Tag: Films

DWF New York 2026 Spotlights GLENDORA, a Feature Documentary Rooted in Community and Resilience

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

World Premiere Spotlight: Lemonade Blessing at Tribeca 2025

Jake Ryan in Chris Merola’s Lemonade Blessing. Photo: Submarine Entertainment, used with permission.

Spotlight on Tribeca Film Festival 2025

The Tribeca Film Festival, founded in 2002 by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff, celebrates storytelling in all its forms. Held annually in New York City, the festival showcases a diverse range of films—from independent features and documentaries to immersive experiences and short films.

Originally created to help revitalize Lower Manhattan after 9/11, Tribeca has since grown into a major cultural event. In addition to film screenings, the festival features industry panels, interactive media, and cutting-edge virtual reality. It offers a platform for both emerging voices and established filmmakers, fostering creativity, conversation, and community across the global film landscape.

📅 This year’s festival runs from June 4 through June 15, 2025.

World Premiere: Lemonade Blessing

One of the standout selections in the US Narrative Competition is the world premiere of Lemonade Blessing, a feature film directed by Chris Merola, a native New Yorker and recent graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. This marks Merola’s feature directorial debut. (EG-PR, 2025)

🎬 About the Film

Title: Lemonade Blessing
Running Time: 100 minutes
Language: English
Country: USA
Genre: Drama

🎭 Cast

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

🎥 Producers

Chris Merola, Raza Rizvi, Aruba Sülzana, Samuel Ashurov

📖 Synopsis

Freshly tossed into a private Catholic high school by his devout mother, John (Jake Ryan) falls head over heels for a devious classmate who’s ready to push his faith—and morals—to the brink. What unfolds is a series of increasingly uncomfortable acts, all in the name of love.

🎟 Public Screening Schedule

DateTimeVenueLocation
Thursday, June 57:15 p.m.SVA2 – BeatriceSVA Theater, 333 West 23rd Street
Friday, June 69:00 p.m.VEC-04Village East Cinemas, 181-189 2nd Avenue
Saturday, June 146:00 p.m.VEC-04Village East Cinemas, 181-189 2nd Avenue
Sunday, June 1511:15 a.m.VEC-02Village East Cinemas, 181-189 2nd Avenue

🔗 Buy Tickets Here

Chris Merola is a writer and filmmaker from Long Island, New York. Lemonade Blessing is his first feature film.

CineSol Film Festival: Bringing Cutting-Edge Indie Films to Brownsville’s Silver Screen

CineSol Film Festival is taking place in Brownsville this weekend. Photo: CineSol Film Festival.

Film festivals are significant events in the cinematic world, offering a platform for filmmakers to showcase their work to a wider audience, gain recognition, and connect with industry professionals. For filmmakers, festivals provide opportunities for networking, distribution deals, and career advancement. They also allow for creative expression in an environment that celebrates diverse storytelling. For film enthusiasts, festivals offer the chance to experience unique, often experimental films that may not reach mainstream theaters. The appeal lies in the ability to discover new talent, engage in discussions, and immerse oneself in the rich cultural and artistic diversity that films represent.

This weekend is the 31st Annual CineSol Film Festival; it will be held at eBridge Center in Brownsville on December 6, 7, and 8.

CineSol Film Festival is a showcase festival, celebrating achievement in the art of filmmaking. It is dedicated to furthering the art, craft and business of screenwriters and filmmakers, and recognizing their artistic contributions. By enhancing public awareness of their artistic endeavors and by encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community alliances, it supports the work of aspiring and established filmmakers. (CineSol Film Festival, 2024)

CineSol made its historic debut in September 1993 in celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. It provided the Texas Border Region with its first film festival ever, including cultural art events in the Mexican cities of Matamoros and Reynosa, Tamaulipas. CineSol has traveled throughout the region, bringing voice and vision through film and video directly to border communities.

They will be screening 43 independent films over two days. The independent films are from all over the world including 1 from France, Bulgaria, Canada, Indonesia, Poland, Indonesia, Sweden, the UK, and 7 from Spain. Sixteen films have Rio Grande Valley connections, such as filmed in the RGV or an actor is from the RGV. The complete schedule is available here.

Ticket information:

Every event is $6 except for Saturday and Sunday evening screenings, which are $10. Saturday passes are $25, Sunday passes are $20, and weekend passes are $40.

If you are coming from out of town to attend the film festival, their sponsor hotel Courtyard by Marriott Brownsville has discounted rooms for festival attendees. Call 956-350-6500 and ask for the annual CineSol rooms.

Special guest is Brownsville’s Bradley Freeman Jr. – Bradley is the official performer of The Pigeon with Mo Willems Workshop. He is a principal performer on the Emmy-Award-Winning program Sesame Street, where he plays Tamir, Wes, Timmy Twiddlebug, and many others. Additionally, he is a supporting performer with the Disney Muppets. His work has been featured on shows including Sesame Street, The Muppets Mayhem, Helpsters, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, Michael Bublé’s Christmas in the City, The Today Show, Good Morning America, The View, Sesame Street: 50 Years of Sunny Days, Elmo’s Mindfulness Spectacular, Tamir on the Street, The Pigeon Explains, and more.

Festival highlights include:

Saturday December 7

1p.m. – 3p.m. Bradley Freeman Jr & Puppeteering. In his presentation, Bradley takes you on a journey from growing up as a Muppet fan in Brownsville, to becoming one of Sesame Street’s principal performers. Not only will there be a live demonstration of the art of television puppetry, there will be an interactive portion, where you may get to perform a character. In addition, there will be a Q&A and signing after the presentation. Room 142 Hidalgo.

3p.m. – 4:22p.m. The Forest Hills directed by Scott Goldberg. Rico descends in the Catskill Mountains after being haunted by nightmares. Starring Chiko Mendez, Edward Furlong, Dee Wallace, and Shelley Duvall. Theater.

Sunday December 8

2:30p.m. – 4:06p.m. Plastic People directed by Ben Addelman and Ziya Tong. Documentary. 90 minutes. Canada. Almost every bit of plastic ends up ground down into “microplastics.”  These microscopic particles drift in the air, float in the water and sit in the soil. And now, leading scientists are finding them in our bodies, our organs, our blood, and even the placentas of new mothers. What is the impact of these invisible invaders on our health? Plastic People – The Hidden Crisis of Microplastics. Room 135. Hidalgo.

The eBridge Center for Business & Commercialization
1304 E Adams St
Brownsville, TX 78520