Best Music Video

2. Watch the film. Best Short Subject 3. Go back to the WATCH PAGE and cast your vote. 17 Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient:

Frederick Wiseman

Frederick Wiseman, the distinguished and prolific American documentarian, is the recipient of the Denver Film Festival’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented virtually following the screening of his latest film City Hall, which had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, its international premiere at Toronto, and its U.S. premiere at the New York Film Festival.

Wiseman’s films are devoted primarily to exploring American institutions (High School, Hospital, Basic Training, Canal Zone, PHOTO BY: WOLFGANG WESENER Ballet, National Gallery, to name a few). City Hall, the 90-year-old director’s 45th film, immerses audiences in the municipality of his hometown of Boston. Following the Toronto screening, Aaron Sorkin described “The story of City Hall as a “valentine to public service that my films is the celebrates city government.” editing.” Wiseman’s films have no voice overs, no interviews, no talking heads, no archival footage. He just turns the camera on and follows the subject and the action wherever “the world’s greatest living documentary it takes him. “The story of my films is the filmmaker,” and “having the most illustrious editing,” he has said. career of any documentarian in the history of cinema.” Wiseman is no stranger to Denver festival audiences. In 1979, the festival honored him We are honored to include Frederick with a four-film tribute at the 2nd Denver Wiseman’s 45th film in our 43rd festival, International Film Festival. And his individual and to present him with the festival’s most films have screened at the festival numerous prestigious award. time in subsequent years. Special thanks to: Critics and film historians have called Karen Konicek and Zipporah Films Wiseman “a living legend,” “a master documentarian,” “one of the most important Bonus Feature: See Wiseman accept the award in a bonus feature following the screening of City Hall. and original filmmakers working today,” Click here for to learn about City Hall >>> 18 Thank you, Sponsors! Thank You To Our Sponsors!

MARQUEE

SPOTLIGHT CAMEO

GOVERNMENT

FILM

MEDIA

PARTNERS Film Sections

Click any film section photo to learn more FILM SECTIONS

FUNNY FACE ONCE UPON A TIME IN VENEZUELA

American Independent CineLatinx Showcase A celebration of Latinx storytelling, featuring cinema from Latin American countries, as well as expanded Featuring established and up-and-coming voices in the Hispanic perspectives from Spain and Portugal. American indie-filmmaking community, these narrative features boldly step outside the studio system to offer Ema unique stories in an unconstrained spirit. The Heist of the Century The Atlantic City Story New Order Farewell Amor Once Upon a Time In Venezuela Freeland Three Summers Funny Face Vivos Materna

Shiva Baby SPONSORED BY:

23 FILM SECTIONS

CHARLATAN UNDER THE OPEN SKY

CinemaQ Colorado Dragon

Elevating diverse perspectives and icons of LGBTQ+ Film Festival cinema from around the world. Two of Colorado’s leading nonprofits, Denver Film & The Capote Tapes the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, have partnered to Charlatan showcase the best in contemporary Asian and Asian American cinema. Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story Shiva Baby 76 Days Assassins

PRESENTED BY: Cane Fire Detention Minari Under the Open Sky

SPONSORED BY: Wet Season The Woman Who Ran

PRESENTED BY:

24 FILM SECTIONS

MONUMENTS ECHO

Colorado Spotlight Contemporary World Cinema

Ever more diverse and collaborative, Colorado’s A global survey of narrative feature length films. filmmaking scene continues to grow, producing works that screen in both film festivals and theaters around Apples the country. Atlantis

Beyond Zero Cook F** Kill Built Beautiful Echo Crestone Here We Are The Fandom Lara A Feral World One Of These Days Monuments Patrick Most Guys Are Losers There Is No Evil This Is Not a Burial, It’s A Resurrection The Trouble With Being Born SPONSORED BY: Undine

25 FILM SECTIONS

BREAKING BREAD THE BEST YEARS

Culinary Cinema Italian Showcase

Uniting two of the best things in the world: food & Italy is the longtime home of a diverse and vibrant movies. Denver Film’s year-round Culinary Cinema filmmaking community. The 43rd Denver Film Festival series serves up food-focused films that reflect the is pleased to present nine new Italian works–seven topics on screen. narrative and two documentaries–from established and emerging directors. Breaking Bread The Best Years Meat the Future Despite the Fog The Lamb Nevia PRESENTED BY: On Fellini’s Footsteps Ordinary Justice Sow the Wind Thou Shalt Not Hate The Truth About La Dolce Vita

SPONSORED BY:

26 FILM SECTIONS

NADIA, BUTTERFLY DETENTION

J’adore Late Night Showcase

For the past 12 years Denver Film has partnered with Go to the outer limits of cinema with the Denver Film Alliance Française de Denver to present the best of Festival’s Late Night Showcase. This year’s selection of French cinema, both contemporary and classic. films includes a spooky ghost story, sci-fi dystopia, an 80’s police training satire and an over-the-top splatter Nadia, Butterfly fest for a special Halloween screening. Night of the Kings Becky Spring Blossom Detention Lapsis

PRESENTED BY: Survial Skills

SPONSORED BY:

27 FILM SECTIONS

EARLY TO RISE I AM GRETTA

Seriesfest Award Special Presentations Winner’s Showcase A selection of some of the most anticipated films of the year. SeriesFest is a non-profit organization dedicated to championing artists at the forefront of episodic The Comeback Trail storytelling. With year-round educational programs, Fireball initiatives supporting underserved voices, and professional development opportunities, SeriesFest Gunda inspires, educates, and connects a worldwide I Am Greta community of creators. Each June, SeriesFest The Killing of Two Lovers culminates in a highly curated and celebrated Denver- based festival and marketplace. Little Fish Minari Distemper MLK/FBI Early to Rise Night Of Kings Freeze Stardust Racist Trees Shepherds

PRESENTED BY:

28 FILM SECTIONS

CODED BIAS LYNN & LUCY

Spotlight On Social Justice Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight

A new addition to the festival sections this year, on UK/Ireland Cinema Spotlight On Social Justice aims to create an inclusive environment to highlight social issues and the people In recognizing the myriad talents and achievements fighting for progress. within the U.K. and Ireland film industries, the Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight is presented annually during The 8th the Denver Film Festival. We aim to take a look at City Hall the diverse and compelling cinematic works of our City So Real country’s closest allies across the Atlantic.

Coded Bias The 8th Dope is Death Lynn & Lucy IWOW: I Walk On Water Mogul Mowgli MLK/FBI Nocturnal The New Corporation The Reason I Jump Women In Blue Stardust

PRESENTED BY: PRESENTED BY:

29 FILM SECTIONS

Try Our Refreshing, Award-Winning, Locally Sourced Eldorado Natural Spring Water.

Plans.EldoradoSprings.com

THE LETTER

Women+Film

Women+Film showcases documentaries, narratives, and short films celebrating the best in women-centric programming; both by and about women. These thought-provoking stories of women from around the world are sure to inspire all audiences.

The 8th Spring Blossom Breaking Bread Three Summers Coded Bias Women In Blue Coming Clean The Letter Nasrin Preparations to Be PRESENTED BY: Together For an Unknown Period of Time

SPONSORED BY:

30 Films A-Z FILMS A-Z

76 Days PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Weixi Chen, Hao Wu USA/China (2020) 93 min.

On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, 76 Days tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandpa with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These raw and intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 32 FILMS A-Z

The 8th PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Maeve O’Boyle, Lucy Kennedy, Aideen Kane USA/Ireland (2020) 94 min.

The 8th traces Ireland’s campaign to remove the 8th Amendment - a constitutional ban on abortion. It shows a country’s transformation from a conservative state in thrall to the Catholic church to a more liberal secular society.

The 8th includes voices from both sides of the debate, but its primary focus is on the dynamic female leaders of the pro-choice campaign. The film follows the veteran campaigner Ailbhe Smyth and self- described glitter-activist Andrea Horan as they chart a bold strategy of grassroots activism and engineer the impossible. This dramatic story is underscored by a vivid exploration of the wrenching failures that led to this defining moment in Irish history. SPONSORED BY:

An urgent narrative, a cautionary tale and a roadmap for progressive reforms in a modern era where authoritarianism is on the rise, The 8th shows a country forging a new progressive path at a time when reproductive rights are threatened around the world.

Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema, Spotlight On Social Justice, Women+Film

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 33 FILMS A-Z

Acasa, My Home

Directed by Radu Ciorniciuc Romania/Germany (2020) 86 min.

In the wilderness of the Bucharest Delta, an abandoned water reservoir just outside the bustling metropolis, the Enache family lived in perfect harmony with nature for two decades, sleeping in a hut on the lakeshore, catching fish barehanded, and following the rhythm of the seasons. When this area is transformed into a public national park, they are forced to leave behind their unconventional life and move to the city, where fishing rods are replaced by smartphones and idle afternoons are now spent in classrooms.

As the family struggles to conform to modern civilization and maintain their connection to each other and themselves, they each begin to question their place in the world and what their future might be. With their roots in the wilderness, the nine children and their parents struggle to find a way to keep their family united in the concrete jungle.

With an empathetic and cinematic eye, filmmaker Radu Ciorniciuc offers viewers, in his feature debut, a compelling tale of an impoverished family living on the fringes of society in Romania, fighting for acceptance and their own version of freedom.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 34 FILMS A-Z

Apples (Mila)

Directed by Christos Nikou Greece/Poland/Slovenia (2020) 90 min.

Amidst a worldwide pandemic that causes sudden amnesia, middle- aged Aris (Aris Servetalis) finds himself enrolled in a recovery program designed to help unclaimed patients build new identities. Prescribed daily tasks on cassette tapes so he can create new memories and document them on camera, Aris slides back into ordinary life, meeting Anna (Sofia Georgovasili), a woman who is also in recovery.

Through images deadpan, strange and surreal, Greek writer-director Christos Nikou posits a beguiling reflection on memory, identity, and loss, exploring how a society might handle an irreversible epidemic through one man’s story of self-discovery.

Are we the sum of the images we compile and display of ourselves, or are we something richer, and deeper?

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 35 FILMS A-Z

Assassins PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Ryan White, Jessica Hargrave USA (2020) 104 min.

In 2017, Kim Jong-nam—the half-brother of North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un—was assassinated in the bustling departures hall of Malaysia’s international airport. The spectacularly brazen murder happened in broad daylight, filmed entirely by security cameras. Footage showed two young women approaching Jong-nam from behind, covering his eyes with their hands, and pressing VX—the most lethal nerve gas on earth—into his eyes. He stumbled away and was dead within an hour. But if the murder was extreme, the story that came next was even more bizarre: The two women who killed Jong-nam claimed they had simply been hired to pull a video prank and had no idea what they were really doing. The Malaysian government scoffed, arrested and imprisoned the women and put them on trial for murder, facing execution. But was their outlandish story actually the truth? And would anyone believe them? Assassins, the latest from director Ryan White, travels from the sanctums of Pyongyang to the rice fields of Indonesia and Vietnam to the courtrooms of Kuala Lumpur to tell an extraordinary tale of manipulation and subterfuge in the age of social media. A masterful investigation that offers an unprecedented look at the real story of Kim Jong-nam’s murder, Assassins is the wildly improbable tale of a calculating dictator, a nefarious plot, a very public murder, and two women fighting for their lives.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 36 FILMS A-Z

The Atlanic City Story

Directed by Henry Butash USA (2020) 98 min.

Jane Carver is an unhappily married woman who runs away from home in a moment of crisis and goes to Atlantic City for the weekend. While there, she meets a young gambler and an unlikely bond grows between them. However, they soon realize they cannot run from their problems forever, and together they must find the strength to go on.

American Independent Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 37 FILMS A-Z

Atlantis

Directed by Valentyn Vasyanovych Ukraine (2019) 108 min.

Eastern Ukraine, in the nearest future. A desert unsuitable for human habitation. Sergiy, a former soldier suffering from PTSD, is having trouble adapting to his new reality: a life in pieces, a land in ruins. When the smelter he works at finally shuts down, he finds an unexpected way to cope joining the volunteer Black Tulip mission dedicated to exhuming war corpses. By working alongside Katya, he understands that a better future is possible. Will he learn to live without war and accept himself as he is?

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 38 FILMS A-Z

Becky

Directed by Jonathan Milott, Cary Murnion USA (2020) 93 min.

Spunky and rebellious, Becky (Lulu Wilson) is brought to a weekend getaway at a lake house by her father Jeff (Joel McHale) in an effort to try to reconnect after her mother’s death. The trip immediately takes a turn for the worse when a group of convicts on the run, led by the merciless Dominick (Kevin James), suddenly invade the lake house.

Late Night Showcase

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 7:15pm - 11:45pm 10/31/20. 39 FILMS A-Z

The Best Years (Gli anni più belli) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Gabriele Muccino Italy (2020) 129 min.

The Best Years is the story of four friends Giulio (Pierfrancesco Favino), Gemma (Micaela Ramazzotti), Paolo, (Kim Rossi Stuart), Riccardo (Claudio Santamaria), told over forty years, since 1980 to date, from adolescence to adulthood.

SPONSORED BY: Their hopes, their disappointments, their successes and failures are the intertwining of a great story of friendship and love through which Italy and Italians are also told. A large fresco that tells who we are, where we come from and also where they will go and who our children will be. It is the great circle of life that repeats itself with the same dynamics despite the passage of years and even different eras in the background.

Italian Showcase

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 1:45pm - 5:45pm 10/27/20, 6:15pm - 9:15pm 10/30/20, and 40 2:15pm - 5:15pm 11/1/20. FILMS A-Z

Beyond Zero SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Nathan Havey USA (2020) 82 min.

After a life-changing epiphany, the CEO of a global public company embarks on a high-stakes quest to eliminate all negative environmental impacts by 2020. To succeed, they must overcome deep skepticism, abandon the status quo, and ignite a new industrial revolution. Beyond Zero offers an inspirational roadmap for how business can reverse climate change.

Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 41 FILMS A-Z

Bleeding Audio

Directed by Chelsea Christer USA (2020) 91min

Like many acts in the early 2000s, The Matches were set to be the next ‘big thing’. After building a tight-knit music community in the Bay Area, they broke out and became an internationally touring act. An eclectic group of artistic weirdos, the band grew a thriving cult fanbase worldwide. For nearly a decade, The Matches toured mercilessly, but couldn’t seem to return with more than a few hundred dollars. Between exhaustion and defeat, the band dissolved in 2009. In 2014, they decided to humbly reunite for what started as a small local show in San Francisco. Bleeding Audio is a portrait of how bands navigate the digitizing industry, told through the unique lens of The Matches’ career.

Featuring: Mark Hoppus (Blink 182), Nick Hexum (311), Tom Higgenson (Plain White T’s), Simon Neil & James Johnston (Biffy Clyro), Cassadee Pope (The Voice), Justin Pierre & Tony Thaxton (Motion City Soundtrack), and many more.

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 42 FILMS A-Z

Breaking Bread PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Beth Elise Hawk USA/Israel (2020) 85 min.

Dr. Nof Atamna-Ismaeel - the first Muslim Arab to win Israel’s MasterChef - is on a quest to make social change through food. And so, she founded the A-sham Arabic Food Festival, where pairs of Arab and Jewish chefs collaborate on exotic dishes like kishek (a Syrian yogurt soup), and qatayef (a dessert typically served during Ramadan). A film about hope, synergy and mouthwatering fare, SPONSORED BY: Breaking Bread illustrates what happens when people focus on the person, rather than her religion; on the public, rather than the politicians.

Culinary Cinema, Women+Film

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 43 FILMS A-Z

Built Beautiful SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Mariel Rodriguez-McGill USA (2020) 78 min.

For centuries, humans have sought to express beauty in architecture and art, but it is only recently that neuroscience is helping to determine how and why beauty plays an important role in our well- being.

Architects and neuroscientists are embarking on a new field of study in which subliminal responses to one’s built environment may influence the future of design. Experts argue that positive subliminal reactions lead to a pleasurable experience, one reminiscent of a powerful meditation session.

The question remains: what makes a building beautiful - or more specifically, which elements of the built environment does the brain recognize as beautiful?

Colorado Spotlight

Fiscally Sponsored by Denver Film

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 44 FILMS A-Z

Cane Fire PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Anthony Banua-Simon USA (2020) 90 min.

The Hawaiian island of Kaua i is seen as a paradise of leisure and pristine natural beauty, but these escapist fantasies obscure the colonial displacement, hyper-exploitation of workers, and destructive environmental extraction that have actually shaped life on the island for the last 250 years. Cane Fire critically examines the island’s history—and the various strategies by which Hollywood has represented it—through four generations of director Anthony Banua- Simon’s family, who first immigrated to Kaua i from the Phillipines to work on the sugar plantations. Assembled from a diverse array of sources—from Banua-Simon’s observational footage, to amateur YouTube travelogues, to epic Hollywood dance sequences—Cane Fire offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of the economic and cultural forces that have cast indigenous and working-class residents as “extras” in their own story.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 45 FILMS A-Z

The Capote Tapes PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Ebs Burnough USA/UK (2019) 91 min.

Answered Prayers was meant to be Truman Capote’s greatest masterpiece, an epic portrait of New York’s glittering jet-set society following his acclaimed novels Breakfast at Tiffany’s and In Cold Blood. Instead, it sparked his downfall. Through George Plimpton’s SPONSORED BY: never-before-heard interviews with Capote’s friends and enemies, including Dick Cavett, André Leon Talley, Jay McInerney and his adopted daughter, The Capote Tapes reveals the rise and fall of America’s most iconic gay writer.

CinemaQ

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 46 FILMS A-Z

Charlatan PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Agnieszka Holland Czech Republic/Ireland/Poland/Slovakia (2020) 118 min.

Inspired by the true story of herbalist Jan Mikolasek, who dedicated his life to caring for the sick in spite of the immense obstacles he faced in his private and public life. Born at the turn of the 20th century, Mikolasek wins fame and fortune using unorthodox SPONSORED BY: treatment methods to cure a wide range of diseases. Already a local institution in Czechoslovakia before World War II, the healer gains in reputation and wealth whether during the Nazi occupation or under the Communist rule. One after the other, every regime will want to use his skills and in return gives him protection. But how high shall be the costs to maintain this status as the tide turns?

CinemaQ

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 47 FILMS A-Z

City Hall PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Frederick Wiseman USA (2020) 272 min.

City government touches almost every aspect of our lives. Most of us are unaware of or take for granted these necessary services such as police, fire, sanitation, veterans affairs, elder support, parks, licensing of various professional activities, recordkeeping of birth, marriage and death as well as hundreds of other activities that support Boston residents and visitors. City Hall, by Frederick Wiseman, shows the efforts by Boston city government to provide these services. The film also illustrates the variety of ways the city administration enters into civil discourse with the citizens of Boston. Mayor Walsh and his administration are presented addressing a number of their policy priorities which include racial justice, affordable housing, climate action, and homelessness. City Hall shows a city government successfully offering a wide variety of services to a diverse population.

Spotlight On Social Justice

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 48 FILMS A-Z

City So Real PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Steve James USA (2020) 255 min.

In the five-part documentary series City So Real, Oscar®-nominated documentarian Steve James (America to Me, Hoop Dreams) delivers a fascinating and complex portrait of Chicago, America’s third-largest metropolis and his longtime hometown. The series begins in the haze of mid-summer 2018, as Mayor Rahm Emanuel, embroiled in accusations of a cover-up related to the police shooting of an African American teenager, Laquan McDonald, shocks the city by announcing he won’t seek reelection.

An unprecedented 21 candidates emerge in a diverse and crowded field as they engage in a no-holds- barred battle for a chance to shape Chicago’s uncertain future. The series’ final episode picks up a year after the mayoral election in 2020, as the city simultaneously grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread social upheaval following the police killing of George Floyd. An already fractured city is further divided by the economic, political and social fallout, which plays out on the streets as police clash with protesters, bringing rise ...Synopsis is continued on the following page... Spotlight On Social Justice

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 12:15am 10/23/20 - 11:45pm 10/24/20. 49 FILMS A-Z

City So Real cont. to a generational moment that promises to change the city forever.

In candid interviews with residents throughout the city, the series captures Chicago’s indomitable spirit as well as its seemingly insurmountable challenges. City So Real is a gritty and loving depiction of a quintessentially American city that is at once fiercely unique and a microcosm of the nation—and our world—as a whole.

50 FILMS A-Z

Coded Bias PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Shalini Kantayya USA/UK/China (2020) 90 min.

Modern society sits at the intersection of two crucial questions: What does it mean when artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly governs our liberties? And what are the consequences for the people AI is biased against? When MIT Media Lab researcher Joy Buolamwini discovers that most facial-recognition software does not accurately identify darker-skinned faces and the faces of women, she delves into an investigation of widespread bias in algorithms. As it turns out, artificial intelligence is not neutral, and women are leading the charge to ensure our civil rights are protected. SPONSORED BY: Women+Film, Spotlight On Social Justice

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 51 FILMS A-Z

INCLINE

Colorado Shorts: Documentary SPONSORED BY:

94 min. Incline, USA, directed by Jonathan Perkins: Greg Cummings is a 62 year old that has an incredible amount of endurance - He’s had to deal with Type 1 Diabetes for the past 38 years. Greg is also a world class hiker that has summited some of the tallest mountains in the world. In 2019, Greg embarked on a year-long attempt on the Manitou Incline to set World Records for the most trips on the Incline, as well as the most vertical feet climbed. Located at the base of Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs, Colorado, the Manitou Incline rockets 2,000 vertical feet up in less than a mile. It is a formidable climb that attracts hiking enthusiasts from around the world. Welcome Strangers, USA, directed by Dia Sokol Savage: Every night at 6pm, just outside of Denver, Colorado, detained immigrants are legally released from an ICE facility onto unfriendly, industrial streets. Most of the men and women are asylum-seekers. They have little idea where they are and have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. Welcome Strangers is a short documentary that tells the story of Sarah Jackson, a young woman who searches the streets for these immigrants and invites them into her home. She is assisted by Oliver, ...Synopsis continues on the following page...

Colorado Spotlight

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 52 FILMS A-Z

WELCOME STRANGERS Colorado Shorts: Documentary the lead host, and over a thousand volunteers as they provide hospitality and help reunite the guests with their families. The Encirclement, USA, directed by Erik Sween: People spent years protesting nuclear weapons and getting arrested at the Rocky Flats just outside of Denver. In 1983 they decided to try something completely different. They surrounded Rocky Flats hand-in-hand around its 17 mile perimeter. Hereafter, USA, directed by Kristen Williams: Hereafter is a collection of experimental visions from the beyond. This film incorporates footage shot on 16mm film, film reprinted and reprocessed from 16mm found footage or from digital footage that was then HEREAFTER scratched, boiled, flared with light, cross-processed then scanned and composted and reanimated digitally. Hereafter aims to open a dialogue on death; highlighting individual experiences and examining the various thoughts and beliefs of what happens when we die. It asks each of us to examine our own mortality, and our own experiences with death. Tipsy Talk: A Time and Place to Twerk, USA, directed by Amber Washington: Two sisters try to find a time and place to twerk in a newly gentrified neighborhood. - Tipsy Talk is a series that highlights the exchanges we have when drinking. Conversations centered around philosophical concepts brought to the forefront when alcohol turns sober thoughts into drunken words. The ABC’s of Things To Do When You’re Stuck at Home, USA, directed by Julie Reiters: This short film is a celebration of simple acts TIPSY TALK of play, imagination and downtime for kids and families combating stress and boredom in the midst of the COVID crisis. And it’s an uplifting message for all. It encourages everyone not to discount the often overlooked rejuvenating power of things one can do at home. Thoughts & Prayers, USA, directed by Hope Ballard: Gun violence has been heavily prevalent in the lives of young adults such as the filmmaker, Hope Ballard. This film documents Hope’s personal journey as she works with a civil rights expert, a father of a Columbine victim, and a gun enthusiast in search of answers to the gun violence crisis in America. My Father’s House, USA, directed by Rob Shearer: Marcel Narucki is the pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Aurora, Colorado. Founded in 1949, the church went from serving a congregation of over 300 members to currently 13, and that number keeps shrinking MY FATHER’S HOUSE every week. Instead of letting the church dissolve, Marcel and the congregation decided to donate the building to a new non-profit organization, Village Exchange Center, that would be created by Marcel and Amanda Blaurock.

53 FILMS A-Z

IN THE WAKE OF CRASHING DOWN

Colorado Shorts: Narrative SPONSORED BY:

94 min. Among Us, USA/Switzerland, directed by Stephan Elgenmann: Anna, a young pianist, needs to fight for her passion and future as a musician when she begins to go deaf. All the Student Council’s Men, USA, directed by Hunter F. Burns: When the Chief of Staff for President Nick Rich is caught ransacking opponent Mary Govern’s campaign office, the school is turned upside down. Eagleton High Reporter, Ben Sussman goes on the case, only to find rival journalist and Instagram fanatic, Hailey Farrow at every turn. But as the two investigate, they see something is wrong in the halls of Eagleton High School. The Principal’s main goal seems to get Nick reelected, and get himself a new football stadium. And mysterious paper planes keep landing at Ben and Hailey’s feet, leading them closer and closer to Nick Rich and the Principal, and each other. Leading them to set aside their differences, and stage a break in of their own, into the Principal’s office. The Garage, USA, directed by Daniel McMellen: A summer job changes everything for a young man in Indiana when he learns that every action has a consequence and that karma can be fatal.

...Synopsis is continued on the following page... Colorado Spotlight

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 54 FILMS A-Z

AMONG US Colorado Shorts: Narrative cont.

In Wake of the Crashing Dawn, USA, directed by Bruce Tetsuya: In this short form narrative dance piece, a young Japanese-American man seeks guidance from the past in order to overcome his modern identity crisis. Meanwhile in 1942, his great grandfather escapes an incarceration camp. The cascading effects and cyclical nature of oppression in America are shown through the marriage of camera and dance. We must heal through remembrance, instead of burying the past. The human spirit is a rising sun. Splintered, USA, directed by Isabel Aurichio: Middle schoolers Jacob and Isaac have been close for years. However, the strength of their friendship is tested when Isaac’s new friend Henry suggests their relationship may not be completely platonic. The remark sets off a SPLINTERED chain of events that pushes the relationship to a crossroads, forcing Isaac to make a pivotal choice. The Extinction of Up, USA, directed by Randy Boyum: In the near future where people only recognize each other by their shoes, two young boys meet up in a park and discuss some of the weird things that are happening in their lives, including a sibling’s accidental weight gain, and a great-grandfather’s bizarre revelations about the past. Is this humanity’s future? States of Contention, directed by Diek: States of Contention is a short film, based on a true story: After becoming separated from her elite unit a determined soldier grapples with shifting loyalties and a shadowy adversary to fight for what, and who, is truly important. Yet it all seems strangely familiar… Six Nights, USA, directed by Robert Brogden: Diego works as a dishwasher at The Alameda Grill. When a line cook doesn’t show up for work just before a busy Saturday night dinner service, Diego is given a chance to step up and take his place. However, there’s a catch: he must also continue to tend to his duties as a dishwasher, all in hopes of getting home on time to see his daughter. Between his new position on salad station, his old position in the dish pit, and his daughter at home alone, he quickly realizes he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

STATES OF CONTENTION

55 FILMS A-Z

D-REP: FLIGHT FOR LIFE

Colorado Stories SPONSORED BY:

94 min. D-REP: Fight for Life, USA, directed by Michael Mazzanti: On July 3, 2015, a Flight for Life helicopter plummeted from the sky outside Frisco, Colorado, violently crashing into a parking lot. Dave Repsher, a Summit County Flight for Life nurse, climbed out of the crashed helicopter engulfed in fuel and flames. Within seconds, a huge fire broke out, and Repsher suffered full-thickness burns to 90% of his body. He was given a negative chance of survival. D-REP: Fight for Life is the incredible story of one man’s fight to live and how love and a community of support helped to make the difference in his recovery. Fresh Tracks, USA, directed by Hans Rosenwinkel: This true- life documentary follows the journey of Cleveland native, Paul Leimkuehler, who lost his leg during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII, and turned his amputation into an opportunity by building his own artificial leg and opening a prosthetic business. He returns to the world of sports triumphantly after designing the first pair of ski outriggers in the U.S. launching the adaptive skiing movement that earned him a spot in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame, the

...Synopsis is continued on the following page... Colorado Spotlight

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 56 FILMS A-Z

Colorado Shorts: Stories cont.

U.S. Disabled Snow Sports Hall of Fame and the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. The film follows the influence of his legacy on the Paralympic skiers and snowboarders today including gold medalist, Mike Schultz, and gold medalist and narrator Andrew Kurka on the evolution of technology in adaptive sports.

57 FILMS A-Z

Coming Clean PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Ondi Timoner USA (2020) 112 min.

From award-winning director Ondi Timoner, comes Coming Clean, a feature documentary examining addiction through the eyes of recovering addicts and political leaders, as they come together to bring the profiteers to justice and rebuild in the wake of the deadliest drug epidemic in our history. SPONSORED BY: Women+Film

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 58 FILMS A-Z

Cook F** Kill

Directed by Mira Fornay Czech Republic (2019) 116 min.

Jaroslav is a handsome and seemingly good-natured son, father and decent husband. But in fact, he is pathologically jealous of his wife Blanka and very much afraid that she will leave him one day with their three children. Jaroslav and his family do not hesitate to employ violence, deceit and terror against others, which ultimately leads to a family tragedy.

Contemporary World Cinema

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 59 FILMS A-Z

The Comeback Trail PRESENTED BY:

Directed by George Gallo USA (2020) 103 min. Starring: Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Tommy Lee Jones, Zach Braff, Emile Hirsch, Malcolm Barrett, and more.

Two movie producers who owe money to the mob set up their aging movie star for an insurance scam to try and save themselves. But they wind up getting more than they ever imagined. Set in the 70’s, Robert DeNiro, Tommy Lee Jones, Morgan Freeman, Emile Hirsch and Zach Braff star in this fun and entertaining take on the classic Hollywood story of redemption.

Special Presentation

Courtesy of Cloudburst Entertainment

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 10/26/20 - 6:15pm 10/28/20. 60 FILMS A-Z

Crestone SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Marnie Ellen Hertzler USA (2020) 73 min.

In a world that undulates between fact and fiction, digital and physical, a group of SoundCloud rappers lives a solitary, post-societal existence in the desert town of Crestone, Colorado. Once a religious and spiritual mecca for many, Crestone’s endless sand dunes, waterfalls, and dark caves act as a backdrop for images of tattooed bodies, cosplay wardrobes, and clouds of weed smoke. Crestone explores the often hidden aspects of collaboration and friendship as well as the human desire to persist against all odds. What does music sound like if there is no one left to repost and share it?

Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 61 FILMS A-Z

Despite The Fog PRESENTED BY: (Nonostante la nebbia)

Directed by Goran Paskaljevic Italy (2019) 86 min.

According to Interpol, over ten thousand refugees of minors without parental care are wandering today in Europe, half of which are on Italian roads. Despite the Fog is a movie story about one of them. In short: Ali-Musa Sarhan, a refugee whose parents drowned while SPONSORED BY: traveling by rubber boat on the Italian coast in search of a better life, is accepted by family, husband and wife who have lost a child. They are trying to find solace in little Arab and a sort of replacement for their early deceased son, Mark. Valeria (Donatella Finocchiaro) and Paolo (Giorgio Tirabasi) are increasingly confronted with resistance from the environment and their own family, who do not accept their decision to keep Muhammad - It is also a story of a world that is increasingly sinking into xenophobic fog.

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 62 FILMS A-Z

Detention (Fanxiao) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by John Hsu Taiwan (2019) 103 min.

In 1962, a sense of desolation and tension permeate the society. Fang, a twelfth grader at Tsuihua Senior High School, falls in love with Zhang, a counselling teacher. Troubled by the problems at school and home, Fang feels that Zhang is the only person who understands her. Longing for freedom, Zhang forms a study group with his colleagues and students, including Yin and Wei. Reading the banned books allows them to be liberated for a brief moment but at the same time, they put their lives in great danger. One day, Zhang vanishes into thin air, and only Fang and Wei, an eleventh grader, remember him. Together, Fang and Wei start looking for the disappeared teacher but find the school gradually slipping out of the world they are familiar with. Then in a realm dominated by ghosts and spirits, the pair are forced to face the terrifying truth...

Colorado Dragon Film Festival, Late Night Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 63 FILMS A-Z

Dope Is Death PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Mia Donovan Canada (2020) 81 min.

The story of how Dr. Mutulu Shakur, stepfather of Tupac Shakur, along with fellow Black Panthers and the Young Lords, combined community health with radical politics to create the first acupuncture detoxification program in America in 1973 - a visionary project eventually deemed too dangerous to exist in America.

Spotlight On Social Justice

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 64 FILMS A-Z

Echo (Bergmál)

Directed by Rúnar Rúnarsson Iceland (2019) 79 min.

Iceland, Christmas time.

As everyone prepares for the holidays, a peculiar atmosphere falls upon the country revealing emotions of both excitement and concern. In the middle of the countryside, an abandoned farm is burning. In a school, a children’s choir is singing Christmas carols. In a slaughterhouse, chickens are parading along a rail. In a museum, a mother is arguing with her ex-husband on the phone. In a living room, a young girl is making her grandmother try on her new virtual reality headset... Through 56 scenes, Echo draws a portrait, both biting and tender, of modern society.

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 65 FILMS A-Z

Ema SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Pablo Larraín Chile (2019) 107 min.

Adoptive parents Ema (Mariana Di Girolamo) and Gastón (Gael García Bernal) are artistic free spirits in an experimental dance troupe whose lives are thrown into chaos when their son Polo is involved in a shockingly violent incident. As her marriage crumbles in the wake of their decision to abandon the child, Ema embarks on an odyssey of liberation and self-discovery as she dances and seduces her way into a daring new life. Centering on the sinuous, electrifying art of reggaeton dance, Ema is an incendiary portrait of a lady on fire, the story of an artistic temperament forced to contend with societal pressure and the urge to conform. From world-class director Pablo Larrain (Jackie, Neruda) comes another psychologically acute exhumation of Latin American life under restriction featuring an unforgettable heroine who is determined to move freely through the world, as she electrifies everyone and everything around her.

CineLatinx

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 66 FILMS A-Z

The Fandom SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Ash Kreis, Eric Risher USA (2020) 89 min.

The Fandom dives headfirst in the imaginative world of “furries,” the often-misunderstood internet subculture of fans of the anthropomorphic arts. Using a bountiful collection of archival tapes and images, this documentary traces the evolution of the furry fandom from its roots in the 1970s to the expansive, international community it has become today. Join a host of charming characters (including the grandparents of the fandom itself) on this heart- warming journey through the decades; witness the many triumphs and challenges that shaped “furry” into the most unique fandom of all time.

Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 67 FILMS A-Z

Farewell Amor

Directed by Ekwa Msangi USA (2020) 101 min. Courtesy of IFC

After 17 years apart, Angolan immigrant Walter is joined in the U.S. by his wife and teen daughter. Now absolute strangers sharing a one bedroom Brooklyn apartment, they struggle to overcome the emotional distance between them. Walter is trying to let go of a previous relationship while his wife Esther struggles with a new country, culture and a husband who seems distant. Their daughter Sylvia is a dancer just like her father, and while she also finds her new life difficult, she bravely starts to explore the city and show herself through dance. The film is both a universal immigrant story and the unique perspective of three characters bound together by history and hope. It is an intimate and deeply personal look at an inter- generational tale that has defined America since its inception.

American Independent Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 68 FILMS A-Z

A Feral World SPONSORED BY:

Directed by David Liban USA (20192020) 105 min.

“The apocalypse is no place for a boy.”

An orphaned boy in a post-apocalyptic world, meets a woman who is trying to find her lost daughter. A mother/son bond is formed as they stumble upon clues of the daughter’s whereabouts. Their journey is both heartwarming and horrific, and ultimately it brings them face-to- face with a despot who has the daughter in captivity.

Filmed over four years, the audience will see the characters age over time, similar in design as Boyhood. A literal coming-of-age story and this one happens in A Feral World.

Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 69 FILMS A-Z

Fireball

Directed by Werner Herzog, Clive Oppenheimer USA (2020) 97 min. Courtesy of Apple

From directors Werner Herzog and Clive Oppenheimer, this remarkable journey across our planet and universe explores how meteorites, shooting stars, and deep impacts have awoken our wonder about other realms—and make us rethink our destinies.

Special Presentation

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

Limited Screening: This screening has a time restriction. It is only available from 7:15pm - 9:15pm 10/29/20. 70 FILMS A-Z

Freeland

Directed by Kate McLean, Mario Furloni USA (2020) 80 min.

Devi has been breeding legendary pot strains for decades on the remote homestead she built herself. But when cannabis is legalized, she suddenly finds herself fighting for her survival. In a tour-de- force performance, Krisha Fairchild (Devi) brings the timely story of a black-market grower battling to keep her farm to the screen. Featuring a heart-breaking turn by John Craven as an old flame from Devi’s commune days, and Frank Mosley and Lily Gladstone as adrift harvest workers, the film is full of standout performances. Shot on off-the-grid pot farms during the actual harvest, directors Mario Furloni and Kate McLean imbue this emotional thriller with a deep and empathetic authenticity.

American Independent Showcase

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 71 FILMS A-Z

Funny Face

Directed by Tim Sutton USA (2020) 95 min.

Origin Story. A young Muslim woman runs away from her aunt and uncle’s house desperate for a new life, but quickly finds that she must survive on the street. A disturbed young man from Coney Island dons the menacing “Funny Face” mask, transforming himself into a makeshift superhero with a rage disorder as he seeks revenge on the Real Estate Developer of a soulless high rise that has displaced his grandparents. Misfit avengers in a changing city, the two embark on a neighborhood odyssey that brings danger, love, and tragedy. And pickles.

American Independent Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 72 FILMS A-Z

Gunda

Directed by Victor Kossakovsky Norway/USA (2020) 93 min. Courtesy of Neon Experiential cinema in its purest form, Gunda chronicles the unfiltered lives of a mother pig, a flock of chickens, and a herd of cows with masterful intimacy. Using stark, transcendent black and white cinematography and the farm’s ambient soundtrack, Master director Victor Kossakovsky invites the audience to slow down and experience life as his subjects do, taking in their world with a magical patience and an other worldly perspective. Gunda asks us to meditate on the mystery of animal consciousness, and reckon with the role humanity plays in it. Executive produced by Joaquin Phoenix.

Special Presentation

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 4:15pm - 8:15pm 10/24/20 and 4:15pm - 8:15pm 11/1/20. 73 FILMS A-Z

The Heist Of The Century SPONSORED BY: (El robo del siglo)

Directed by Ariel Winograd Argentina (2020) 114 min.

In 2006, a group of thieves performed what is considered one of the most famous and smart bank heists in the history of Argentina. How they robbed the Rio bank is as surprising as what happened afterwards. This is their story.

CineLatinx

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 74 FILMS A-Z

Here We Are (Hine anachnu) SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Nir Bergman Israel/Italy (2020) 94 min.

Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live together in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult, it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 75 FILMS A-Z

I Am Greta SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Nathan Grossman Sweden (2020) 97 min.

In 2018, 15-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg held a school strike outside her country’s Parliament building in Stockholm. At first she sat alone, handing out information and answering questions from passersby. Slowly, others began to join her—and within months she had sparked a worldwide movement.

Directed by Nathan Grossman, I Am Greta offers a personal and inspiring glimpse inside Greta’s path to becoming an internationally known environmental activist. Shot in the style of cinéma vérité and with support from the Thunberg family, cameras capture Greta’s meetings with government leaders, headline-making public Courtesy of Hulu appearances, and global protests. But they also depict Greta’s life outside of the moments visible on news channels worldwide: laughing at home with her family, writing impassioned speeches, and trying to handle the mounting stress of nonstop travel, public scrutiny and becoming the face of the climate change cause.

Greta, who has Asperger’s Syndrome, impresses everyone from UN delegates, to Pope Francis, to Hollywood A-listers with her intricate knowledge of climate issues and unwavering dedication. However,...... Synopsis continued on the follwing page... Special Presentation

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 12:15am - 11:45pm 10/25/20. 76 FILMS A-Z

I Am Greta Cont.

...Greta’s celebrity grows, so does her frustration with politicians who don’t heed her warnings about climate change. As someone who thrives on routines and appreciates solitude, the unpredictable schedule and global visibility takes its toll. Greta’s father, Svante, travels alongside his daughter and becomes deeply concerned by the hateful words—and even death threats—aimed at her by pundits, politicians and climate-change deniers.

The film culminates with Greta’s arduous two-week journey by sailboat to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City, where she’s greeted by crowds chanting her name. (Greta stopped flying because of the high emissions caused by air travel.) Today, her #FridaysForFuture movement has organised climate strikes on every continent except Antarctica. As she tells the UN, “The world is waking up, and change is coming whether you like it or not.

77 FILMS A-Z

IWOW: I Walk on Water PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Khalik Allah USA (2020) 199 min.

IWOW: I Walk On Water, is a sort of modern day epistle. It has to do with focusing on the light in everyone and recognizing the divinity therein. A polyphonic symphony scored by Wu-Tang’s 4th Disciple — it is a deeply personal, avant-garde epic, centered primarily on the corner of 125th and Lexington Ave. Shot from July 2019 — February 2020, it serves as a time capsule of life just prior to the coronavirus pandemic and the most recent racial tensions surrounding policing in the United States.

Spotlight on Social Justice

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 78 FILMS A-Z

Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly THIS FILM IS SPONSORED BY: Glenn Copeland Story

Directed by Alla Kovgan Germany/France/USA (2019) 93 min.

As a sci-fi obsessed woman living in near isolation, Beverly Glenn- CINEMAQ IS PRESENTED BY: Copeland wrote and self-released Keyboard Fantasies in Huntsville, Ontario back in 1986. Recorded in an Atari-powered home studio, the cassette featured seven tracks of a curious folk-electronica hybrid, a sound realised far before its time.

Three decades on the musician – now Glenn Copeland – began to receive emails from people across the world, thanking him for the CINEMAQ IS SPONSORED BY: music they’d recently discovered. Courtesy of a rare-record collector in Japan, a reissue of Keyboard Fantasies and subsequent plays by Four Tet, Caribou and more, the music had finally found its audience two generations down the line.

Keyboard Fantasies: The Beverly Glenn-Copeland Story sees the protagonist commit his life and music to screen for the first time - an intimate coming of age story spinning pain and the suffering of prejudice into rhythm, hope and joy.

CinemaQ

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 79 FILMS A-Z

The Killing of Two Lovers

Directed by Robert Machoian USA (2020) 85 min.

David is trying to keep it together. He and his wife, Nikki, are going through a time of transition and allowing each other space to figure out what it is they want from life and from their relationship. But there is one major issue: David doesn’t want space. He just wants things to get better, and he plays along with Nikki because he suspects it’s the only thing that may keep them and their four kids together. But he is hotheaded, jealous, and terrified of losing his family—an explosive combination in a claustrophobically small town where private lives seem impossible to preserve.

Special Presentation

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm - 10:15pm 10/30/20 and 6:15pm - 10:15pm 11/6/20. 80 FILMS A-Z

Kubrick by Kubrick SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Gregory Monro France/USA (2020) 73 min.

Stanley Kubrick’s mark on the legacy of cinema can never be measured. He was a giant in his field, his great works resembling pristine pieces of art, studied by students and masters alike, all searching for answers their maker was notoriously reticent to give. While he’s among the most scrutinized filmmakers that ever lived, the chance to hear Kubrick’s own words was a rarity—until now.

Through Michel Ciment, film critic internationally known for being expert on Stanley Kubrick, and our advisor for this film, we have access to a series of rare interviews that occurred during their 30 years of relationship.

Combined with extraordinary resources that Kubrick’s family allowed us to use, the film draws an intimate portrait of one of the most recognized, but yet unheard, filmmaker of all times.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 81 FILMS A-Z

The Lamb (L’agnello) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Mario Piredda Italy/France (2019) 97 min.

Sixteen year-old rebel Anita’s father is seriously ill and waiting for a marrow transplant. His brother is a compatible donor, but the two haven’t spoken in years. Anita decides to intervene, in a rough and contaminated Sardinia.

SPONSORED BY: The Lamb is a very well-grounded story, but like our rebellious Anita, it deals with some universal issues: the social and environmental costs of progress, the eternal fight between individual and public interest, the attachment to one’s own roots. Through Anita’s voice, it becomes the sound – or maybe the scream – of a whole community, that deserves to be healthy and to keep its world safe.”

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 82 FILMS A-Z

Lapsis

Directed by Noah Hutton USA (2020) 104 min.

New York, an alternate present: the quantum computing revolution has begun and investors are lining their pockets in the quantum trading market. Building the network, though, requires miles of infrastructure to be laid between huge magnetic cubes by “cablers” - unprotected gig workers who compete against robots to pull wires over rough terrain.

Queens delivery man Ray Tincelli is skeptical of new technology, and the buy-in to start cabling is steep, but he struggles to support himself and his ailing younger brother, who suffers from a mysterious illness. So when Ray scores a shady permit, he believes their fortunes may have finally changed. What he doesn’t expect is to be pulled into a conspiracy involving hostile cablers, corporate greed, and the mysterious “Lapsis” who may have previously owned his permit. Called “a smart class-conscious sci-fi parable” by The Hollywood Reporter, Lapsis is a darkly comic and timely look at the gig economy and the failed utopian promises of big tech.

Late Night Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 83 FILMS A-Z

Lara

Directed by Jan-Ole Gerster Germany (2019) 98 min.

Lara’s day seems to start like any other — with a cup of tea and a cigarette. Still, today is a very special day for two reasons: Not only is it her 60th birthday, but for the first time, her son Victor is also giving a grand solo performance of piano music he composed himself. However, unlike Viktor‘s father Paul and his new girlfriend, Lara is not invited. Nevertheless, Lara has her own plans for the day. She buys the last tickets for the show and distributes them according to her very idiosyncratic ways. In any case, the events of the day unfold in a completely unexpected manner.

Contemporary World Cinema

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 4:15pm 10/24/30 - 4:15pm 10/27/20. 84 FILMS A-Z

The Letter PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Maia Lekow, Christopher King Kenya (2019) 81 min.

Filmed with a gentle pace and incredible closeness, The Letter is an intimate family portrait that ascends into a dramatic climax of Shakespearean proportions.

Karisa’s city-life is interrupted when his Grandma back home is called a witch. Returning to his rural village to investigate, he finds a frenzied SPONSORED BY: mixture of consumerism and Christianity is turning hundreds of families against their elders, branding them as witches as a means to steal their ancestral land.

Karisa’s Grandma, Margaret, is a respected elder of her church, and spends her days cultivating her fields to feed her family. Karisa’s uncles claim that Grandma is worshipping the devil, and demand she be exorcised by their Pentecostal priests. Karisa’s strong- willed Aunties, however, are doing everything they can to protect their mother. As Karisa delicately navigates between his disputing relatives, the love for his Grandmother must overcome the imminent danger of the accusations against her.

Women+Film

Recipient of the2019 Denver Film MOFFOM grant

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 85 FILMS A-Z

Little Fish

Directed by Chad Hartigan USA/Canada (2020) 101 min. Courtesy of IFC

Imagine waking up in a world where a pandemic has broken out, which strikes with no rhyme or reason, and causes its victims to lose their memories. Imagine waking up and not remembering the person you love. This is the world that newlyweds Emma (Olivia Cooke) and Jude (Jack O’Connell) find themselves in, not long after meeting and falling in love. When Jude contracts the disease, the young couple will do anything to hold onto the memory of their love.

Special Presentation

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 86 FILMS A-Z

Lynn + Lucy PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Fyzal Boulifa UK (2019) 90 min.

Lynn and Lucy are life-long best friends, their relationship as intense as any romance. Neither has ventured far from where they grew up. Lynn, who married her first boyfriend and whose daughter is fast growing up, is delighted when the charismatic, volatile Lucy has her first baby boy. Lucy, however, does not react to motherhood as Lynn expects. Soon, they find their friendship is tested in the most extreme circumstances.

Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 11/5/20 - 6:15pm 11/8/20. 87 FILMS A-Z

Materna

Directed by David Gutnik USA (2020) 105 min.

Jean, Mona, Ruth and Perizad’s worlds are radically different, separated by race, culture, politics, religion and class. And yet, as their storylines intersect, we come to understand their shared isolation and their shared struggle for identity and connection. With their futures at stake, the characters lives are upended by a fateful encounter underground, where their stories of personal transformation become a battle for survival.

American Independent Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 88 FILMS A-Z

Meat The Future

Directed by Liz Marshall Canada (2020) 88 min.

A close-up and personal look at the visionaries risking everything to innovate real meat without slaughtering animals, and without environmental destruction. With animal agriculture occupying roughly 45% of the world’s ice-free surface area, producing more greenhouse gases than cars, the prospect of meat consumption doubling by 2050 is a wake-up call for solutions. The planet’s future may lie with “clean meat,” also known as “cell-based meat,” and “cultivated meat,” a food science that grows real meat from animal cells.

Billionaires Bill Gates and Richard Branson, and food giants Cargill and Tyson have invested in the birth of this new industry, instilling confidence that cell-based meat may soon come to market as a sustainable alternative to conventional meat.

Culinary Cinema

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 89 FILMS A-Z

Minari THIS FILM IS SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Lee Isaac Chung USA (2020) 115 min.

A tender and sweeping story about what roots us, Minari follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving CO DRAGON FILM FESTIVAL grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in IS PRESENTED BY: the rugged Ozarks, Minari shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival, Special Presentation

Courtesy of A24 Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 7:15pm - 9:15pm 10/23/20. 90 FILMS A-Z

MLK/FBI THIS FILM IS SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Sam Pollard USA (2020) 104 min.

J. Edgar Hoover hated Martin Luther King.

He was convinced the civil rights movement was infiltrated by communists. He also disapproved of King’s private life, calling him “a tom-cat with obsessive degenerate sexual urges.” Perhaps most of all, he feared King as a radical, a subversive bent on challenging the SPOTLIGHT ON SOCIAL JUSTICE cherished system of segregation and the status quo. IS PRESENTED BY:

To ruin King he used every means at his disposal. William Sullivan, Hoover’s right-hand man and head of the notorious COINTELPRO division of the FBI, once said in their pursuit of King, “no holds were barred.” Bugs were planted in King’s hotel rooms, his phones tapped, informants paid. The Bureau enlisted journalists to write hostile stories about King, never alerted him to threats on his life, and when King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, the FBI threatened to blackmail him unless he committed suicide. Utilizing a trove of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and unsealed by the National Archives, MLK/FBI tells this astonishing and tragic story for the first time. The film contrasts Hoover and King, ...Synopsis continues on the following page... Courtesy of IFC Special Presentation, Spotlight On Social Justice

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 12:15am - 11:45pm 11/7/20. 91 FILMS A-Z

MLK/FBI cont. two powerful, iconic figures who, despite all of their differences, saw themselves in the same way, as a protector of liberty—a guardian of the American dream. Yet their view of that dream could not have been more opposed, and to examine their strange and tortured relationship is to ask questions as central to our time as it was to theirs. What is “free,” what is “American”? What do we mean when we use those words, and who controls the definitions?

Directed and produced by Sam Pollard and Benjamin Hedin — the same team behind Two Trains Runnin’, a Critic’s Pick of the New York Times and Grammy nominee for Best Music Film — MLK/FBI promises to be one of the most explosive and captivating films of recent years, forcing us to confront the meaning and depth of our own patriotism.

92 FILMS A-Z

Mogul Mowgli PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Bassam Tariq UK (2020) 90 min.

Zed (Riz Ahmed), a young British rapper, is about to start his first world tour, when a crippling illness strikes him down, and he is forced to move back in with his family. He tries to find himself between an international music career and Pakistani family traditions.

Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 93 FILMS A-Z

Monuments SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Jack C. Newell USA (2020) 94 min.

Laura (Marguerite Moreau, Wet Hot American Summer) and Ted (David Sullivan, Primer, Argo) are enjoying a dysfunctional marriage in Boulder, Colorado: teaching at the university, drinking at the local tiki bar, and (barely) tolerating Laura’s odd family and odder would- be-suitor, Howl (Javier Muñoz, Hamilton). After a brief estrangement, they are now back together, determined to make their love work.

When Laura is killed in a car accident, Ted is paralyzed with grief. Unable to let her go, he carries her ashes under his arm and starts seeing her everywhere - which is impossible, right? Frustrated with Ted and aided by Howl, Laura’s family takes matters into their own hands by stealing Laura’s ashes, and heading to the family resting plot to say their goodbyes.

At the same time, Ted is suddenly face to face with Laura, or, more specifically, Laura’s ghost. She explains to Ted his mission: steal her ashes back, head east, and scatter them where they first fell in love, The Field Museum in Chicago. Ted takes back Laura’s ashes and steals Howl’s beloved red truck, heading out on a cross-country road trip with the family and Howl in hot pursuit. ...Synopsis continued on the following page... Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 94 FILMS A-Z

Monuments cont.

Along their odyssey, Ted and Laura’s ghost encounter characters that seduce, annoy, hurt, and sidetrack Ted from his mission. There’s Amber (Shunori Ramanathan, The Big Sick), the lonely and mysterious seductress; a trio of singing wood-nymphs; a directionless car mechanic (David Pasquesi, Veep); the only security guard at The Field Museum who matters (Joel Murray, Mad Men); and Laura’s pink-haired bratty little sister, Crystal (Paulina Olszynski, My Soul To Take).

When Ted arrives in Chicago, he is intercepted by Howl. Not to be deterred, Ted dodges Howl with a little bit of luck, leaving Howl hospitalized and angrier than ever. Victorious, Ted is finally ready to let Laura go, and her ghost is ready to be released.

In their last moments together, Ted realizes that Laura’s spirit doesn’t need grand gestures, or big moments to be at rest, and he doesn’t need a monument to let her go. Thus, Ted begins his journey back to Colorado, returning Howl and the truck in the process, and scattering Laura’s ashes in a place that truly felt like home.

95 FILMS A-Z

Most Guys Are Losers SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Eric Ustian USA (2020) 91 min.

For Sandy, her new boyfriend, Bo, meets the criteria of a great guy and Sandy knows what to look for in a partner because her dad who wrote the book on dating advice. Mark’s basis for the book was his decades in the bars he owns watching what men do to women, and his appreciation and love for his wife Amy, the only person capable of putting with the strong willed Mark and keeping him in line. When Sandy and Bo leave the comfort of UCLA to go to Chicago and tell her family she has been offered a job to travel the world surfing and Bo will be her videographer and no longer will be taking over the family bar business, Mark and Bo are both put to the test.

Colorado Spotlight

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 96 FILMS A-Z

BLACK PUMAS - COLORS

Music Video Mixtape

80 min.

Glass Animals - Dreamland, UK, directed by Colin Read: Colin Read direct’s the world’s first ‘flat-pack music’ video from the depths of lockdown. Waze & Odyssey, George Michael, Mary J. Blige & Tommy Theo - Always, USA, directed by Nelson de Castro: Always features a seamless blend of practical and digital mirroring effects, framing a surreal coffee stop at a diner. We designed, built and cast a perfectly mirrored world (down to the last drop of spilled coffee) that would allow us to intercut simple digital-mirror effects like an on/off switch. Babelord - Love Without Wanting, USA, directed by Dylan Owens: When we’re lonely, we look for love high and low. Under barroom televisions, between text messages, on stages -- just about everywhere but the source: ourselves. Babelord homages that unrequited love here, a boogie-on bop as fixated on the face in the mirror ball as much as the floor below it. Lane-O - Beautiful, USA, directed by Jeremy Pape: A music video about why LOVE NEVER FAILS. Lewis Del Mar - The Ceiling, USA/Germany, directed by rubberband.: A claustrophobic music video made for Lewis Del Mar’s The Ceiling. 1980YEN - Takoyaki Story, Japan, directed by Sawako Kabuki: A girl always attracted by Takoyaki but with hesitation gets addicted to

...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 97 FILMS A-Z

Music Video Mixtape cont. BROKEN BELLS - GOOD LUCK

Takoyaki eventually. Takoyaki (Octopus Balls) is a famous and very delicious Japanese street food. Broken Bells - Good Luck, USA, directed by Nelson De Castro and Kimberly Stuckwisch: Ralph, a lonely kid in a forgotten town, has a miraculous gift. He can see beauty manifested through beams of light permeating from people who are ignored and seemingly invisible - just like him. To achieve the light ray effect, we hand traced and laser-cut over 4000 frames to create shape mattes, then physically shined light and haze through each individual frame to produce the stop motion effect. By mixing old school animation with practical haze over live-action footage, we were able to create the DOWN TIME - HURTS BEING ALIVE eerily atmospheric new dimension you see embedded in each frame. Black Pumas - Colors, USA, directed by Kristian Mercado: Colors explores the bonds of a young family living in the Bronx. They are displaced after unforeseen circumstances take the family to unexpected places. Despite the challenges facing them, they find joy, hope, and each other. The landscape of the Bronx is celebrated as a beautiful place. Eric Burton’s evocative movements and dance explore the emotions and the shifts we experience in life. Down Time - Hurts Being Alive, USA, directed by PERRY HOME VIDEO: The members of Down Time are in pursuit of, or drawn by, a powerful force. What terrible fate awaits? Find out in this bizarre and drily comedic adventure! Rent today at your local Blockedbunster. PLEASE BE KIND REWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIND. Husbands - Manhorse, USA, directed by LAMAR+NIK: All animations HEAR BONES - OPEN RELATIONS were captured in-camera using card stock and transparency sheets. Barrier-grid animation, kinegrams, or picket fence animation is an optical illusion that originated in the 1890s. To make the base image for the animation several frames of video were combined into one interlaced image, which was then printed on card stock. A transparent bar mask was printed next, placed on top of the interlaced image, and moved back and forth to create the illusion of movement. Heart Bones - Open Relations, USA, directed by Ed Dougherty: A man cannot accept his partner’s proposal for an open relationship, especially when an alien is involved! Neoma - Himno, Ecuador/USA, directed by Sebastián Valbuena: Neoma journeys with a heart full of melancholy from her hometown DEVOTCHKA - DONE WITH THOSE DAYS Cuenca, Ecuador to the streets and mountains of Denver in this animated video. Himno is the last track off Neoma’s debut album Real. Devotchka - Done With Those Days, USA, directed by Marcin Biegunajtys and Nick Urata: The song warns of a metaphorical storm bearing down on a small town and the people who call it home. Nature is the great equalizer when she brings her wrath, like the current storm we are in, only that which really matters comes into sharp focus. We humans will huddle together like family. Iglooghost - Amu, UK, directed Luke Gibson: Tasked with warding off the pesky Yemmo from the Chip Shop, Iglooghost and Amu set off to find answers in this vivid and colorful odyssey. ...Synopsis continued on the following page... 98 FILMS A-Z

Music Video Mixtape cont. VAGABON - WATER ME DOWN

Vagabon - Water Me Down, USA, directed by Maegan Houang: In this performance video for rising indie artist Vagabon (Laetitia Tamko), the choreography shifts from feeling rigid and structured to something more free form. Lighting, camera movement, costume design, color and set changes accentuate the transformation Laetitia undergoes as she frees herself from the people that hold her back. Hilton Dresden & Antfood - Cousin John - The Arrival, USA, directed by Tom C J Brown: While Cousin John is away in the City, the residents of The Carrington House Hotel in upstate New York yearn for his return in this film posing as a music video. Nathaniel Rateliff - And It’s Still Alright, USA, directed by Rett Rogers: From Nathaniel Rateliff’s new album And It’s Still Alright. Shot NATHANIEL RATELIFF - AND IT’S STILL on 16 mm film. ALRIGHT Oh Sees - Gholü, USA, directed by Leo Nicholson: A day in the life of a complicated cannibal. Bluebook - Carnage, USA, directed by Rett Rogers: A visually striking piece shot on 16 mm film. Kai - A Little Too Much, USA, directed by Martina Scarpelli: In an imaginary space a woman let go of herself and overcomes fearing her own greatness. She discovers her body, she embraces her emotions, and learns to own all the parts that make her HER. Julia Stone - Break, USA, directed by Jessie Hill: v is about being alive with the headrush of new love: “It’s when you first meet somebody, and you have that connection, and your chemicals go crazy. It’s about enjoying that first moment, without considering what comes next.” Julia Stone’s words resonate in the breathtaking visual that accompanies Break.

99 FILMS A-Z

Nadia, Butterfly THIS FILM IS SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Alla Kovgan Germany/France/USA (2019) 93 min.

While young and in her prime, Nadia decides to retire from pro swimming after the Olympic Games to escape a rigid life of sacrifice. After her very last race, Nadia drifts into nights of excess punctuated by episodes of self-doubt. But even this transitional numbness J’ADORE IS PRESENTED BY: cannot conceal her true inner quest: defining her identity outside the world of elite sports.

J’adore

J’ADORE IS SPONSORED BY:

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 100 FILMS A-Z

New Order SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Michel Franco Mexico/France (2020) 88 min.

In this riveting, suspenseful dystopian drama, a lavish upper-class wedding goes awry in an unexpected uprising of class warfare that gives way to a violent coup d’état. As seen through the eyes of the sympathetic young bride and the servants who work for- and against- her wealthy family, New Order breathlessly traces the collapse of one political system as a more harrowing replacement springs up in its wake. Cinelatinx, Special Presentation

Courtesy of Neon

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 4:15pm - 6:15pm 10/25/20 and 6:15pm - 10:15pm 11/5/20. 101 FILMS A-Z

Nasrin PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Jeff Kaufman USA/Iran (2020) 92 min.

Secretly filmed in Iran by women and men who risked arrest to make this film, Nasrin is an immersive portrait of the world’s most honored human rights activist and political prisoner, attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh, and of Iran’s remarkably resilient women’s rights movement. Featuring acclaimed filmmaker Jafar Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, journalist Ann Curry, exiled women’s rights activist Mansoureh SPONSORED BY: Shojaee, and Nasrin’s equally courageous husband Reza Khandan. In the courts and on the streets, Nasrin has long fought for the rights of women, children, LGBT prisoners, religious minorities, journalists and artists, and those facing the death penalty. She was arrested in June 2018 for representing women who were protesting Iran’s mandatory hijab law, and she was sentenced to 38 years in prison, plus 148 lashes. Even from prison, she has continued to challenge the authorities. An Amnesty International petition calling for her release received over a million signatures from 200 countries. Narrated by Academy Award-winner Olivia Colman. With an original song written by 2-time Tony-winners Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, performed by 4-time Grammy-winning singer Angélique Kidjo. Gloria Steinem said, “This is a must-see film! It will make you angry at injustice, and give you hope. Women+Film Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 102 FILMS A-Z

Nevia PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Nunzia De Stefano Italy (2019) 86 min.

Nevia is 17 and lives in the suburbs of Naples with her beloved little sister Enza, their aunt Lucia and their grandmother Nana. She is a stubborn teenager, determined to get from life much more than fate has planned for her, but it’s hard to be a girl in a place where only men can make the rules and apparently there are no options but make ends meet with little illegal jobs. Until one day, a circus comes to SPONSORED BY: town, changing everything in Nevia’s life and giving her a new hope...

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 103 FILMS A-Z

The New Bauhaus

Directed by Alysa Nahmias USA (2019) 89 min.

In the 1920s, rising artist László Moholy-Nagy taught at the revolutionary Bauhaus school in Weimar, Germany, alongside luminaries like Paul Klee, Josef Albers, Anni Albers, Gunta Stolzl, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marcel Breuer. An upstart within this esteemed group, Moholy established himself as a visionary, and the approach he developed while teaching became the ethos of his work: training artists to live “happier lives in modernity.”

Forced into exile by the Nazis, Moholy moved to Chicago with his two daughters and his second wife, Sibyl Moholy-Nagy, where he found himself inspired by the sense of re-invention in the city. Initially at the New Bauhaus and ultimately through the Institute of Design, Moholy challenged students to create systemic, human-centered design. Motivated by the challenge of creating within the limitations of the Great Depression and then World War II, Moholy’s embrace of artistic versatility and technological possibility continues to reverberate in the artworld today.

Objects that are now ubiquitous in our culture, such as the Dove soap bar, the Honey Bear, and the cover of the first issue of Playboy magazine were designed by students and alumni of The New Bauhaus. ...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 104 FILMS A-Z

The New Bauhaus cont.

Graduates of the Institute of Design became renowned fine art photographers and pioneers of digital design in the internet’s early days.

Moholy’s own output as an artist remained “relentlessly experimental”, with pioneering work created in a range of mediums including painting, photography, typography, collage, sculpture, and film. His central lessons as a teacher were reflected in his own work: the thought behind creation was as important as the work itself.

Unfortunately his creative production was cut short by his untimely death at age 51 from leukemia, but his legacy lives on in his students that now teach his approach themselves, providing inspiration to anyone using art to make sense of the world.

As the former dean of the Institute of Design Patrick Whitney said of Moholy’s teachings, “the attitude and approach to working was more important than what you actually produced; you had to produce something to be of value to the world, but for personal development it wasn’t that you were a maker of this object, it’s that you were a maker of yourself and you lived differently through your work.

105 FILMS A-Z

The New Corporation: The PRESENTED BY: Unfortunately Necessary Sequel

Directed by Joel Bakan, Jennifer Abbott Canada (2020) 106 min.

From Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott, filmmakers of the multi-award- winning global hit The Corporation, comes this hard-hitting and timely sequel.

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel reveals how the corporate takeover of society is being justified by the sly rebranding of corporations as socially conscious entities. From gatherings of corporate elites in Davos, to climate change and spiraling inequality; the rise of ultra-right leaders to COVID-19 and racial injustice, the film looks at corporations’ devastating power. Countering this is a groundswell of resistance worldwide as people take to the streets in pursuit of justice and the planet’s future.

In the face of spiraling inequality, climate change, and the hollowing out of democracy, The New Corporation is a cry for social justice, deeper democracy, and transformative solutions.

Spotlight On Social Justice

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 106 FILMS A-Z

Night Of The Kings (La nuit des rois) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Philippe Lacôte France/Côte d’Ivoire/Canada/Senegal (2020) 93 min.

A young man is sent to “La Maca”, a prison in the middle of the Ivorian forest ruled by its inmates. As tradition goes with the rising of the red moon, he is designated by the Boss to be the new “Roman” and must tell a story to the other prisoners. Learning what fate awaits him, he begins to narrate the mystical life of the legendary outlaw named SPONSORED BY: “Zama King” and has no choice but to make his story last until dawn.

J’adore, Special Presentation

Courtesy of Neon

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm - 10:15pm 10/31/20 and 6:15pm - 10:15pm 11/2/20. 107 FILMS A-Z

Nocturnal PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Nathalie Biancheri UK (2019) 84 min.

Pete, a disheveled and darkly compelling thirty-something, works as an occasional handyman at the local high school. There, he meets Laurie, an emotionally withdrawn student-athlete who recently relocated to town with her mother. The two strangers start forming a precarious friendship built on their mutual connection as outsiders. As they spend more time together, their unique bond grows, unraveling the truth behind Pete’s motives.

Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 108 FILMS A-Z

On Fellini’s Footsteps PRESENTED BY: (Sulle tracce di fellini)

Directed by Gérald Morin Switzerland/France (2013) 75 min.

Fellini’s lifelong friend, and aid for over a decade, Gerald Morin, embarks in a voyage on the Maestro’s tracks. Meandering through Rome and Cinecittà, he creates a touching portrait of the man, enrichened by anecdotes from Fellini’s most important collaborators SPONSORED BY: of the time, and throws us back to an era that is engraved in our collective memory.

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 109 FILMS A-Z

Once Upon A Time In Venezuela SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Anabel Rodriguez Rios Venezuela/UK/Brazil/Austria (2020) 99 min.

When filmmaker Anabel Rodríguez Ríos visits a remote floating village in Venezuela to see its eternal lightning storms, she discovers another ongoing and alarming situation taking place... Congo Mirador was once a magical, thriving fishing community, built on stilts near Latin American’s biggest oil field. But more recently, Venezuela has been spiraling into chaos and violence, and the village itself is literally sinking from pollution and neglect - a prophetic reflection of Venezuela itself. At the center of the village’s existential fight stands two female leaders: Mrs. Tamara, the Chavez-worshipping coordinator, not above bribery and intimidation, and Natalie, her most vocal critic and school teacher. As confidence erodes under President Maduro and Venezuela shapes up to become the world’s worst refugee crisis in 2020, outpacing the displacement in Syria, will the village find a way to stay afloat or will it become a political and ecological sacrifice? Shot over seven years, Once Upon A Time In Venezuela bears witness to the corrosive consequences of corruption and government neglect that reaches the farthest corners and pits neighbor against neighbor in a struggle for survival.

CineLatinx

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is available from 12:15am 10/25/20 - 11:45pm 11/1/20. 110 FILMS A-Z

One Of These Days

Directed by Bastian Günther Germany/USA (2020) 120 min.

In a small southern town in the US, twenty down-on-their-luck folks compete to win a brand new pick-up truck, a prize that might finally tip the scales of life in their favor. The annual ‘Hands On’ contest puts the vehicle literally within their reach - the winning contestant is the last one standing with their hands held firmly on the truck. Armed only with their dreams and determination, the participants forgo basic human needs to stand around the pickup truck for days to beat out their competitors. All for the benefit of an enthusiastic audience and the glare of the local media who turn up each year for the car dealership’s popular publicity stunt. As the blisteringly hot days and long nights of struggle, exhaustion, mind games, hilarity, loss of control and insanity add up, only one winner can drive away with the truck. Each contestant has their own reasons for joining the contest, and as the hours tick by, their humanity is laid bare. Who will hold on and win - and at what cost?

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 111 FILMS A-Z

Ordinary Justice (Palazzo di giustizia) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Chiara Bellosi Italy/Switzerland (2020) 84 min.

An ordinary day in an Italian court of law. At the heart of the big courthouse, a young defendant is on trial, his accomplice murdered by the owner of the gas station they tried to rob. There is the ritual, the jargon, the robes. As spectators, we see the witnesses, the evidence, the questionings, but there is more. Out of the courtroom, the halls are swarming with people as daily life carries on as usual, SPONSORED BY: noisy and chaotic. The families of the victims and defendants alike, waiting out.

Italian Showcase

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 10/29/20 - 6:15pm 10/31/20. 112 FILMS A-Z

Patrick

Directed by Tim Mielants Belgium/Netherlands (2019) 97 min.

Patrick lives with his parents on a nudist campsite. When his father dies he finds himself in charge of the campsite. But Patrick has other things on his mind, he has lost his favourite hammer. The long-term residents want Patrick to do something with his life but he is more interested in finding his hammer. His obsessive search becomes an existential quest to find himself...

Contemporary World Cinema

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 10/28/20 - 6:15pm 10/31/20. 113 FILMS A-Z

Preparations To Be Together For PRESENTED BY: An Unknown Period Of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre)

Directed by Lili Horvát Hungary (2020) 95 min. SPONSORED BY: Márta, a 40-year-old neurosurgeon, falls in love. She leaves her shining American career behind and returns to Budapest to start a new life with the man. She waits for him in vain at the Liberty Bridge – he does not appear at the rendezvous. Márta starts to search for him desperately, but when she finally finds him, the love of her life claims that they have never met before.

Women+Film

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 114 FILMS A-Z

The Reason I Jump PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Alla Kovgan UK/Germany/France/USA (2019) 93 min.

Based on the best-selling book by Naoki Higashida, The Reason I Jump is an immersive cinematic exploration of neurodiversity through the experiences of nonspeaking autistic people from around the world. The film blends Higashida’s revelatory insights into autism, written when he was just 13, with intimate portraits of five remarkable young people. It opens a window for audiences into an intense and overwhelming, but often joyful, sensory universe.

Moments in the lives of each of the characters are linked by the journey of a young Japanese boy through an epic landscape; narrated passages from Naoki’s writing reflect on what his autism means to him and others, how his perception of the world differs, and why he acts in the way he does: the reason he jumps.

The film distils these elements into a sensually rich tapestry that leads us to Naoki’s core message: not being able to speak does not mean there is nothing to say.

Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 115 FILMS A-Z

EARLY TO RISE

SeriesFest Award Winner’s Showcase PRESENTED BY:

Racist Trees Documentary 12 min.

Racial tensions are reignited as a historically Black neighborhood in Palm Springs continues the decades-long fight for the removal of a wall of trees that many believe were originally planted as a totem of segregation.

Distemper Drama 18 min.

Set in 1918 - Distemper tells the true story of pathologist and LGBT icon Louise Pearce as she works to find a cure for African Trypanosomiasis as it infects millions across the Belgian Congo.

Early to Rise Comedy 23 min.

On the way to a distant planet, three less-than-qualified astronauts are awoken 118 years too early and trapped inside their hibernation pods. Alone in the endless void, they can’t kill themselves, they can’t kill each other, so they’ll just have to kill time.

...Synopsis continued on the following page...

Bonus Feature: This package has a Q&A along with each episodic. The links to each bonues feature will be listed on the film page.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 116 FILMS A-Z

SeriesFest Award Winner’s FREEZE Showcase cont.

Freeze Comedy 14 min.

When Joy’s fairytale romance abruptly ends on her 35th birthday, the TICK-TOCK of her biological clock becomes deafening. It coaxes her into romantic misadventures and provokes hallucinations. From dating services to fertility treatments, Freeze explores the conflicts between Joy and her own biology in an era of unparalleled female choice.

Shepherds SHEPHERDS Comedy 26 min.

Shepherds is a dramedy following Madison Shepherds, an ambitious researcher grappling with an identity crisis after losing her job. Her transition from legal opioid researcher to illegal psychedelic drug dealer is set against the backdrop of political conflict between big pharma, the psychedelic research community and her own family.

SeriesFest: Season 6 panels:

2020 Platform- Content and Politics CONTENT AND POLITICS PANEL 58 min.

Panelists: Alex Wallace (Head of Media & Content, Verizon Media), Peter Hamby (Host of Snapchat’s “Good Luck America”), Subrata De (EVP of Programming & Development, VICE), Subrata Hamedy, (National News Editor, CNN) Moderated by: Eric Kuhn (Senior Vice President of Social Media, CBS)

This milestone year in politics has been unexpectedly disrupted with COVID-19 outbreak. Politicians have begun the march on to our television screens, laptops, and mobile devices and despite Stay At Home Orders, Americans will be called to the voting polls. Join us for a special conversation around how political campaigns utilize digital content as a platform to spark change in government. AMPLIPHY PANEL

Ampliphy Inclusion through Independent Series 98 min.

Panelists: Dahéli Hall (Co-creator, Angry Black Women), HaJ (Co- creator, Angry Black Women), Patrick Wimp (Creator, Brothers From The Suburbs) Hosts: Chris Jenkins (EP, Mavericks), Michael Michele (EP & Director, Mavericks),

...Synopsis continued on the following page... 117 FILMS A-Z

SeriesFest: Season 6 panels cont.

At Seriesfest, we recognize that we need to play an even greater role in supporting and amplifying the voices of Black storytellers. We need a space to collectively learn and process the injustice that is evident in our society while exploring our common humanity. Join our panel of SeriesFest Alumni for an honest conversation about the state of the world and utilizing independent series to highlight racial, political, and gender equity issues facing America today. This will be a special conversation with cutting edge filmmakers who are all using episodic storytelling as their weapon of choice for invoking change.

SeriesFest Writers Room: Table Read of “Drop Shot Divas” 60 min.

SeriesFest proudly presents a table read of Drop Shot Divas, an episodic comedy reflective of the work produced by the Writers Room initiative from SeriesFest, Unreal Media and Dilettante Productions. Each Writers Room is a curated professional development opportunity composed of screenwriters and producers working over a 3-day period to flesh out a new episodic series. Join us for a sneak peek into Unreal Media’s upcoming comedy, Drop Shot Divas, that follows a team of overzealous women as they compete and socialize in a Denver-based tennis league with all the outrageous intensity and shameless behavior of pro-level players.

118 FILMS A-Z

Shiva Baby THIS FILM IS SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Emma Seligman USA (2020) 77 min.

A near college graduate, Danielle, gets paid by her sugar daddy and rushes to meet her neurotic parents at a family shiva. Upon arrival, she is accosted by various estranged relatives about her appearance CINEMAQ IS PRESENTED BY: and lack of post-grad plans, while her confident ex-girlfriend, Maya, is applauded by everyone for getting into law school. Danielle’s day takes an unexpected turn when her sugar daddy, Max, arrives at the shiva with his accomplished wife, Kim, and crying baby. As the day unfolds, Danielle struggles to keep up different versions of herself, fend off pressures from her family and confront her insecurities without completely losing it. CINEMAQ IS SPONSORED BY: CinemaQ, American Independent Showcase

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 119 FILMS A-Z

WHITE EYE

Shorts 1: Narrative SPONSORED BY:

99 min.

Lance (In A Neck Brace), USA, directed by Chloe Aktas: After a devastating break-up, Lance listens to instructional cassette tapes on how to heal his broken heart. Little Chief, USA, directed by Erica Tremblay: Against the landscape of a rural reservation in Oklahoma, the lives of a Native woman and nine- year-old boy intersect over the course of a school day. Exhausted and burned out, Sharon struggles to provide stability to her fifth grade students. Bear is having a particularly hard time, enduring challenges both at home and in the classroom. He is desperate to escape it all, and Sharon is left chasing a little boy who is running to nowhere. White Eye, USA, directed by Tomer Shushan: Omer, finds his stolen bicycle tied with a chain. Alone in the shady streets of Tel Aviv, he confronts an African refugee who claims it belongs to him now. When the police arrive, they discover that the refugee is illegal now. Omer’s attempt to retrieve the bicycle is now replaced by his will to remain human. Buck, USA, directed by Elegance Bratton and Jovan James: Caught in the throes of a depressive fugue, young Lynn resorts to debauchery to find joy—only to discover that happiness is a much more complicated proposition.

...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 120 FILMS A-Z

Shorts 1: Narrative cont. BLOCKS

Blocks, USA, directed by Bridget Moloney: When Ashleigh is so consumed by parenting she actually becomes ill, she has to use her sickness to set some boundaries. Exam, Iran, directed by Sonia K. Hadad: A teenage girl gets involved in the process of delivering a pack of cocaine to its client, and gets stuck in a weird cycle of occurrences. Pillars, USA, directed by Haley Elizabeth Anderson: One Sunday at church, twelve-year-old Amber experiences her first kiss, a moment of innocence that triggers a series of awakenings: sexual, emotional, and religious.

EXAM

PILLARS FREE Bonus Community Short The Adoration, directed by Sarah B. Jacobs , USA (2020) 12 min: The Adoration is a narrative short film about the political issue involving a current legal loophole allowing employers to pay people with Down syndrome less than minimum wage. Richard, a young man with Down syndrome, just landed a job he loves. But when his troubled brother finds out that Richard is getting paid far below minimum wage, the family is forced to navigate this complicated issue within their own lives.

SPONSORED BY:

121 FILMS A-Z

UNFORGIVEABLE

Shorts 2: Documentary SPONSORED BY:

96 min.

The Shawl, USA, directed by Sara Klener: After years of long distance, a pair of big and beautiful boyfriends celebrate their reunion at a Stevie Nicks concert, where they share a brush with magic. Do Not Split, USA, directed by Anders Hammer: The story of the 2019 Hong Kong protests, told through a series of demonstrations by local protestors that escalate into conflict when highly armed police appear on the scene. Betye Saar: Taking Care Of Business, USA, directed by Christine Turneri: Pushing boundaries for 70 years, this portrait of artist Betye Saar shows she isn’t done fighting inequality in her personal and powerful work. Inside her LA studio, Saar talks about collecting objects, African American history, art as a weapon, and making people think. Mizuko, USA/Japan, directed by Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo: In Japanese, there’s a special word for an unborn life. Mizuko, which means “water child,” is used to refer to both miscarried and aborted pregnancies. In addition to this word, there’s a Buddhist ritual for grief called mizuko kuyo that allows women to metaphorically return their water children to the sea. Told through the Japanese American filmmaker’s personal story of abortion in the US, Mizuko (Water Child) is a partially animated, intimate reckoning with the impact of this cultural context. ...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 122 FILMS A-Z

Shorts 2: Documentary cont. HALPATE

Halpate, USA, directed by Adam Piron and Adam Khalil: Considered a staple of Florida tourism, alligator wrestling has been performed by members of the Seminole Tribe for over a century. As the practice has changed over the years, Halpate profiles the hazards and history of the spectacle through the words of the tribe’s alligator wrestlers themselves and what it has meant to their people’s story. Unforgivable, El Salvador, directed by Marlén Viñayo: Geovanny is 25 years old and became a murderer when he was 12. He was a ruthless hitman for the 18th Street gang and nowadays he is serving his 35- year sentence in an isolation cell in El Salvador. In prison, he withdrew from the gang and joined an evangelical church that lavished God’s forgiveness on him. However, there is a sin that is not forgivable for either the gang or the church: Geovanny is gay. MIZUKO

123 FILMS A-Z

NO I DON’T WANT TO DANCE

Shorts 3: Animation SPONSORED BY:

85 min. SH_T Happens, Czech Republic/Slovakia/France, directed by Michaela Mihalyl and David Stumpf: An apartment building full of self centered inhabitants. Utterly exhausted caretaker and his sexually frustrated wife. Widowed deer drowning his sorrows in loads of alcohol… While trying to cope with their problems, they find themselves in a hard to solve triangle asking for absurd and irrational solutions. The consequences can easily become permanent, sometimes maybe too permanent. The film is a loose adaptation of a well-known biblical story while transforming it into an contemporary ironic narrative about how the world sometimes works. Hudson Geese, USA, directed by Bernardo Britto: A goose remembers his last migration. Un diable dans la poche, France, directed by Antoine Bonnet and Mathilde Loubes: A group of children witnesses a crime and is forced to remain silent. Auguste, the youngest, finds the burden too heavy and decides to reveal this secret. The Fabric Of You, UK, directed by Josephine Lohoar Self: Set in the Bronx, in the era of 1950s McCarthyism, everybody wants to look the same. Michael a gay, twenty-something-year old mouse, hides his true identity while he works as a tailor. When Isaac enters the shop one day he offers the escapism and love Michael craves. In Michael’s confined apartment, he becomes tormented by the memories of ...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 124 FILMS A-Z

Shorts 3: Animation cont. MY JUKE BOX

Isaac’s tragic death. Michael’s memories and flashbacks are triggered when he notices Isaac’s jacket draped on the back of a chair. Haunted by the solace Isaac once offered, he struggles to come to terms with his loss. No, I Don’t Wanna Dance, UK, directed by Andrea Vinciguerra: These are dark times. The growing amount of political, social and environmental issues fill the agendas of millions of concerned people around the world. You may think that in our modern and thorough times, every potential hazard has been identified. You would be wrong. There is a critical issue that, as yet, nobody has taken into consideration: how dangerous dance can be. We’re living in a world where dance is everywhere and, believe it or not, your kids will one WOOD CHILD AND THE HIDDEN day be asked to dance. You need to take control and avoid it. Blindly FOREST MOTHER following other people’s “movements” may lead to catastrophic consequences. This short film aims to raise awareness of how deadly dangerous dance can be. So hopefully, one day, when someone asks you, you will be able to reply: “No, I don’t want to dance!” My Juke-Box, France, directed by Grelier Florentine: Music I overheard, takes me back to my family history. My father is juke-box- mad. As a juke-box, he shines and always stays unchanging. Though, I will find his frailty when I try the juke-box he gave me, the Jupiter. The machine breaks down and naturally, I call him for his technical skills as a handyman to repair the machine. But this time, it is not so easy. As my juke-box, my father didn’t escape the test of time. His shop becomes an intimate place where we can get closer. Memories come back little by little. While he is struggling with the mechanism, THE GREAT MALAISE my father talks about his youth, his hippie’s past, his travels from London, to Istanbul or in Afghanistan. Fantasy and reality are blending, creating a colorful, crazy and funny story. I rediscover my childhood hero in a new light. And my own memories resurface. Wood Child And The Hidden Forest Mother, UK, directed by Stephen Irwin: Deep in the forest, a hunter encounters a strange creature he cannot kill. The Great Malaise, Canada, directed by Catherine Lepage: In the voiceover for this animated short, a young woman attempts to describe herself, casting her life in the ideal light that society expects. The film’s imagery, however, tells a different story, poignantly illustrating the intense anxiety that comes with the quest for perfection and the pursuit of happiness. A film that’s both funny and moving, and above all, profoundly human. TOOMAS BENEATH THE WALLEY OF THE WILD WOLVES Toomas Beneath The Valley Of The Wild Wolves, Estonia/Croatia/ France, directed by Chintis Lundgren: After losing a well paid engineering job, Toomas, a young hot wolf, gets cornered into working as a gigolo to support his family. He is keeping it as a secret from his pregnant wife Viivi. Viivi also has a secret: she is attending a female empowerment seminar involving male slaves. When Toomas gets a role in a sexploitation movie, it becomes harder to keep his new profession a secret.

125 FILMS A-Z

T

Shorts 4: Avant Garde SPONSORED BY:

89 min.

Song Of Clouds, Nepal, directed by Ankit Poudel: A haunting visual fever dream. Simultaneously, a meditation on the afterlife; the journey to the other-world and what gets left behind among the living; and the pain and yearning of return. This Is An Address, USA, directed by Sasha Wortzel: In this meditation on community, gentrification, and erasure, Stonewall veterans—including prominent trans activist Sylvia Rivera—and HIV- positive New Yorkers take up residency on the Hudson River piers as cranes raze vacant buildings for a new skyline. Wong Ping’s Fables 2, Hong Kong, directed by Wong Ping: Ping urinates twice before gently pressing your head down with his right foot, giving you a closer look at your own reflection in his urine. T, USA, directed by Keisha Rae Witherspoon: R.I.P. t-shirts are a common form of homage to dead homies and family members throughout black America. T explores this at a fictional ball in which community members model wildly imaginative designs in honor of the deceased, and examines the will to survive and find joy in psychically draining circumstances. Ultimately, though, T is a visual and sonic Afrofuturist spell of transcendence.

...Synopsis continues on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 126 FILMS A-Z

Shorts 4: Avant Garde cont. UTUQAQ

Utuqaq, USA, directed by Iva Radivojević: On its vast lunar landscape, the main protagonist of the Arctic is Ice. Four visitors arrive one spring to camp on the ice sheet. Aside from them, there is no other life on the horizon. The visitors are scientists who drill ice cores containing decades of climate history. Utuqaq is a planetary story of the Arctic. It speaks in place of Nature, capturing an otherworldly landscape and that which is being lost.

127 FILMS A-Z

Some Kind Of Heaven

Directed by Lance Oppenheim USA (2020) 81 min. Courtesy of Magnolia Some Kind of Heaven explores life inside the palm-tree-lined streets of The Villages, America’s largest retirement community in Florida. Referred to as the “Disneyland for Retirees,” this planned community is home to over 130,000 seniors. It offers residents a utopian version of the American yesteryear: wide, safe streets, perfectly manicured lawns, and countless activities all in service of enjoying their golden years.

While most residents have bought into its packaged positivity, we meet four residents living on the margins, striving to find happiness. Married couple Anne and Reggie wrestle with Reggie’s deteriorating grip on reality, Barbara, a widow, seeks second love, and Dennis, an 82-year-old bachelor living out of a van, looks for a way out of a peripatetic existence.

By turns biting, tender, and surreal, the film demonstrates that no matter our age, we are always becoming. With strikingly composed cinematography, Some Kind of Heaven challenges our stereotypes around aging, emboldening its characters to live as vibrantly as possible in the time they have left.

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only avilable from 6:15pm 11/5/20 - 6:15pm 11/8/20. 128 FILMS A-Z

Songs Of Repression (Undertrykkelsens sang)

Directed by Marianne Hougen-Moraga, Estephan Wagner Denmark (2020) 90 min.

At the foot of the Andes Mountains in Chile lies an idyllic German colony. However, the beauty of the place contains a grim past. In 1961, the German preacher Paul Schäfer and his congregation moved to Chile with the stated aim of helping the poor. They established Colonia Dignidad (Colony of Dignity), which transformed into a closed sect. This film explores how the remaining residents of the colony deal with 45 years of child abuse, collective beatings and slave-like living conditions. It also reveals how people in the colony assisted Pinochet’s dictatorship (1973 – 1990) in torturing and killing political prisoners and burying them in mass graves on their own 16,000 – hectare land.

In 2007, Schäfer was arrested and the colony opened up. During that process, the colony changed its name to Villa Baviera (Bavarian Village). Around 120 people still live there today. This film is about them – now. They work in agriculture and have turned the place into a tourist resort where you can relax, eat German cuisine and listen to yodeling. We meet those who completely deny the horrors and wish to only remember the bright moments, those who still today go through severe emotional struggles – and those caught in between.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 129 FILMS A-Z

Sow The Wind (Semina il vento) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Danilo Caputo Italy/France/Greece (2020) 91 min.

Nica, 21, drops out of her university course in agronomics and returns home to Apulia in Southern Italy after three years away. She finds her father deep in debt, a polluted, devastated region, and olive trees destroyed by a parasite. Everyone seems to have given up in the face of the vast ecological disaster, while her father is obsessed with uprooting the olive grove to make money from the land. Nica fights SPONSORED BY: with all her might to save the ancient trees. But the pollution has also contaminated people’s minds, and she will have to face unexpected obstacles...

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 130 FILMS A-Z

Spring Blossom (Seize printemps) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Suzanne Lindon France (2020) 73 min.

Suzanne is 16. She is bored with people of her age. Every day on her way to high school, she passes a theater. There, she meets an older man, and becomes obsessed with him. Despite their age difference, they find in each other an answer to their ennui and fall in love. But Suzanne is afraid she’s missing out on life – that life of a 16-year-old, which she had struggled so much to enjoy in the same way as her peers. SPONSORED BY: J’adore, Women+Film

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 10/28/20 - 6:15pm 10/30/20. 131 FILMS A-Z

Stardust PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Gabriel Range UK (2020) 109 min.

Meet David before Bowie. One of the greatest icons in music history. But who was the young man behind the many faces? In 1971, a 24-year-old David Bowie (Johnny Flynn) embarks on his first road trip to America with Mercury Records publicist Ron Oberman (Marc Maron), only to be met with a world not yet ready for him. Stardust offers a glimpse behind the curtain of the moments that inspired the creation of Bowie’s first and most memorable alter ego, Ziggy Stardust, capturing the turning point that cemented his career as one of the world’s greatest cultural icons.

Special Presentation, Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

Courtesy of IFC

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 132 FILMS A-Z

I’M HERE

Student Shorts: SPONSORED BY: Animation Competition

90 min.

To The Dusty Sea, France, directed by Héloïse Ferlay: Left alone in the deepest of the summer, Malo and Zoe are trying their best to catch their mother’s elusive eye… There Were Four Of Us, USA/China, directed by Cassie Shao: There Were Four of Us tells a dream journey that travels through a room where four characters are trapped, through moments in their lives and through the symbol of death that connected them together. It is an experimental film about non-linear dream experience that travels in and out of different spaces, time and realities. The ultimate question “who did it?”, and many other questions that may rise in the film, don’t have answers to it. But the film believes even insoluble questions are worthy of being mentioned, and especially with itself, it finds it is important to try to question in order to look for the answer. The Balloon Catcher, Japan, directed by Isaku Kaneko: An axe human was living in a city of balloon humans. But the axe human was watched by balloon police because his sharp blade frightens balloon humans. While the axe human tried to get along with them, a balloon human was killed on the gloomy subway platform. eadem cutis: the same skin, Germany, directed by Nina Hopf: “I just want to be seen as who I am!” – In this experimental documentary

...Synopsis continued on the following page...

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 133 FILMS A-Z

Student Shorts: Animation Competition cont. speaks John, the filmmaker’s twin brother, and shares his thoughts on identity, body and gender. He allows an intimate insight into his life – and an immediate closeness to his body. Cucaracha, Argentina, directed by Agustin Touriño: Gregorio is just another one more in the city. He lives alone in a small apartment without any sunlight. He works at a factory, comes home and has dinner in front of an impressive TV. One day, coming back from work, he discovers that a small cockroach steals food from the shelf. Instead of killing it, Gregorio has mercy for it and adopts it as a home companion. The cockroach grows under a strict discipline and Gregorio doesn’t feel alone anymore. Living together transforms it into Gregorio’s reflection. Unraveled, Spain, directed by Arden Colley, Asil Atay, Isabel Wiegand, Kellie Fay: A young woman relives a painful, pivotal moment that changes her relationship with her mother. Dogs, France, directed by Benjamin Berrebi, Jakub Bednarz, Diego Cristófano, Théo Lenoble, Mohammad Babakoohi, Karlo Pavicic- ravlic, Marthinus Van Rooyen: A young Polish partisan flees from the Warsaw Uprising. Whilst hiding in the yard of a countryside manor, he is chased up a tree by a large wolfhound. With his rifle out of reach, there seems to be no way to escape his predicament. Gravedad, Germany, directed by Matisse Gonzalez: Gravedad is a film about a tiny town where gravity changes constantly. Being pulled up and down by the light and the heavy days, Rosa has to find something to grab on to. She has to find balance. This short is a lonely meditation about dreams as the only way to escape sadness and depression. Six To Six, Israel, directed by Neta Cohen: Night after night, the long hours of sleeplessness trickle slowly, from twilight to dawn. The TV offers no real diversion, leaving the eyes free to roam around the familiar house surroundings. To the tired, itchy senses, incapable of telling truth from imagination, the well-known environment takes on an eerie, even sinister, character. Movement can be discerned, where usually there is none; things appear either slower or quicker then normal; sounds are variously dimmed or over-accentuated; time itself seems to advance in sudden jerks. Catgot, Hong Kong, directed by Ho Tsk Wing: Catgot highlights the beauty of the colors, composition and transformations of the objects in the scene. The water droplets undergo diverse transformations in the animation such as rotation and distortion. Adopting different colored hand-drawn brush stroke texture to draw the movements of water droplets in Photoshop so as to convey an abstract and colorful “fountain performance” to the audience. I’m Here, Poland, directed by Julia Orlik: An elderly man is looking after his paralyzed wife. Despite his old age and health problems he’s doing his best to relieve her suffering, which is getting worse day by day. His daughter helps him, trying to balance care with her work in the hospital and family life. Everyone has a different view on how to properly care for the sick, which often causes arguments.

134 FILMS A-Z

BITTU

Student Shorts: SPONSORED BY: Domestic Competition

86 min.

Tape, USA, directed by Jojo Erholtz: A 16 year-old hockey player tries to repair her relationship with her teammate while preparing for the team’s pre-qualifying match. Bittu, India/USA, directed by Karishma Dev Dube: Set in a forgotten Himalayan community, this film follows eight year-old Bittu. Unlike most girls in her village, Bittu is a streetwise charmer with a brilliantly foul tongue. Chand is Bittu’s best friend and young protégé; Polar opposites but always a team they play, steal, fight and hustle together - reciting dirty jokes for quick money in crowded bus stops. The natural performer Bittu excels at all things street level. But at school things are different. Chand outperforms Bittu in every way - a keen student in a pristine uniform, she is naturally everybody’s favorite at school. Meanwhile Bittu, resents the rote and attends school for her free lunch. On this day, events escalate quickly between the two friends, bringing them to an end they never imagined. Salvage, Brazil, directed by Daniel Drummond: When a junkyard worker finds a dead dog in her family’s property, a burning sense of obligation compels her to take action. Home, USA, directed by Adewale Olukayode: Femi is a Nigerian immigrant who works as a manager at a grocery store in Brooklyn,

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General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 135 FILMS A-Z

Student Shorts: UNDERCUT Domestic Competition cont.

New York. Over the course of a night, he is informed by a fellow manager that his older brother, Adeola, has stolen a large sum of cash during his shift as a cashier. In confronting Adeola for the missing cash, two brothers question their dissonant life values and realize how different they have transformed from one another in pursuing the American Dream. Undercut, USA, directed by Kelly Pike: A high school freshman must navigate her school’s hockey team practice in the wake of a sexual assault. Heading South, China/USA, directed by Yuan Yuan: Mongolian girl Chasuna travels from her home on grassland to visit her father who lives in the big city. However, during her father’s birthday party, she finds out he has remarried to a Chinese woman. Chasuna has to learn how to accept her as part of the family.

136 FILMS A-Z

DA YIE

Student Shorts: SPONSORED BY: International Competition

100 min.

Mizaru, India/USA, directed by Sudarshan Suresh: In the suburbs of Mumbai, a young couple seeks privacy in a very public place, when they’re paid a visit by the moral police. Rio, Russia, directed by Zhenia Kazankina: Paulina lives and works in a small hotel in the northern town near the border. She and her friend Nadia dream of a different, paradise and exotic world. Their dream is unattainable and completely unrelated to reality, so the girls come up with their toy-world, trying to imagine themselves inside it as “someone else.” The girls almost do not leave the empty hotel and live, performing their strange daily rituals in the hope that someday it will lead them to a miracle. Once a stranger arrives at the hotel. Torn between a man and a friend, Paulina is trying to understand who she really is and what she wants most in her life. Da Yie, Ghana/Belgium, directed by Anthony Nti: On a sunny day in Ghana, a foreigner approaches two children and takes them on an unexpected trip. The three of them get along so well that “Bogah”, the foreigner, starts to question his initial intentions… Soukoon, Lebanon, directed by Farah Shaer: Mariam’s marriage is in turmoil when she discovers she’s pregnant. Trapped in a prison of lies and societal pressure in present-day Beirut, Mariam yearns to break

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General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 137 FILMS A-Z

Student Shorts: SOUKOON International Competition cont. free. One day she revolts against the oppression and seeks ways to take back control of her own body and life. Viktor On the Moon, Denmark, directed by Christian Arhoff: Viktor Leth has never been on a date. When going on his first date ever, he accidentally sits down at the wrong table with the slightly older and married Rebekka. She is looking for an adventure away from her marriage and finds Viktor funny. This will be the start of a weird and wild night for the two of them, where Viktor learns more about life and love than most people do in one night. Perhaps because he’s Viktor Leth. VIKTOR ON THE MOON

138 FILMS A-Z

Survival Skills

Directed by Quinn Armstrong USA (2020) 88 min.

Survival Skills is a lost training video from the 1980s. In it, Jim, the perfect policeman, gets in over his head when he tries to resolve a domestic violence case outside the law.

Late Night Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 139 FILMS A-Z

There Is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad)

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof Iran/Germany/Czech Republic (2020) 150 min.

Every society that enforces the death penalty needs people to kill other people. Four men are put in front of an unthinkable but simple choice. Whatever they decide, it will directly or indirectly corrode themselves, their relationships, and their entire lives.

In four thematically connected episodes, Mohammad Rasoulof tells their stories, which inevitably are also the stories of the people who surround them.

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 140 FILMS A-Z

This Is Not A Burial, It’s A Resurrection

Directed by Lemohang Jeremiah Mosese Lesotho/South Africa/Italy (2019) 120 min.

Amongst the pythonic mountains of land-locked Lesotho, an 80 year old widow winds up her earthly affairs, makes arrangements for her burial and prepares to die. But when her village is threatened with forced resettlement due to the construction of a reservoir, she finds a new will to live and ignites a collective spirit of defiance within her community. In the final dramatic moments of her life, Mantoa’s legend is forged and made eternal.

Contemporary World Cinema

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 11/5/20 - 6:15pm 11/8/20. 141 FILMS A-Z

Thou Shalt Not Hate (Non odiare) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Mauro Mancini Italy (2020) 96 min.

In a city in the northeast, a Central European non-place, a combination of heterogeneous history, different ethnic groups, and with an old Jewish community lives Simone Segre (Alessandro Gassmann), an established surgeon of Jewish origin: he has a quiet life, he lives in an elegant apartment and he has no ties to the past. One day, Simone rescues a man who has been the victim of a hit- SPONSORED BY: and-run driver. But when he discovers a Nazi tattoo on his chest, he abandons him to his fate. However, Simone feels so guilty for the man’s death to the point of tracking down the neo-Nazi family: Marica, the eldest daughter (Sara Serraiocco); Marcello (Luka Zunic), the teenage son also infected by the seed of racial hatred; the “little” Paolo (Lorenzo Buonora). The night will come when Marica will knock on Simone’s door , forcing him to face the consequences of his actions.

Italian Showcase

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 142 FILMS A-Z

Three Summers (Três verões) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Sandra Kogut Brazil/France (2019) 94 min. Over a trio of summers, a caretaker for luxury condominiums (Regina Casé) relies on her resourcefulness and her eye for opportunity to take advantage of whatever comes her way, in Sandra Kogut’s (Campo Grande) humorous and inventive episodic feature. Showcasing the rare talents of Brazilian acting legend Regina Casé SPONSORED BY: — star of The Second Mother and TIFF ’00 selection Me You Them — the latest feature from director Sandra Kogut (Campo Grande, TIFF ’15) is a brilliant comedy about gross class disparity and the infinite resourcefulness of those who can never take anything for granted. Casé plays Madá, the fifty-something caretaker for a cluster of luxury beachside condos owned by a wealthy Rio de Janeiro family. Unfolding over the course of three consecutive summers — 2015 to 2017 — the film follows Madá as she invests in a roadside snack kiosk while tending to the every need of her condescending employers, becomes a bystander in a major money-laundering scandal, and eventually launches a whole new career. With every dizzying new turn of events, Madá manages to retain her high spirits, her sense of loyalty to those who deserve it — and her eagle eye for opportunity. ...Synopsis continued on the follwing page...

CineLatinx, Women+Film

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 143 FILMS A-Z

Three Summers cont.

Written by Kogut and Iana Cossoy Paro, Three Summers is a sort of modern picaresque, its tripartite structure allowing us to track its heroine’s roll-with-the-punches pluck while bearing witness to an epoch-defining scandal based on the real-life criminal investigation Operation Car Wash. Buoyed by masterful comic timing and striking an irresistible balance of naïveté and ceaseless cleverness, Madá is one of the charimatic Casé’s most endearing characters, a beacon of tenacious optimism and vivacity in a time when affluent malfeasance seems ubiquitous.

144 FILMS A-Z

‘Til Kingdom Come

Directed by Maya Zinshtein USA/Israel/Norway (2020) 76 min.

Emmy-winning Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein (Forever Pure) returns to the Festival with this riveting exposé that investigates the unlikely connection between Jews and evangelical Christians in the U.S. and Israel, and the startling hypocrisy at its core. From conversations with a devout pastor and his congregation in rural Kentucky to meetings with religious leaders in Washington D.C. and Israel, Zinshtein closely follows Chicago native Yael Eckstein, President and CEO of the influential advocacy group the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, in her fundraising and coalition- building efforts. What she uncovers is a shocking alliance rooted in apocalyptic prophecy and driven in unprecedented ways by Donald Trump’s White House.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 145 FILMS A-Z

The Trouble With Being Born

Directed by Sandra Wollner Austria/Germany (2020) 94 min.

Elli is an android and lives with a man she calls her father. Together they drift through the summer. During the day they swim in the pool and at night he takes her to bed. She shares his memories and anything else he programs her to recall. Memories that mean everything to him but nothing to her. Yet, one night she sets off into the woods following a fading echo. The story of a machine and the ghosts we all carry within us.

Contemporary World Cinema

Bonus Feature: This film has filmmaker Q&A included in the ticket purchase and will automatically play after the film.

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 146 FILMS A-Z

The Truth About La Dolce Vita PRESENTED BY: (La verità su la dolce vita)

Directed by Giuseppe Pedersoli Italy (2020) 83 min. Towards the end of 1958 Federico Fellini experienced complicated times in his profession. He had already won two Academy Awards for La Strada and Le Notti di Cabiria but no producer wanted to make his newest project: a story with the title La Dolce Vita. Only SPONSORED BY: one person, Giuseppe Amato, who had produced masterpieces such as Umberto D, Francesco Giullare di Dio, Don Camillo, understood the extraordinary feature of the subject. Amato seemed to be really the only one to understand that the script in his hands contained a masterpiece. Thanks to his 30-year experience, he also perceived that the operation would be very risky. No obstacle, however, prevented him from completing a project he believed in. The story of the making of the movie starts with a trip to San Giovanni Rotondo, where Amato, a very religious man, went to ask for a blessing by Father Pius in person, to start working on La Dolce Vita. Amato was right in all his intuitions: the story of the Italian film which has been the most popular ever abroad, a mythical and iconic movie. It was a very difficult making, the most expensive production up to that moment in Italy. Amato persuaded his historical partner,...

...Synopsis continued on the follwing page... Italian Showcase

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 11/4/20 - 6:15pm 11/7/20. 147 FILMS A-Z

The Truth About La Dolce Vita (La verità su la dolce vita) cont. tycoon Angelo Rizzoli, to co-finance the film, which costed twice as much as budgeted and agreed upon with the director. The filming was subject to quarrels, conflicts between Fellini and the production, interruptions, outbursts and threats. The movie caused the breaking-off of the twenty-year old partnership between Amato e Rizzoli. It won a Palm D’Or in Cannes, was a box-office hit, and one of the most controversial polemics ever reported by Italian and international newspapers. Eternal glory to the film. Sixty years after its production and on the one hundredth anniversary of Fellini’s birth, The Truth About La Dolce Vita narrates for the first time, thanks to original and unpublished documents, among them in particular the exchange of letters among Fellini, Giuseppe Amato and Angelo Rizzoli, the genesis and unrepeatable ups and downs of one of the most celebrated masterpieces in the history of cinema. All of this is told through a successful reconstruction of the scenes, sequences from the movie and testimonies from the protagonists of the event. It describes one of the most extraordinary cases where cinema has created a world which did not exist before thanks to an extraordinary film-maker. Above all, it talks about a true story of passion for cinema: the story of a producer of a movie, in love with a dream almost at the cost of his life. A film nobody wanted to believe in and which is today a symbol of our love for this art.

148 FILMS A-Z

Under The Open Sky PRESENTED BY: (Subarashiki sekai)

Directed by Miwa Nishikawa Japan (2020) 126 min.

Mikami, an ex-yakuza of middle age with most of his life in prison, gets released after serving 13 years of sentence for murder. Hoping to find his long lost mother, from whom he was separated as a child, he applies for a TV show and meets a young TV director Tsunoda. Meanwhile, he struggles to get a proper job and fit into society. His impulsive, adamant nature and ingrained beliefs cause friction in his relationship with Tsunoda and those who want to help him.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 149 FILMS A-Z

Undine

Directed by Christian Petzold Germany/France (2020) 90 min. Courtesy of IFC Undine works as a historian lecturing on Berlin’s urban development. But when the man she loves leaves her, the ancient myth catches up with her. Undine has to kill the man who betrays her and return to the water.

Contemporary World Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 150 FILMS A-Z

Vivos SPONSORED BY:

Directed by Ai Weiwei Germany (2020) 112 min.

Vivos is a documentary feature film by artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei, portraying the human impact of Mexico’s ongoing crisis of enforced disappearances.

On the night of September 26, 2014, a convoy of students from Ayotzinapa Rural Teachers’ College in drug cartel-afflicted Guerrero state, travelling in buses in the city of Iguala, were brutally attacked by police forces and other masked assailants. In the course of the night, six people were killed, dozens more were wounded, and 43 students were forcibly disappeared.

Featuring interviews with family members and surviving classmates, as well as human rights experts and international investigators involved with the case, Vivos depicts the emotional impasse the families experience. As they face the still unaccounted-for absence of their loved ones, their family lives irrevocably fractured, the pain of their loss is compounded by the investigating authorities’ repeated attempts to mislead and to obstruct the official investigation.

The latest of Ai Weiwei’s films highlighting issues of systemic ...Synopsis continued on the follonwing page....

CineLatinx

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 151 FILMS A-Z

Vivos cont. injustice, Vivos documents the aspirations, communal solidarity, and day-to-day lives of the grief-stricken but determined families, as they demand the authorities provide answers about the crimes committed that night and disclose the whereabouts of the missing students.

United behind the rallying cry, ‘Alive, they took them! Alive, we want them back!’, the families’ tragic but defiant struggle embodies the psychological and emotional toll of endemic violence on Mexican society, where disappearances have become a national crisis, with over 40,000 persons officially missing as of 2018. Wrestling with the gross abuses of institutional power that pervade Mexican society, with its staggering contrasts of power and poverty, and the crimes and impunities that permeate public life, the mass demonstrations led by the families of the missing 43 students blossom as a defiant assertion of life.

152 FILMS A-Z

Wet Season (Re dai yu) PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Anthony Chen Singapore/Taiwan (2019) 103 min.

It is monsoon season in Singapore and the city is pouring with rain.

Wet Season follows the plight of Ling, a Chinese language teacher, whose marriage and school life are fraying apart because she is unable to bear a child.But an unlikely friendship with a student helps her reaffirm her identity as a woman.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

Limited Screening: This film has a time restriction. It is only available from 6:15pm 10/23/20 - 6:15pm 10/25/20. 153 FILMS A-Z

Wildfire PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Cathy Brady UK/Ireland (2020) 85 min.

Born within a year of each other, Lauren (Nora-Jane Noone) and Kelly (Nika McGuigan) are ‘Irish twins’. You’d never see one without the other, but over the years the mystery of their mother’s death has tore them apart. Kelly, keen to escape their insular town, drifted away and disappeared a year ago. Lauren’s life has been on hold since reporting her sister missing. Kelly’s unexpected return, sees a surge of every raw emotion between the sisters. Lauren doesn’t know whether to kiss her or hit her. But as they begin to relive memories of their mother, the sister’s become inseparable. Their bond stronger than ever and Kelly’s desire for the truth is dangerously reignited. As Kelly digs deeper, not everyone is ready. In this border town secrets are meant to stay buried and Lauren has been keeping the biggest one of all. As the truth about their mother begins to surface, Kelly’s mood darkens. But Lauren is blinded, around Kelly she feels alive again, her marriage and job pale in comparison. The town is starting to notice, rumours about the girls strange behaviour spread like wildfire. Lauren must decide to confront their mother’s past with Kelly or risk losing her for good. Time is running out and no one can be trusted. The sisters must escape and face the truth or be consumed by the town and it’s lies. Sheila K. O’Brien Spotlight on UK/Ireland Cinema

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 154 FILMS A-Z

The Woman Who Ran PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Hong Sangsoo South Korea (2020) 77 min.

While her husband is on a business trip, Gamhee meets three of her friends. She visits the first two at their homes, and the third she encounters by chance at a theater. While they make friendly conversation, as always, several currents flow independently above and below the surface of the sea.

Colorado Dragon Film Festival

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 155 FILMS A-Z

Women In Blue PRESENTED BY:

Directed by Deirdre Fishel USA (2020) 82 min.

Filmed from 2017-2019, Women in Blue follows Minneapolis’ first female police chief Janeé Harteau, as she works to reform the Minneapolis Police Department by getting rid of bad cops, retraining the rest, diversifying the ranks and promoting women—who statistically use less force than their male counterparts—into every rank of leadership. The film focuses on four women in Harteau’s department, each trying to redefine what it means to protect and serve. After a high-profile, officer-involved shooting forces Chief Harteau to resign, the new, male chief selects only men as his top brass. SPONSORED BY:

Women in Blue offers an unprecedented view into the inner workings of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), chronicling a department—and a community—grappling with racism and a troubled history of police misconduct long before an MPD officer killed George Floyd in May of 2020. The film reveals the limitations of police reform through incremental change and asks questions that apply well beyond the city of Minneapolis. Could increased gender equity and more women —especially women of color—contribute to greater public safety?

Women+Film, Spotlight On Social Justice

General Screening: This film is available throughout the entire festival, has a 48-hour unlock window and a 48-hour watch window 156 You made it!

Click here to go back to the top Here is a full list of all films with Limited Screenings limited windows of availability.

Friday, Oct 23 Tuesday, Oct 27 City So Real Start: 12:15am The Best Years Start: 1:45pm Wet Season Start: 6:15pm End:5:45pm

Minari Start: 7:15pm Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available End: 9:15pm Lara End: 4:15pm

Shiva Baby End: 11:15pm Saturday, Oct 24 Shiva Baby Start: 12:15am Wednesday, Oct 28 Lara Start: 4:15pm Spring Blossom Start: 6:15pm

Gunda Start: 4:15pm On Fellini’s Footsteps Start: 6:15pm End: 8:15pm Patrick Start: 6:15pm Wet Season Available Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available City So Real End: 11:45pm The Comeback Trail End: 6:15pm

Sunday, Oct 25 Thursday, Oct 29 Once Upon a Time in Venezula Start: 12:15am Ordinary Justice Start: 6:15pm I Am Greta Start: 12:15am Fireball Start: 7:15pm End: 11:45pm End: 9 :15pm New Order Start: 4:15pm Spring Blossom Available End: 6:15pm Lara Available Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available

Shiva Baby Available On Fellini’s Footsteps Available

Wet Season End: 6:15pm Patrick Available

Monday, Oct 26 The Comeback Trail Start: 6:15pm

Shiva Baby Available

Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available

158 Friday, Oct 30 Wednesday, Nov 4 The Best Year’s Start: 6:15pm The Truth About La Doce Vita Start: 6:15pm End: 9:15

The Killing Of Two Lovers Start: 6:15pm End: 10:15pm Thursday, Nov 5 Ordinary Justice Available Breaking Bread Start: 6:15pm

Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available Some Kind of Heaven Start: 6:15pm

Patrick Available Lynn + Lucy Start: 6:15pm

Spring Blossom End: 6:15pm New Order Start: 6:15pm End: 10:15pm On Fellini’s Footsteps End: 6:15pm The Truth About La Doce Vita Available

Saturday, Oct 31 Becky Start: 7:15pm Friday, Nov 6 End: 11:45pm This Is Not A Burial, It’s A... Start: 6:15pm

The Killing Of Two Lovers Start: 6:15pm Night of the Kings Start: 6:15pm End: 10:15pm End: 10:15pm Breaking Bread Available Once Upon a Time in Venezula Available Some Kind of Heaven Available Ordinary Justice End: 6:15pm Lynn + Lucy Available

Patrick End: 6:15pm The Truth About La Doce Vita Available

Sunday, Nov 1 Saturday, Nov 7 The Best Year’s Start: 6:15pm MLK/FBI Start: 12:15am End: 9:15pm End: 11:45pm

Gunda Start: 4:15pm This Is Not A Burial, It’s A... Available End: 8:15pm Some Kind of Heaven Available Once Upon a Time in Venezula End: 11:45pm Lynn + Lucy Available

Breaking Bread End: 6:15pm Monday, Nov 2 The Truth About La Doce Vita End: 6:15pm Night of the Kings Start: 6:15pm End: 10:15pm Sunday, Nov 8 This Is Not A Burial, It’s A... End: 6:15pm

Some Kind of Heaven End: 6:15pm

Lynn + Lucy End: 6:15pm

159 Enjoy show!

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