Hot Films in the Making

Danielle McCarthy, a Gold Star wife, unexpectedly lost her husband, David, a U.S. Veteran, in 2017. His body was brought to Sunset Mesa in Montrose, Colorado to be cremated. One day, she received a call from the FBI informing her that the cremains she had may not be her husband after all. As a result of the FBI investigation, Danielle learned David’s body had been sold without her consent and later learned it’s not considered illegal in the state of Colorado. This is Danielle’s story.

Who Will Catch You When I Fall is a feature documentary project about autistic children with high support needs. This story features a family coping with two teen/adult autistic children, with a focus on the looming crisis of when their parents will no longer be able to care for them. It takes us through the harsh realities facing these children. In the end, though, this is a personal family story and a labor of love that we hope will help other people understand the severity of this problem. We plan to tell their story in all of its raw emotion while remaining sympathetic and respectful to the individuals who are dealing with this tidal wave of need on a daily basis.

Each year in the Peruvian Amazon, an ancient hallucinogenic brew, Ayahuasca, is cooked up and served to thousands of spiritual tourists. Filmed within native communities and popular tourist centers deep in the rainforest, Field Trip will capture all sides of this complex intersection of indigenous culture and Wellness Culture. Cinema vérité will be punctuated with interviews with psychedelic researchers, anthropologists and spiritual seekers alike, all raising questions on the commodification of spirituality, cultural fetishization, the role of psychedelics in medicine, and Ayahuasca’s purported healing powers.

One hundred years ago, a German immigrant named Agnes Lepinski Richards was horrified at the abuse of women in asylums. In response, she founded Rockhaven Sanitarium– her own asylum specifically for women regardless of their family background, skin color, or sexual orientation. Rockhaven’s 13 buildings now sit in arrested decay as a group of volunteers and a senator fight for the preservation of its legacy.

When their Lower East Side building comes under siege by a predatory landlord, a young filmmaker and an aging punk artist forge an unlikely friendship. As the two women collaborate on a portrait of a creative life amidst NYC’s cultural crisis, they discover what it means to be neighbors.

A feature length documentary about the “Pianoman” – David Avendaño, a piano factory owner who faces the loss of his factory and potential family separation.

This documentary explores the life of Kate
Marsden, a young Victorian nurse who dreams of
saving the world from Leprosy.
Set in 1890, our adventure begins as she travels
from the UK to Yakutsk in deepest, coldest Siberia
on a quest to discover a magical herb with which
she will cure the world of Leprosy.
We will explore the challenges she faces, both
political and circumstantial, to realise her dream.
We reveal her successes and how, for a short
while, it appears as though she might achieve the
feat of heroism she dreams of.
We uncover the witchhunt that persues her
relentlessly on her return to the UK. It’s a sustained
attack on her character from which she never
recovers.

This is a story of people trying to save their homes, cattle ranches, ecotourism, wildlife, and jaguars from out of control climate wildfires in the remote Pantanal of Brazil, the world’s largest wetland, storing 10 billion tons of carbon—that is threatened by deforestation of the Amazon Rainforest which may have only 2 more years left before its ecosystem dies and decaying trees begin 30-50 years of releasing up to 200 billion tons of carbon that would ultimately destroy the Earth’s climate. Our survival depends on the survival of this region—so what can average citizens do to stop U.S. corporations from deforestation and protect the Pantanal and the Amazon Rainforest it depends on?

There are many issues associated with organ donation and transplantation. These issues span from political to financial, from spiritual to moral. Because healthy organs continue to be buried every day and the need for those organs is enormous, these issues have to be addressed. Gifted-The Docuseries will tell the complete and accurate stories of both tragedy and victory to encourage a nationwide social discussion. We’ll explore donor stories and hear from their family members, who in the depths of their grief, were able to find hope by donating their loved one’s gifts so that others could live on and do amazing things.

Pearlette, Tammy and Terry are Three (Extra)Ordinary Women who have collectively overcome poverty, abuse, systemic racism, and political occupation. The film will explore their life stories and how the parallels between the Palestinian occupation and Jim Crow in the United States have equally disenfranchised people of color. By braving their biggest physical obstacle yet – climbing to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro– they will show that through sisterhood, women can accomplish anything.

The film will have a social impact campaign that will touch on themes of female self-worth, systemic racism, empowerment, leadership and the importance of being in nature.

Danielle McCarthy, a Gold Star wife, unexpectedly lost her husband, David, a U.S. Veteran, in 2017. His body was brought to Sunset Mesa in Montrose, Colorado to be cremated. One day, she received a call from the FBI informing her that the cremains she had may not be her husband after all. As a result of the FBI investigation, Danielle learned David’s body had been sold without her consent and later learned it’s not considered illegal in the state of Colorado. This is Danielle’s story.

There are many issues associated with organ donation and transplantation. These issues span from political to financial, from spiritual to moral. Because healthy organs continue to be buried every day and the need for those organs is enormous, these issues have to be addressed. Gifted-The Docuseries will tell the complete and accurate stories of both tragedy and victory to encourage a nationwide social discussion. We’ll explore donor stories and hear from their family members, who in the depths of their grief, were able to find hope by donating their loved one’s gifts so that others could live on and do amazing things.

It started with a pledge on a website. It became a movement that is shaking up the elite world of ballet.

BEYOND YELLOWFACE follows a pair of prominent NYC dancers of Asian descent, Georgina Pazcoguin and Phil Chan, who are challenging the dance community to rid ballet of racial stereotypes, including dancing in yellowface and blackface.

The pair battles entrenched tradition and political pushback as they shine a critical spotlight on The Nutcracker and other beloved stories in the classical arts. Their battle provides a vivid account of cultural missteps and creative evolution.

THE POWER OF MINDFULNESS THROUGH SITTING!
World Traveler Robert Silk, seeks out nature at its most remote and isolated, and sits.
THE PLAN
Sit in nature – the desert – from sunrise to sunset.

After years of silence, Joelle Lockwood recounts her 2014 abduction case that shocked her community of southwestern Indiana. In addition to Joelle’s first ever public interview, the documentary features discussions with law enforcement and her loved ones as they question the lines between good, bad, and evil.

Poverty, Homelessness, Mass Incarceration, Endless War, Lack of Adequate Healthcare, and Environmental Destruction have a root cause, a culprit hiding in plain sight: Capitalism.

That American sacred cow, whose legitimacy is rarely questioned, is critically examined as the root cause of, and major impediment to solving the most pressing social problems of our time.

This documentary asks the question: What must we do to end injustice, if the system runs on injustice?

Featuring award-winning cinematography, acclaimed journalist Chris Hedges, feminist leader Harriet Fraad, author and child abuse survivor Annette Lucas, challenge the viewer with paradigm-shifting perspectives.

The life and work of GAO Yanjinzi, one of China’s most acclaimed female modern dancers, as she faces unprecedented challenges. Her 26-year-old dance company is on the brink of disbandment since Covid-19 has brought China’s entire performance industry to a stop, while she is also troubled by her severe ankle injury and her role as a mother. However, nothing would stop her from seeking the very reason why she chose to dance in the first place. The film will not only bear witness to the artist’s own struggle, but also reflect upon why art still matters in the post-Covid world.

WHAT’S IN A NAME follows three trans women, Tania Cordova, Eisha Love, and Reyna Ortiz, who are suing the state of Illinois to strike down a law that prohibits people with felony convictions from legally changing their names. They are also key activists involved in the effort to pass HB2542, a state bill that strikes down the same law.
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A male name on their government ID exposes the women as trans, which opens them up to harassment and danger and the constant outing causes an enormous amount of stress. WHAT’S IN A NAME shares the personal journeys of three women who are fighting for the fundamental right to choose their own names.

A daughter reconciles time lost to her father’s demanding football coaching career by uncovering the role he and his peers played in pushing a quintessential American institution to change. In the process, she discovers a silver lining to her family’s sacrifice: doors open to women like her in sport and sports journalism.

A character-driven documentary feature, Better Than They Found It lifts the veil on one of the most enduring controversies in sport.

Sister Gertrude Morgan was an artist, evangelist, poet, and musician; a black woman wielding her tambourine, paintbrush and fierce voice to spread her singular message on the streets of New Orleans from the French Quarter to the Lower 9th Ward. Little known in the greater culture, her artwork is in major institutions around the world and has inspired a number of contemporary artists. The film seeks to question through Sister’s story, and through the practicing artists impacted by her, the nature of truth, art, value, and identity.

Going Fine Since 1889: The Magical Armstrongs is a feature length documentary about a family of African American magicians who traveled throughout the South during the confines of the Jim Crow era.

Much of the lore and history of the Armstrong’s is a mystery, and this is what we seek to explore. The Armstrong’s traveled extensively, performed to great crowds and were incredibly successful. Their determination and level of accomplishment is stunning, considering the times.

The film seeks to piece together the story of the Armstrong’s through movies, historical documentation, and most importantly, African American magicians who carry on this important, not yet fully explored, legacy.

A compelling documentary that follows Ireland’s Lord Randal Plunkett (39), the 21st Baron of Dunsany Castle, as he works to re-wild his 1700 acre estate (the country’s largest private rewilding project) to help fight climate change. Randal’s efforts are jeopardized, however, when the transportation department threatens to construct a railroad that would run directly through his property and destroy the land and legacy he’s worked so hard to save.

With Martin Sheen narrating and interviews with Irish actor/environmental activist Gabriel Byrne on the state of the climate crisis and why this particular forest is important to save not just for Ireland but for the world.

For 25 years, Rafael Larraenza has risked his life along the US-Mexico border to rescue immigrants lost in the desert. But as the years catch up with him, he worries his next search-and-rescue mission could be his last.

Intimate and poetic, DESERT ANGEL is a character study of a man driven to save others and willing to risk anything to do so.

In the mid-60s, Janis Ian, a tiny teenage Jewish singer-songwriter from New Jersey scores a hit (“Society’s Child,” 1966) about an interracial relationship. The song launches her illustrious career but also ignites controversy, and she plunges into an emotional tailspin–only to emerge from the ashes with an even bigger hit (“At Seventeen,” 1975) about body shaming. For the next six decades, Janis overcomes homophobia, record industry misogyny, and a life-threatening illness to produce an indelible body of work that continues to draw large audiences around the globe.

A retrospective look at Michael Jackson’s place in American culture, a glimpse into the media through the prism of Jackson’s life. A litmus test of society’s values and America’s interpretation of black culture and otherness.

In 1968, one of the best freeform rock stations in the country sprang up in the most unlikely place. Discover the true story of WZZQ-FM, Mississippi’s musical force of nature that people still long for, more than 40 years on.

Holding Back The Tide is a city symphony of urban and aquatic landscapes, following the precarious ebb and flow of oyster life cycles. The film’s documentary scenes introduce us to an ensemble of farmers, chefs, scientists, and environmentalists, all working to close the ecological loop on oyster consumption. Scripted interludes inspired by oysters’ genderfluid reproductive biology and Greek myth depict characters as they traverse the city and the waterways in search of a queer and environmentally sustainable way of being. How can something as small as an oyster build toward the future in the face of looming climate disaster? How much are we willing to invest in our cities’ longevity?

A daughter misses the South Asian mother who raised her, a vibrant award-winning social worker. After living together during the pandemic, the daughter confronts her mother’s 20-year struggle with depression, becomes a caregiver and accepts their new reality.

The life and work of GAO Yanjinzi, one of China’s most acclaimed female modern dancers combining the west and the east through choreography, as she faces unprecedented challenges during the Covid-19 pandemic. Her 26-year-old dance company is on the brink of disbandment since China’s entire performance industry has come to a stop, while she is also troubled by her severe ankle injury and her role as a mother. However, nothing would stop her from seeking the very reason why she danced in the first place—to help people find an exit for emotions through the liberation of body.

Website: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt22523604/

Travel through time to discover the secret history of arcade games. How did arcades begin? How did new technologies influence gameplay? And how have these games sparked our imaginations, shaped our lives, and brought us together?

Arcade Dreams is like nothing you’ve ever seen before. It’s the first film to tell the complete story — from the penny arcades of the early 1900s, through pinball’s glory days and the video generation, to the virtual reality rooms of today and beyond. Stories of modern game designers, arcade operators, enthusiasts, and collectors are interwoven with their historical counterparts, revealing the enthusiasm, creativity, and passion keeping the dream alive.

By the year 2050, Bangladesh will have approximately 220 million inhabitants and a large part of its territory will be permanently submerged. This could result in the forced displacement of between 10 and 30 million people from the country’s southern coastline, forcing many Bangladeshis to flee the country as “climate refugees”, a human group that is expected to reach 250 million people worldwide by mid-century.
On a planetary scale, we are talking about the largest mass migration in human history.
How long will Dhaka be able to cope with the arrival of so many people?
Where will all these people go when the cities collapse?
Who will take them in?
We are sitting on a huge time bomb.

A brutal mass eviction and it’s aftermath is the catalyst for BLUES FOR 475 KENT, filmed over a period of ten years, as a requiem to the last artist community in Brooklyn. The filmmaker immersed with sculptor, Deborah Masters and Jazz pianist, Connie Crothers, captures the lives of artists living on the edge.

An exploration into the history and memory of the Nazi medical genocide of disabled people known as Aktion T4. Disposable Humanity focuses on what disability memorialization tells us about attitudes toward disabled people today. The film explores the historical events regarding the systematic extermination of 300,000+ disabled people housed in German, Austrian, and Polish psychiatric institutions. Ordered on Hitler’s private stationary, these “mercy killings” were arranged and executed by doctors in cooperation with the German state from 1939 to 1940. The murders targeted those the T4 program deemed “life unworthy of living”. The film seeks to tell these stories before they go extinct.

When the unsung pioneer of the American beatbox movement is diagnosed with cancer, he must reconnect with the community he built to save his life and legacy. More than just vocal percussion, beatboxing is the art of making something out of nothing. True to form, Kid Lucky re-ignited a dying American beatbox scene by teaching a generation of artists about the power of coming together. Now, a deadly cancer diagnosis threatens to tear his life apart. With limited time and a mountain of healthcare costs, Kid must rely on his ability to inspire a movement. With help from his protege, Kaila Mullady, Kid sets out to galvanize the community he fostered to save his life in return.

As “Radical, French, Appalachian Hillbilly” Camille Shaffer turns 80, she reflects on her life, art, and
death at her home “Azule”— a house on a hill in the heart of Appalachia.

Like Heaven Without God is a documentary on a group of RVers, who struggle to survive on the margins of the city of Berkeley. A public program has allowed them to reside in an empty parking lot, but it will come to an end soon forcing them to return to the uncertain and unsafe life on the streets.

Ovarian cancer is the deadliest of all the gynecological cancers. Seventy percent of women are diagnosed at advanced stages leading to a 70 to 90 precent chance of a recurrence. Miss-Diagnosed is a documentary that educates women about the disease, early detection and prevention to improve their chances of survival.

More Than Our Skin is a film centered around the lives of 5 women living with Vitiligo – an auto-immune disease in which the skin loses its pigment cells resulting in discolored patches throughout the body. People with the condition not only experience high levels of depression, but also suffer from social stigmatization and isolation. The result, oftentimes, manifests as shame, avoidance of intimacy, and in far too many cases – suicidal thoughts.

More Than Our Skin will tell the stories of these women – privately suffering in their very public world – as they try to hide in plain sight.

Orchestrated: Ignatz Waghalter and the Negro Symphony Orchestra follows veteran British conductor, Alex Walker, and Kyle P. Walker, an up-and-coming African American classical pianist, as they uncover the remarkable story of one of the first ever all-Black classical symphony orchestras. Created by once-renowned Polish-Jewish conductor Ignatz Waghalter and the icons of Harlem Renaissance, the Negro Symphony Orchestra brought together 120 African American musicians in an unprecedented moment of activism, hope, and collaboration, their story revealing what it takes to overcome racial injustice to make it on the concert stage.

Affected by climate change and rapid development in the most hazard-prone areas of the nation, the US is experiencing an escalating tally of weather-related disasters in addition to earthquakes, landslides, and volcanoes in geologically unstable regions. This film asks: Who is helping to turn the tide of disaster losses of lives and property through better planning and efforts to build more resilient communities? Who is helping communities better address these twin threats of natural disasters and climate change? This film goes where the worst is happening, talks to community and business leaders, and finds the silver linings in disaster recovery.

ROLLING CHAIRS is an hour documentary film about the history of the iconic rolling chairs in Atlantic City, and more importantly about the lives of the men (and women) who have pushed them. Those were the days my friend…Atlantic City (AC) back in the day was THE place to go, to be seen and enjoyed. Picture Miss America, the Steel Pier, the AC boardwalk, the 1964 Democratic Convention and the iconic rolling chairs that were not only a mode of transportation, but a romantic ride for lovers and honeymooners.

As a boardwalk chair driver for three summers (1964, 65, and 66), I was fortunate enough to live and observe all this first-hand. It was the most fascinating job I’ve ever had!

Salsa, A Caribbean Swing explores salsa music’s cultural legacy and everyday realities from the heart of Caribbean barrios to New York City. Through the lens of Afro-Venezuelan director Beni Marquez’s background as an Afro-Latino immigrant and musician, with interviews with emblematic figures and cultural stewards, the film engages audiences in present-day conversations about salsa’s roots, global reach, radical consciousness, spiritual implications, and critical role in shaping Latino identity. This documentary departs from previous films about salsa music by focusing on everyday people, their communities, and salsa as a cultural movement.

A parking lot on Staten Island, NY, sits surrounded by convenience stores, a bank, and trash that’ll fly into your face if you’re not careful. There are so many within the borough that it almost goes unnoticed. But this parking lot contains a terrible secret–it’s about a historically Black cemetery, one where the bodies were never moved.

The director travels throughout Guinea in search of Mouramani, the first film made by a black African francophone, in 1953. Along this journey he learns about the history of cinema in his country, and what has become of it. Using his camera to confront History, he’ll travel all the way to France in search of a copy of this lost film .

The Long Rescue follows Filipina teen sex trafficking survivors for six years as they recover in a secret shelter and re-enter the world – hoping to overcome the poverty, predators, and pimps of their childhood. Full of dreams and love for their families, they must navigate a callous society and their own embodied trauma before they can truly thrive.

A diplomat, a teacher, and a musician declare war on poverty, ignorance, and crime, using an unorthodox weapon: classical music education.

On reservations and in communities cross the U.S., Native and Black Changemakers are tapping ancient traditions to create an economy that works for everyone. Traditional values of “all life is connected” and “wealth is more than money” are the basis for the solutions for tribal wealth building, black home and business ownership, and institional reform in banking and prison industries.

Three trans women fight to overturn a harsh law that binds them to their past.

WHAT’S IN A NAME follows three trans women of color, Tania, Eisha, and Reyna who are suing the state of Illinois to strike down a law that prohibits people with felony convictions from legally changing their names. A male name on their government ID exposes the women as trans, which opens them up to harassment and danger; after showing their ID cards they have been denied services, housing, and employment. The three women are key activists in the effort to pass HB2542, a state bill that strikes down the same law. WHAT’S IN A NAME follows their fight for the fundamental human right to choose one’s own name.

When a high school counselor told him to quit his Black friends, Loannis Veliotes, the son of Greek immigrants, dropped out and became Johnny Otis, a legendary innovator of Rhythm & Blues. But his book defending the 1965 Watts Rebellion–Listen to the Lambs–nearly ended his career. This is the provocative and inspiring story of the artist behind “Hound Dog,” “Willie and the Hand Jive” and “Every Beat of My Heart,” and his lifelong battle against white supremacy.