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Advocate
DOCUMENTARY - 114 MINUTES
Directed by Philippe Bellaiche & Rachel Leah Jones | Subtitles (Hebrew, Arabic)
Description: Jewish-Israeli lawyer Lea Tsemel and her Palestinian colleagues have been working for decades representing their clients in an increasingly conservative Israel. We meet Lea and the team as they prepare for their youngest defendant yet – Ahmad, a 13-year-old boy implicated in a knife attack on the streets of Jerusalem. Together they must counter legal and public opposition and prepare Ahmad who, like other Palestinians charged with serious crimes, will face a difficult trial in a country in which the government, court system and the media are stacked against him. To many, Lea is a traitor who defends the indefensible. For others, she is more than an attorney – she is a true ally.
Sponsored by League of Women Voters of Teaneck
Talkback with Dr. Smadar Ben-Natan, Israeli human rights lawyer
Before They Die
DOCUMENTARY - 92 MINUTES
Directed by Reginald Turner, St. Clair Bourne, Michael Hausfeld, John Rogers
Description: The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 receives scant mention in most history textbooks and some facts remain hazy — mystery persists about exactly how many people were killed and where they were buried. But there’s no question that it was one of the worst outbreaks of racial violence in American history; a horrific spree of murder, arson and looting inflicted by white residents upon the prosperous African-American community of Greenwood known as Black Wall Street, followed by a shameless cover-up. An estimated 300 killed, and over 10,000 people displaced overnight as a 42 square block area of their homes and businesses were burned to the ground by a white mob that had been deputized by the sheriff. This is the story of the survivors of the 1921 Tulsa Race Riot and their quest for justice.
Sponsored by Bergen County (NJ) Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Talkback with Randy Krehbiel, author of Tulsa, 1921: Reporting a Massacre; Gail O’Neil, writer & TV journalist
Belly of the Beast
DOCUMENTARY - 82 MINUTES
Directed by Erika Cohn
Description: The pastoral farmlands surrounding the Central California Women’s Facility, the world’s largest women’s prison, help conceal the reproductive and human rights violations transpiring inside its walls. A young woman who was involuntarily sterilized at the age of 24 while incarcerated at the facility teams up with a human rights lawyer to stop these violations. Together they spearhead investigations that uncover a series of crimes, from inadequate access to healthcare to sexual assault to illegal sterilization—the latter largely perpetrated against the facility’s Black and Latinx populations. As doctors and prison officials contend that the procedures were in each person’s best interest and of an overall social benefit, activists and allies take to the courtroom to fight for reparations and some semblance of justice.
Sponsored by National Council of Jewish Women Bergen County Section; Senator Loretta Weinberg; National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen / Passaic Chapter; YWCA Northern New Jersey; The Whole Woman
Talkback with Erika Cohn, director; Senator Loretta Weinberg; Helen Archontou, CEO, YWCA Northern New Jersey; Tanya Pagán Raggio-Ashley, MD, MPH, FAAP, who has dedicated her life to improving and eliminating “health” disparities
Black Orpheus 1959
drama | fantasy | music - 100 minutes
Directed by Marcel Camus | Subtitles (Portuguese)
Description: Winner of both the Academy Award for best foreign-language film and the Cannes Film Festival’s Palme d’Or, Black Orpheus revives the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice and transports the story to the twentieth century in the middle of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. With its stunning cinematography, talented cast of mostly Black Brazilian actors, and moving and bewitching samba soundtrack, Black Orpheus was an international cultural event of its time and introduced ground-breaking composers Luiz Bonfá, João Gilberto and Antônio Carlos Jobim.
Sponsored by National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen / Passaic Chapter and Bergen County (NJ) Chapter of The Links, Inc.
Talkback with Sheryl Lee Ralph, actress and activist
Conductor Cam Episode 13 Poco a Poco Accelerando aka Ragtime
SHORT | Music - 4 MINUTES
Directed by Rob McClure
Description: A Ragtime reunion, featuring Tony Award winners Audra McDonald, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and many more. The latest episode of McClure’s #ConductorCam Instagram series commemorates the Black Lives Matter movement with music and poetry.
Sponsored by YWCA Northern New Jersey
Talkback with TBD
Crescendo
DRAMA | music - 106 minutes
Directed by Dror Zahavi | Subtitles (German)
Description: When world-famous conductor Eduard Sporck accepts the job to create an Israeli-Palestinian youth orchestra, he is quickly drawn into a tempest of sheer unsolvable problems. Having grown up in a state of war, suppression or constant risk of terrorist attacks, the young musicians from both sides are far from able to form a team. Lined up behind the two best violinists – the emancipated Palestinian Layla and the handsome Israeli Ron – they form two parties who deeply mistrust each other, on and off-stage alike. Will Sporck succeed and make the young people forget their hatred, at least for the three weeks until the concert?
Sponsored by the Jewish Standard
Talkback with Stephen Glantz, writer
Generation Lockdown
short | drama - 17 minutes
Directed by Sirad Balducci
Description: Terror is viewed through the eyes of an eleven-year-old boy as he tries to save his friend’s life during an active shooter attack in his school. This film is based on a short story by Caleb, a 6th grader from a public school in Teaneck, New Jersey and filmed there entirely as well. It is a call to action to raise awareness for parents, lawmakers, schools, and community leaders to work together to pledge to protect our children from inexplicable violence and commit to prevent future mass shootings in schools.
Sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg and Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence
Talkback with Sirad Balducci, director; Senator Loretta Weinberg; Flo Mitchell-Brown, executive producer; Caleb Brown, in film and story inspired by him; Laurence Fine, student representative, Students Demand Action Bergen County
John Lewis: Good Trouble
DOCUMENTARY - 96 minutes | centerpiece
Directed by Dawn Porter
Description: An intimate account of legendary U.S. Representative John Lewis’ life, legacy, and more than 60 years of extraordinary activism — from the bold teenager on the front lines of the Civil Rights movement to the legislative powerhouse he was throughout his career. After Lewis petitioned Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to help integrate a segregated school in his hometown of Troy, Alabama, King sent “the boy from Troy” a round trip bus ticket to meet with him. From that meeting onward, Lewis became one of King’s closest allies. He organized Freedom Rides that left him bloodied or jailed, and stood at the front lines in the historic marches on Washington and Selma. He never lost his spirit and called on his fellow Americans to get into “good trouble” until his passing on July 17, 2020.
Sponsored by National Coalition of 100 Black Women, Inc., Bergen / Passaic Chapter and Martin Luther King Birthday Committee
Talkback with Reverend Gregory Jackson of Mt Olive Baptist Church Hackensack; Estina Baker, National Staff of CWA (Communications Workers of America), Sr. Campaign Lead
Lift Every Voice & Sing 2020
DRAMA | SHORT | music - 5 minutes
Directed by Tiffany Jackman | Produced by CB Murray
Description: This anthem was composed more than a century ago, but the popular hymn within the Black community has resurrected a beacon of hope during nationwide protests. In recent weeks, countless nationwide rallies were held with arm-locked protesters of different races reciting the song’s lyrics while marching against police brutality. The demonstrations throughout the U.S. were ignited after the brutal death of George Floyd, who died after a Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck for several minutes. One common thread at protests were people chanting this timeless message of faithfulness, freedom, and equality.
Talkback with TBD
Mama Gloria
documentary - 76 minutes
Directed by Luchina Fisher | closed captioning available
Description: Chicago’s Black transgender icon Gloria Allen, now in her 70s, blazed a trail for trans people like few others before her. Emerging from Chicago’s South Side drag ball culture in the 1960s, Gloria overcame traumatic violence to become a proud leader in her community. Most famously, she pioneered a charm school for young transgender people that served as inspiration for Chicago playwright Philip Dawkins’ hit play Charm. Luchina Fisher’s empathic and engaging documentary is not only a portrait of a groundbreaking legend, but also a celebration of the unconditional love Gloria received from her own mother and that she now gives to her chosen children.
Sponsored by Sandi Klein’s Conversations with Creative Women
Talkback with Luchina Fisher, director; Gloria Allen, Mama Gloria; Shea Diamond, Miss Diamond
Song For Our People
documentary | music - 61 minutes
Directed by Mustapha Khan
Description: A group of woke musicians and artists convene one day in a recording studio in Brooklyn to create a new anthem to honor their ancestors who lived their lives enslaved. An intimate look inside the magic of collaborative musical creation, and inside the soul of a new kind of Black consciousness movement emerging in America today. This film both challenges and inspires us all to want to do more with the freedom we have.
Sponsored by Teaneck Community Chorus
Talkback with Mustapha Khan, director/producer; Norman Burns, featured performer in film (and Teaneck native son)
Standing Up, Falling Down
drama | comedy - 91 minutes
Directed by Matt Ratner
Description: Things are not going according to plan for Scott, a stand-up comedian begrudgingly returning to Long Island after striking out on the Los Angeles comedy scene. He is humiliated to move back in with his family and haunted by what could have been with Becky, the hometown girlfriend he abruptly left for the West Coast. Wracked with doubt and facing the prospect of a soul-crushing “real” job, Scott finds an unexpected connection with Marty (Billy Crystal), a local dermatologist and charming barfly with a penchant for karaoke. Scott learns that Marty’s larger-than-life personality and alcoholism mask past disappointments of his own. As their unlikely friendship evolves, Marty and Scott find the strength to start confronting their long-simmering regrets.
Sponsored by Rotary Club of Teaneck
Talkback with comedians Elon Gold, Barry Waldman, and Areshia McFarlin
Tu Me Manques
drama - 105 minutes
Directed by Rodrigo Bellott | Subtitles (Spanish)
Description: Jorge Martinez, a traditional Bolivian father, receives news of the suicide of his son Gabriel. Weeks after the tragedy he finds his son's laptop where he discovers he had a romantic relationship with Sebastian, another young countryman who lives in New York City, where his son was studying. After an initial angry confrontation with Sebastian on Skype, Jorge decides to go to New York to look for answers about his son's death, but what he finds will change his life forever.
**This screening will only be available to patrons tuning in from New York or New Jersey**
Sponsored by Senator Loretta Weinberg
Talkback with Rodrigo Bellott, director
Woman Who Loves Giraffes
DOCUMENTARY - 83 minutes
Directed by Alison Reid | closed captioning available
Description: In 1956, four years before Jane Goodall ventured into the world of chimpanzees and seven years before Dian Fossey left to work with mountain gorillas, 23-year-old biologist Anne Innis Dagg made an unprecedented solo journey to South Africa to study giraffes in the wild. Anne (now 85) retraces her steps with letters and stunning, original 16mm film footage. She offers an intimate window into her life as a young woman, juxtaposed with a first-hand look at the devastating reality that giraffes are facing today. Both the world's first 'giraffologist', whose research findings ultimately became the foundation for many scientists following in her footsteps, and the species she loves have each experienced triumphs as well as setbacks. This film gives us a moving perspective on both.
Sponsored by Wise Older Women (WOW) and Addie Wijnen
Talkback with Alison Reid, director; Ann Innis Dagg, subject of film, activist, feminist
Youth in Action Series
Description: This series follows young people across the U.S. who have witnessed injustice and have chosen to take action. It demonstrates that at any age, they have the power to make a direct difference in their own lives. The short films are: Rise for Youth, Native Youth Alliance, and Youth Rise Texas. It is designed for presentation to students and will be available to Teaneck High School during daytime hours.
Special Screening for Teaneck High School Students only
Sponsored by Teaneck Board of Education
Talkback with Valerie Slater, Executive Director, Rise for Youth; Alethea Phillips - Native Youth Alliance, Indigenous Rights Activist; Darianna Donegan, Youth Rise Texas
