Rosie (Sarah Rich), a teen in Woodstock, N.Y., is mourning the anniversary of younger sister Amelia’s death. She’s shocked to discover that the…
U.S.
Davy Rothbart
In 1999, 9-year-old Emmanuel Sanford-Durant and his Washington, D.C., family began to film their daily lives in America's most dangerous…
Arthur Penn
Based on the epic story-song by folk-music troubadour Arlo Guthrie, son of legendary Dust Bowl balladeer Woody Guthrie, “Alice’s Restaurant” is a…
Jacqueline Olive
In the small town of Bladenboro, N.C., 17-year-old Lennon Lacy was found hanging from a swing set on Aug. 29, 2014. Despite inconsistencies in the…
Roger Ross Williams
Helmed by Oscar- and Emmy-winning director Roger Ross Williams, “The Apollo” chronicles the unique history and contemporary legacy of the New York…
Tricia Regan
In 1980, autism was a relatively rare disorder, diagnosed in one in 10,000 children in the United States. Today, it is one in 150. “Autism: The…
Alex Horwitz
In “Autonomy” — which premiered at SXSW — celebrated journalist and author Malcolm Gladwell (“The Tipping Point,” the new “Talking to Strangers”)…
Joan Micklin Silver
In “Between the Lines,” at the offices of a Boston alternative newspaper, the staff members enjoy a positive and open-minded work environment.…
Brian Schodorf
Much is said about the violence that plagues Chicago’s hyper-segregated communities. But what is known about the systems that created them, the…
Chinonye Chukwu
In Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner “Clemency,” years of carrying out death-row executions have taken a toll on prison warden Bernadine Williams (…
Lara Jean Gallagher
In a desperate plea for attention, unhinged and heartbroken Karen — who’s unable to let go of her failing relationship with an older and more…
Jonathan Schienberg
Jamil Sunsin is the only person in his family born in the U.S. His parents and sister came from Honduras and lived in the U.S. for a decade before…
Sophie Guerra & Clement Guerra
Four indigenous environmental leaders embark on an extraordinary trans-continental adventure, traveling from the Canadian plains to deep into the…
Judith Helfand
Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents — mostly elderly and black — died over the course of one week…
Marco Williams
When the Martha Graham Dance Company commissions famed choreographer Andonis Foniadakis to create a new piece, his fluid, improvisational style…
Alla Kovgan
Alla Kovgan’s “Cunningham” — which screened at the prestigious Toronto and New York film festivals — provides an immersive view of Merce…
Gretchen Hildebran & Vivian Vazquez
In the 1970s, the Bronx was on fire. Left unprotected by the city government, nearly a half-million people were displaced as their close-knit,…
Urooj Yazdani
Eleven-year-old Humera lives in the small, impoverished Pakistani fishing village of Cashma Goth with her mother and sisters. Because her father…
Cindy Meehl
A founding father of integrative veterinary medicine, Dr. Marty Goldstein and his colleagues in South Salem, N.Y., have created a mecca for…
Megan Wennberg
“Drag Kids” is an intimate journey into the lives of four child drag queens from around the world. As an art form, drag has always been about…
Danielle Beverly
Iconic Chicago record store Dusty Groove has been buying vinyl collections for 20 years. But how can you put a price tag on something so personal…
Haka Puai te Kainga
The iconic statues and sensationalized "mysteries" of Easter Island (Rapa Nui) have drawn the interest of the world for centuries, attracting…
John Presley
First-time Missouri filmmaker John Presley provides an illuminating profile of world-class bluegrass fiddler Michael Cleveland. Routinely hailed…
David Barnhart
“Flint: The Poisoning of an American City” traces the history of the city’s interaction with the Flint River — from the continued abuse and…
Kevin McKiernan
“From Wounded Knee to Standing Rock” tells the intertwined stories of Willard Carlson, a Yurok Indian fisherman who fought at Wounded Knee, S.D.,…
David Charles Rodrigues
The Tribeca 2019 Audience Award winner, “Gay Chorus Deep South” follows the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus as it embarks on a tour of the American…
Cody Stokes
Shot in St. Louis by former St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase award-winner Cody Stokes, “The Ghost Who Walks” is a breathlessly paced ride through the…
Destin Daniel Cretton
A powerful and thought-provoking true story, "Just Mercy" follows young civil-rights attorney Bryan Stevenson (“Black Panther’s” Michael B. Jordan…
Amy Goldstein
This highly entertaining documentary about British singer/songwriter and actress Kate Nash — a star of Netflix’s “GLOW” — is a kaleidoscopic,…
David Hambridge
A distressing account of extinction in real time, “Kifaru” follows the lives of two young Kenyan recruits who join Ol Pejeta Conservancy's rhino-…
Sean Mullin
In “Kings of Beer” — directed by Sean Mullin (“Amira & Sam,” the winner of SLIFF’s 2014 New Filmmakers Forum) — a diverse group of elite…
Stephen Wallace Pruitt
“The Land” tells the compelling story of a marriage on the precipice of an uncertain future. By leveraging the very land that has been in his…
Kathy Bruner
An alternative school in small-town Indiana is the last, best chance for struggling teens to earn a high-school diploma. For Devin, Hannah, Zariah…
Aliza Rosen
This charming, droll, and sometimes moving documentary is built around the personality of comedian and podcaster H. Alan Scott, who is preparing…
Sylvia Nagel & Sonya Winterberg
“Made in Auschwitz” focuses needed attention on a little-known aspect of the Nazis’ ghastly experiments, detailing the efforts of gynecologist…
Josh Melrod
Set in the backwoods of Vermont, “Major Arcana” follows Dink (Ujon Tokarski), an itinerant carpenter who returns home to collect an inheritance.…
Noah Baumbach
The fest opens with one of the year’s most critically lauded films, “Marriage Story,” a dramedy from Oscar-nominated writer-director Noah Baumbach…
Chris Butler
“Missing Link” — the globe-trotting family adventure from the Oscar-nominated LAIKA Studios (“ParaNorman,” “Kubo and the Two Strings”) — stars the…
Alexander John Glustrom
Mossville, La., is a shadow of its former self. Once a community rich in natural resources and history, Mossville was founded by formerly enslaved…
Lillian LaSalle
“My Name Is Pedro” explores what public education meant to South Bronx Latino maverick educator Pedro Santana — and what he, in turn, means to…
Tara Johnson-Medinger
“My Summer As a Goth” tells a delightful coming-of-age story about the sometimes painful but often comic search for identity and love in…
Molly Stuart
Like all Israeli youth, Atalya is obligated to become a soldier. Unlike most, she questions the practices of her country’s military and becomes…
Harry Charalambos Mavromichalis
A revealing, unfiltered profile of Academy Award-winning theater and film actor Olympia Dukakis, “Olympia” includes the expected interviews with…
Jeremy Teicher
In the romantic comedy “Olympic Dreams,” Penelope (Alexi Pappas), a young cross-country skier, befriends Ezra (Nick Kroll), a volunteer dentist,…
Uri Levi
In “Once Upon a Boy,” an Israeli family deals with the challenges of cerebral palsy, which affects one of their twin sons. Both ingratiatingly…
Puloma Basu & Rob Hatch-Miller
“Other Music” provides a highly entertaining tribute to/eulogy for Other Music, a much-loved NYC indie record store that evolved out of another…
Jan Haaken
Nearly one in four American women have an abortion during their lifetime, yet the doctors who perform this commonplace procedure are rarely talked…
Andrew Elizaga & Tia Young
Because of the steady exodus of African Americans from the rapidly gentrifying, historically black neighborhood of Seattle’s Central District, the…
Rashaad Ernesto Green
On a summer night in Harlem during her last months at home before starting college, 17-year-old poet Ayanna (co-writer Zora Howard) meets Isaiah (…
Van Maximilian Carlson
“Princess of the Row” tells a heart-wrenching tale about the powerful bond between a father and daughter. Alicia Willis (Tayler Buck) — a 12-year-…
Lisa Rhoden Boyd
In “The Voice Within,” inmates at the women’s prison in Vandalia, Mo., participate in a two-week Prison Performing Arts (PPA) workshop and take an…
Bruce Dellis
In suburban Phoenix, 40-year-old Ruth Kiesling (Amanda Melby) is not exactly “living the dream.” A doughnut-shop employee with anger issues, she…
LIsa Cortés & Farah X
“The Remix” tells the story of how hip-hop changed fashion, leading to the stratospheric rise of street wear around the world. The film takes…
Scott Z. Burns
In “The Report” — a thriller based on actual events — idealistic staffer Daniel J. Jones (Adam Driver) is tasked by his boss, Sen. Dianne…
Bernard Attal
In 2014, Geovane, a young man from a poor neighborhood in Brazil, was arrested by the military police and never seen again. Assisted by the local…
Kelly Blatz
Kicked out of the plush retirement facility where he lives with partner Adina (Anne Gee Byrd), 84-year-old World War II veteran William (Tom Bower…
Buster Keaton
St. Louis’ Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra — a longtime fest favorite — returns to SLIFF with original scores and live accompaniment…
Svetlana Cvetko
“Show Me What You Got” tells an unconventional love story — one firmly rooted in the times in which we live — that takes three adventurous…
Dan Steadman
Talented photographer Lucas Wilson (Raymond Roberson) is still processing his emotions after the death of his father two years ago and marking…
Matt Ratner
Iconic funnyman Billy Crystal makes a welcome return to film comedy in the delightful “Standing Up, Falling Down,” which debuted at Tribeca.…
Sydney Pollack
In Depression-era America, desperation spawned a bizarre fad: the dance marathon. Couples competed to stay on their feet for thousands of hours,…
Leana Hosea
“Thirst for Justice” profiles three diverse women: Janene, a Navajo in Sanders, Ariz., where uranium mining has long contaminated the drinking…
Ben Scholle
In July 2002, Johnny Johnson was arrested and charged with the abduction and murder of 6-year-old Cassandra Williamson in Valley Park, Mo., and…
Michael Bertin
“Throw a Billion Dollars from the Helicopter” provocatively examines public financing of sports stadiums and arenas, a topic especially relevant…
Josh Aronson
“To Be of Service” shows the enduring costs of war through the lives of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan war veterans. The documentary — directed by…
Tom Shepard
“Unsettled” choncicles the journeys of four LGBTQ refugees who come to the U.S., specifically the “gay mecca” of San Francisco, to escape…
Trey Edward Shults
Set against the vibrant landscape of South Florida, and featuring an ensemble of award-winning actors and breakouts alike, “Waves” traces the epic…
Clayton Brown & Monica Long Ross
Amid protests and controversy, young-earth creationists and evolution denialists build an enormous, $120 million “life-size” Noah’s Ark in rural…
Mariam Ghani
“What We Left Unfinished” tells the incredible — and mostly true — story of five unfinished feature films from the Communist era in Afghanistan,…
Roberto Minervini
In the summer of 2017, a string of brutal police killings of young African-American men sends shock waves throughout the country. In New Orleans,…
Brian Rose
In November 2006, student Jesse Ross traveled to Chicago to participate in an academic conference. While attending a meeting, he rose from his…
Marianna Yarovskaya
“Women of the Gulag” tells the compelling and tragic stories of some of the last survivors of the Gulag, the brutal system of repression that…
Robert Jury
“Working Man” is a classic American story set in an all-too-contemporary world. When the last factory in a small Rust Belt town closes its doors,…
Karen Maine
Growing up in the Midwest in the early aughts, 16-year-old Alice (Natalia Dyer, who plays Nancy Wheeler in “Stranger Things”) has always been a…
Kenny Dalsheimer
“You Gave Me a Song” offers a delightful profile of Alice Gerrard, a legendary bluegrass singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who plays —…