Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
68 min
Winner of the Berlinale Golden Bear, HIFF alum Mati Diop (ATLANTIQUES, 2019) returns with her piercing and inventive documentary feature debut, following the restitution of twenty-six royal treasures of the Kingdom of Dahomey. Plundered by French colonial troops in 1892, these artifacts now make their way from Paris back to…
Directed By Mati Diop
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
108 min
World Premiere
For one extraordinary week in February 1972, the revolution WAS televised when John Lennon and Yoko Ono co-hosted the massively popular Mike Douglas Show. John and Yoko invited a radical yet approachable vision of the future into the homes of everyday Americans through frank conversations with counterculture icons such as Chuck…
Directed By Erik Nelson
Narrative Feature
Spotlight
117 min
Celebrated American painter Tarrell (Andre Holland, MOONLIGHT) excavates beauty from the anguish of his youth through his art, keeping past wounds at bay. His joyful life with his wife Aisha (Audra Day) and their young son is interrupted when his estranged father La’Ron (John Earl Jelks) returns home, desperate to reconcile.…
Directed By Titus Kaphar
Documentary Feature
Documentary Competition
90 min
East Coast Premiere
Winner of the SXSW Jury Award, GRAND THEFT HAMLET captures the tenacity and innovation of a group of theater actors on a mission to share their art with the world when it has never felt more impossible. Out of work and stuck at home during the pandemic, Sam and Mark find an unexpected “public” space to hold their performances:…
Directed By Pinny Grylls, Sam Crane
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
85 min
Venus Xtravaganza emerged as a global trans icon after being featured as a glamorous "ball walker" in the groundbreaking 1991 documentary PARIS IS BURNING. Before the film's release, Venus was tragically murdered at the age of 23. Her killer was never found. Now, decades later, I'M YOUR VENUS picks up a trail gone cold as her…
Directed By Kimberly Reed
Narrative Short
Short Films
18 min
New York Premiere
After selling a painting of his dead mother to a respected collector, Ailou must contend with the hidden costs of this…
Directed By Djiby Kebe
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
104 min
Bruce David Klein's electrifying documentary focuses on the dazzling but complex period of Liza Minnelli's life in the 1970s after the tragic death of her mother, Judy Garland. Over these years, Liza seeks out extraordinary mentors: Kay Thompson, Fred Ebb, Charles Aznavour, Halston, and Bob Fosse, who help her transform from a…
Directed By Bruce David Klein
Narrative Feature
World Cinema Narrative
105 min
New York Premiere
In 1990s Cuba, 18-year-old Gustavo (Eros de la Puente) idolizes his rebellious older brother Paco (Héctor Medina) and his punk bandmates. To escape their extreme poverty, they do the now unthinkable: deliberately inject themselves with HIV in order to live at a well-funded government-run sanatorium. There, they discover an…
Directed By Michael Schwartz, Tyler Nilson
Narrative Feature
Closing Night
98 min
East Coast Premiere
Academy Award® nominee Amy Adams delivers a bold, transformative performance as a woman who pauses her successful career as an artist to become a stay-at-home mom to her toddler. As her husband (Scoot McNairy, HIFF Breakthrough Artist 2012) works long hours as the family’s sole breadwinner, the unrelenting demands of parenthood…
Directed By Marielle Heller
Documentary Feature
Conflict & Resolution, Documentary Competition
87 min
Winner of the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, PORCELAIN WAR follows three Ukrainian artists who defiantly find beauty as they defend their culture and country. Amidst the chaos and destruction of the brutal Russian invasion, Slava Leontyev, Anya Stasenko, and Andrey Stefanov choose to stay behind, armed with their…
Directed By Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev