APOLLO 1
Directed by Mark Craig
Martha Chaffee met her husband Roger on a blind date. An accom- plished pilot and a devoted spouse and father, he flew surveillance sorties during the Cuban missile crisis before joining NASA’s astronaut corps. Ed White was another extraordinary man who became the first American to walk in space. Gus Grissom was made of the original right stuff. He served in WWII and flew space missions in the Mercury and Gemini programs. They would all meet their fate on January 27, 1967, on Pad 34 at Cape Kennedy. What happened that day would shock the nation and NASA to its core, shatter the lives of the families of the three astronauts, and change space travel forever. Apollo 1 tells the inspiring story of the human spirit, as we look to a new generation of Artemis astronauts who are prepared to face the ever-present risks of space exploration.
BEETHOVEN’S NINE: ODE TO HUMANITY
Directed by Larry Weinstein
Beethoven’s Ninth was the first symphony in history to be accompanied by words — about love and freedom, hope, humanity, and peace. It is a symphony hoping for a time when the world can finally recognize the love and ideals that make life worth living. It was written both as a love letter to all of humankind and at the same time as a powerful protest piece. Are we there yet? Are we finally worthy of the hopes and dreams of this artist, 200 years later? To answer that question, Larry Weinstein explores the stories of nine individuals, all connected to this symphony in different ways. And, as recent life and world events collide, Weinstein himself is pulled into the story in a heart-wrenching way, shining a light on how impossible it is to separate art from life.
BETWEEN THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SKY
Directed by Jeremy Power Regimbal
In 2005 after graduating high school, Maggie Doyne embarked on a gap year in Nepal where she met Tope, a now grown Nepalese orphan, caring for orphaned children. United in purpose, Maggie and her friend Tope pooled resources to establish a children’s home. There were triumphs and tragedies, but Maggie and Tope showed profound magic within their 50-child family and were honored as the 2015 CNN Hero of the Year. But days after the award ceremony, Maggie faced an unimaginable loss. After a chance encounter amidst her grief, Maggie allows this film’s director into her life to document her commitment to Nepal’s orphans, her family, and soon enough, their heartwarming love story. Between the Mountain and the Sky explores resilience, love’s powerful impact in loss, and a family’s enduring strength.
BIG WATER THEORY
Directed by Emile Dominé
Kayak superstar Nouria Newman, with the support of childhood friends, barrels down the most dangerous whitewater on earth: the Rondu Gorge of Pakistan’s Indus River. The Indus has nearly continuous Class V rapids numbering 200 throughout the gorge. Nouria is attempting the first descent of the Rondu Gorge by a woman, though few men have accomplished this amazing feat. Set against the stunning backdrop of the Karakoram mountains, the film highlights the irreversible nature of the sport, with heart-pounding descents that test the kayakers’ psychological and physical limits.
BLUE ROAD: THE EDNA O'BRIEN STORY
Directed by Sinéad O’Shea
“F**k, the plot. That is for precocious schoolboys. What matters is the imaginative truth.” – Edna O’Brien. In 1960, a young Irish woman named Edna O’Brien wrote a racy debut novel, The Country Girls. She became a literary sensation, writing for The New Yorker and producing hugely successful books for 50 years. But her early success enraged her writer- husband, Ernest Gébler, who kept all her money and gave Edna a small allowance. What’s more, her success made her a pariah in her native Ireland, where her books were banned and burned. She would divorce, get her money back, and make her home in a mansion in London with her children. Free at last, she conducted scandalous love affairs, hosted star-stud- ded parties, and made and lost fortunes. This film features interviews with renowned writers, and spicy testimony from Edna herself, aged 93, as she reflects upon her extraordinary life.
CALL ME DANCER
Directed by Pip Gilmour, Leslie Shampaine
What happens when a dazzling hip-hop street dancer turns to ballet? Manish, the greatest street dancer in Mumbai, accidentally wanders into a ballet class one day and meets the gruff 70-year-old Yehuda, a ballet teacher who was once the lead danseur of the Israel Ballet. Manish knows nothing about ballet and must keep his lessons with Yehuda secret from his parents. After years of hope, heartache and hard work, can Manish finally be free from his economic and social circumstances and dance on the world stage?
CHASING TIME
Directed by Jeff Orlowski-Yang, Sarah Keo
If a single photo can inspire change, how influential are a million images? Over the course of the 15-year Extreme Ice Survey project, photographer James Balog and his team brought some of the world’s first and most compelling visual evidence of climate change to the global stage as he depicted the rapid melting of glaciers around the world. Thoughtfully helmed by acclaimed director Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Sarah Keo, Chasing Time is a meditative exploration of time and mortality.
CHECKPOINT ZOO
Directed by Joshua Zeman
On one side of the zoo was the invading Russian army; on the other sat the Ukrainian frontline. With thousands of animals trapped with no food and water, a volunteer group of brave men and women risk their lives to bring them to safety. This is the story of the recent evacuation of thousands of animals during wartime (dozens were large, dangerous carnivores), all under the noses of the nearby Russians during constant, daily shelling, and even tragedy amongst the volunteers. Checkpoint Zoo explores our deep connection with animals, and shows that, in our darkest days, we can still find unbelievable stories of empathy and compassion.
CITIZEN RUTH: ENVIRONMENTAL WARRIOR
Directed by Pamela Hoge
This 96-year-old Boulder environmental warrior has the bruises to show from the more than 60 years of battles she fought, and the passion that carried her through the losses and the successes. Citizen Ruth is the compelling personal story of an extraordinary environmental activist and state legislator, and the journey into some of her remarkable accomplishments in the face of many challenges. How did she do it? Her unique mix of passion, persistence, and personal relationships is essential. As opposed to current times where partisan politics keep adversaries from working together, the relationships the “Mother of the Greenbelts” built with everyone shows it is not only possible, but often the key to success.
COLOR BOOK
Directed by David Fortune
Seeking solace, Lucky and his son Mason embark on a journey across Metro Atlanta to attend their first baseball game together. Throughout their day-long trip, they encounter Murphy’s Law. From car breakdowns to missed trains, the duo faces a series of obstacles that tests their relationship. Despite everything, they persevere, determined to reach the game. Color Book highlights the strength and resilience that emerges from Lucky and Mason’s bond, while exploring myriad experiences that come from raising a child with Down syndrome (played brilliantly by 12-year-old actor Jeremiah Alexander Daniels). Its magic lies in its simplicity: a beautiful, moving portrait of a father and son.
DEVO
Directed by Chris Smith
Acclaimed filmmaker Chris Smith captures the gloriously radical spirit that is Devo — a rare band founded by a philosophy: a Dada experiment of high art meets low, hell-bent on infiltrating American popular culture. Through never-before-seen archival footage and interviews with Mark Mothersbaugh, Bob Mothersbaugh, and Jerry Casale, Devo revels in the highs, lows, surreal moments, and incredible performances of a 50-year career, embracing the spectacle of the band from their lo-fi beginnings to becoming pioneers of the music video in the early days of MTV’s cultural dominance. Finding mainstream success at the height of 80s consumerism, Devo soundtracked the De-Evolution they’d long predicted — and influenced a 21st century they’d have never believed.
DIANE WARREN: RELENTLESS
Directed by Bess Kargman
Diane Warren, a prolific songwriter with an unparalleled track record of writing megahits for industry giants, emerges as a force to be reckoned with in Diane Warren: Relentless. Boasting 15 Academy Award nominations and an Honorary Oscar, along with Grammy, Emmy, and Golden Globe Awards, Warren has etched her name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and is responsible for the soundtrack of our lives. In this intimate documentary, filled with Diane’s signature humor, audiences get a rarely seen glimpse into her life and the underdog journey to where she is today. Interviews with Cher, Gloria Estefan, Jennifer Hudson, and many more showcase the creative genius that is Diane Warren.
DRIVE BACK HOME
Directed by Michael Clowater
Inspired by a true story. In the wake of his father’s death, a bigoted plumber with small-town views leaves his Eastern Canadian village and drives 1,000 miles to bail his estranged, gay brother out of a Toronto police station and bring him home. Perley (Alan Cumming) sees his brother Weldon (Charlie Creed-Miles) as an ignorant hillbilly and Weldon sees Perley as a perverted deviant. As they head east from Toronto, Perley’s facade falls apart and Weldon realizes that his assumptions about his brother are more complicated than he once thought. Forced together, the brothers face their differences on a sometimes difficult, sometimes funny — but ultimately unforgettable — journey home.
FOUR MOTHERS
Directed by Darren Thornton
Four Mothers is the funny and touching story of one Irish son juggling four very different mothers. It follows Edward (James McArdle), an up-and-coming novelist who is forced to balance press commitments for his US book tour with caring for his octogenarian mother. When his three closest friends head off on an impromptu Pride holiday — and leave their own aging mothers in Edward’s care — he must juggle a burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative, and wildly different women over the course of one chaotic and unforgettable weekend in Dublin.
LIZA: A TRULY TERRIFIC ABSOLUTELY TRUE STORY
Directed by Bruce David Klein
This star-studded tribute brings into focus the dazzling, complex period of Liza Minnelli’s life starting in the 70s, just after the tragic death of her mother Judy Garland, as she confronts a range of personal and professional challenges on the way to becoming a bona fide legend. Over these years, Liza seeks out extraordinary mentors including Kay Thompson, Halston, and Bob Fosse. With insight from a coterie of friends and colleagues such as Mia Farrow, Ben Vereen, Joel Grey, the late Chita Rivera, and Minelli herself, this entertaining film illuminates the contradiction of Liza Minnelli: her privilege and struggle, strength and vulnerability, unreal expectations and towering talent. All of this fueled her stunning rise, resilience, and enduring place as one of the greatest, most original performers in entertainment history.
MONGOLIA, VALLEY OF THE BEARS
Directed by Hamid Sardar
Jal Tumurskukh, a former hunter and poacher in the Taiga of Mongolia, has a delicate mission – in his new role as head ranger of the Red Taiga Park, he must get other hunters and poachers to stop shooting bears and abide by the laws of environmental protection in the relatively new park. His unexpected strategy, and only hope, is to recruit a band of poachers and hunters to help – the very outlaws that have contributed to the problem. With unexpected twists and turns, beautiful cinematography, and life and death drama, Mongolia: Valley of the Bears tells the riveting story of one man’s attempt to change a culture thousands of years old in order to save it.
MOSES – 13 STEPS
Directed by Michael Wech
Moses – 13 Steps tells the inspiring story of one of the most ex- traordinary athletes in the history of sport. Edwin Moses finds his discipline by chance and teaches himself one of the most difficult track events in athletics — the 400-meter hurdles. A historic winning streak follows: nine years, nine months, and nine days unbeaten. The film illuminates Moses’ journey from his childhood in segregated America and his formative years at Morehouse College to his iconic victories at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. Edwin Moses is a scientist, engineer, and humanitarian, an advocate of equality, fairness and integrity in sport — and one of the greatest athletes of all time.
POISON
Directed by Désirée Nosbusch
Poison is a story about a couple who meet again years after tragedy drove them apart. Once married, Lucas and Edith have been estranged for ten years, ever since Lucas left. At Edith’s request, they meet at the cemetery where their only child is buried. During a long wait, their conversation progresses, revisiting their shared past and raising new prospects for their future. Their brief but intense meeting will bring simmering pain and resentments to the surface, but will be a reminder too of cherished intimacies, the love they once shared and the importance of forgiveness. Poison will resonate deeply with anyone familiar with loss, betrayal, or the struggle of moving past old grievances.
SPEAK
Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera, Guy Mossman
Speak. follows five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, capturing the euphoria of victory and the devastation of defeat as they craft and perform original oratories over the course of a 9-month season. Their dream is simple: To win the Super Bowl of public speaking, the National Speech and Debate Association (NSDA) Nationals and $100,000 in college scholarships. We watch these young firebrands rehearse wherever they can: at family dinners, on the school bus, in front of a startled pet pig, at church, and, of course, with their coaches and teammates, who are often as close as family. College admissions officers often show up at NSDA tournaments, scouring the event for future recruits. This is the young orators’ first chance to be seen. And heard.
THE DAY ICELAND STOOD STILL
Directed by Pamela Hogan
When 90% of the women of Iceland walked off the job and out of their homes one fall morning, refusing to work, cook, or take care of the children, they threw a huge wrench into the patriarchal machine and brought their country to a standstill. That was Oct. 24, 1975, a day Icelandic men called The Long Friday. Told for the first time by the women themselves, the story is subversive and unexpectedly funny. “We loved our male chauvinist pigs,” recalls one of the activists, “we just wanted to change them a little!” The following year, Iceland’s parliament passed a law guaranteeing equal rights to women and men. The Day Iceland Stood Still inspires viewers to imagine the possible — changing your country into the “best place in the world to be a woman.”
THE FLIGHT OF BRYAN
Directed by James Erskine
The Flight of Bryan is the story of Bryan Allen, an unemployed amateur cyclist; Paul Maccready, a heavily-in-debt father of three; and a ragtag team of neuro-diverse outliers. They set out on a death- defying, madcap quest to solve the mystery of human powered flight and, in doing so, win the most coveted prize in aviation. Built from a remarkable trove of recently discovered 16mm footage from the 70s, along with an arsenal of innovative techniques, this uplifting and humorous story of ingenuity and courage challenges the assumptions we make about society’s outliers, and reminds us of how the stories we tell can help us to understand, and to perhaps change, the world.
THE FRIEND
Directed by Scott McGehee, David Siegel
In The Friend, writer and teacher Iris (Naomi Watts) finds her comfortable, solitary New York life thrown into disarray after her closest friend and mentor (Bill Murray) dies suddenly and bequeaths her his beloved 150 lb. Great Dane. The regal yet intractable beast, named Apollo, immediately creates practical problems for Iris, from furniture destruction to eviction notices, as well as more existential ones, his looming presence constantly reminding her of her friend’s problematic choices in both life and death. Yet as Iris finds herself unexpectedly bonding with the animal, she begins to come to terms with her past, her lost friend, and her own creative inner life.
THE SUMMER BOOK
Directed by Charlie McDowell
The Summer Book, based on Tove Jansson’s 1972 novel of the same title, is a story of the relationship between Sophia, an eight-year-old girl who is growing up fast, and her artist grandmother, who is nearing the end of her life. They are spending time together with Sophia’s father at the idyllic family summer house on a tiny unspoiled island in the Gulf of Finland. All three are coming to terms with the recent death of Sophia’s mother in very different ways. The Summer Book brings Jansson’s most beloved characters to life and celebrates a family’s all-encompassing love.
THE TEACHER WHO PROMISED THE SEA
Directed by Patricia Font
In 1935, Antoni Benaiges is hired as a teacher in a small, isolated village in Burgos, Spain. There, he establishes a close relationship with his students, a group of young boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 12, to whom he makes a promise: to take them to see the sea for the first time in their lives. 75 years later, Ari, the granddaughter of one of those students, discovers the truth about his incredible story, and Antoni’s destiny is revealed — from his arrival as a fresh-faced teacher until the takeover of the town by fascists, who burn all the books in the town square and murder a hundred “dissidents” in the village. This inspiring story highlights the impact of a teacher whose students, more than seven decades later, never forgot him.
UNEARTH
Directed by John Hunter Nolan
UNEARTH is a rousing film that follows a charismatic and inspiring set of Native Alaskan activists (the Salmon sisters) and commercial salmon fishermen (the Strickland brothers). The pairs navigate the treacherous waters of the power players and tactics driving North America’s largest-ever proposed copper mine in their beloved homeland of Bristol Bay, Alaska. This timely, shocking, yet uplifting story unveils a mining industry wrought with systemic recklessness and exposes the delicate balance between mined materials critical to a sustainable future and their unsustainable cost. While the Strickland brothers investigate the truth, using espionage tactics when necessary, the Salmon sisters’ mission to protect Bristol Bay offers a beacon of hope for us all.
VIVA VERDI!
Directed by Yvonne Marie Russo
In the 1890s, Guiseppi Verdi used part of his vast fortune to build a grand retirement home in Milan for “old singers not favored by fortune, or who, when they were young, did not possess the virtue of saving.” Today, Casa Verdi has 60 residents aged 77-107, comprised of international opera singers, ballet dancers, musicians, conductors and composers — and its halls and gardens ring with the sound of rehearsals for frequent recitals. In recent years, the Verdi Foundation has rented 16 rooms to gifted young music students, and the daily interaction delightfully bridges the vast generation gap. Viva Verdi! tells the extraordinary stories of those living out their “third act” with music, magic and passion.
ZURAWSKI V TEXAS
Directed by Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault
Amanda Zurawski had severe pregnancy complications at 18 weeks and was denied abortion care under Texas law. Three days later, she came down with sepsis — a massive life-threatening infection. An abortion was finally legally performed, and she spent three days in ICU near death. She eventually survived, but may never again conceive without high medical costs. Zurawski’s lawsuit eventually was joined by many other plaintiffs with their own stories of pain and heartbreak. Zurawski v Texas reveals the dire impact of politicians taking away your rights to healthcare — and the extraordinary efforts of the women and men fighting on the frontline to regain those rights.
76 DAYS ADRIFT
Directed and produced by Joe Wein
In 1982, Steven Callahan was on a solo trip across the Atlantic when a collision with a whale left his boat sinking in the dead of night. With the ocean surging into his vessel, Steven had only minutes to launch himself into the dark, unforgiving sea in a small, inflatable life raft with only a basic emergency kit. For an astonishing 76 days, that fragile inflatable raft became Steven’s entire world as he drifted helplessly across the vast expanse of the Atlantic. Forced to confront his deepest fears, limitations, and the raw power of nature, he discovered an inner strength he never knew he possessed. 76 Days Adrift is more than just a survival story – it’s a powerful meditation on human endurance, resilience, and the profound connection between man and nature.