Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
98 min
World Premiere
More than just a global fashion icon, footwear designer Kenneth Cole has put cause before commerce for 40 years, driven by heart and 'sole.' Undoubtedly a trendsetter, Cole inspired and mobilized cultural norms and perceptions for the better as a pioneer of corporate social action; he advocated for social causes—from HIV/AIDS…
Directed By Dori Berinstein
Documentary Feature
Documentary Competition
74 min
East Coast Premiere
In 1933, as German modern artists were increasingly persecuted by the rising Nazi Party, painter Paul Klee escaped to Switzerland, where a mysterious disease wreaked havoc on his body and profoundly changed his artwork. After being diagnosed with the same rare and life-threatening disease, now known as systemic scleroderma,…
Directed By Ken August Meyer
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
110 min
When does a democracy end, and a theocracy begin? Academy Award nominee Petra Costa's (THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY) latest feature investigates the increasingly powerful grip of faith leaders over Brazil's recent political turmoil. Costa gains extraordinary access to the country's top political leaders, including President Lula,…
Directed By Petra Costa
Documentary Feature
Conflict & Resolution
115 min
Courageous South Korean pastor Seungeun Kim acts as a guide for those risking their lives to flee the oppression of North Korea, a land they grew up believing was a paradise. When a family of five—including small children and an elderly grandmother—contacts Kim for help, he embarks with them on a treacherous journey into the…
Directed By Madeleine Gavin
Documentary Short
Short Films
18 min
Discover the origins of the hand games that young Black girls have played for generations, and their influence on music, dance, and community across the American creative…
Directed By Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster
Narrative Feature
Spotlight
120 min
Set in London during World War II, BLITZ follows the epic journey of George (Elliott Heffernan), a defiant 9-year-old whose mother Rita (Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan) sends him to safety in the English countryside. Determined to return to his mother and grandfather (Paul Weller), George embarks on the perilous way home,…
Directed By Steve McQueen
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
98 min
Director Matthew Tyrnauer takes us on a deep dive into one of the most influential and combative political minds of our time. To truly understand the Ragin’ Cajun James Carville, we go from Bill Clinton’s stunning 1992 presidential upset up through Carville’s present-day efforts to shape the Democratic Party, in which he both…
Directed By Matthew Tyrnauer
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
Documentary Feature
World Cinema Documentary
88 min
World Premiere
"Sometimes I'm afraid the tale might be forgotten. Sometimes I'm afraid it is forgotten already." Told primarily through his own eloquent words, ELIE WIESEL: SOUL ON FIRE seeks to understand the man behind the searing and widely read memoir Night. Penetrating at the heart of the known and unknown, the film dives into the…
Directed By Oren Rudavsky