The documentary GLENDORA premieres at Dances With Films NY 2026, offering a powerful, community-made portrait of a Mississippi Delta town. Photo: EG PR, used with permission.
Dances With Films (DWF): NY 2026
World Premiere of GLENDORA
Dances With Films (DWF)is an annual independent film festival based in Los Angeles and New York. Founded by Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent, the festival is dedicated to showcasing true independent cinema, requiring that all films in competition have no known directors, writers, or producers attached. (Dances With Films, 2025)
DWF programs feature-length films, shorts, documentaries, and animations that highlight bold, original voices.
The 2026 New York edition of Dances With Films will take place January 15–18 at Regal Union Square in Manhattan. The feature documentary GLENDORA will have its world premiere at the festival. (EG PR, 2025)
GLENDORA
Feature Documentary | World Premiere Runtime: 74 minutes
A film by: Isabelle Armand & Glendora Collaborative
Official DWF: NY 2026 Screening
Friday, January 16 at 4:45 p.m. Location: Regal Union Square 850 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
About the Film
In the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the village of Glendora may seem quiet and remote. Beneath its stillness, however, lies a vibrant, tightly knit African-American community whose strength, resilience, and creativity thrive despite chronic scarcity.
GLENDORA is the result of five years of close collaboration between filmmaker and townspeople, offering an intimate portrait of life where economic fragility meets profound cultural wealth. Told through the voices of multiple generations, the film weaves personal testimonies with daily rituals, birthdays, graduations, weddings, and funerals, capturing the rhythm of a town that continually rises above its circumstances.
As the Mississippi landscape shifts, so do the stories, revealing both the universality of human experience and the distinct textures of rural Southern life. More than a portrait of place, GLENDORA reflects a larger American history shaped by racial injustice, economic neglect, and structural inequality, while underscoring the community’s determination to remain connected and shape its future.
Made with and by the people who live there, GLENDORA amplifies voices too often unheard, offering a powerful story of culture, resilience, creativity, and collective memory from a town long overlooked, but not easily forgotten.
About the Filmmaker
Isabelle Armand
(Filmmaker, Cinematographer, Writer)
Isabelle Armand is a New York–based documentary photographer and filmmaker whose work interweaves photography, film, and oral testimony to explore the complex layers of people whose histories, lives, and potential have long been undervalued.
Her acclaimed book Levon and Kennedy: Mississippi Innocence Project (powerHouse Books, 2018), which documents the wrongful convictions of two men, has received wide recognition. Her work is held in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Akron Art Museum, and Portland Museum of Art, and has been featured in The New York Times, Art in America, The Economist, The Daily Beast, and more.
GLENDORA is her first feature documentary. She is currently editing a photo book of the same title.
USA | Feature Documentary | 74 Minutes | Not Rated | 2025
Suspicious Minds: A New Docuseries on AI and Delusion
Premieres October 17, 2025 Platforms: YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and more
About the Series
Suspicious Minds is a weekly video documentary series and podcast exploring the disturbing rise of artificial intelligence as a trigger for delusional thinking. (Emma Griffiths PR, 2025)
Series One will feature 8 weekly episodes across video and podcast platforms.
Through powerful firsthand accounts and in-depth interviews with leading experts in psychiatry, neuroscience, and AI ethics, the series unpacks a growing psychological phenomenon: individuals developing complex, often life-altering delusions rooted in AI technologies.
From chatbots to surveillance fears, Suspicious Minds examines how emerging technologies reshape paranoia—and how these modern delusions echo, amplify, and challenge our historical understanding of the human mind.
Creative Team
Directed & Created by: Sean King O’Grady
Executive Producers: Mandy Teefey, Selena Gomez, Jonathon Glucksman, Molly Borman, Jesse Ford, David Tuohy, Sean King O’Grady
Featured Voices
Dr. Joel Gold – Writer & Psychiatrist
Ian Gold, PhD – Writer & Philosopher
Sean King O’Grady – Filmmaker
Etienne Brisson – Activist
Ryan Turman & Lacey Turman – ChatGPT Delusion Experiencers
Allan Brooks – ChatGPT Delusion Experiencer
Nick Haber – AI Researcher & Stanford Professor
Nate Sharadin – AI Ethicist
Dr. Amy Levy – Co-Chair, American Psychoanalytic Association’s Council on AI
A Deeper Look
The series is led by psychiatrist Dr. Joel Gold and philosopher Ian Gold, PhD, who first described the Truman Show Delusion—a belief that one’s life is secretly a reality TV show, inspired by the Jim Carrey film The Truman Show. Their book, Suspicious Minds: How Culture Shapes Madness, provides the foundation for the series.
With empathy, curiosity, and respect, Suspicious Minds tells real patients’ riveting stories, plunging viewers deep into surreal mental states while following journeys toward treatment and recovery. Alongside, interviews with top psychologists, neuroscientists, ethicists, AI researchers, and cultural critics explore how culture and technology intersect to shape the human mind.
The line between mental wellness and illness is fragile. This series raises urgent questions:
How do AI and digital technologies act as new psychological triggers?
What does this mean for treatment and prevention?
How can we create awareness and destigmatize these modern delusions?
About the Director: Sean King O’Grady
Sean King O’Grady is an award-winning filmmaker whose work spans narrative features, documentaries, and branded content. His films have screened at Sundance, Tribeca, Telluride, Berlin, Venice, TIFF, SXSW, Sitges, and Fantastic Fest, among others.
His recent projects include:
THE MILL (Hulu Originals, 2023) – Sci-fi thriller starring Lil’ Rel Howery, premiered at #1 on Hulu
WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING (IFC Midnight) – Theatrical debut, now streaming on Hulu
Documentaries: REVOLUTION: GMC HUMMER EV (History/Hulu) and OUR AMERICAN FAMILY (AMC+), co-directed with Hallee Adelman
📅 Premieres October 17, 2025 🎥 Weekly episodes on YouTube + podcast platforms (Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Substack, and more).
Arcades & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day is the follow up film to the iconic indie The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
🎮🎶Arcade & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day — Release News, Review & Director’s Insight
The highly anticipated follow-up to The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is finally here. Arcade & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day will be available globally on TVOD and digital platforms beginning June 9, 2025. (Cinematic Red PR, 2025)
🎬 About the Film
Directed by Ed Cunningham (Undefeated, The King of Kong), this musical documentary is his feature film directorial debut. Arcade & Love Songs revisits beloved characters from The King of Kong, reconnecting with the real-life gamers who captivated audiences since their Slamdance debut.
The film follows 74-year-old Walter Day, the father of esports and iconic star of The King of Kong, as he navigates a lawsuit that threatens his legacy. At the same time, he embarks on a deeply personal journey: finally recording and performing the rock-opera love songs he’s carried in his heart since a devastating 1980s heartbreak—right at the height of the arcade boom.
The film premiered in U.S. theaters earlier this year through Monkey Wrench Films, capturing the same nostalgic magic that made The King of Kong one of Slamdance’s most celebrated documentaries.
Run time: 1 hr. 31 mins.
🎥 Credits
Director: Ed Cunningham
Producers: Jonathan Perkins, Seth Gordon (Baywatch, The King of Kong), Mike J. Nichols (Zappa)
Writers: Ed Cunningham, Mike J. Nichols, Paul Leach (The Woodsman)
Executive Producers: Ed Cunningham, Byron Ashley, Scott Jackson, Harrison Kordestani Kerry, Cathy Loveland, Paul Campoamor
Editor: Mike J. Nichols
👨🎤 Director’s Statement
The King of Kong premiered at Slamdance 2007 to a packed house of just the right type of audience. As the filmmakers, we could not have selected a better group of people to be the first to see something we had lived with for three years. The gamers, tech-types and doc lovers were all into it from frame one….The whispers, laughs and touching moments were all hitting…We knew the film could be seen as mocking people we had grown to love, doubt and admire and had worked tirelessly to present them truthfully and empathetically. And this audience got it. From that night forward, the original documentary has changed many people’s lives – for better and worse – so when Billy Mitchell called to tell me Walter Day was being sued based on things that happened in our movie, I began helping make sure he was properly defended…I felt a responsibility to document the conclusion to Walter’s journey and it was also a great opportunity because I love his music and want to help get out in the world.
– Ed Cunningham
⭐ Movie Review: Arcade & Love Songs: The Ballad of Walter Day
Arcade & Love Songs is a tender, quirky, and unexpectedly profound documentary that shines a spotlight on a cultural pioneer. Walter Day, once the steady-handed referee of The King of Kong, becomes the heart and soul of this new film—revealing the music, memories, and emotions that shaped his life.
Ed Cunningham blends archival footage, heartfelt interviews, and theatrical musical sequences to create a vibrant portrait of resilience. Walter’s songs—strange, sincere, and oddly beautiful—are as much about heartbreak as they are about healing. Especially moving are the testimonials from younger gamers, who speak to how Day and the esports community shaped their sense of belonging.
This is more than a film about retro games—it’s about chasing your passions, no matter your age. Arcade & Love Songs is a love letter to the 8-bit generation, to late-blooming artists, and to anyone still holding onto the dream of finishing their song.
📅 Watch It
🗓 Release Date: June 9, 2025 🎟 Pre-order Now:Apple TV & Vimeo-on-Demand 📺 Available On: Apple, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Fandango, Vimeo-on-Demand
Let your heart hit “Start.” Walter Day’s ballad is one worth listening to.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
*The author was contacted for a review of this film and received a screening link. The views and opinions expressed here belong solely to her.
Etch Pictures announces Philip Gelatt’s First Word on Horror. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
New York – ETCH has announced the upcoming release of their documentary series First Word on Horror, which will be available exclusively via Substack on February 7, 2025. This will be the first project from the independent animation and production company run by the award-winning trio of Philip Gelatt, Will Battersby, and Morgan Galen King. (EG PR, 2025)
First Word on Horror is a fifteen-part documentary series that profiles five of the finest horror writers working today.
Across multiple episodes, each author discusses their life, their inspirations, their philosophies, and their writing techniques while reading one of their short stories. As fact and fiction blend, secrets are revealed and the delicate alchemy that turns human experience into creative expression begins to emerge.
The series is a love letter to writers of all ilk, to the primacy of the human experience, and to the simple act of reading a damned good story.
The authors profiled are New York Times bestsellers, multi-award winners, and cult favorites. In this first season, they are Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay, Elizabeth Hand, Laird Barron, and Mariana Enriquez.
Through the authors’ lives the series takes viewers from a harrowing Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska to the lurking terror of growing up under the Argentinian dictatorship; from the unbridled energy of the early DC punk scene to an ill-fated hunting expedition on the Blackfeet reservation in Montana.
First Word on Horror is directed by Emmy and WGA winning writer and filmmaker Philip Gelatt, whose credits include: The Spine Of Night, Europa Report, They Remain, The Bleeding House, and Love Death + Robots. The project is produced by Will Battersby (The Spine Of Night, They Remain, Trumbo) and other key crew include Director of Photography Sean Kirby, Composer Peter Scartabello, Editor April Merl, and Sound Designer Ben Cheah.
ETCH Director Philip Gelatt commented on the upcoming series: “Before I loved film or video games or comics, I loved books and writers. In particular, Horror writers were seminal to how I viewed the world. I was raised on King and Rice, on Barker and Lovecraft. As with so many other people, their work made me.
First Word on Horror is about getting lost in writing and we wanted to bring it directly to fans via Substack. Substack is such an exciting driver of culture and commentary. We want this series to live in and be a part of that conversation.
The series is purposefully human-forward, designed to remind us of the humanity at the core of creativity. Especially now, in the current moment of technological advancement and uncertainty, with the future so unknown, it’s important to remember that it’s human beings who give us our dreams and our nightmares; that it’s as human to hope as it is to fear; and that it’s human to want to find someone there in the dark with you.”
Etch is an independent animation and production company run by the award-winning trio of Philip Gelatt, Will Battersby, and Morgan Galen King. Specializing in the provocative, intelligent and innovative, as well as fantastical and horrific, Etch seeks to put the dark magic back into moving images.
Etch has expertise in animation, documentary and feature production and a core philosophy of maintaining ownership and creative control through novel approaches to production and distribution.
Courtesy photos, used with permission.
Stephen Graham JonesPaul TremblayElizabeth HandLaird BarronMariana Enriquez
The global release of Z-Machine’s independent 3-part docuseries ‘Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison’ is set for January 13, 2025. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Jim Morrison, the enigmatic lead singer and lyricist of The Doors, remains one of rock music’s most iconic figures. Born in 1943, Morrison’s blend of poetic, often mystical lyrics and raw, charismatic stage presence helped define the counterculture of the 1960s. His exploration of existential themes, love, and rebellion resonated with a generation grappling with societal upheaval. Though his life was tragically short—he died in 1971 at just 27—his influence endures through songs like “Light My Fire” and “Riders on the Storm.” Morrison’s legacy as a rock legend and cultural symbol continues to captivate new generations of listeners.
(LOS ANGELES, CA) Z-Machine has announced release details for its independent 3-part docuseries, Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison. The first of its kind “documystery” series clocks in at a total of 3.5-hours and will make its global TVOD/Digital release on January 13, 2025, following Morrison’s 81st birthday, available on all the major platforms of Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, and YouTube TV, with more to follow. (Cinematic Red PR, 2024)
A dozen years in the making, Before the End’s cryptic tagline encapsulates its investigative approach: “One Man. Countless Myths. And in between lies the truth.” Z-Machine founder, Jeff Finn, drew from 38 years of personal research into the gray areas of Jim Morrison’s humanity to distinguish between persona and person. Finn’s extraordinary detail work breaks the decades long closed seal on the traumatic formative years that forged a brief hellacious life, through Morrison’s controversial career as lead singer of legendary 1960s rock band, The Doors, to his reported 1971 death by “heart failure” in Paris at age 27. Morrison’s ostensible demise, technically an unsolved cold case, formed its own rabbit hole of reasonable doubt, which inspired Finn to consult with private investigators and forensic analysts.
Before the End transcends “rock doc” in the same sense that Jim Morrison was more than a rock star. A 1965 graduate of UCLA’s film school, he achieved much beyond music during his abbreviated time in the spotlight, including self-publication of three books of poetry, producing, directing, and acting in an experimental film, and enduring a railroaded obscenity trial in defense of artistic freedom of expression. Morrison’s legacy has since been muddled by a half-century of PR spin, character assassination, urban legend, and crass commercialism, all of which have defanged his once-fierce anti-authoritarian stance.
Jim Morrison was many things: cult figure, teen idol, goth/punk forebear, and political fugitive. Living the role of haunted visionary, he said, “When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.” Given the US’s current zeitgeist of threatened dictatorship and crumbling democracy, Finn believes the timeless message of the young poet who infamously killed his navy admiral father in song is even more vital in toxic-masculine 2024 than in free-love 1967, and he hopes Gen Z will unlock an empathic connection to the complex Morrison, like it has with the Menendez Brothers. “There’s the ‘truth,’” Finn says, “and there’s the real truth. Before the End is for Morrison fans, like me, who are tired of the ‘official’ story.’” He quotes a meme aimed at self-appointed experts and closed-minded gaslighters: “Conspiracy Theorist: Nothing more than a derogatory title used to dismiss a Critical Thinker.”
Featuring unprecedented content, from shocking corroboration about Morrison’s early life, to harrowing revelations about his stardom, and fresh evidence that contradicts his professed death, Before the End: Searching for Jim Morrison is proudly unauthorized because it “seeks the unvarnished truth.” The documystery reverse-engineers long-controlled narratives while it explores the notion of Morrison the nonconformist as neurodivergent, and deconstructs – through on-camera interviews with family, friends, lovers, classmates, and associates – key distinctions between Jim Morrison, “rock god,” and James Douglas Morrison, introverted outsider.
Among those interviewed and/or featured are Morrison’s cousins, Ellen Edwards and David Backer, lovers, Anne Moore, Gayle Enochs, Judy Huddleston, and Suzanne Roady-Ross, friends, Mirandi Babitz and Salli Stevenson, Elektra Records founder, Jac Holzman, The Doors booking agent, Todd Schiffman, The Doors roadie, Gareth Blyth, screenwriter, Randall Jahnson, rock critics, Ellen Sander and Richard Meltzer, UCLA classmates, Philip Oleno and Richard Blackburn, UCLA roommate, Ron Cohen, UCLA professor, Dick Adams, Florida State University roommates, Bryan Gates and John McQueen, FSU professor, Ralph Turner, Alameda High School swim coach, Ash Jones, childhood friend, Jeff Morehouse, Paris-era acquaintances, Philippe Dalecky and Gilles Yepremian, and exclusives via Jim’s brother, Andy Morrison, Robyn Wurtele, Morrison’s enigmatic Paris-era assistant, and “Mr. X,” a mind-blowing anonymous source.
Z-Machine is a truly independent production company helmed by writer and filmmaker, Jeff Finn, whose tie-in book, “127 Fascination: Jim Morrison Decoded,” is forthcoming.
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From Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story, Corky Lee on 42nd St. Photo: Jennifer Takaki, used with permission.
Documentaries are windows into real-life narratives, offering insights into diverse subjects. They captivate audiences by illuminating untold stories, exploring historical events, or shedding light on societal issues. They not only provoke thought, challenge perspectives, and foster empathy, they also serve as educational tools, imparting knowledge on topics ranging from science and history to culture and politics. Documentaries play an important role in shaping public discourse and fostering understanding of the world around us. One example is Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story.
All Is Well Pictures, in association with Ford Foundation and Scandobean productions, presents Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story. It will be released theatrically in New York (DCTV’s Firehouse Cinema) on April 19 and in Los Angeles (Laemmle Glendale) on April 26 with a regional expansion to follow. (EG-PR, 2024)
Official Selection: DOC NYC, CAAMFest, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF), Asian American International Film Festival (AAIFF), and many more.
Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story – For 50 years, Chinese American photographer Corky Lee documented the celebrations, struggles, and daily lives of Asian American Pacific Islanders with epic focus. Determined to push mainstream media to include AAPI culture in the visual record of American history, Lee produced an astonishing archive of nearly a million compelling photographs. His work takes on new urgency with the alarming rise in anti-Asian attacks during the Covid pandemic. Jennifer Takaki’s intimate portrait reveals the triumphs and tragedies of the man behind the lens.
Running Time: 87 minutes Language: English Not Rated Documentary Feature (USA)
Corky Lee was born in 1947 in New York to Chinese immigrants who owned a laundry in Queens. He majored in history at Queens College and became a community organizer in Manhattan’s Chinatown in the 1970s. Over the next five decades he photographed countless protests and cultural events in the Asian American Pacific Islander community. Lee’s photographs documented the birth and growth of the Asian American movement for social justice and he became known as “The Undisputed, Unofficial, Asian American Photographer Laureate.” When he died in 2021 at the age of 73 due to Covid, the press mourned his death worldwide.
Filmmaker Jennifer Takaki is a fourth generation Japanese American from Colorado. She began her career in journalism at a Denver TV station and later moved to Hong Kong to work with Encore International. In Hong Kong, she produced English-based news programming broadcast in China, India, and the Middle East via Rupert Murdoch’s STAR-TV. In New York, she produced and directed “Photographic Justice: The Corky Lee Story” which premiered at DOC NYC and was supported by the Ford Foundation and The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). She was awarded the prestigious Better Angels Lavine Fellowship in 2023.
The new documentary Beyond the Grave is available on digital platforms. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
Beyond the Grave, filmmaker Serena DC’s insightful documentary on what happens after we die, has been acquired by Uncork’d Entertainment for a digital release. It is available to rent or purchase on Google Play, Vudu, Amazon, and iTunes. (October Coast, 2023)
Death is the only certainty we have in life, and yet we know so little about it. Beyond the Grave explores the different aspects of the afterlife including near death experiences, channeling the dead, and the attempt to extend one’s lifespan thru cryonics.
After living through a global pandemic, death has been placed at the forefront of our lives. However, what actually happens to us when we die is still shrouded in mystery. There are some cultures who believe that death is truly the end; however there is a growing community of people around the world who claim to have had near death experiences. These people, in the 10s of millions, believe that they have travelled beyond the grave and have proof of the afterlife. The also believe that our consciousness lives on after our bodies die. If this is true, then can the terminally ill freeze their bodies at the time of death, to be brought back to life and healed in the future? There are others who possess a 6th sense and claim to have conversations with the dead or have experienced paranormal phenomena involving visitations by ghosts. Does this mean that humans can communicate with the spirits of people who have died and if so, can these spirits come back to haunt us?
Serena DC meets with the world’s leading scientists, doctors, experts, mediums and paranormal investigators to discover if there really is life Beyond The Grave.
“Appealing to both a true crime and conspiracy theory audience, as well as those genuinely interested in what happens after we depart, is one immersive, captivating documentary,” said Keith Leopard, President of Uncork’d Entertainment. “Fans of Gates of Heaven and Afterlife will find this beautiful new companion piece on digital in September.”
Serena DC is the internationally recognized TV Star, Screenwriter, and Executive Producer who created the feature film “Contact – The CE-5 Experience” starring Dr. Steven Greer, the Emmy nominated documentary “My Transparent Life” and Emmy nominated series “Hollywood Disclosure” which has just finished airing on Hulu across the USA as well as the reality series “Dream Life,” which is currently airing on worldwide on Pluto TV.
The sci-fi documentary Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record will premiere this July 4. Courtesy photo, used with permission.
In the late 70s, the US government sent a message to our distant neighbors. Twenty years later, the response we received sparked the biggest UFO sighting in history. Now, the Pentagon confirms Alien mothership could be sending probes to Earth. Could this be the same mother ship that showed up during an event that was nine times stronger than the Carrington event? The answer to that question could be hidden deep in Arizona’s High Desert. Clive Christopher’s third film in the ALIENS UNCOVERED series, Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record is a compelling watch, and it is coming to digital July 4 from Breaking Glass Pictures. (October Coast, 2023)
“I am thrilled to bring ‘Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record’ to audiences worldwide. This thought-provoking and captivating film takes viewers on a journey into the mysteries of the universe, exploring the possibilities of extraterrestrial life and our profound connection to the cosmos. With its intriguing storyline and compelling revelations, the film challenges us to question our place in the universe and sparks a sense of wonder and curiosity. We are proud to be a part of this project that pushes the boundaries of exploration and discovery. Get ready to embark on an extraordinary adventure as ‘Aliens Uncovered: The Golden Record’ unveils secrets that will leave audiences awe-inspired and craving further exploration.” – CEO Rich Wolff of Breaking Glass Pictures.
This year’s Slamdance Film Festival will take place from January 20 through January 26, 2023. Photo: Google
The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. It was founded in 1995 by Dan Mirvish, Jon Fitzgerald, Shane Kuhn, and Peter Baxter, along with Paul Rachman after they were unable to submit films to the Sundance Film Festival. The annual week-long festival will take place in Park City, Utah from January 20 through January 26 and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which also hosts a screenplay competition, workshops, screenings throughout the year and events with an emphasis on independent films with budgets under $1million. (Wikipedia, Slamdance Film Festival, 2023)
The distinctly different and impactful films making their world premieres this January in Park City, UT offer an insider’s humanistic view into the lives around us. Where a news headline could merely skim the surface, these films engage, inspire, prompt conversations, and offer hope and empathy. Each of these four films has a running time of under 90 minutes.
“Silent Love” Slamdance Competition Documentary Film “Silent Love” is an incredibly intimate observational documentary that subtly and tenderly portrays the lives of two women raising a pubescent teenager in the conservative setting of a small Polish village.
Each of the characters is completely different, both visually and in terms of character. Each faces different problems. Each has different obstacles to overcome. Together they form a new family, but most of all, it is a universal story about the hardships of raising a teenager in the face of a parent’s death and about taking on new roles.
After their mother’s death, 35-year-old Aga has to take care of her teenage brother, Milosz. There is one thing she is not telling him about: her ongoing relationship with Maja. An unconventional family is being born in a small, conservative Polish village.
Filmmaking Team: Director, Writer and Cinematographer Marek Kozakiewicz, Editors Anna Garncarczyk, Monument and Agata Cierniak, Music by Bartosz Bludau, Producer Agnieszka Skalska, and Agnieszka Dziedzic, Co-produced by Alex Tondowski, and Ira Tondowski. Running Time: 72 Minutes
Slamdance Screening Times: Location: Slamdance Film Festival Headquarters Treasure Mountain Inn 255 Main St. Park City, UT Premiere: Saturday, January 21 at 3p.m. Second Screening: Wednesday, January 25 at 11:15a.m.
“Starring Jerry As Hinself” Slamdance Competition Documentary Feature Film “Starring Jerry As Hinself” is a docu-fiction hybrid that blurs the lines of reality while staying true to the subject and his story. It employs a variety of creative filmmaking techniques to capture the world from Jerry’s perspective. The film is a genre bending meta experience, with our subject Jerry starring in his own recreation of his unique journey. The filmmakers wanted to create something unique that stood out from the traditional documentary, while also reflecting Jerry’s state of mind, so they nested a film within a film.
A family documents how their immigrant father Jerry, a recently divorced and retired Florida man, was recruited by the Chinese police to be an undercover agent, only to discover a darker truth.
Filmmaking Team: Director and Editor Lawrence Chen, Co-Writers Jerry C. Hsu (the star of the film) and Lawrence Chen, producers: Jonathan Hsu, and Lawrence Chen, composer Eric Hölljes with Cinematography by Tinx Chen, and Lawrence Chen. Running Time: 75 Minutes
“Starring Jerry As Hinself” Slamdance Screening Times: Location: Slamdance Film Festival Headquarters Treasure Mountain Inn 255 Main St. Park City, UT Premiere: Saturday, January 21 at 7:30p.m. Second Screening: Monday, January 23 at 2:45p.m.
“The Underbug” Slamdance Breakout Selection Feature Film While the nations came to a standstill owing to the pandemic, another more familiar kind of virus – that of communal violence raged more aggressively than earlier. India witnessed a uniquely cross-sectional humanitarian crisis: the burgeoning of xenophobia fueled by Covid, commingled with the toxic wave of sectarian violence. What India experienced, as did the rest of the world – we live immersed as a world in the great fracture of our times. “The Underbug” is a psychological horror that explores the psyche of people who live on the fringe of society. These are subaltern populations, easily weaponized for the narrow benefit of the political system. Thus began the story of two such men, in a deserted house, playing out what hopefully feels like the abstract psychopathology of our troubled times. The filmmakers hope that ‘The Underbug’ sparks conversation, offering an insight on hate politics and contributes in some small way towards empathy, courage and love.
As India is ravaged by sectarian violence on the eve of its Independence Day, two rioters take refuge in an abandoned house. An eerie presence in the house, however, haunts the men to the edge of sanity.
Filmmaking Team and Stars: Starring Ali Fazal and Hussain Dalal, Directed by Shujaat Saudagar, Written by Shujaat Saudagar, Abbas Dalal, and Hussain Dalal, Produced by Vikesh Bhutani, Shujaat Saudagar, and Aman Mann, Executive Producers Shaunak Sen, Richa Chadha, Ali Faz al, Hussain Dalal and Abbas Dalal. Running Time: 68 Minutes *In Hindi with subtitles*
Slamdance Screening Times: Location: Slamdance Film Festival Headquarters Treasure Mountain Inn 255 Main St. Park City, UT Premiere: Saturday, January 21 at 10p.m.
“With Peter Bradley” Slamdance Competition Documentary Feature Film “With Peter Bradley” embodies the cinematic storytelling that made “The Kid Stays In The Picture” an iconic documentary. “With Peter Bradley” is a celebration of artmaking, resilience, and the creative contributions of Black artists to American life. It focuses a long-overdue lens on Peter Bradley and shines a light on his rightful place in the ongoing movement toward racial equity in the arts and our society. Despite the systemic racism of society in general and the art world in particular, Peter Bradley built an incredible resumé before the age of 35: the first Black art dealer on Madison Avenue (at the prestigious Perls Galleries); likely the first Black abstract artist represented by a major New York gallery (André Emmerich); and curator of what is considered the first integrated modern art show in America (The DeLuxe Show). Peter Bradley explores innovative methods of applying paint to canvas, inspired by nature and the colorful flowers he tends daily in his garden and greenhouse.
79 years old and overlooked since the 1970s, abstract artist Peter Bradley reflects on life and shares his artistic process on the cusp of his rediscovery.
Filmmaking Team: Director, Cinematographer, Editor and Producer Alex Rappoport, Composer Javon Jackson, Executive Producers Adger Cowans, and Robina Riccitiello, Consulting Producers Diane Kolyer, and Beth Levison, and Music Supervisor Ed Gerard. Running Time: 86 Minutes
Slamdance Screening Times: Location: Slamdance Film Festival Headquarters Treasure Mountain Inn 255 Main St. Park City, UT Premiere: Sunday, January 22 at 12:45p.m. Second Screening: Tuesday, January 24 at 5:30p.m.
Good Shepherds is available on Tubi and Amazon Prime Video. Photo: Google
Narrated by Dr. Jane Goodall and featuring the Vienna Boys Choir, Good Shepherds is a visual masterpiece for the holiday season by director Curt Faudon. It is available now free on Tubi and to buy or rent on Amazon Prime Video. (Good Shepherds, 2022)
The Vienna Boys Choir, alongside narrator Dr. Jane Goodall, present a gripping, deeply emotional, and stunning mix of holiday and herding music from Ireland, Laponia, Kenya, Norway, Palestine, and Austria. It features a haunting blend of classical arias and motets: 22 pieces of inspiring music selected from Handel’s Messiah, Heinrich Schutz, Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, and Jean Lheritier, as well as carols and animal calls with traditional herdsmen and women and nature’s very own music. Five years in the making, the stunning photography and visual enhancements create a mesmerizing tapestry of color and images.
Good Shepherds is an appeal to act as “good shepherds“ towards each other and our environment. The Vienna Boys Choir meets with internationally acclaimed musicians and with real – traditional – herdsmen and women in Lapland, Ireland, Palestine, Norway, and Kenya to perform together. Narrated by primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall.
SA Examiner 