Houston, We Have A Problem! and Equals
14 Minutes from Earth
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jerry Kolber, Adam "Tex" Davis, Trey Nelson, Erich Sturm)
On October 24th, 2014, a secret three-year mission by a small crew of engineers came to fruition deep in the desert of New Mexico. There, a human being was launched higher than ever before without the aid of a spacecraft — shattering all records. This film documents the mission and its greater implications for the scientific community and stratospheric exploration.
Documentary. World premiere
Adult Life Skills
(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Rachel Tunnard; Writer: Rachel Tunnard; Stars: Jodie Whittaker, Edward Hogg, Lorraine Ashbourne, Alice Lowe, Brett Goldstein, Andrew Buckley, Christian Contreras, Eileen Davies, David Anderson, Rachael Deering, Ozzy Myers)
Anna is stuck: she’s approaching 30, living in her mother’s shed, and spending her time making movies with her thumbs. Her mom wants her to move out; she just wants to be left alone.
Narrative. World premiere
Abortion: Stories Women Tell
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Tracy Droz Tragos)
In 1973, the US Supreme court decision Roe v. Wade gave every woman the right to have an abortion. In 2016, abortion remains one of the most divisive issues in America, especially in Missouri.
Documentary. World premiere
Actor Martinez
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Mike Ott, Nathan Silver; Writer: Mike Ott, Nathan Silver; Stars: Lindsay Burdge, Mike Ott, Nathan Silver, Andy Hankins, Connor Long, Cory Zacharia, Michael Haskins, Bobby Black, Kenneth Berba, Sanaz Fatemi, Jennifer Lynne Jorgenson, Katharyn Grant, Rae Radke, Cindy Silver, Arthur Martinez)
Arthur Martinez is a computer repairman and aspiring actor who commissions indie directors Mike Ott and Nathan Silver to film his life. In the directors’ first collaboration, we see them follow Arthur as he goes to work, drives around, and auditions for a love interest, leading them to question the meaning of the project, and ultimately that of identity and stardom.
Narrative. World premiere
After Spring
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Ellen Martinez, Steph Ching)
Close to 80,000 Syrian refugees live in the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan. After Spring immerses us in the rhythms of the camp, the role of the aid workers, and the daily lives of two families as they contemplate an uncertain future.
Documentary. World premiere
High-Rise and Adult Life Skills
As I Open My Eyes (À peine j'ouvre les yeux)
(Country: France, Belgium, Tunisia; Year: 2015; Director: Leyla Bouzid; Writer: Leyla Bouzid, Marie-Sophie Chambon; Stars: Baya Medhaffer, Ghalia Benali)
Tunis, summer 2010, a few months before the Revolution: Farah, 18 years old, has just graduated and her family already sees her as a future doctor. But she doesn't have the same idea.
Narrative. US premiere
Between Us
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Rafael Palacio Illingworth; Writer: Rafael Palacio Illingworth; Stars: Analeigh Tipton, Ben Feldman, Olivia Thirlby, Adam Goldberg, Lesley Ann Warren, Betsy Brandt, John Ross Bowie, Raychel Diane Weiner, Peter Bogdanovich, Alison Sudol, Cherilyn Wilson, Scott Haze, Azize Erim, Jedediah Jenk, Emma Farabee)
A couple are afraid that if they finally tie the knot it would mean the end of their days as free-spirited urbanites. But a whirlwind night apart involving temptations from a duo of strangers will either make them realise why they are together or finally drive them apart forever.
Narrative. World premiere
Califórnia
(Country: Brazil; Year: 2015; Director: Marina Person; Writer: Francisco Guarnieri, Marina Person, Mariana Veríssimo; Stars: Clara Gallo, Caio Horowicz, Caio Blat, Giovanni Gallo, Letícia Fagnani, Livia Gijon, Virginia Cavendish, Paulo Miklos, Gilda Nomacce, Amanda Chaptiska, Cristiano Damasi, Pedro Goifman, Francisco Guarnieri, Ivo Müller, Joelson Oliveira)
A coming-of-age tale about a high school student, Estela, growing up in São Paulo in the 1980s. Estela is doing all she can to get to California to visit her glamorous and cultured uncle.
Narrative. North American premiere
The Charro Of Toluquilla
(Country: Mexico; Year: 2016; Director: Jose Villalobos)
Jaime García appears to be the quintessentially machismo mariachi singer, yet beneath his magnetic confidence lies a man struggling to maintain a relationship with his estranged family while living as an HIV-positive man.
Documentary. International premiere
Children Of The Mountain
(Country: US, Georgia, Ghana; Year: 2016; Director: Priscilla Anany; Writer: Priscilla Anany; Stars: Rukiyat Masud, Adjetey Anang, Agbeko Mortty, Akofa Edjeani Asiedu, Grace Omaboe, Jessica Dablo, Mynna Otoo, Mea Vita Otoo-Panou, Stacy Afful, Eli Cecilson, Faustina Kumesi, Agnes Vemegah, Silvia Tettegah, William Addo, Frank M. Ahearn)
When a young woman gives birth to a deformed and sickly child, she becomes the victim of cruelty and superstition in her Ghanaian community. Discarded by her lover, she is convinced she suffers from a ‘dirty womb,’ and embarks on a journey to heal her son and create a future for them both.
Narrative. World premiere
Southwest Of Salem: The Story Of The San Antonio Four and 14 Minutes from Earth
Detour
(Country: UK, South Africa; Year: 2016; Director: Christopher Smith; Writer: Christopher Smith; Stars: Emory Cohen, Bel Powley, Tye Sheridan, Stephen Moyer, Gbenga Akinnagbe, John Lynch, Sibo Mlambo, Jenna Saras, Nick Boraine, Jared Abrahamson, Francis Chouler, Dylan Edy, Joe Vaz, Daniel Fox, Reine Swart)
After his mother ends up in a coma under suspicious circumstances, a law student decides to drown his sorrows at a seedy bar. The next morning, he wakes up to the realisation that he may have hired a hitman.
Narrative. World premiere
Equals
(Country: US; Year: 2015; Director: Drake Doremus; Writer: Nathan Parker; Stars: Kristen Stewart, Nicholas Hoult, Bel Powley, Guy Pearce, Claudia Kim, Toby Huss, Jacki Weaver, Kate Lyn Sheil, Aurora Perrineau, Rebecca Hazlewood, David Selby, Scott Lawrence, Rizwan Manji, Kai Lennox, Shunsuke Okubo)
A futuristic love story set in a world where emotions have been eradicated but where a genetic glitch means some people can still fall in love.
Narrative. US premiere
Haveababy
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Amanda Micheli)
Amanda Micheli’s haveababy opens with a YouTube-based competition for a free round of in vitro fertilization, courtesy of a Las Vegas fertility clinic. Through this controversial contest, Micheli explores the complexities of America's burgeoning fertility industry and paints an intimate portrait of the many resilient couples determined to have a baby against all odds.
Documentary. World premiere
High-Rise (High Rise)
(Country: UK; Year: 2015; Director: Ben Wheatley; Writer: Amy Jump, based on the novel by JG Ballard; Stars: Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, Elisabeth Moss, James Purefoy, Keeley Hawes, Dan Renton Skinner, Sienna Guillory, Enzo Cilenti, Peter Ferdinando, Reece Shearsmith, Augustus Prew, Stacy Martin, Leila Mimmack),
Trailer
Class war breaks out in a tower block.
Narrative. New York premiere
Houston, We Have A Problem!
(Country: Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Czech Republic, Qatar; Year: 2016; Director: Žiga Virc; Writer: Žiga Virc, Boštjan Virc)
Creating the myth of a space-race power deal.
Documentary. World premiere
Between Us and Nerdland
The Human Thing (La Cosa Humana)
(Country: Cuba; Year: 2016; Director: Gerardo Chijona; Writer: Francisco García, Gerardo Chijona)
A thief breaks into the home of a famous writer, and unknowingly steals what turns out to be the only manuscript of his upcoming story. In desperate need of money, he submits it to a contest, which will see him competing with the very writer he robbed.
Narrative. International premiere
Keepers Of The Game
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Judd Ehrlich)
Lacrosse is a sacred game for Native Americans, traditionally reserved for men. When a women's varsity team forms in upstate New York, they aim to be the first Native women’s team to take the championship title away from their rivals Massena High. But when their funding is slashed, and the indigenous community is torn, they find more than just the championship is on the line.
Documentary. World premiere
The Loner
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Daniel Grove; Writer: Daniel Grove, Daniel Grove, Reza Sixo Safai; Stars: Reza Sixo Safai, Helena Mattsson, Parviz Sayyad, Julian Sands, Dominic Rains, Laura Harring, Nikolai Kinski, Nikohl Boosheri, David Diaan, Gregory Kasyan, Daniel Zolghadri, Kristof Konrad, Eric Etebari, Ardeshir Radpour, April Martucci)
A reformed mobster is haunted by memories of being a child soldier in Iran in the 1980s. As he pursues the American Dream in Los Angeles, he finds it increasingly difficult to stay away from the seedy underbelly of the city.
Narrative. World premiere
Nerdland
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Chris Prynoski; Writer: Andy Kevin Walker; Stars: Patton Oswalt, Paul Rudd, Hannibal Buress, Laraine Newman, Mike Judge, Kate Micucci & Riki Lindhome, Molly Shannon)
An R-rated cartoon comedy about celebrity, excess, and two showbiz nobodies, John and Elliott, with a plan to become famous — or even infamous — by the end of the night.
Opening film. Narrative. World premiere
Night School
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Andrew Cohn)
Indianapolis has one of the lowest high school graduation rates in the country. For adult learners Greg, Melissa, and Shynika, a high school diploma could be a life-changing achievement.
Documentary. World premiere
The Human Thing and Children Of The Mountain
Obit
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Vanessa Gould; Stars: Bruce Weber, William McDonald, Margalit Fox, William Grimes, Jack Kaddan, Douglas Martin, Jeff Roth, Daniel Slotnik, Paul Vitello, Peter Keepnews, Jon Pareles, Dolores Morrison)
Within the storied walls of The New York Times, a team of writers is entrusted with reflecting upon the luminaries, icons, and world leaders of our day.
Documentary. World premiere
Poor Boy
(Year: 2016; Director: Robert Scott Wildes; Writer: Logan Antill, Robert Scott Wildes; Stars: Michael Shannon, Amanda Crew, Justin Chatwin, Dale Dickey, Lou Taylor Pucci, Stephanie Hunt, Jon Foster, Pat Healy, Amy Ferguson, Eszter Balint, Dov Tiefenbach, Andy Bean, Amber Rothwell, Zach Garcia, Lenna Karacostas)
Romeo and Samson Griggs, two reckless, misfit brothers living on the outskirts of town, survive by hustling, gambling, and thieving. In an attempt to leave their lot behind for good, they design their most complex and financially rewarding long con yet.
Narrative. World premiere
The Ride
(Country: France; Year: 2016; Director: Stéphanie Gillard)
The annual 300-mile trek through the South Dakota Badlands. There, young men and women of the Lakota Sioux ride horseback and reflect upon the history of their ancestors.
Documentary. World premiere
Solitary
(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Kristi Jacobson)
Portrait of life inside solitary confinement within a supermax prison. Filmed over the course of one year.
Documentary. World premiere