Gotham Week 2022 Project Market – Full Slate
by Gotham on August 1, 2022 in Gotham Week
To read the official 2022 Gotham Week Project Market press release, click here.
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U.S. FEATURES IN DEVELOPMENT
Presenting 22 fiction feature films ranging from early to late stages of development, this section features emerging and established filmmakers based here in the U.S. working on fiction feature films set to be made in the U.S. and abroad.
The Accompanist directed by Zach Woods, written by Brandon Gardner and Zach Woods, and produced by Jonathan Duffy, Kelly Williams, and Kara Durrett. When her grandfather’s mental health deteriorates, 8 year old Everly ends up living with Sylvia, a first time foster parent in her 70’s. They form an unlikely friendship. This story is about love and magic and the conversation between the living and the dead.
Cross Pollination written and directed by Joseph Sackett and produced by Joy Jorgensen. A queer sci-fi rom-com about an alien on a mission to introduce his DNA into the human gene pool, but things get complicated when he falls in love with the man who knocks him up.
Dìdi (弟弟) written and directed by Sean Wang and produced by Carlos López Estrada and Kelly Marie Tran. Fremont, CA. 2008. In the last month of summer before high school begins, an impressionable thirteen-year-old Taiwanese American boy learns what his family can’t teach him: how to skate, how to flirt, and how to love your mom.
Fierce Attachments directed by Myna Joseph, written by Myna Joseph and Julie Sexeny, produced by Amy Lo, and executive produced by Vivian Gornick. An incisive, moving, and wickedly funny portrait of mother and daughter, based on the book named “Best Memoir of the Past 50 Years” by The New York Times.
Flora Borealis written and directed by Casey Friedman. A botanist in a ruined world journeys to an arctic seed bank with his partner, who insists on the futility of trying to save humanity.
forward directed by Cris Gris, written by Mary Ann Anane, produced by Lauren López de Victoria and Myriam Schroeter, and executive produced by Gabrielle Nadig. After moving to the working class part of the Hamptons, a Latinx teen cleaning for the elite explores identity and love in the shadows of gentrification and inevitable loss.
Hard Feelings written and directed by Jo Hatcher. A Black girl is accepted into her dream college; but, love leaves her homeless in a car with her ex-boyfriend once she discovers she’s pregnant.
Homewrecker written and directed by Matthew Puccini and produced by Casey Bader. A man grows increasingly torn between his husband and their friend.
The Immigration Game (Expanding Communities Fellow)written and directed by Asad Farooqui and produced by Annam Rizwan and Melodie Sisk. After his U.S. visa expires and he becomes undocumented, Majeed finds an illegal way to become legal again.
In Search of Time written and directed by Jamil McGinnis and Pat Heywood and produced by Myriam Schroeter. A boy journeys across Brooklyn as he seeks to return his friend’s notebook before the day’s end.
In the Jackpot written and directed by Chris Osborn and produced by Breanne Thomas. Strapped for cash working a dead-end job, Ash gets a fresh start trafficking weed from legal growhouses in Colorado to the illicit market in Kansas.
Kid C written and directed by Jinging Tian and executive produced by Alice Austen. When Lee destroys the only friendship she has outside of her volatile family, she must find a new way to escape.
Late Spring written and directed by Yuan Yuan and produced by Jing Wang. A Chinese factory worker travels to New York for her daughter’s eagerly anticipated college graduation, only to be thrust into a desperate search in unfamiliar territory when she learns the girl is missing.
The Matriarch written and directed by Zandashé Brown. When the death of an estranged matriarch summons a fractured family back to their rural Louisiana hometown, a forlorn teen attempts to forge a relationship with her late grandmother through ancestral veneration and unlocks instead a deceptive world of spirits, secrecy, and hysteria.
No Love Lost written and directed by Diana Peralta and produced by Alexandra Byer and Michelle Peralta. When a troubled young woman brings her new boyfriend home, her devoted but insular sisters reveal the extremes they will go to protect one another.
Pastiche (Expanding Communities Fellow) written and directed by Paloma Hernández and produced by Paloma Hernández and Alex Espinoza. A struggling art student inadvertently takes part in an art forgery scheme and stumbles into a world of corruption that tests her identity and morals.
Sales Per Hour directed by Michelle Uranowitz and Daniel Jaffe, written by Michelle Uranowitz, and produced by Chloe Sabin and Zoe Worth. A top sales associate at a high end clothing store becomes enmeshed in a legal battle between her corporate superiors and a customer over a sexual assault that occurred inside a dressing room under her watch.
Santa Anita written and directed by David Liu and produced by Xin Li. Summer, 2004. Strange, interconnected events transform the lives of three generations of Asian-Americans in the Southern California foothills, each of them haunted by the dead.
Starfuckers written and directed by Antonio Marziale and produced by Eli Raskin. A high-end rentboy living an insular life in the Hollywood Hills becomes obsessed with a mysterious star of the underground drag scene. His identity is called into question and life begins to unravel as he discovers the true objective of his new friend.
Tortilla Roti written and directed by Saleem Nasir Gondal and produced by Kellie Brook Malone and Saleem Nasir Gondal. During the Great Depression in rural Arizona, a Punjabi Mexican family fights to hold onto their farm and each other.
Untitled Texas Latina Project written, directed, and produced by Sharon Arteaga, Lizette Barerra, Chelsea Hernandez, Paloma Martinez, and Iliana Sosa. The Untitled Texas Latina Project is a feature anthology written and directed by five Texas Latinas, weaving personal stories based in each of their hometowns.
Wishes Sink in Man Made Lakes written and directed by Faye Ruiz and produced by Madeleine Askwith and Kate Gondwe. Two trans teens secretly living in the attic of a cheap-seat movie theater spend an endless summer trying anything and everything to start hormone replacement therapy.
U.S. FEATURES IN POST
Presenting five fiction feature films ranging from early and late stages of post-production, this section features emerging filmmakers based in the coming to the Project Market while in the process of finishing their feature films.
Crumb Catcher directed by Chris Skotchdopole; written by Chris Skotchdopole, Rigo Garay and Larry Fessenden; and produced by Chris Skotchdopole, Larry Fessenden, Brian Devine, Chadd Harbold, James Skotchdopole, and Bonnie Timmermann. A newlywed couple is held captive by a maniacally-optimistic inventor, desperate to finance his American dream with a half-baked blackmail plot.
Hawaiian Vacation written and directed by Dyana Winkler; produced by Tiffany Fisher-Love, Emily McCann Lesser, and Yamato Cibulka; and executive produced by Kori Rae. A Hawaiian dream vacation takes a hilariously sinister turn, when two influencers push the island to its breaking point, unleashing sweet revenge on the world’s worst tourists.
Lost Soulz written and directed by Katherine Propper and produced by Andrés Figueredo Thomson and Juan Carlos Figueredo Thomson. A young rapper leaves everything behind and embarks on an odyssey of self-discovery, music, and friendship in the heart of Texas.
Mountains directed by Monica Sorelle, written by Monica Sorelle and Robert Colom, produced by Robert Colom, and executive produced by Rhianon Jones. A Haitian demolition worker is faced with the realities of redevelopment as he is tasked with dismantling his rapidly gentrifying neighborhood.
Playland written and directed by Georden West, produced by Russell Sheaffer, Hannah McSwiggen, and Danielle Cooper, executive produced by Nick Knight, Peter Luo, Eric Chen, and Nancy Xu. A raucous work of queer fantasy and archival documentation, Playland conjures a time-bending night in Boston’s oldest and most notorious gay bar
INTERNATIONAL FEATURES
Presenting 18 fiction feature films ranging from early through late development and at different stages of financing, this section features emerging and established filmmakers from all around the world with their new works.
Acapulco Magic written and directed by Tavo Tuiz and produced by Rodrigo Alvarez Flores and Luisa María De Silva. Teenager Ángel works as a prostitute on the tourist beaches of Acapulco. Upon meeting a young military boy, he discovers feelings he had never experienced.
Agony of the Beasts written and directed by Alireza Khatami and produced by Michael Solomon. The life of a working single mother is disrupted when she bonds with a mistreated dog and dares into the forbidden territories of the beasts.
And I No Longer Wonder How You Are directed by Bohdana Smyrnova, written by Oksana Savchenko, and produced by Lyuba Knorozok, Bohdana Smyrnova and Charles S. Roy. A city in Ukraine, early 2022. Young mother Lora is ready to sell a kidney to save her mortgage from foreclosure. Soon her values change.
Apetown directed by Kurt Orderson, written by Rae Human, Adrian van Wyk and Amy Jephta, and produced by Bridget Pickering. A rebellious graffiti artist has a confrontation with city authorities that sweeps him into the world he creates with his art. He must choose between his ambition for infamy and the truth of who he is.
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner written and directed by Mohamed Samir, produced by Marwa Abdalla, and co-produced by Claire Chassagne. An old mother must overcome her possessiveness of her 45-year-old son who never left home. She’s about to die and leave behind this overgrown infant she created: will she help him quickly grow and mature or obsessively devour every bit of him until she dies?
Independence written and directed by Moshe Rosenthal and produced by Roni Shamiss, Alona Refua, and Maya Fischer. 1987: 13-year-old Boaz discovers his father’s homosexuality and goes into a paranoid mission to save his family from HIV.
Laundry written, directed, and produced by Zamo Mkhwanazi. A promising young musician in apartheid South Africa is torn between chasing his music dreams and fighting the injustice threatening his family.
Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me written by Mariko Tamaki, produced by Matt Code, and executive produced by Matt Code, Julie Strifler, and Natalie Urquhart. Laura Dean was Freddie Riley’s dream girl, but there’s one problem: Laura Dean keeps breaking up with her. Freddie must find the courage to end the toxic relationship and get back to loving herself.
Let’s Make Love written by Mathilde and Jean-Yves Arnaud, directed by Cyril Gerblat, and produced by Clément Miserez and Matthieu Warter. Bruce Davidson’s picture starring two mythical couples inspired this story: the first dinner gathering Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret…
Mrs Plum written and directed by Nomakhomazi Dewavrin and produced by Bridget Pickering. Mrs Plum’s liberalism is unexpected for Karabo who has only worked for racist madams; this new relationship awakens her to the complexity of a promised freedom.
Nine Lives written by Siri Rødnes and Tom Basden, directed by Siri Rødnes, and produced by Emma Biggins, Edward Fletcher and Zoe Fowlie. On a distant moon two lonely, jaded technicians struggle to redefine their outdated understanding of humanity when gender-fluid work-unit of clones arrives to replace them.
Obelia written and directed by Darlene Johnson and produced by Tim White. A young rebellious girl in 1950s New South Wales must hide her Aboriginal identity after escaping a dangerous Aboriginal mission to join a traveling sideshow.
Picturehouse written and directed by Minh Nguyen-Vo, produced by Johann Chapelan, Anderson Le, and Bao Nguyen, and co-produced by Alemberg Ang. In 1960s Vietnam, a family-run movie house becomes a haven for an eight-year-old boy who sees his world being undone by war.
Pieces written and directed by Imran Hamdulay and produced by Khosie Dali and Imran Hamdulay. A heartfelt portrait of a family learning that in order to overcome their grief, they must find a way to reconnect with each other.
Skiff written by Cecilia Verheyden and Vincent Vanneste, directed by Cecilia Verheyden, and produced by Elisa Heene. Malou (15) falls in love with her brother’s girlfriend, dragging her life into an unstoppable current and leading her to question her sexuality and gender.
Terra written and directed by Gabrielle Demeestère and produced by Clémentine Mourão-Ferreira and Luca Borghese. An environmental activist moves to a financially troubled college for her first teaching job. Her desire to effect change leads her down an extreme path.
Three Black Nights directed by Théo Court and produced by Giancarlo Nasi. A peasant asks the devil for the death of his wife’s lover, unchaining a crime that overturns the colonial structures that are still perpetuated in Chile.
Vanlife written and directed by Trevor Cameron and produced by Anand Ramayya, Doug Cuthand, and Kelly Balon. A young influencer living the #vanlife meets a mysterious older woman who challenges his perception of cultural identity while pulling him into her violent cult.
NARRATIVE SERIES
Presenting 20 scripted projects ranging from early development to works-in-progress, this section includes half hour, hour long, and short form series, from emerging creators and writers from the U.S. and around the world.
The Cut written by Chris Brookmyre and Marisa Haetzman and produced by Brian Coffey. Suicidal ex-con Millicent Spark finds a reason to live as she investigates the conspiracy that saw her jailed for her lover’s murder 25 years ago.
Dancing on the Volcano created, written, and executive produced by Jessica Mecklenburg, Emmanuel Paintendre and Franck Philippon. Three young women, caught in a wave of puritanism, fight to defend their freedom in a heroic fantasy-style Pompeii at the dawn of disaster.
Femme Queen Chronicles written and created by Ahya Simone, Bré Rivera, and Paige Wood, and executive produced by Janet Mock. Aspiring musician Chanel and her girlfriends – socialite Erykah and organizer Amirah – try to make a name for themselves as Black trans women living in Detroit.
Frederick Douglass Boulevard aka Food & Drink Boulevard aka F.D.B. written, created, and executive produced by Washington Kirk and produced by Miles Hodges. Malcolm Jamal Turner, a struggling music writer living in Harlem fed up with the neighborhood’s changing demographics, concocts a ludicrous scheme to de-gentrify it.
Gangs of Paris written and created by Anne and Marine Rambach, Frederic Malegue, Eric Menu and Amine Mestari, and produced by Sebastien Charbit and Frederic Malegue. In the midst of the French Revolution, a heist series wherein a mobster, a former slave and a noblewoman, are compelled to join forces.
GYNO written and created by Ariel Zucker and Daryl Paris Bright. A comedy-drama following a sexually liberated gynecologist & her staff as they navigate their patients’ lives and reproductive systems in the heart of DC.
Hot Dish written and created by Chy Chi. A timid, feminist erotica writer working at a cutthroat, male-dominated fine dining restaurant falls into a secret romance with the new chef.
Joseph Knight written by Ben Tagoe and produced by Angus Lamont. Scotland, 1765: at great danger to himself, Joseph Knight, an enslaved man brought from Jamaica, fights the legal establishment to win his freedom.
Muslim Girls DTF created by Aizzah Fatima and Atheer Yacoub; written by Aizzah Fatima, Atheer Yacoub, Negin Farsad, Rokhsane Zadeh, and Zainab Johnson; produced by Ann Chaudhary, Ron Austin Jr., and Vinny Anand. A provocative half-hour comedy written and performed by an all American-Muslim female cast about topics that plague Muslim women today like sex, dating, body hair, and pork.
Nick Jolly The Flying Highwayman written and created by Rae Brunton and executive produced by Marcello Pautasso and Mark Talbot. Stuck in 2023, a mixed-race highwayman from 1775 with uncontrollable time-traveling powers is forced to investigate the source of his powers before they kill him.
Night Watchers written and created by Stacie E. Hawkins. A socially anxious teen discovers she has powers when her parents are abducted by a demonic witch. In order to save her family, she must confront her innermost fears and join a gang of supernatural vigilantes called the Night Watchers.
On The Line written and created by Connor Austin Jones. The fall and hopeful comeback of a once-dominant charismatic track star with undiagnosed BPD, Myles D’Vine (18), facing the potential end of his young career.
Pamilya written and created by Eileen Cabiling. Reagan Era: Filipina Doctor Cruz schemes to purchase a plantation in conservative Richmond, Virginia, while grappling with a crumbling marriage and raising three rebellious girls.
The Rise of Elisa Lynch written and created by Maia Nikiphoroff. A modern look at the life of Elisa Lynch, who leaves the palaces of Paris for the jungles of Paraguay to become the mistress of the dictator. Impulsive and ambitious, rejected by mid-19th-century Paraguayan society, she forges her own way and rises to power.
S.L.U.T. created by Lauren Ciaravalli. When a brainy loner stands up for herself after being slut-shamed, she finds herself the unlikely leader of fed-up popular girls, rebels, and outsiders alike.
Soul City written and created by Lori Webster Fore. When a hurricane slams a small town, the mysterious disappearances of a little girl and escaped convict unearth a hidden Black utopia, long thought to be lost.
These Thems written and created by Gretchen Wylder and executive produced by Vico Ortiz. A newly out lesbian and a nonbinary educator explore the ever-expanding queer world of NYC while navigating the intersections of family and communities that raised them.
This is Chuck written by Jennifer Morris & Robbie Sublett. A half-hour dark comedy that charts the true unexpected criminal rise (and hapless fall) of a God-fearing, family man who became the best goddamned fake therapist in the great state of Texas.
Wiring Utopia created by David Barker, written by David Barker and Jerónimo Rodriguez, and executive produced by Jay van Hoy. In 1970s revolutionary Chile, a group of young idealists teams up with a British cybernetician to create the world’s first internet – and change the world.
Youth written and created by Edith Rodriguez and executive produced by Andrew Coles and Nzinga Murray. When the secretly atheist black sheep of the family returns home after her twin brother’s death, she gets roped into becoming the new youth pastor at her parent’s Chicago church.
SPOTLIGHT ON DOCUMENTARIES
Presenting 60 documentary features and nonfiction series ranging from an early financing stage (early development/production) to those nearing completion (post-production or rough-cut), this section includes emerging and established artists in nonfiction from the U.S. and internationally.
#NunsToo directed by Lorena Luciano and produced by Filippo Piscopo. An Italian Catholic journalist, a U.S. survivor, and five Indian nuns are on a quest to shatter another systemic Church cover-up: priests forcing nuns and women they abused into abortions.
American Union directed by Brett Wallace, written by Ben Evans James, and produced by Geoff Arbourne and Brett Wallace. A story of survival erupts in Alabama as coal miners endure a bitter strike to save their jobs while nearby Amazon workers fight to unionize.
Black Snow directed by Alina Simone and produced by Kirstine Barfod and Alina Simone. This taut thriller follows homemaker-turned-journalist Natalia Zubkova as she fights to reveal the environmental catastrophe unfolding deep in Siberian coal country.
A Body To Live In directed and written by Angelo Madsen Minax and produced by Lyle Kash. A Body To Live In is a film about the luminary trans historical icon Fakir Musafar, whose artwork brought body modification to queer culture.
Brief Tender Light directed and produced by Arthur Musah. Ghanaian MIT alum Arthur Musah follows four African students at his alma mater as they strive to become agents of change for their home countries.
Daddy directed and produced by Hannah Myers and executive produced by Emily Simoness. Daddy is one family’s coming of age story which also happens to be an old man’s coming out story.
Echoes of Foreign Films: The Talbots’ Legacy directed by Sergio Maza and produced by Sergio Maza, Maria Politano, and Cara Yeates. The Talbots championed the most visionary international cinema in the U.S. Their belief in and support of film auteurs changed American film culture forever.
Emergent City directed by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg, produced by Kelly Anderson and Brenda Avila Hanna, and executive produced by Stephen Maing. Spanning a decade, Emergent City tells the story of a working class neighborhood at the edge of a changing Brooklyn. As rents and sea levels rise, a new neighbor fractures the community and forces it to confront the future of its most precious resource.
Exodus Stories: Voices from the Caravan directed by Ilse Fernandez, written by Ilse Fernandez and Felipe Lacerda, and produced by Ilse Fernandez and Michele Farinola. Three Central American immigrants join migrant caravans seeking U.S. refuge as asylum stands under siege. Their resilience is a testament to the immigrant spirit.
Film1/ASAP directed by Patrick Shen & Brandon Vedder and produced by Patrick Shen, Brandon Vedder, Christine Guenther, Chevy K. Chen and Nicola G. Kropp. Stories of geological, human, and cosmic time intersect in an immersive and cinematic meditation on slowness, long-term thinking, and our relationship with time.
Finding Your Laughter directed by Arlieta Hall and Brittany Alsot, written by Arlieta Hall, Brittany Alsot, and Donnie Seals, and produced by Brittany Alsot. Comedian Arlieta Hall must learn how to balance her life as an up-and-coming artist with the heartbreak of watching her dad die slowly from Alzheimer’s. She illuminates a pathway to hope, healing, and help for other caregivers to find their own laughter.
Get Your 10s directed and produced by Rashaad Newsome and Johnny Symons. A Black queer artist collaborates with global vogue dancers and technologists to transform a historic military building into a space for innovation, renewal and celebration.
Give it a Shot directed and written by Vaishali Sinha and produced by Vaishali Sinha and Hemang Chheda. Give it a Shot is the story of an indomitable 82-year-old scientist’s quest to successfully launch an effective male contraceptive that will enable men to share the responsibility of family planning.
Hangtown directed and written by Stuart Harmon and produced by Lyntoria Newton. Hangtown is a historical investigation into California’s buried history of lynching and racial violence through the stories of three women grappling with a town’s violent symbol: the noose.
Home Court directed by Erica Tanamachi and Jenn Lee Smith; produced by Jenn Lee Smith, Erica Tanamachi, Brandon Soun, and Diane Quon; and executive produced by Jerry Nakafuji. Ashley Chea, basketball phenom and daughter of Cambodian refugees, finds strength in a community of women who continue the rich legacy of Asian American basketball.
Humboldt USA directed by G. Anthony Svatek and produced by Elijah Stevens. Environmental struggles in three places named after queer naturalist Alexander von Humboldt interweave in this exploration of American nature, amidst technological alienation and climate collapse.
I Shall Not Hate directed by Tal Barda and produced by Tal Barda and Paul Cadieux. The journey of a Palestinian doctor whose three daughters were killed by an Israeli-tank.
In Plain Sight directed and produced by Sarah McClure and Jessie Deeter and executive produced by Sarah Gibson. Fed up with “forgive and forget,” an Amish sexual assault survivor breaks her silence, igniting a movement of Amish survivors seeking healing, justice, and reform.
In Plain Sight directed by PJ Raval and produced by Farihah Zaman. A radical reframing of immigrant experience through the lives of artists participating in a trans-national work that skytyped messages of dissent over detention facilities, borders, and historic sites. (Series)
Iris Chang: Power of One directed and written by Kimberlee Bassford, produced by Kimberlee Bassford and Lou Wang-Holborn, and executive produced by Bill Guttentag and Kristina Wong. Iris Chang: Power of One explores the intriguing life, unexpected suicide, and lasting legacy of Chinese American best-selling author and activist Iris Chang.
Joybubbles directed by Rachael Morrison, produced by Sarah Winshall and Will Butler, and executive produced by Rhianon Jones. Joybubbles is the story of a blind genius and legendary hacker who broke into the analog telephone system by whistling a magic tone.
Joyva: A Story of Family, Legacy, and Candy directed and written by Sam Radutzky and Josh Freund, produced by Alex Spatt, and executive produced by Andrew Mer and Alexis Alexanian. Two great-grandchildren of a Jewish refugee and entrepreneur grapple with four generations of family and cultural legacy, all from a crumbling candy factory in Brooklyn.
Kenny Loggins: Conviction of The Heart directed and produced by Dori Berinstein and executive produced by Elizabeth Armstrong. Music superstar Kenny Loggins was a shy, gawky, big-eared-kid who created a rock star persona. His 50-year career has been a journey into being himself.
Kite Zo A directed by Kaveh Nabatian, written by Wood-Jerry Gabriel, and produced by Kaveh Nabatian, Zach Niles, and Joseph Ray. Kite Zo A is a sensorial film about rituals in Haiti, from ancient to modern, made in collaboration with dancers, musicians, fishermen, daredevil rollerbladers, and Vodou priests, set to poetry by Haitian author Wood-Jerry Gabriel.
The Librarians directed by Kim A. Snyder and produced by Kim A. Snyder, Jana Edelbaum, and Janique Robillard. In Texas, ground zero for the unprecedented wave of book banning sweeping the nation, librarians under siege unite as resistance fighters to defend intellectual freedom.
Life + Life directed by Contessa Gayles, produced by Contessa Gayles, Richie Reseda and David Felix Sutcliffe, and executive produced by Jenny Raskin, Lauren Haber, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Patty Quillin, and dream hampton. An incarcerated musician struggles for healing and peace as he comes of age in this documentary-musical odyssey composed behind bars.
Life After directed by Reid Davenport and produced by Colleen Cassingham and Jess Devaney. Life After interrogates the contradictory political ideologies surrounding death and disability, while coalescing the disabled communities’ missing voices in the contemporary debate around medically-assisted suicide.
Made in Ethiopia directed and written by Xinyan Yu and Max Duncan, produced by Tamara Dawit, Xinyan Yu, Max Duncan and Jesper Jack, and executive produced by Oli Harbottle. Three pioneering women navigate the bumpy expansion of the biggest Chinese industrial zone in Ethiopia. Ethiopia wants to be the next factory of the world, but will a spreading civil war derail its plans?
Meanwhile directed by Catherine Gund, written by Claudia Rankine and Homi K. Bhabha, produced by Erika Dilday and Catherine Gund, and executive produced by Melony and Adam Lewis. A collaborative, cinematic docu-essay that engages a layered representation of how living within a capitalist, white supremacist, violently anti-Black world shapes our connections to others.
More Than a Name directed by Sandra Jaffe, produced by Sandra Jaffe and David Ninh, and executive produced by Eric Juhola. When a filmmaker’s adopted Chinese teenager comes out as transgender, she struggles to understand and protect him as he becomes a man during turbulent times.
The Needs of Kim Stanley directed by Dani Minnick and Alessandro Zezza and produced by Dani Minnick and Randall England. An exploration of the life, lessons and legacy of Kim Stanley, the iconic Broadway actress and devoted teacher, who inspired generations of talent with a relentless commitment to truth. (Series)
The Nine Lives of Barbara Dane directed by Maureen Gosling, produced by Jed Riffe, and executive produced by Danny Glover and Nina Menendez. Barbara Dane: Folk, blues and jazz singer, international social justice activist and recording star, mother of three, feminist, record producer, unwavering maverick and general troublemaker.
Our Mr. Matsura directed and written by Beth Harrington and produced by Beth Harrington, Francene Blythe-Lewis, Hatsumi Asaka and Nora Colie. Photographer Frank Matsura, a samurai’s son, arrives in the Northwest in 1901 and creates fascinating but little-known images that still resonate over a century later.
Pay or Die directed by Scott Ruderman and Rachael Dyer; produced by Scott Ruderman, Rachael Dyer, and Yael Melamede; and executive produced by Sarah Silverman, Zak Kilberg, Sarah Lucas, Douglas Choi, Russell Long and Trish Adlesic. Pay or Diefollows the extraordinary challenge of living with a chronic disease in America and trying to afford the medication necessary to live.
Pretty Ugly – The Story of the Lunachicks directed and produced by Ilya Chaiken and executive produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen. When N.Y.C.’s most legendary group of ’90s punk rock heroines reflect on their hilarious crusade for equality, the Lunachicks are propelled towards a spectacular 20-year reunion.
Prisoner X directed by Hilla Medalia and Amos Roberts, produced by Hilla Medalia and Gal Greenspan, and executive produced by Tony Krawitz. What happens when censorship for “security reasons” overrules the public’s right to know.
Prodigal Daughter directed, written, and produced by Mabel Valdiviezo. Filmmaker and immigrant artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after a 16-year separation, confronting secrets that tore them apart.
Queendom directed by Agniia Galdanova and produced by Igor Myakotin and Agniia Galdanova. Gena, queer artist from Russia protests the government through art. It becomes a movement with a million followers until she’s arrested and threatened to flee.
Rejeito directed and written by Pedro de Filippis and produced by Leonardo Mecchi, Bronte Stahl, and Tarsila Nakamura.Following devastating dam collapses in Brazil, a state counselor confronts the government’s modus operandi, while dam refugees resist mining companies’ abuses in their threatened communities.
Sanctuary Rising directed by Florencia Krochik and Theo Rigby. Sanctuary Rising follows two undocumented mothers as they go to dramatic lengths to keep their families together in the face of deportation.
Shaken directed by Asher Levinthal and produced by Kellen Quinn and Asher Levinthal. A flawed medical diagnosis tears a young family apart. Facing twenty years in prison and state removal of their children, Dayna and Nigel Bliss fight to keep their family together.
Standing Above the Clouds directed by Jalena Keane-Lee, produced by Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau, and Jalena Keane-Lee, and executive produced by Jess Devaney and Anya Rous. Through the lens of mothers and daughters, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the labor of retaining ceremonies while protecting a sacred mountain.
Storming directed by Katrina Sorrentino, written by Dyana Winkler, and produced by Tiffany Fisher-Love. A family hangs in limbo, caring for their comatose son. Hope and denial blur as seasons circle in this meditation on love and letting go.
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted directed by Isaac Gale, produced by Paul Lovelace, David McMurry, Ryan Olson, Ben Wu and Isaac Gale, and executive produced by Molly Menard. In 1970, Jerry Williams created the outrageous alter-ego Swamp Dogg to become one of the most original and beloved cult figures in music history.
Swinging Fields (working title) written and directed by Sareen Hairabedian, produced by Sareen Hairabedian and Azza Hourani, and executive produced by Beth Levison. Swinging Fields is a coming-of-age story of an eleven-year-old Armenian boy as he journeys from displacement into his war-torn home – the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.
This Side of Midnight directed by Lisanne Skyler and produced by Erin Wright. At the height of the Reagan era, New York’s legendary nightclubs birthed iconoclastic artists who lived for the night and transformed American culture.
Thoughts & Prayers directed and produced by Jessica Dimmock and Zackary Canepari. Thoughts & Prayers is about the normalcy of violence that has calcified in America and become commonplace for the generation born into a post-Columbine world.
To Use a Mountain directed by Casey Carter, produced by Colleen Cassingham, and executive produced by Brett Story and Maida Lynn. To Use a Mountain presents vignettes of ruin and salvation in six candidate communities for the nation’s nuclear dumping ground.
Traces of Home directed by Colette Ghunim and produced by Capella Fahoome. Colette Ghunim embarks on journeys to find her parents’ homes that they were forced to flee as children in Mexico and Palestine. What begins as a desire to connect to cultural origins turns into an internal quest to heal difficult relationships with her parents and herself.
Underground Railroad Ride directed by Fiz Olajide, produced by Jon Lynn and Fiz Olajide, and executive produced by Nerenda Eid. Five cyclists traverse a route that helped enslaved people escape to freedom. The continuous threat of the road unravels a complexity in heart versus mind.
unseen directed by Set Hernandez Rongkilyo, produced by Set Hernandez Rongkilyo, Day Al-Mohamed, and Félix Endara, and executive produced by Diane Quon. An aspiring social worker, Pedro must confront political restrictions as a blind, undocumented immigrant to get his college degree and support his family. But when attaining his dreams leads to new and unexpected challenges, what will Pedro do?
Untitled Cowboy Documentary directed by Tamar Lando, produced by Tamar Lando and Judith Mizrachy, and executive produced by Beth Levison. In a remote corner of New Mexico, aging cowboys fight looming changes and environmental challenges in this magical hymn to the disappearing American West.
Untitled Geopolitical Thriller directed by Etant Dupain and Andréa Schmidt and produced by Jeff Seelbach. A shocking crime shakes a country and launches an international investigation to find the masterminds. (Series)
Untitled Muscogee Nation Documentary directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler and produced by Garrett Baker, Conrad Beilharz, and Tyler Graim. When the Muscogee Nation suddenly begins censoring their tribal newspaper, a rogue reporter fights to restore her tribe’s free press in a historic battle that will have ramifications for all of Indian Country.
Untitled Ping Chong Documentary directed and produced by Melanie Vi Levy and Benjamin Wu. An exploration of the life and legacy of pioneering Chinese American theater director Ping Chong, as he creates the final production of his storied career.
Untitled Richard Miron Film directed by Richard Miron, produced by Jeffrey Star and Richard Miron, and executive produced by Sam Bisbee and Jackie Kelman Bisbee.
We Are Pat directed by Ro Haber, produced by Caryn Capotosto, and executive produced by Lauren Greenfield. We Are Pat uses camp, humor and surrealist recreations to explore the evolution of gender identity through the lens of SNL’s iconic sketch It’s Pat.
Who Killed Alex Odeh? directed and produced by Jason Osder and William Youmans. The assassination of a Palestinian-American activist in Southern California sets off a 35-year quest for justice exposing the transnational dimension of the Israel/Palestine conflict.
Wind Up directed by Daniel Hymanson and produced by Daniel Hymanson and Isidore Bethel. Daniel helps prepare a friend’s iconic Chicago home for sale as his family confronts a series of health crises.
Wrestling With Legacy: The Carlebach Story (working title) directed by Simon Mendes, produced by Simon Mendes and Johanna Gieblhaus, and executive produced bySaul Blinkoff. Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach was a spiritual and musical icon for 20th century Jews. What will happen to his cherished legacy after posthumous sexual abuse allegations?
AUDIO SERIES AND ORIGINALS
Presenting 17 innovative projects from both upcoming and established creators pushing boundaries in audio storytelling.
All Night Deli created, written, and produced by Yohanna Baez. When a highly unstable teenage drug designer is passed over one too many times for promotion, she uses her latest test drug to access a portal to our Earth so she can create her mafiosa legacy. (Fiction)
Awards Season created and written by Danielle Evenson & Heather Huntington, and executive produced by The Orchard Project. It’s Awards Season and two heavyweights (although they’re both still totally under the normal weight of any self-respecting woman) go head-to-head to win the biggest award of their careers: The Oscar. (Fiction)
Death of a Drag Queen created, written, and produced by Bonnie Blue Edwards, with Cyntha Wade as consultant. Archival audio records by Jeanette Sears and additional audio records by Marcus January. After neighbors complained of a smell, Libertee Belle – the first ever drag queen of Birmingham, Alabama – was found dead in his apartment. Although reports claim that Libertee died of natural causes, evidence hints at foul play. What really happened to Libertee Belle? (Non-Fiction)
FACTIONAL created, written, and produced by Nick Messitte and Jon Birkholz. A multiplayer audio game in your podcast app. Dropping you into the early 90s, FACTIONAL gives you the power to re-make the world. (Game)
The Golden created, written, and executive produced by Simon Kent Fung. Seven religious young men share their darkest secrets by meeting weekly in a Brooklyn brownstone. Their private sessions bring unexpected betrayals and friendships. (Fiction)
Gray City created by Alex Kemp, written by Alex Kemp and Jamie Killen, executive produced by Winnie Kemp, and produced by Wolf at the Door. Harry Shaw lives a quiet life of scarcity and oppression. Everyone is being watched by ‘The Committee,’ and by each other. They’re all dead, of course, and this is the afterlife. And now it’s his state-assigned job to answer the prayers of the living. (Fiction)
Hope in Margot created by Onyx Èspri, written by Onyx Èspri, executive produced by Onyx Èspri and Martina Abrahams, and produced by You Had Me at Black. An Afro-German girl plans to escape a Nazi concentration camp and find her sister, paralleling the true untold experiences of Black Germans in the Holocaust. (Fiction)
Jewel Case created, written, and produced by Taylor Jones and Anthony Obi. There are innumerable works of rare music waiting to be found and heard. With this fact, we trace a record back to its source, interviewing key players and witnesses, rendering the soundscape of the era, and analyzing the music in the spirit of collector’s appreciation. (Non-Fiction)
The Life and Times of a Chosen One created, written, and executive produced by Christopher Dole. True Grit meets Middle-Earth in the story of a group of revolutionaries who, to fight an evil god, decide to fake their people’s Chosen One. (Fiction)
Orfeo created, written, and produced by Eric Emma. After dying on the battlefield, an army sniper awakens in a dark hellscape filled with gargantuan insectoids, but as he fights for his survival, he’s forced to reckon with his past and whether his life is worth living. (Fiction)
Remix created and written by Heather Taylor & Hillary Nussbaum. A people-pleasing 13-year-old anonymously writes subversive songs about the things that aren’t making it into her school’s curriculum, like the real history of America. (Fiction)
Scene: The Athenians created and written by Austin Paterek. Scene: The Athenians tells the story of the Athens music scene, exploring how a group of artistic outcasts reshaped their corner of the American South. (Non-Fiction)
Streams of Change created by Flavia Romani, written by Mariza Bafile, and produced by Carol Colmenares and Mariella Perez-Perez. Streams of Change explores the challenges and successes of Latin American and Latinx kids who have dared to speak up about issues affecting their communities. (Non-Fiction)
Tabu created, written, and produced by Tonia Kempler. Generations after a biological war, a young female scientist, stationed in the Amazon Rainforest, fights to survive while researching a cure for the disease currently plaguing the Commonwealth. (Fiction)
True Investigation – Season One created, written, and produced by Peter Haden. A reporter seeks the truth about an ambush killing, a wrongful conviction, and why it has become surprisingly easy to get away with murder in America. (Non-Fiction)
Unloveable created, written, and executive produced by SK. A young mother/attorney is suddenly widowed, forcing her to reckon with past traumas and how they shaped her. (Non-Fiction)
Variety Reinspires created and written by Juan Carlos Zaldivar, produced by Phonograph Films. Filmmaker/artist Juan Carlos Zaldivar refuses to walk the typically harrowing ‘dementia journey’ and joins international thought-leaders to change how we look at dementia. (Non-Fiction)