THE REASON I JUMP

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THE REASON I JUMP

USA, 2020, 82 min

Director: Jerry Rothwell

Producers: Jeremy Dear, Stevie Lee, Al Morrow

Editor: David Charap

Cinematographer: Ruben Woodin Dechamps

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Based on the book by 13-year-old Naoki Higashida, this immersive film poetically explores the experiences of non-speaking autistic people around the world. The film is not a direct adaptation of the book; rather it applies the insights from the book to the lives of five other young people diagnosed with autism. This emotionally engaging film snared a coveted audience award at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival 

Jerry Rothwell’s work includes the award-winning feature documentaries How to Change the World, Sour Grapes, Town of Runners, The School in the Cloud, Donor Unknown, Heavy Load, and Deep Water. His films have won numerous accolades, including two Grierson Awards, a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award and a BAFTA nomination.

UP CLOSE Intro by Director Jerry Rothwell

THE ROAD UP

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THE ROAD UP

USA, 2020, 93 min

Directors: Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel

Producers: Rachel Pikelny, Amy Ostrander

Editor: John Farbrother

Cinematographer: Stephan Mazurek

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The Road Up follows four Chicagoans on the daunting journey from rock bottom to stable employment. Their lifeline? Mr. Jesse, a charismatic mentor whose own troubled past compels him to help his “students” find hope in the face of homelessness, addiction, incarceration, and trauma. Taken together, their stories form a powerful portrait of the struggles millions of Americans face every day in a precarious and unforgiving economy.

Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel are the co-founders of Chicago-based Siskel/Jacobs Productions. Most recently, Greg and Jon co-directed (with Danny Alpert) No Small Matter that explores the power and potential impact of early childhood education. Jacobs and Siskel also produced and directed Louder Than a Bomb, which follows four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare to compete in the world’s largest youth slam. The two now see The Road Up as the third installment of a kind of “accidental trilogy,” an ongoing story about poverty, inequality and isolation they didn’t even realize they were telling.

UP Close Intro by Director Greg Jacobs

THROUGH THE NIGHT

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Robin L. Long Human Rights Award Film

THROUGH THE NIGHT

USA, 2020, 72 min

Director: Loira Limbal

Producers: Jameka Autry, Loira Limbal

Editor: Malika Zouhali-Worrall

Cinematographers: Nausheen Dadabhoy, Mariam Dwedar, Naiti Gamez

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To make ends meet, Americans are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers. Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider, whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.

Loira Limbal is an Afro-Dominican filmmaker and DJ interested in the creation of art that is nuanced and revelatory for communities of color. She is the Senior Vice President of Programs at Firelight Media. Limbal received a B.A. in History from Brown University and is a graduate of the Third World Newsreel's Film and Video Production Training Program. She is a Sundance Institute Time Warner fellow and a former Ford Foundation Justfilms/Rockwood fellow. 

Q/A moderated by Susan Margolin with Director Loira Limbal

UNITED WE SING

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Tee & Charles Addams Foundation Art & Inspiration Award Film

UNITED WE SING

USA, 2020, 75 min

Director: Dan Petracca

Producers: Aaron Sperber, Ross Pedersen

Editor: Eric Frith

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For the YellowJackets, an adventurous a cappella group from The University of Rochester, finding new ways to push the boundaries is a priority. That is why, after hearing about a choir of AIDS orphans in rural Kenya, the group decided to fly halfway around the world to an unfamiliar continent to sing with them. Like many Americans traveling to Africa for the first time, they came with preconceived notions about what it would be like and what they could do to make a difference. And like most Kenyans seeing an American for the first time, many of the children of Mbaka Oromo Primary School were apprehensive and did not know what to make of these visitors. Then the two groups started singing together and everything changed.

Dan Petracca earned his bachelor's degree in film from Full Sail University in 2009. He has since traveled the globe creating content for musicians, businesses, and filmmakers alike. In 2010, Dan walked across the United States, taking part in the documentary Walk the Dream. 

Award by Kevin Miserocchi, The Tee & Charles Addams Foundation

Q/A moderated by Michael Lawrence, Director of Bridgehampton Chamber Music Society with Director Dan Petracca and Executive Producers Aaron Sperber and Ross Pedersen

UNSTOPPABLE: SEAN SCULLY AND THE ART OF EVERYTHING

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UNSTOPPABLE: SEAN SCULLY AND THE ART OF EVERYTHING

UK, 2019, 84 min

Director: Nick Willing

Producer: Michele Camarda

Editor: Nick Willing

Cinematographer: Juvenal De Figueiroa

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Rising from a desperately poor childhood to international acclaim and financial success, Sean Scully creates art as grand as his personality. The cheeky, self-taught Irishman is confident, funny and jaw-droppingly blunt, owing his success to his innate talent and his street-kid smarts. In Nick Willing’s profile, art dealers, critics and the artist himself tell the rags-to-riches story of the fearless man, shrewd businessman and visionary contemporary artist.

Nick Willing is best known for his popular fantasy television shows, but he’s also made theatrically released movies, thrillers, social realist dramas and documentaries. He spent a year interviewing and filming his mother, the painter Paula Rego, to better understand her and her work and discovered that she had kept major secrets from him (Paula Rego: Secrets & Stories released in 2017). That powerful experience developed his interest in documentary films. 

UP CLOSE Intro by Director Nick Willing

UPROOTED: THE JOURNEY OF JAZZ DANCE

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UPROOTED: THE JOURNEY OF JAZZ DANCE

USA, 2019, 94 min

Director: Khadifa Wong

Producer: Lisa Donmall-Reeve

Editor: Joan Gill Amorim

Cinematographer: Matt Simpkins

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Jazz dance is an art form rooted in slavery, but because of its roots, it hasn’t always afforded respect from the astistic community. Where is the funding? Where are the world touring companies? Why do white choreographers get famous for codifying the styles of jazz dancers while the dancers themselves remain unknown? The story of jazz dance is a complex one, going to the very heart of humanity. It is a story of triumph over adversity, oppression and privilege as well as a celebration, because ultimately, what all people have in common is rhythm and a basic human need to “get down”.

Khadifa Wong trained at the iconic London Studio Centre in all aspects of dance. After 10 years as a dancer she moved to New York to further study acting. On her return to London, frustrated by the lack of opportunities for actresses of colour, Khadifa wrote, produced and acted in a web series based on her New York experiences. It was then that Khadifa realised her true passion lay behind the camera and she formed her production company to help increase diversity on both sides of the camera. Uprooted is her first feature-length film.

UP CLOSE Intro by Director Khadifa Wong

WHEN LIBERTY BURNS

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WHEN LIBERTY BURNS

USA, 2020, 111 min

Director: Dudley Alexis

Producers: Femi Folami-Browne, Dudley Alexis

Editor: Dudley Alexis

Cinematographer: Dudley Alexis

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When Liberty Burns examines the life and the death of Arthur Lee McDuffie, a black insurance executive who died at the hands of Miami’s law enforcement officers in 1980 - long before today’s Black Lives Matter took root. The family man is poignantly remembered by McDuffie’s childhood friends and family members. The film uses first-person accounts from those who were directly involved in the discovery of the criminal behavior and in the prosecution of the law enforcement officers who were subsequently acquitted. Two black women, both closely associated with the offending police force, will have a surprising new take on the 40-year old incident. 

Dudley Alexis is an independent filmmaker and visual artist whose passion is bringing to the world little-known facts about his native home of Haiti, while also dispelling misconceptions by shedding light on the richness of Haitian culture, and the African Diaspora experience at large. He uses his art as a tool for social awareness and change.

UP CLOSE Intro by Director Dudley Alexis

ZAPPA

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ZAPPA

USA, 2020, 127 min

Director: Alex Winter

Producers: Jade Allen, Devorah DeVries, John Frizzell, Alex Winter, Ahmet Zappa, Glen Zipper

Editor: Mike J. Nichols

Cinematographer: Anghel Decca

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Billed as an intimate and expansive look into the innovative life of the iconic and iconoclastic  musician and artist Frank Zappa, the film was made with unfettered access to the Zappa family trust and all archival footage. It explores the private life behind the musical career that never shied away from the political turbulence of its time. Zappa features appearances by the musician’s widow Gail Zappa and several of his musical collaborators. Zappa was fully crowdfunded through one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns, involving more than 8,000 backers who invested more than $1,200,000 in 30 days to help preserve and digitize Zappa’s private archives, including thousands of hours of unreleased material in the Zappa vault.

Alex Winter has had an eclectic career -- he started as a child actor, then turned to directing commercials and music videos, and later received acclaim for writing and directing Freaked (Entertainment Weekly called it one of the “Top Ten greatest comedies of the Nineties”)and Fever, a psychological thriller. His documentary work includes The Panama Papers (about the biggest global corruption scandal), and Deep Web (about the online black market Silk Road).