2025
Festival Films

In the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, ceramicist Jessie DuBois and her grandmother, Marcia, engage in a heartfelt conversation about life, death, art and the pottery school Marcia and her husband built in the 1960s.

Amidst the roar of rapids and the serenity of the Grand Canyon, ABOUT DAMN TIME chronicles the journey of trailblazing boatwomen who, guided by legacy and determination, challenge a male-dominated world, protect sacred rivers, and pass the oars to the next generation.

“Food is the most precious part of Palestinian heritage.” Aisha Azzam and her husband started their family grain mill in Baqa’a refugee camp, Jordan, 35 years ago. She treasures her role in safeguarding culture by milling the wheat, grains, and herbs e…

In an unprecedented attempt to heal centuries of racism and antisemitism, and combat the rising racial and ethnic tension in their Brooklyn communities, the largest reform synagogue and the oldest black Baptist Church attempt to unite their congregatio…

The arrest of trusted midwives ignites an unexpected rebellion, as Amish and Mennonite women break from tradition and emerge as fierce political activists — joining the broader fight for reproductive justice.

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

When a documentary filmmaker's period goes nuts, she confronts her uterus to try and stop the bleeding.

CLASSROOM 4 follows a course taught inside a prison, involving students from a nearby college and incarcerated students, about the history of crime and punishment in the US.

Noam Shuster Eliassi grew up the literal poster child for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process before making a hard pivot to stand-up comedy and political satire. But as the region sinks deeper into devastating violence, she must meet the moment by challenging her audiences with hard truths that are no laughing matter.

Danielle Scott, a legally blind Afro-Cuban, Polish-Jewish, and Asian mixed-media artist at the cusp of international fame, risks her wellbeing by exposing herself to the intergenerational trauma of the Atlantic Slave Trade.

From humble beginnings and early doubts to superstardom behind the songs everyone knows, Diane Warren: Relentless is an intimate portrait of the Grammy- and Oscar-nominated songwriter whose idiosyncratic drive, unshakeable work ethic, and unfiltered vulnerability transformed rejection into a lifetime of hits and legacy.

Edward, a novelist saddled with caring for his elderly mother, finally finds himself on the brink of literary success. With pressure to go on a US book tour mounting, the last thing Edward needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Prid…

To cement her legacy in a male-dominated world of elite rock climbing, professional climber Emily Harrington sets her sights on a career-defining 24-hour ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan, forcing her to confront the risks of ambition against the biological clock and proving she’s not just a great “Girl Climber,” but one of the best, period.

An intimate meditation on memory and motherhood that follows a filmmaker as she explores the secrecy surrounding the childhood loss of her mother, while reckoning with her own diagnosis of breast cancer.

The uncompromising and extraordinary life of legendary athlete Carl Lewis, a nine-time Olympic Gold Medallist and voted 'Sportsman of the Century’, who fought to revolutionize his sport and inspire change on and off the field.

A magical remix of art and human experiences, this feature documentary celebrates Dorothy Gale, the iconic heroine from Oz, as she defies boundaries to evolve through the eras.

England, 1813. Miss Estrogenia gets her period during a long-awaited marriage proposal. Mr. Dickley mistakes the blood for an injury, and it becomes clear that his expensive education has missed a spot.

Celebrated artist, James Grashow, is given the biggest commission of his life and begins an exhilarating challenge that brings more than he bargained for. With a combination of endearing humor and angst, Jimmy searches for meaning and answers in his extraordinary masterpiece that reflects his own life struggles.

An unexpected pregnancy compels an Indian immigrant mother to help her adopted twin daughters reconnect with their White birth mother and estranged Native American father, exposing raw class divides while transforming their understanding of identity and belonging.

MAGIC & MONSTERS uncovers the long-buried story of widespread sexual abuse at America’s preeminent children’s theater. In the aftermath of litigation, four survivors attempt the unthinkable: working with the very institution that harmed them. The f…

Sold for livestock by her own father, a young girl escapes her impending marriage and embarks on a journey to reclaim her dream of joining high school.

Death is inevitable, suffering may be optional.

During the last Quaker meeting of the year, Brooklyn high school seniors share their unfiltered feelings with each other.

SEARCHING FOR AUGUSTA SAVAGE is a 24-minute documentary about one of America’s greatest sculptors whose footprint in the art world appears to have been erased.

Denied the coveted set menu for dining alone at a famously exclusive restaurant, Frances strikes an unexpected deal with a stranger to access both the menu and a night of peace and solitude.

SNOW LEOPARD SISTERS tells the inspiring story of an unlikely yet powerful friendship between two Indigenous women in one of the most isolated corners of the Himalayas.

Five top-ranked high school oratory students spend a year crafting spellbinding spoken word performances with the dream of winning one of the world’s largest and most intense public speaking competitions.

As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians under siege join forces as unlikely defenders fighting for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy.

Single mom Jen gets an unexpectedly provocative pic from her friend Steve. Through the course of a phone conversation, she tries to figure out what's going on in this modern screwball romantic comedy.

When 19-year-old Kristi discovers a secret her doctor and parents have kept from her all her life, her search for truth uncovers a radical psychological experiment, a global media scandal, and a legacy of harm towards intersex people.

Tens of thousands of young and well-educated Kenyans are hired online by undergraduates and doctoral students at Western universities to write their essays and theses, in a multi-billion dollar underground industry. Oxford professor Patricia Kingori embarks on a search for these ‘shadow scholars.’

After a brutal dictatorship takes over Argentina, grandmothers band together to search for their missing grandchildren.

In Hanoi, Vietnam, a tattoo artist transforms scars into works of art, confronting social stigma and empowering her clients to reclaim their bodies and stories.

On the shores of the Great Salt Lake, a scientist’s twilight run is upended when her dog plunges through rare lake ice, catalyzing a desperate series of choices.

Amy Cordalis and the fight to free the Klamath

When a school shooting shakes a small Texas town, a mom desperate to save her sons goes viral. The community confronts the systems that failed their kids.

After a long career in cinema, film editor Vivien Hillgrove starts losing her sight, forcing her to reexamine past traumas and relationships, and to reinvent herself and her art.

From teenage mother in 1965 Watts through the birth of Soul Newspaper, 80-year-old Regina Jones revisits the trail she blazed, confronting a past she thought she'd left dead and buried. Jones tells a story of the invisible labor, the turmoil, struggle, and the joy of a modern-day Black woman.

Grace dreams big, but will she and her family weather the storm?

A revered small-town imam faces a crisis of faith when he must choose between upholding the values of his mosque or protecting the safety and spiritual belonging of a trans man congregant.