Against the Tide

dir. Sarvnik Kaur 

prod. Koval Bhatia, Quentin Laurent

Against the Tide is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find about upcoming screenings here.

Bad Press

dirs. Rebecca Landsberry-Baker, Joe Peeler

prods. Conrad Beilharz, Garrett F. Baker, Tyler Graim

Bad Press is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

Eat Bitter

dirs. Ningyi Sun, Pascale Appora-Gnekindy

prod. Mathieu Faure

Eat Bitter is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

El eco / The Echo

dir. & prod. Tatiana Huezo

prod. Dalia Reyes

El eco / The Echo was supported through Tatiana Huezo’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.  

Joonam

dir. Sierra Urich

prod. Keith Wilson

Joonam is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

MnM

dir. Twiggy Pucci Garçon

prods. Colleen Cassingham, Jess Devaney

MnM was supported in partnership with Multitude Films as a part of the QUEER FUTURES (2022) series and is eligible for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film.

PAY OR DIE

dirs. & prods. Rachael Dyer, Scott Alexander Ruderman

prod. Yael Melamede

PAY OR DIE is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Now streaming on Paramount +. 

Plan C

dir. & prod. Tracy Droz Tragos

Plan C is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

Find out about upcoming screenings here or watch on demand here.

Razing Liberty Square

dir. Katja Esson

prods. Ann Bennett, Corinna Sager, Ronald Baez

Razing Liberty Square is a 2022 Critical Issues Fund grantee.

The film will open theatrically in Miami on January 26 and the Broadcast Premiere will be on Independent Lens on January 29.

Reality Winner

dir. & prod. Sonia Kennebeck

prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna

Reality Winner was supported through Sonia Kennebeck’s 2023 Chicken & Egg Award.

Songs of Earth

dir. & prod. Margreth Olin

prod. Lena Faye-Lund Sandvik

Songs of Earth was supported through Margreth Olin’s 2022 Chicken & Egg Award.

The Eternal Memory

dir. & prod. Maite Alberdi

prod. Juan de Dios Larraín, Pablo Larraín, Rocío Jadue

The Eternal Memory was supported through Maite Alberdi’s 2020 Chicken & Egg Award.

Now streaming on Paramount +.

Total Trust

dir. Jialing Zhang

prod. Knut Jäger

Total Trust was supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.

Check out their list of upcoming New York screenings here. 

Twice Colonized

dir. Lin Alluna

prods.  Emile Hertling Péronard, Alethea Arnaquq-Baril, Stacey Aglok, Bob Moore

Twice Colonized is a participant of Project: Hatched 2023.

Find out about upcoming screenings here.

Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Feature

• AKA Mr. Chow
  dir. Nick Hooker
  prod. Diane Quon

• Anonymous Sister
  dir. & prod. Jamie Boyle
  prods. Marilyn Ness, Elizabeth Westrate

• Another Body
  dirs. & prods. Sophie Compton, Reuben Hamlyn
  prod. Elizabeth Woodward

• Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project
  dirs. & prods. Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster 

• King Coal 
  dir. & prod. Elaine McMillion Sheldon
  prods. Shane Boris, Diane Becker, Peggy Drexler

• Mourning In Lod
  dir. & prod. Hilla Medalia

• The Lady Bird Diaries 
  dir. & prod. Dawn Porter
  prod. Kim Reynolds

• Victim/Suspect
  dir. & prod. Nancy Schwartzman
  prods. Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Alice Henty, Rachel de Leon, Amanda Pike

• Who I Am Not
  dir. Tunde Skovran
  prods. Andrei Zinca, Danielle Turkov, Paul Cadieux, Patrick Hamm, Amy Shepherd, Edith Weil, Daniel Szandtner, Janos Kovacs 

• Your Fat Friend
  dir. & prod. Jeanie Finlay
  prod. Suzanne Alizart

• You Were My First Boyfriend
  dirs. Cecilia Aldarondo, Sarah Enid Hagey
  prod. Ines Hofmann Kanna (prod. of Reality Winner)

Alumni filmmakers eligible for Best Documentary Short Film

• A Mouthful of Petrol
  dir. & prod. Jess Kohl
  exec. prod. Lindsay Poulton

• Bone Black: Midwives vs the South 
  dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen
  prod. Yoruba Richen

• Heart of an Astronaut
  dir. Jennifer Rainsford
  prods. Costanza Julia Bani

• How We Get Free
  dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Samantha Knowles
  prods. Kathleen Lingo, Sweta Vohra, Jess Devaney

• Rest Stop
  dir. Crystal Kayiza
  prods. Brit Fryer, Jalena Keane-Lee

• The Recall
  dir. Imani Dennison (POV Shorts Co-Production Fund Grantee)
  prod. Flor Tejada

• The Feeling of Being Close to You
  dir. & prod. Ash Goh Hua

Post written by Communications Intern Tess Caldwell

Please take a look at the films below:

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars

dir. Jennifer Rainsford

prods. Mirjam Gelhorn, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski

The 2011 Japan tsunami triggers this staggering essay about loss that connects human and environmental trauma using astonishing juxtapositions. Humans breathe out and the oceans breathe in, so that we are constantly breathing together and becoming our planet. If we admit that our human experiences of pain and the Earth’s are just different versions of the same destruction, will recovery come, be it in ripples or waves?*

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Cinematic Vision Competition.

Get your tickets + more info with this link.  

*Text courtesy of Cineuropa.

Polaris

dir. Ainara Vera

prod. Clara Vuillermoz

After overcoming her painful childhood in France, 36-year-old Hayat has managed to become an expert skipper in the Arctic. Her biggest passion is to navigate in between icebergs and spot whales. While she experiences this pureness, her 28-year-old sister Leila tries to integrate into society after coming out of jail in France. Their life went by independently until a year ago when Leila fell pregnant. Polaris explores the inner battle that we all have to undertake to find a balance between the light and the darkness and how the beauty of nature can help us. 

Polaris is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Harrel Competition. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

From the AlumNest

• Descendant  
  dir. & prod. Margaret Brown
  prods. Kyle Martin, Essie Chambers
  This film is part of the Best of Fest section. 
  
  
• Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power
  dirs. Geeta Gandbhir, Sam Pollard
  prods. Jessica Devaney, Anya Rous, Dema Paxton Fofang
  This film is part of the Best of Fest section.

Meet Our Team at CIFF

Program Manager Sabine Fayoux Cantillo and Program Coordinator Iva Dimitrova will attend the festival. They will be taking meetings and watching lots of films!

Check out the full line-up with this link.

World Premiere

Silent Beauty

dir. & prod. Jasmin Lopez

A personal documentary that follows Director Jasmin López as she works to heal from child sexual abuse she endured at the hands of her grandfather, Gilberto, a Baptist minister, almost thirty years ago. In the process of sharing her own trauma with her large family, she learns that generations of children in her family were victims of the same abuse. Told from the director’s perspective, Silent Beauty is a film about confronting and accepting difficult truths while finding beauty in the process. 

Silent Beauty is a 2019 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its World Premiere in the Persister section. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Alis

dirs.& prods.  Clare Weiskopf, Nicolas van Hemelryck

prods. Radu Stancu, Alexandra Galvis

In a Colombian shelter for teenage girls, filmmakers ask a group of young women to close their eyes and imagine the life story of a fictional classmate named Alis. As reality prevails and fiction fades, the innocent game becomes a descent into hell, where their luminous faces guide the audience to the depths of the dark world they once inhabited, only to emerge with new skin. How to imagine a different life, break the cycle of violence, and embrace a brighter future? 

Alis is a 2022 (Egg)celerator Lab finalist and is part of Made In Chile: A spotlight on docs from Chile

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars

(previously titled Stories From Debris)

dir. Jennifer Rainsford

prods. Mirjam Gelhorn, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski

The 2011 Japan tsunami triggers this staggering essay about loss that connects human and environmental trauma using astonishing juxtapositions. Humans breathe out and the oceans breathe in, so that we are constantly breathing together and becoming our planet. If we admit that our human experiences of pain and the Earth’s are just different versions of the same destruction, will recovery come, be it in ripples or waves?* 

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the World Showcase section.

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Boycott

dir & prod. Julia Bacha

prod. Suhad Babaa, Daniel J. Chalfen

When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona and a speech therapist in Texas are told to choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech in 33 states in America.

Boycott was supported through Julia Bacha’s 2019 Chicken & Egg Award, and is a Hot Docs Special Presentation.  

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Eskape

dir. Neary Adeline Hay

prods. Jasmin Basic

The survival story of a mother and her daughter, the filmmaker, through the desperate flight from a crumbling Cambodia after the collapse of the Khmer Rouge regime. Faced with the silence brought by trauma and time, the longing to understand her mother today resonates in an abysmal echo, while reviving the memories as a political refugee in Europe.

Eskape is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its North American premiere in the Hidden Stories section. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Midwives

dir. & prod. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing

prods. Bob Moore, Ulla Lehmann, Mila Aung-Thwin

A tale of the complicated relationship between Rohingya and Buddhists in Myanmar, told over five years through the eyes of two midwives from either side of the divide. 

Midwives is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its Canadian premiere as a HotDocs Special Presentation. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Mija

dir. & prod. Isabel Castro

prod. Tabs Breese, Yesenia Tlahuel

With Doris’ voice as our guide, Mija uses VHS archive, verité footage, and camcorder vlogging to tell the story of two young women’s coming-of-age journeys as they look for success and belonging. The film is an immensely emotional and intimate portrait honoring the resilience of immigrants and their children. 

Mija is a 2021 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Artscapes section. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

Once Upon a Time in Uganda

dir. Cathryne Czubek, co-dir. Hugo Perez

prods. Gigi Dement, Cathryne Czubek, Matt Porwoll, Hugo Perez, Kyaligamba Ark Martin

Against all odds, former bricklayer and teacher Isaac Nabwana has turned his small home in the slums of Uganda’s capital city into the Wakaliwood action movie studio. After 10 years and 40+ films, Wakaliwood has become an overnight international media sensation, inspiring others around the world to follow in his footsteps. When New York film nerd Alan Hofmanis shows up on his doorstep one day, everything is bound to change. 

Once Upon a Time in Uganda is a 2017 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is part of the Nightvision section. 

Get your tickets + more info with this link.

From the AlumNest

• A Peculiar Silence
  prod. Catherine Gund, dir. Cinque Northern 
  

• Angels of Sinjar
  dir. & prod. Hanna Polak, prod. Simone Baumann

• Don’t Come Searching
  prods. Michelle Serieux, Sherien Barsoum, dir. & prod. Andrew Moir
  
  
• The Martha Mitchell Effect
  prods. Beth Levison, Judith Mizrachy, dirs. Anne Alvergue, Debra McClutchy
  
  
• The Mole Agent
  dir. Maite Alberdi, prod. Marcela Santibanez
  
  
• TikTok, Boom. 
  dir. & prod. Shalini Kantayya, prods. Ross Dinerstein, Danni Mynard
  
  
• To The End
  dir. Rachel Lears, prod. Sabrina Schmidt Gordon

Check out the full line-up with this link.  

*Language courtesy of Hot Docs.

Kirsten Johnson

Special Guest of Visions du Réel

2017 Chicken & Egg Award recipient Kirsten Johnson will give a masterclass in partnership with Le Temps, and her work as director as well as a selection of films to which she contributed will be featured in a retrospective. Plus, the posters and visual identity of the festival were taken from Kirsten’s body of work. 

• Masterclass
  Thursday, April 14  
  
  
• Cameraperson (Nest-supported)
  dir. & prod. Kirsten Johnson, prod. Marilyn Ness
  Get your tickets with this link. 
  
  
• Bintou in Paris
  dirs. Kirsten Johnson & Julia Pimsleur, prod. Julia Pimsleur  
  
  
• Deadline
  dirs. Kirsten Johnson & Katy Chevigny, prods. Katy Chevigny & Dallas Brennan 
  
  
• The Above
  dir. & prod. Kirsten Johnson, prod. Marilyn Ness  
  
  
• Dick Johnson is Dead (Nest-supported)
  dir. Kirsten Johnson, prods. Katy Chevigny & Marilyn Ness  
  
  
• Derrida
  *Cinematography by Kirsten Johnson
  dirs. Kirby Dick & Amy Ziering Kofman, prod. Amy Ziering Kofman

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars

(previously titled Stories From Debris)

dir. Jennifer Rainsford

prods. Mirjam Gelhorn, David Herdies, Michael Krotkiewski

On March 11, 2011, a tsunami devastated the coasts of Japan, claiming thousands of lives. Today, the scars of this tragedy remain visible. Yet in spite of this, people, plants and animals alike continue to exist. Through striking images shot on land and in the sea, Jennifer Rainsford’s film celebrates human resilience and the endless beauty of our planet.* 

All of Our Heartbeats Are Connected Through Exploding Stars is a 2020 (Egg)celerator Lab grantee and is having its world premiere in the International Feature Film Competition . 

Get your tickets with this link. 

Check out the trailer with this link.

Take a look at the full line-up with this link. 
*Text courtesy of Cineuropa.