Isabelle Adjani in Possession
Premiering on February 6
Oscar Michaeux Super Hero of Black Filmmaking
Francesco Zippel, US, France, 2021
Oscar Micheaux was the most influential African American filmmaker of the first half of the 20th century, a self-taught artist who funded, produced, and released more than 40 films, completely excluded from Hollywood. Micheaux’s provocative films served as a powerful rebuke to the ubiquitous racism of the times. A chorus of experts and fans weigh in on his incredible artistic journey and legacy.
Murder in Harlem
Oscar Micheaux, US, 1935
Oscar Micheaux’s remake of his own “The Gunsaulus Mystery” (1921) is based on the true-life murder of Mary Phagan. When a young woman is found dead in a factory office, a Black employee (Alec Lovejoy) is accused of murder. But an idealistic lawyer (Clarence Brooks) suspects a miscarriage of justice and sets out to find the true culprit. Micheaux himself appears in a cameo role as a detective.
Premiering on February 13
Possession
Andrzej Żuławski, France, Germany, 1981
Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other. Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) insistent on a divorce. As Anna's frenzied behavior becomes ever more alarming, Mark discovers a truth far more sinister than his wildest suspicions.
Keep the Change
Rachel Israel, US, 2018
This off-kilter New York romantic comedy does something radical in casting actors with autism to play characters with autism. When David is mandated to attend a social program, sparks fly with the vivacious Sara while on a visit to the Brooklyn Bridge. Their budding relationship must weather Sarah’s romantic past, David’s judgmental mother, and their ideas of what love is supposed to look like.
Premiering on February 20
Manuscripts Don't Burn
Mohammad Rasoulof, Iran, 2013
Clandestinely produced in disavowal of a filmmaking ban passed down by the Iranian authorities, this slow-burning thriller adds a new level of audacity to Mohommad Rasoulof's laudable career. Drawing from the true story of the government's attempted 1995 murder of several prominent writers and intellectuals, he imagines a repressive regime so pervasive where even the righteous are cast aside.
Sophie Scholl – The Final Days
Marc Rothemund, Germany, 2005
The true story of Germany’s most famous anti-Nazi heroine is brought to thrilling life in this Academy Award Nominated Best Foreign Language Film. Armed with long-buried historical records of her incarceration, director Marc Rothemund expertly re-creates the last six days of Sophie Scholl’s life: a heart-stopping journey from arrest to interrogation, trial and sentence.
Premiering on February 27
Nowhere in Africa
Caroline Link, Germany, 2002
A love story spanning two continents, this true tale of a Jewish family who fled the Nazi regime in 1938 for a remote farm in Kenya won the 2002 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Abandoning their once-comfortable existence in Germany, Walter Redlich, his wife Jettel and their five-year-old daughter each deal with the harsh realities of their new life as they learn to cherish their time in Africa.
Sebastian
Mikko Mäkelä, UK, 2024
Max is a young writer living in London and paying his dues working at a literary magazine. On the cusp of finding success, by night he moonlights as a sex worker in order to research his debut novel. This Sundance Film Festival selection from writer-director Mikko Mäkelä explores the transgressive power of queer sexuality and the transformative impact that can result from embracing a new identity.