Cinemafile

Winner of the U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and hailed by Werner Herzog as “truly groundbreaking”, Nuisance Bear places viewers inside the world of a polar bear to deliver a cinematic pressure cooker and an urgent parable for our times. Filmmakers Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman follow a polar bear in Churchill, Manitoba — the self-styled “Polar Bear Capital of the World” — forced to navigate tourists, wildlife officers and hunters as climate change pushes it into town. Guided by Inuit narrator Mike Tunalaaq Gibbons, whose perspective resists simplification, Nuisance Bear overturns the conventions of the nature documentary to ask: when a sacred predator is branded a “nuisance,” who truly belongs in this shared landscape? Co-directors Gabriela Osio Vanden and Jack Weisman join us in conversation about the making of Nuisance Bear.

About the filmmaker - Gabriela Osio Vanden is an award-winning Venezuelan-Canadian Director and cinematographer based in Toronto. She brings a background in painting and dance to her images which have premiered at major festivals, including TIFF, Camerimage, SXSW, IDFA, Sheffield DocFest, and True/False. She is a HotDocs 2022 Fellow. Her student thesis film The Rambler was awarded an internship with Phedon Papamichael ASC GSC whom she shadowed on Alexander Payne’s Downsizing. Gabriela has a BFA in Film Production from York University. Her latest film Nuisance Bear premiered at TIFF and played at over 120 Film Festivals. It won multiple awards but most notably a Critics Choice Award and Outstanding Non-Fiction Short at Cinema Eye Honors. It was shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards.

About the filmmaker - Jack Weisman aspires to make visually striking and original films that defy easy classification. His works of creative non-fiction have premiered at many festivals including Sundance, SXSW, TIFF, and IDFA. Jack’s breakout short, Nuisance Bear (2022), co-directed with Gabriela Osio Vanden, offers a gripping, wordless study of polar bears navigating human-dominated landscapes in Churchill, Manitoba. The film received widespread acclaim, earning a spot on the 95th Academy Award Shortlist, two Emmy nominations, and top honors at Cinema Eye Honors, Critics’ Choice Documentary Awards, and IDA Documentary Awards. Jack’s debut feature will premiere in 2026 and is produced by A24, Documist, and Rise Films. Weisman is a co-founder of Documist, an Emmy and Peabody-winning production company based in NYC and Toronto. He served as an executive producer on The Territory (2022). The Territory premiered at Sundance, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize, and is now available on Disney+ through National Geographic Documentary Films.

Set against the backdrop of a mysterious war, LITTERMATES follows two disoriented survivors who take refuge at an isolated cottage in the English countryside. After Liam and Mel arrive bloodied, speechless, and unable to fully understand what has happened to them, they are taken in by Chester, an enigmatic caretaker who bathes, feeds, and teaches them how to speak again. As sirens, smoke, and distant threats press closer, Liam and Mel go about their days relearning the most simple tasks inside Chester’s carefully controlled world, while earning “nifties” for good behavior that can be traded for small comforts like karaoke, hot tub time, dance parties, and favorite meals. Co-directors and co-writers Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson join us for a spirited conversation on the inspiration and execution for this darkly comedic but still grounded in the emotional film experience. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at Manchester Film Festival '26, and anchored by three incredible lead performances, Littermates combines dystopian tension, absurdist humor, and a controlled visual style to create a darkly funny, cinematic mystery about what is real, what is safe, and who can be trusted.

About the filmmaker - Scott Tinkham is a writer and director from Minnesota. His work lives at the intersection of dark comedy and emotional sincerity, often exploring characters who are spiraling and searching for meaning in the strangest of places. His short film 24 Hours After Reading Tuesdays with Morrie had its world premiere at SXSW in 2025. He recently wrapped production on his latest film, "Two Schizos Take a Walk," and is in development on his next feature, "Good Life," both under Haley Nicole Johnson’s Under The Shell banner.

About the filmmaker - Michael Woloson is a writer, director, cinematographer, and producer from Las Vegas, based in Los Angeles. His work combines precise visual storytelling with intimate, character-driven narratives, often exploring the complexity of memory and time. A SXSW alum, he served as cinematographer and producer on Scott Tinkham’s "24 Hours After Reading Tuesdays with Morrie," which premiered at SXSW in 2025. His latest directorial work, "Broken Branches," was produced under Haley Nicole Johnson’s Under The Shell banner, and is set to begin its festival run in 2027. He will serve as a producer on Tinkham’s upcoming feature "Good Life," also under Under The Shell.

Filmed over ten years, ONE IN A MILLION follows Israa from childhood to adulthood on an extraordinary journey from Syria to Germany — and back again. We first meet her at age 11 as she and her family are preparing to cross the Aegean Sea, risking everything in search of safety and a better life in Europe. What unfolds is a deeply personal chronicle of war, exile and heartbreak, as Israa grows up navigating adolescence, identity and belonging far from the home she was forced to leave. As Israa settles into life in Germany, new freedoms collide with the stabilizing pull of Syrian traditions, testing bonds and reshaping her sense of self. Co-directors Itab Azzam and Jack MacInnes join us for a fascinating conversation on the sheer challenge of following a family fleeing a violent uprising in their own country for safety in an unknown situation with a growing family and a treacherous journey for 11 years. One in a Million is the winner of the 2026 Sundance FIlm Festival’s Best International Documentary Feature.

About the filmmaker - Itab Azzam is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and humanitarian. She works with Syrian refugee women in Lebanon and London on empowerment and education through therapeutic arts projects, including FILM FOR FREEDOM, an initiative that trains refugee women in filmmaking. Born in Syria, she currently resides in London.

About the filmmaker - Jack MacInnes, born and raised in London, moved to Damascus, where he met and ultimately married co-director Itab. His work has appeared on Netflix, BBC, and PBS and has received Emmy, BAFTA, Peabody, Grierson, and Prix Italia Awards.

Between stealing bicycles and breaking into cars, Denny’s only social outlet is spending time with his mother who loves reading correspondence from their Japanese family overseas. Denny’s loneliness pushes him to sign up for a penpal service from a classified-ad. He begins writing letters to a woman named Tess, whom he develops feelings for, but lies to about his nonexistent wealth and success. Unbeknownst to Denny, the penpal service is a scheme Tess and her real-life boyfriend, Maury, run to take advantage of the lonely. Tess and Maury find themselves in financial trouble of their own and decide to travel to Denny to take him for all he’s worth. Upon arrival they find that things aren’t what they seemed in Denny’s letters.

About the filmmaker - Kenny Oiwa Riches was born in Toyota City, Japan; raised in Salt Lake City, Utah; and currently resides in Miami, Florida. He holds a BFA in Painting and Drawing. His first feature film, Must Come Down, premiered at Cinequest Film Festival in 2012. His 2015 feature film, The Strongest Man, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by AMC International and Kino Lorber. His follow-up film, A Name Without A Place, premiered at the Miami Film Festival in 2019. Mouse marks his fourth feature film. He has received generous support from the Sundance Institute, Sun Valley Film Lab, US in Progress, the Knight Foundation, and PBS. His producer credits include My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020, Tribeca Film Festival) and Sanzaru (2020, Slamdance Film Festival). He is a co-founder of The Davey Foundation, a grant-giving organization for filmmakers founded in memory of David Fetzer. He is also a partner in the production company, Dualist.

Summer 2006, rural New Zealand. 14-year-old Sid Bookman is caught between childhood and adolescence, navigating a burgeoning sexual curiosity and a desperate desire for acceptance. Her coastal town is quiet and contained, but glimpses of life beyond— flickering reality TV, American pop culture, and the occasional seedy chatroom—ignite both longing and restless possibility. Each summer, wealthy out-of-towners arrive, carrying with them a world Sid can only imagine. Drawn to their effortless glamour and an older group of teens, she shape shifts through versions of herself, hoping one might be enough. But the harder she tries, the more chaos she creates. Everything changes when her sister returns from university with Freya, a magnetic friend from America, whose attention awakens something Sid can’t yet name. As New Year’s Eve nears—her imagined gateway to adulthood—Sid must confront the painful gap between who she is and who she’s pretending to be. Director Paloma Schneideman joins us to talk about this tender, unflinching portrait of queer adolescence, class shame, and identity, told through the intimate, unvarnished lens of New Zealand girlhood at a moment when the wider world was beginning to seep in.

About the filmmaker - Paloma Schneideman is a writer, director, and musician based in Tāmaki Makaurau, Auckland, New Zealand. She has worked across the film and music industries for a decade, with her work thematically gravitating towards the female experience, particularly queer perspectives and stories rooted in the human condition; exploring family, intimacy, and identity. Paloma was 1 of 10 participants hand selected by Dame Jane Campion to participate in her intensive film program 'A Wave In The Ocean’ in 2023. Throughout the program Paloma worked intensively with leading industry professionals, mentored by Jane, and out put a series of works that displayed a growing and unique directorial voice and signature. Paloma has applied all these learnings to her debut feature film, Big Girls Don't Cry, funded by the NZ Film Commission, and the first feature film to come from an alumni of the 'A Wave in the Ocean’ program. Paloma's most recent short film Gate Crash was commissioned by Toi Whakaari performing arts school in 2022, and was selected for NZIFF’s Best Short competition as well as Melbourne International Film Festival in 2023, obtaining a place in the renowned ‘Accelerator Lab.’ Her short films Memory Foam (2019) and Mine (2016) were both selected for NZIFF. In 2020 she obtained a NZFC Gender Scholarship, a placement in Script to Screen’s FilmUp intensive, and a director’s attachment on Armagan Ballentyne’s Nude Tuesday film. As a musician, she produces and performs music under the alias PollyHill, which has seen perform in some of New Zealand's biggest music festivals like Splore, Laneway, Othersway, and supporting international acts Arlo Parks, Kae Tempest, and Wiki. At the end of 2023, Paloma (PollyHill) released a collaborative album with Samara Alofa Aquaries - Age of Uranus., funded by NZ On Air, which has attracted acclaim from Rolling Stone magazine and Vice. The album won the 2025 Aotearoa Alternative Awards Best Song and Best EP.

Everest: The Other Side chronicles an epic story of two elite ski mountaineers Jim Morrison and Hilaree Nelson who fell deeply in love while reaching the pinnacle of their sport. Their drive sharpened into a shared dream: to climb and ski the direct North Face of Everest — the most difficult and dangerous climb on the mountain and the most coveted ski line on Earth. Thousands have summited the mountain via Nepal's southeast ridge, but only a handful have ever reached the top by this route, and no one has successfully skied down. Already known for their extraordinary feats in the mountains and no strangers to loss, Morrison and Nelson stake everything on this daunting challenge. From National Geographic Documentary Films and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin — the Oscar® -winning filmmakers behind Free Solo and Meru — Everest: The Other Side is an intimate portrait of two people bound by love, ambition and the pursuit of the impossible.

About the filmmaker - Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi is an Academy® Award-winning filmmaker with a storied history of critically acclaimed films. In 2019, she, along with co-director and co-producer Jimmy Chin, was awarded the Academy® Award and a BAFTA for Best Documentary Feature for “Free Solo,” an intimate, unflinching portrait of rock climber Alex Honnold. The film also received seven primetime Emmy® Awards. In 2023, she co-directed her first scripted feature, “Nyad” for NETFLIX, which saw both stars Annette Bening and Jodie Foster receive Academy Award nominations. More recently, she directed and produced “Love+War” for National Geographic Documentary Films, about acclaimed war photographer Lynsey Addario, and “Lost in the Jungle,” the incredible true story of four children who survived a plane crash in the Colombian jungle. The latter film won the Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary Emmy for 2025. In 2021, she co-directed the BAFTA and DGA nominated documentary “The Rescue,” chronicling the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of 12 boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in northern Thailand. Other projects include “Return to Space”, about SpaceX and NASA’s first joint spaceflight, which hit the Top 10 on Netflix’s most-watched films list, and the series “Edge of the Unknown” for National Geographic. Vasarhelyi was also honored with a Peabody and a News & Documentary Emmy Award for co-directing and producing the acclaimed National Geographic series“Photographer.” Her feature “Meru” won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and was on the 2016 Oscar shortlist for Best Documentary Feature. Vasarhelyi’s other films as a director include “Incorruptible” (Truer Than Fiction Independent Spirit Award 2016); “Youssou N’dour: I Bring What I Love” (Oscilloscope, 2009), which premiered at the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals; “A Normal Life” (Tribeca Film Festival, Best Documentary 2003); and “Touba” (SXSW, Special Jury Prize Best Cinematography in 2013). Vasarhelyi has directed two New York Times Op Docs, two episodes of Netflix’s nonfiction design series “Abstract” and two episodes of ESPN’s nonfiction series “Enhanced.” She has received grants from the Sundance Institute, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Bertha Britdoc and the National Endowment for the Arts. She is a member of the DGA, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), and she holds a bachelor’s in comparative literature from Princeton University. Vasarhelyi lives in New York City with her children, daughter, Marina, and son, James.

In October 1985, Santa Ana, California was shaken by a brazen act of political violence when Palestinian American Alex Odeh, a beloved teacher and community leader, was killed by a tripwire bomb planted in his office. Despite substantial evidence and identified suspects, the case was never solved. Who Killed Alex Odeh? reopens the mystery, tracking a renewed investigation in real time as new leads emerge, long-buried records come to light, and the forces behind a political assassination are finally confronted. Unfolding like a detective thriller, the film weaves archival footage, firsthand testimony, and new reporting to expose the violent fundamentalist networks behind the attack and the institutional failures that protected them. As the investigation deepens, the story widens to reveal how the extremist ideology that fueled Odeh’s murder did not disappear - it evolved, gaining traction and legitimacy in the modern political landscape. Directed by Jason Osder and William Lafi Youmans, a Jewish American and a Palestinian American, Who Killed Alex Odeh? is both a gripping cold-case pursuit and a timely examination of political violence, asking what it means when acts of terror go unresolved, and how justice denied continues to shape the world we live in.

About the filmmaker - Jason Osder is the director of the award-winning documentary Let the Fire Burn about the 1985 confrontation between the group MOVE and the Philadelphia police that claimed the lives of eleven people. Supported in part by the Sundance Institute, Let the Fire Burn premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival where it won the best editing in a documentary award and a jury special mention for best new documentary director. The film went on to play film festivals around the world, air nationally on PBS, and receive the Independent Spirit Truer than Fiction Award. Jason is an Associate Professor of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University. He creates online courses on media production for LinkedIn Learning and occasionally writes about film.

About the filmmaker - William Lafi Youmans is an Associate Professor at George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. Broadly interested in questions of transnationalism, power and communication, his primary research interests include global media, Middle East politics, and Arab-American studies. Youmans is the author of Unlikely Audience: Al Jazeera's Struggle in America. He is currently a fellow with the GW Humanities Center and was an Inclusion Imperative visiting faculty fellow at the Dresher Center for the Humanities at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County last year. Photo credit: Massimo Municchi

Director Samuel Abrahams' high concept film, LADY, zeroes in on a seemingly deluded aristocrat Lady Isabella (Sian Clifford) who has hired a struggling director Sam (Laurie Kynaston) to document life at her imposing country estate, Ravenhyde Hall. When he discovers that the promise of a Netflix commission was a lie, and that Isabella only wants him there to film her taking part in a ridiculously low- stakes regional talent show held at the Hall, he’s ready to quit—until he realizes the narcissistic Lady is, quite literally, turning invisible. Though from different worlds, they form an unexpected bond, but when Sam uncovers the tragic reason Isabella hasn’t left Ravenhyde Hall in years, he questions whether his film exploits her trauma. As the talent show approaches and Isabella’s invisibility spreads, can they both confront their fears before she disappears completely? Director Samuel Abrahams joins us for a spirited conversation on how he managed to successfully navigate the thin line between vulnerable and delusional, between comedy and cruelty.

About the filmmaker - Director / Writer Samuel Abrahams is a BAFTA and Webby-nominated writer & director, with two Cannes Lions wins for his commercials. Samuel’s first short Connect was nominated for a BAFTA, won the Jury Award at Encounters Film Festival, and was inducted into the BFI National Archive. His film Offline Dating amassed over 20 million combined views and sparked international debate around technology and modern romance. Sam has helmed global ad campaigns for brands like Apple, Sony, and Google. He studied Fine Art at Chelsea College of Art and is a member of the Directors Guild of America. Lady, starring Sian Clifford (Fleabag) is his feature debut.

Based on true events, "Tenzing” chronicles the little-known story of Tenzing Norgay (Genden Phuntsok), a gifted Himalayan climber who, alongside New Zealand mountaineer Edmund Hillary (Tom Hiddleston), became the first to summit Mount Everest. Encouraged by his wife Dawa (Thinley Lhamo), Tenzing finds an ally in expedition secretary Jill Henderson (Caitríona Balfe). Together, they persuade Colonel John Hunt (Willem Dafoe) that Tenzing belongs on the British climbing team, rather than merely serving it. Where Western climbers see "Everest" as something to be conquered, Tenzing reveres "Chomolungma" as the sacred mother goddess. What follows is an ascent defined as much by the tensions between backgrounds, classes and competing ambitions as by the perils of the mountain itself. But high above the world, empire, rank and aspiration fall away, leaving two outsiders bound by mutual respect and trust — and for Tenzing, the fulfillment of both a life-long dream and a spiritual calling. Directed by award-winning filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, “Tenzing” is a story of greatness that refuses to be diminished — and the love that makes it possible.

About the filmmaker - Jennifer Peedom is a BAFTA-nominated Australian director and producer whose work spans documentary and narrative film. Peedom has spent more than two decades working in the Himalayas and on Everest. Her relationship with the region and the Sherpa community began through her early work as a filmmaker in high-altitude environments and has shaped some of the defining projects of her career. Peedom’s directing credits include the internationally acclaimed feature documentaries “Solo,” “Sherpa," “Mountain," “River” and “Deeper." “Sherpa" premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, won the Grierson Award for Best Documentary at the BFI London Film Festival, and was nominated for the BAFTA for Best Documentary. It became one of Australia’s most successful theatrical documentaries— a benchmark Peedom surpassed with her next film, “Mountain,” made in collaboration with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. Peedom’s work has screened at major international festivals including Telluride, TIFF, SXSW, San Sebastián and Busan, and has received numerous awards and nominations, including recognition from the Australian Directors’ Guild and the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. Peedom co-founded and runs the Sydney-based production company Stranger Than Fiction Films, whose credits include "David Stratton: A Cinematic Life," which screened at Cannes Classics, and "Harley & Katya," winner of the International Emmy Award for Sports Documentary. The company’s most recent release, “Silenced," is a documentary feature about human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson and her fight against the weaponization of defamation laws to silence women in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The film premiered to acclaim at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.

PULP: What Do You Do For An Encore? is a celebration of one of Britain's most unusual bands, captured during their triumphant 2025 tour. Directed by longtime collaborator Garth Jennings and narrated by PULP frontman, Jarvis Cocker, the film weaves together footage from their ingenious live show with four decades of never-before-seen archival material, charting the band’s circuitous journey from Sheffield outsiders to unlikely cultural icons. Featuring twenty songs spanning the course of their career, PULP: What Do You Do For An Encore? is a tribute to a band of misfits whose sharp social commentary, sarcastic yet sincere wit, and enduring empathy with their audience continue to resonate across generations. PULP: WHAT DO YOU DO FOR AN ENCORE? is a MUBI Production directed by Garth Jennings and edited by Barney Pilling (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris).

About the filmmaker - Garth Jennings is a film director, writer and artist. He has directed numerous music videos and commercials through his co-owned production company Hammer & Tongs. His work includes videos for Blur, Radiohead, Beck, R.E.M., Fatboy Slim and Vampire Weekend. He directed the feature film The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and wrote and directed the semi-autobiographical film Son of Rambow. Garth went on to write and direct the animated films Sing and Sing 2 with Illumination Entertainment which grossed more than a billion dollars at the box office, and the short film Sing Thriller, which premiered on Netflix in October 2024. In 2019, he wrote and directed the short film Madame, which was screened and presented in various international film festivals and awarded the title of Best Short. He is the author of four children’s books: The Wildest Cowboy, The Deadly Seven, The Good, the Bad and the Deadly Seven, and The Curse of the Deadly Seven. He also directed the live shows of the band Pulp for their worldwide concert tours both in 2023 and in 2025. Garth is currently writing and directing his next movie.

About the subject - Jarvis Cocker is a musician & broadcaster from the north of England. He formed the band Pulp in 1978 whilst at secondary school. They went on to become one of the most successful UK groups of the 1990s. Between 2009 & 2017 he presented the BBC 6Music programme Jarvis Cocker’s Sunday Service as well as the ongoing, award-winning BBC Radio 4 documentary series Wireless Nights. He has honorary doctorates from both Sheffield Hallam University and Central Saint Martin’s School of Art (which he attended 1988-91). His lyric collection Mother, Brother, Lover was published by Faber in 2011. Good Pop, Bad Pop, his first work of long-form prose, was published by Jonathan Cape in 2022. The Sunday Service is back on air this year as Someday Service.

THE LAST PLACE ON EARTH is a thrilling, nine-year journey into the heart of Sumatra’s Leuser Ecosystem—a 2.6-million-hectare rainforest where tigers, elephants, rhinos, and orangutans still roam free. Filmed by a dedicated mostly Indonesian crew, this investigative documentary follows a group of extraordinary wildlife activists as they risk everything to save one of Earth’s last untouched wildernesses from the devastation of the illegal palm oil industry. From dramatic animal rescues and high-stakes arrests of poachers to the reforestation of thousands of hectares, each victory underscores the power of human determination in the face of overwhelming odds. “The Last Place on Earth” reveals the urgent need to protect our planet’s most irreplaceable treasures before it’s too late. Director David Booth Gardner joins us in conversation.

About the filmmaker - A visionary entrepreneur, David Booth Gardner possesses a diverse professional background in sports PR/management and as a writer, director and producer. Having produced hundreds of hours of programming for leading networks and Fortune 500 companies, Gardner knows exactly what it takes to successfully execute media projects for brands of all sizes. CEO & CO-FOUNDER, LIKUID ART

In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old street artist from a marginalized “untouchable” family in Delhi, set out on an extraordinary 6,000-mile journey across continents with little more than a handful of paintbrushes and a secondhand bicycle. Driven by an unwavering desire to reunite with Lotta, the Swedish woman who had captured his heart, he travels through unfamiliar landscapes, navigating borders, language barriers, and the limits imposed by class and circumstance. What begins as a deeply personal quest unfolds into a remarkable story of resilience, chance, and human connection. Along the way, PK encounters strangers who offer kindness, skepticism, and support, revealing the unpredictable ways in which lives intersect across cultures. Director Director Orlando von Einsiedel joins us for a spirited conversation on his own journey and what the story of P.K. and Lotta taught him about the power of love.

About the filmmaker - The Cycle of Love Director Orlando von Einsiedel is an Academy Award–winning director and founder of the UK-based creative studio Grain Media. His work includes the Academy Award–winning THE WHITE HELMETS and the Academy Award–nominated VIRUNGA, as well as the BIFA-winning EVELYN, the Emmy-nominated LOST AND FOUND and CONVERGENCE: COURAGE IN A CRISIS, the Platino-nominated THE LOST CHILDREN, and the critically acclaimed Netflix series HEART OF INVICTUS. His latest project, THE CYCLE OF LOVE, is forthcoming. As an executive producer, his credits include the Academy Award–winning LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WAR ZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL), the Emmy-nominated SCOUTS HONOR, and the Emmy Award–winning BUY NOW!.

Over a decade after Miss Representation exposed the media's contribution to the under- representation of women in leadership, Miss Representation: Rise Up dives deep into the cultural backlash against women's agency and power. With the proliferation of AI and deepfakes, this new era of tech-facilitated violence is exacerbating sexism and misogyny towards women and girls, in an attempt to control and silence them. With inspiring young women at its core, Miss Representation: Rise Up interweaves young women’s personal journeys alongside powerful voices in media, culture, leadership, and academia to reimagine a future that finally uplifts women and girls. We are joined by the Director and Producer of Miss Representation and Miss Representation: Rise Up! Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

About the filmmaker -Jennifer Siebel Newsom is an award-winning filmmaker, influential thought leader on gender equality, and the First Partner of California. After graduating with honors from Stanford University and Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, she wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning documentary Miss Representation (2011), which explores the media's misrepresentation of women and girls and theresulting underrepresentation of women in positions of power and influence in America. As a result of Miss Representation's impact, she launched The Representation Project, a nonprofit organization that uses film, media, and education as catalysts for cultural transformation. Her subsequent films — The Mask You Live In (2015), The Great American Lie (2019), and Fair Play (2022) — further explored masculinity, systemic inequality, and domestic inequity. Jennifer also executive- produced the Emmy Award-winning and Academy Award-nominated The Invisible War (2012), and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries The Hunting Ground (2015) and On the Record (2020).

Following the Yellow Vest protests of Paris in 2018, internal affairs officer Stéphanie Bertrand must investigate the conduct of her fellow police officers during the demonstrations. Though striving to remain objective, Stéphanie’s position leaves her at stark odds with the rest of the police force. When she scrutinizes the near-fatal assault of a teenage protester from her hometown, Stéphanie is met with growing institutional pressure to drop the case and move on. The further her investigation develops, the more Stéphanie’s faith in the system she belongs to is tested. From Dominik Moll, the award-winning French director of The Night of the 12th, comes his latest procedural -- “a piercing slow-burn examination of police brutality” (The Hollywood Reporter) led by the “marvelous” (Screen Daily) Léa Drucker in a César-winning role for Best Actress. Timely and socially resonant, CASE 137 is a tautly constructed study of institutional violence which asks charged questions about corruption and accountability in the criminal justice system.

About the filmmaker - After considering a career as a wildlife filmmaker, Dominik Moll discovered the films of Alfred Hitchcock and decided to switch to fiction. He studied film at the City College of New York and at the IDHEC in Paris, where he met his long-time collaborator Gilles Marchand. Together they have written the screenplays for most of their individual films. In the 1990s, Moll worked as an editor and an assistant director (notably with Laurent Cantet and Marcel Ophuls) and directed his first feature, Intimité (1994). His second film, With a Friend like Harry, was screened in competition in Cannes in 2000 and was a hit with critics and audiences, winning 4 Césars. In his following films, Moll continued to explore genre movies, while integrating more and more social themes. In 2023, The Night of the 12th won 7 Césars after being praised by both critics and audiences. Dominik Moll has also worked on two international series, including Eden (for Arte) on the intersecting destinies of migrants throughout Europe. His latest film, Case 137, is being presented in competition at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. Its French release is scheduled for November 19th.

Directed by Susanne Rostock (Sing Your Song), FOLLOWING HARRY joins legendary artist and civil rights leader Harry Belafonte as he embarks on a deeply personal and reflective journey, inspiring the next generation of entertainers and activists to disrupt injustice across the globe, striving for impactful change. FOLLOWING HARRY is an intimate documentary that chronicles the last twelve years of legendary Harry Belafonte’s life, highlighting the artist-activist's enduring commitment to social justice. Fueled by his tremendous sense of urgency to inspire the next generation of entertainers and activists to stand for justice, the film provides a window into both his public endeavors and private moments, capturing his journey from the aftermath of the death of Trayvon Martin, to his engagements in the protests in Ferguson, the Women’s March (which was created in his office), to the deeply and profound conversations in his home. The film ultimately amplifies Harry’s belief that “each generation must be responsible for itself. All I can do is leave behind the crumbs of my experience. I have a trail that you can follow, if you find value in it, pick it up and if you don’t, bring something better.” In addition to Harry Belafonte, Following Harry features; Aja Monet, Angela Davis, Aloe Blacc, Carmen Perez, Chuck D, Gina Belafonte, Jamie Foxx, Jesse Williams, Kerry Kennedy, Matt Post, Phillip Agnew, Rod Starz, Rosario Dawson, Sean Pica, & Talib Kweli and many more.

About the filmmaker - Long esteemed as "an aural and visual poet", Susanne Rostock's filmmaking is a stunning 40 years of some of the most compelling documentaries of each decade. Her most recent film as director/editor, FOLLOWING HARRY, is a sequel to her film, Sing Your Song , about Harry Belafonte's earlier life as an artist and activist and was chosen to open the U.S. Documentary Competition section of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Sing Your Song received top honors in festivals around the world, was shortlisted for an Oscar, and garnered the NAACP Image Award and a Gracie for Outstanding Director. An EMMY NOMINATED editor and director, she has achieved recognition on a myriad of films that continue to endure and resonate. Her 20-year multi-award-winning collaboration as editor with director Michael Apted has produced such richly provocative films as: The Long Way Home ; Incident At Oglala ; Me & Isaac Newton ; Inspirations; The Power of The Game; Moving The Mountain . Rostock is presently engaged in producing, directing, editing the documentary Between Starshine and Clay: The Hidden Diary of Diahann Carroll , co-directed by Suzanne Kay and Executive Produced by Serena and Venus Williams. Susanne studied anthropology and ethnographic filmmaking with Margaret Mead at Columbia University and received an MFA in Filmmaking from New York University. She resides in New York City.

Inspired by Roscher’s own biracial experience, BIRD IN HAND follows the newly engaged Bird Rowe (Alisha Wainwright) as she returns to her rural hometown to plan the wedding with her narcissistic hippie mother Carlotta (Christine Lahti). Bird also has a hidden agenda, one that leads her to her mother's new neighbors, a misguided couple on a mission to 'rebrand' a plantation. Truth, lies, and fantasy collide against that backdrop, leading to a surprising climax as tender as it is funny. Roscher's bitingly comic feature film debut weaves themes of race, belonging, and family into Bird’s mercurial journey back to herself. James LeGros, Jeffrey Nordling, and Annabelle Dexter-Jones co-star in this A Future of Film is Female Release. We are joined by the director and co-writer Melody Roscher.

About the filmmaker - Melody Roscher debut feature film as a writer and director, Bird In Hand premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in the US Competition category. The film is preceded by a companion short film she wrote and directed, White Wedding, that premiered at 2021’s Sundance Film Festival, and played in dozens of festivals around the world. Her directing and writing work comes off years of Producing film, television and commercial work. Some notable works include Borderline Films Antonio Campos, Sean Durkin, and Josh Mond’s works Christine; James White, Simon Killer, and Martha Marcy May Marlene. For these works she was nominated for two Independent Spirit awards including best first feature for James White, and Piaget Producer’s Award for Christine. Other cult favorites include Dean Fleischer-Camp’s Catherine, starring Jenny Slate, and Robin Comisar’s Great Choice. Melody hails from both New York City, and Richmond, Virginia where she now resides. She’s a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.

In The Last Message, Kelsie Kimberlin travels to Ukraine to uncover why her 21-year-old cousin Andrii Rachok was killed by Russian forces during their full-scale invasion. Kelsie, a popular American-Ukrainian singer, struggles to record her song Star in his memory, realizing she must first seek absolution and witness Ukraine’s fight herself. Along the Ukrainian frontline, she meets soldiers, commanders, luminaries, and ordinary citizens enduring Russia’s unjust war, and visits Andrii’s gravesite amid drone and missile attacks. Through her journey, she discovers that Andrii has forgiven her and that every Ukrainian is a star and hero, defending their country with courage and resilience. We are joined my the subject of The Last Message Kelsie Kimberlin.

About the subject - Kelsie Kimberlin is a 27-year old singer-songwriter who has been involved with music her entire life, starting with children’s and church choirs and then recording her first song at age eight for Yoko Ono’s Peace Project, which won first prize and a $5000 award. She spent all of that money on music lessons and started recording her own music in the studio at age 12. Over the past several years, she has recorded more than 100 original songs.

About the filmmaker - Oleksii Mykhailovych Liebidiev is a Kyiv-based director, cinematographer, editor, and producer, and a graduate of the I. K. Karpenko-Karyi Kyiv National University of Theatre, Cinema and Television. Over more than a decade, he has built a body of work spanning documentary and narrative film, working alternately as director, cinematographer, or both. His documentary credits include Alchemy of the Word (2012), which he directed and shot, Krasna Malanka (2014), and Naive Painting of M. Onatsko (2017), both as director of photography. In fiction, he shot the shorts Cold Rain of Solitude (2018) and Stronger Than an Angel (2018), and the feature The Address on the Wall (2021). More recently, Liebidiev directed and served as director of photography on the documentary series Extraordinary Fascism (2022) and the feature documentary The Last Message (2025).

About the filmmaker - Andrii Voloshyn is a Ukrainian film director, producer and editor. He was born on July 27, 1980, in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. He began his professional career in audiovisual production as a production organizer and producer. A major stage in his professional development was his long-term collaboration with director and producer Serge Krutsenko. Working on concert, television, theatre and film projects, Voloshyn gradually moved from production into editing and directing. As an executive and line producer, he participated in cultural and film projects including the multimedia show The Little Prince for the ROSHEN fountain, projects of the Watch Ukrainian! initiative, the film anthology Everything Begins in Kyiv, the screen version of Yevhen Stankovych’s folk-opera When the Fern Blooms, the concert project Insha Rika by the band Druha Rika with NAONI, and the documentary film The Address on the Wall. He studied directing at the National Academy of Culture and Arts Management. At the beginning of 2022, Voloshyn joined the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation’s expert council in the field of audiovisual arts. After the beginning of Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine, he focused on documentary filmmaking. In 2022–2023, together with Oleksii Liebiediev, he worked on the documentary trilogy Extraordinary Fascism, examining contemporary Russian fascism, state propaganda and the ideological causes of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. In 2023, as director and executive producer, he created the music videos Armageddon, Another Chance To Live Again and Turn Back with American singer Kelsie Kimberlin, focusing on Russia’s war against Ukraine. In May 2024, shortly after moving to the United States, Voloshyn proposed developing Kimberlin’s story as a feature-length documentary. This became The Last Message, on which Voloshyn served as co-director, co-author of the concept and screenplay, and editor.

STALIN BOYS follows four Mexican American middle school boys in a tiny Texas border town who have developed an unusual obsession with Joseph Stalin. When their teacher tells them about the Texas State History Fair, they decide to write and perform a play about the Soviet dictator and his efforts to destroy all who opposed him. Armed with cardboard props and fur hats purchased on the internet, the boys enter the competition as underdogs and leave home for the very first time. What begins as an eccentric school project develops into a funny, surprising and deeply engaging exploration of power, tyranny, bullying, history, friendship, and the ways young people grapple with ideas much larger than themselves. Joining us on Cinemafile are the co-directors of Stalin Boys Bianca Giaever and Ora DeKornfeld.

*SXSW Audience Award Winner & SXSW Special Jury Award

About the filmmaker - Filmmaker and radio producer Bianca Inga is the creator and host of the podcast Constellation Prize, distributed by The Believer Magazine. She has also worked as a producer on The New York Times audio team, hosting episodes of The Daily that include Delilah, An Obituary for the Land, and Cosmic Questions. Her film, radio, and print stories have appeared on This American Life, Radiolab, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Believer Magazine, and the TED conference. In 2013, her college short film the Scared is scared was named “Web Video of the Year” by USA Today. Her awards include a Daytime Emmy and a Webby Award and she is represented by m ssng p eces for commercial directing. Her latest project and upcoming film, Free Help, was profiled in The New York Times. She is currently a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University and an Associate Fellow at the Film Study Center at Harvard University. You can follow her latest on Instagram. Originally from Seattle, she is currently based in Cambridge, Massachusetts after having spent many years between Vermont and New York City.

About the filmmaker - Ora DeKornfeld is an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker who began her career as a video journalist at The New York Times. She now directs, shoots, and edits documentary films that resist easy answers — morally complicated, human-scaled, and often funny in the places you don't expect. DeKornfeld directed the Emmy-nominated short USA v SCOTT (Tribeca 2020, The New Yorker); STALIN BOYS (SXSW 2024), winner of both the Audience Award and Special Jury Prize; and THE GRANDFATHER PUZZLE (Full Frame 2026), winner of the Audience Award. She shot and edited Isabel Castro's MIJA (Sundance 2022) and was a co-editor on Elizabeth Lo's MISTRESS DISPELLER. She has directed multiple episodes of the Netflix Original Explained and is currently in production on her first feature film following journalistic fixers in Mexico.

When lightning ignites a firestorm in their redwood forest sanctuary in Northern California, longtime lovers and artists Beth Stephens & Annie Sprinkle are forced to evacuate. Their lives are forever changed as they blend loss and grief into ecosexual art by fusing humor, community care, and environmental awareness into a lush and fiery journey of transformation. Humorously narrated by a mythical white peacock, PLAYING WITH FIRE: AN ECOSEXUAL EMERGENCY documents their adventures in the wake of disaster, while also honoring the broader communities impacted by ecological and social fires. Said Stephens and Sprinkle, "Fire is one of our greatest teachers. It can destroy, but it can also illuminate a path forward. In these turbulent times, PLAYING WITH FIRE offers a sense of hope, eco-sensual pleasures and connection.”

ABout the filmmakers - PLAYING WITH FIRE is the third and final film in their trilogy of groundbreaking queer environmental documentaries. It started with Goodbye Gauley Mountain–An Ecosexual Love Story (2013), which critically investigated mountaintop removal coal mining (MTR) in West Virginia, focusing on the people and communities affected and the corporations employing this extraction technique. Their second film, Water Makes Us Wet-An Ecosexual Adventure (2017) - screening at MoMa in NYC this summer - explores the pleasures and politics of water, and its conservation, commodification, and sustainability.

Joining us on this edition of Cinemafile is Antoinetta Stallings, the Head of the MAXSCENE Division at Tyler Perry Studios, a new specialty division dedicated to expanding theatrical opportunities for filmmakers with distinctive voices. This new arm of Tyler Perry Studios will focus on creator-first and audience-focused projects that are unbound to any blueprint. Maxscene will develop, produce, and distribute films across various genres — giving storytellers the opportunity to build upon an established audience while forging one of their own.

The division is named in honor of Tyler Perry's mother, Maxine Perry, whose belief in her son shaped the studio he would go on to build, and now, the storytellers it intends to champion. Antoinetta Stallings, Head of Development & Acquisitions at Tyler Perry Studios, will oversee the Maxscene division. A studio veteran, Stallings previously served as VP of Unscripted Programming, where she launched and led the studio's joint venture with Pantheon Media Group — making Maxscene the second creative arm she has built at TPS from the ground up.

About the filmmaker - Antoinette (Hairston) Stallings - Antoinetta Stallings is an Emmy nominated producer and creative executive, currently serving as the Vice President of Development and Acquisitions at Tyler Perry Studios. Previously she held roles as producer and post producer on acclaimed projects with networks such as PBS, BET, Centric TV, ITV America, and A. Smith & Co. Productions. Stallings has built an impressive portfolio, starting as a producer for the Black Girls Rock Award show for BET. She went on to co-produce Crank That Vote, a project highlighting youth civic engagement, and served as supervising producer on the docu-series BEING on Centric. Notably, her short documentary The ATL Waterboyz received the Best Society Film award at the July 2023 Toronto Documentary Festival. She also served as Vice President of Unscripted at Tyler Perry Studios where she oversaw the end-to-end development and production of unscripted content. Other credits include Associate producer on TV series such as All the Queen’s Men, House of Payne, and Tyler Perry’s Assisted Living. Stallings was an Executive Producer on Sincerely, Love, a romantic dramedy, and a Creative Executive at Tyler Perry Studios for the film The Six Triple Eight, starring Kerry Washington.