Resynator
Director: Alison Tavel
Country: USA; Running Time: 96 minutes
Inventor Don Tavel died suddenly when his newborn daughter was just ten weeks old. Growing up surrounded by mythical stories of her “genius” father, Alison’s life is consequently absent from any true connection to him. Resynator is a narrative documentary that begins when Alison rescues Don’s synthesizer prototype from her grandmother’s attic and starts a curious resurrection project that turns into an insatiable, globe-trotting quest. Aided by estranged family, lost friends, fellow inventors, and celebrated musicians (Grace Potter, Peter Gabriel, Fred Armisen, Gotye & more), Alison unlocks unsettling secrets and complex truths through which a father/daughter relationship is finally born.
Shari & Lamb Chop
Director: Lisa D’Apolito
Country: USA; Running Time; 92 minutes
Before Mister Rogers welcomed us to the neighborhood, Shari Lewis captivated us with her iconic sock puppets Lamb Chop, Charlie Horse, and Hush Puppy. A multi-talented dancer, singer, magician, conductor, puppeteer, and ventriloquist, Lewis was the pioneer of children’s television, starring in several programs, including “The Shari Lewis Show” and (where millennials fell in love with her) PBS’s “Lamb Chop’s Play-Along.” With a career spanning five decades, Lewis’ tenacious work ethic, lovable charisma, and unwavering dedication to her craft led her into millions of living rooms to laugh, play, interact, and empower kids to love themselves exactly as they are.
Sugarcane
Directors: Emily Kassie, Julian Brave NoiseCat
Country: Canada; Running Time: 107 minutes
A stunning tribute to the resilience of Native people and their way of life, Sugarcane, the debut feature documentary from Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie, is an epic cinematic portrait of a community during a moment of international reckoning. In 2021, evidence of unmarked graves was discovered on the grounds of an Indian residential school run by the Catholic Church in Canada. After years of silence, the forced separation, assimilation, and abuse many children experienced at these segregated boarding schools was brought to light, sparking a national outcry against a system designed to destroy Indigenous communities.
SHORT FILMS
Bite
Director: Jorey Worb
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 minutes
After being sexually assaulted by her dentist, a formerly confident young woman endeavors to find the power within herself to stand up to her attacker. Based on the writer/director’s personal experience.
Resynator
Bird Drone
Director: Radheya Jegatheva
Country: Australia; Running Time: 9 minutes
A lonely seagull looking for love struggles to accept that his newfound object of affection is a human-operated drone with limited battery life.
Bogota Story
Director: Esteban Pedraza
Country: Colombia, USA; Running Time: 16 minutes
In 1992, as Colombia faced an era of drug violence, car bombs, and daily power outages, a young mother in Bogotá received an internship opportunity in the US. Eventually, she must decide between her dreams and her family.
Border Hopper
Director: Nico Casavecchia
Country: USA; Running Time: 14 minutes
Laura, a Latinx filmmaker, lands a life-changing career opportunity when she’s hired to direct a Super Bowl commercial for a video game. The catch? The shoot is in Europe, and she can’t travel due to her immigration status, a secret she’s kept from her employers. This creates friction with her husband Jorge, whose Green Card depends on hers. Laura decides to apply for a complicated emergency travel permit to take on the job. Her reality takes a surreal turn as she starts having hallucinations of a nightmarish video-game world. When immigration services deny her the travel permit, she finds support from Jorge to accept the job, even if it means risking their immigration status.
