Cinemafile

POOLS dives into the chaotic life of Kennedy, a rebellious college student who has one day to get her life together or face expulsion. Rather than conform, she recruits a misfit crew for a spontaneous night of pool hopping through the lavish backyards of her college town. What starts as an adrenaline-fueled escape turns into something deeper as Kennedy confronts grief, identity, and the lingering...

A surprisingly comic in-depth expose of the massive deforestation required to deliver the nation’s most popular bath tissue brand, CHARMIN WIPES OUT A FOREST is delivering a shocking, yet hopeful message directly to the consumers who can take action: this is a big problem and you can do something about it. Filmed on location in the boreal forest of Canada and featuring an array of scientists, expe...

Director Joshua Zeman’s intense documentary, CHECKPOINT ZOO focuses on the early days of the Russian-Ukrainian war Kharkiv, the country’s second largest city, as it becomes a warzone. On one side of the battlefield was the invading Russian army, on the other side, the defending Ukrainians, and caught in between them, was a zoo called Feldman Ecopark.  Checkpoint Zoo showcases a story of human...

Ebs Burnough made his directorial debut with the documentary “The Capote Tapes". He is back with KEROUAC’S ROAD: THE BEAT OF A NATION - Through the lens of Kerouac’s novel On The Road , the documentary follows a few different Americans of various backgrounds on their own personal life journeys traveling across the country, while also looking at the impact and legacy the book has had on generations...

Director, Producer, Cinematographer and Writer Mstyslav Chernov  drop by to talk about the harrowing, heroic and profoundly moving experience that is his remarkable documentary film, 2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA.  2000 METERS TO ANDRIIVKA  follows a Ukrainian battalion as they try to recapture the small town of Andriivka just after it had been overtaken by Russian soldiers. The Ukrainia...

IT’S NEVER OVER, JEFF BUCKLEY , directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Amy Berg (DELIVER US FROM EVIL, JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE, WEST OF MEMPHIS), covers the life of the rising young star with an otherworldly voice and boundary-pushing artistry, who left the '90s music world reeling when he died suddenly, at age 30, after the release of his critically acclaimed debut album “Grace.” Told through neve...

Renown filmmaker Viktor Kossakovsky (Gunda, Aquarela) presents his spectacular new documentary, ARCHITECTON, as  a poetic meditation on architecture and how the design and construction of buildings from the ancient past may reveal much about our looming destruction – as well as offer hope for survival and a way forward. He reflects on the rise and fall of civilizations while fo...

Before Fred Rogers and Jim Henson, there was Shari Lewis, a children’s television pioneer whose whimsical characters and ebullient spirit have guided generations of children as they came of age. Raised in the Bronx by a proud feminist mother and a professor father who moonlighted as Peter Pan the Magic Man, Shari became a multitalented dancer, singer, and magician. But when an injury sidelined her...

Disabled film Director Reid Davenport (I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE) and Producer Colleen Cassingham trenchantly probes the legacy of Elizabeth Bouvia — a disabled California woman who, at the age of 26, sought “the right to die.” Her 1983 case provoked a national debate about the value of disabled lives, and Davenport sees echoes in chilling contemporary cases of disabled people dying prematurely...

Fearless civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio battles at the Supreme Court for transgender adolescents' access to gender-affirming healthcare, confronting not only the legal system but also a media landscape that distorts public perception and threatens the struggle for trans rights. With the dangerous SCOTUS decision upholding the ban on life-saving healthcare, HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY is an urgent...

DEATH and TAXES is a feature documentary about wealth, inequality, and the American Dream, viewed through the lens of the estate tax. It is also the very personal story of a father and son at odds over what kind of inheritance we want to leave our kids and our country. Filmmaker Justin Schein's father, Harvey Schein, liked to say he lived the so-called "American Dream": rising from poverty in Depr...

It starts with a kick to the head. Mixed martial arts competitor Lukas has just handily defeated his opponent and celebrates with his wife, child, and friends backstage, setting the scene for a nimble combination of communal bonding and looming horrors.  Writer-director Laurynas Bareiša, an ND/NF veteran for his debut feature Pilgrims , takes us on a non-linear journey through the experiences...

Meredith Monk — composer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist — is one of the great artistic pioneers of our time, yet her profound cultural influence is largely unrecognized. With Monk’s music at its center, and featuring interviews with Björk and David Byrne, MONK IN PIECES is a mosaic that mirrors the structure of Monk’s own work, and illuminates her wildly original vocabulary of sound and...

A KING LIKE ME follows members of the Zulu Club, New Orleans’ first Black Mardi Gras krewe, as they work to bring the Zulu parade back to the streets for Mardi Gras Day 2022, in the face of a global pandemic, hurricane Ida and the loss of members due to COVID and gun violence. A KING LIKE ME benefits from the unprecedented access to a stalwart community and cultural institution as it document...

Producer Christopher Walter’s ARTFULLY UNITED, the first feature-length documentary from his own productions company, is a celebration of the power of positivity and a reminder that hope can sometimes grow in the most unlikely of places. ARTFULLY UNITED springs from the imagination and artistry of Mike Norice who’s simple, but brilliant idea to paint striking images and messages, designed to engag...

After a series of plagues and wars leaves society in ruins, the Freemans are surviving — even thriving — on a farm in the middle of nowhere... so long as they repel the occasional raiding party. Former soldier Hailey (Danielle Deadwyler) and her partner Galen (Michael Greyeyes) fled the collapse along with their children, training them to fight (and, yes, kill). But now Hailey’s eldest Emanuel (Ka...

On the fringes of the Oregon wilderness, two strangers are brought together when a reclusive Woodsman (Ivan Martin) discovers a teenage runaway, Dani (Maddison Brown) hypothermic and barely conscious in the woods. After saving Dani from the elements, The Woodsman begrudgingly agrees to return the teen to her grandmother. As they make their way across the state, they forge an unexpected bond, delvi...

Strap up for Director Rex Miller’s head first dive into the turmoil and chaos that has been the life of Harley Flanagan! WIRED FOR CHAOS looks back on the founder of the pioneering band Cro-Mags and a legend of the NYC Hardcore scene, Harley Flanagan is a punk rock icon who has battled chaos, defied the odds, and come out the other side . Friends like Flea, Henry Rollins, Roger Miret, Keith M...

PRIME MINISTER begins in August 2017 with the dramatic the lead-up to national elections. Jacinda Ardern unexpectedly became New Zealand’s opposition party leader. She had just turned 37. Two frenetic months later, she becomes Prime Minister. Co-directors Michelle Walshe (CHASING GREAT) and Lindsay Utz (BILLIE EILISH: THE WORLD’S A LITTLE BLURRY) to talk to us about the treasure trove of foot...

Co-director Fax Bahr and Film Archivist / Restoration Supervisor for American Zoetrope, James T. Mockoski join us for a spirited conversation on the harrowing and rewarding ride that has been the story of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now and Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse.