When Tommy loses his family to a police raid, he escapes custody with his friends, Steve and O’Neill. Their urban odyssey is packed with men trying to rob them, cops, a python, a fist fight, a first kiss and phone sex. Their brotherhood breaks as they cross the threshold into adulthood and Tommy turns himself in to the police, reuniting with his toddler step-brother, ready to face their future together as a family.
Saturday, July 29 through
Saturday, August 5, 2023
Saturday, August 5, 2023
After Antarctica
A journey across both poles, After Antarctica follows legendary polar explorer Will Steger’s lifelong journey as an eyewitness to the greatest changes to the polar regions of our planet. Now, thirty years after his historic coast-to-coast expedition across the coldest continent on Earth, Steger heads out on the ice once again, at a time when he is not only known for being the first in history to complete these historic feats – he is also the last.
The Big Bend
Two families meet for a reunion in the unknowable reaches of the West Texas desert where they explore the visually-striking landscape and reflect on their good lives. When a child goes missing on a hike, a father confronts his mortality and a wife decides to reexamine her marriage. THE BIG BEND follows the survival of these two families in a hauntingly dangerous environment, creating an unforgettable portrait of friendship, parenthood, and marriage.
Bonnie Blue: James Cotton’s Life in the Blues
Born in 1935 on Bonnie Blue plantation in Tunica, MS, apprenticing with Sonny Boy Williamson II and Howlin’ Wolf, and schooled by Muddy Waters, James ‘Super Harp’ Cotton became a mentor to harp players around the globe as he brought the delta blues into mainstream rock ‘n roll. Orphaned at nine, Cotton’s journey tracks America’s history and his story is one of empowerment during a time when the weight of racial inequity made the journey seem impossible. Bonnie Blue – James Cotton’s Life in the Blues is a unique portrait of an era and its impact today. Cotton’s music made history; his musical voice was unique, and the blues were never the same.
Butterfly in the Sky
Reading Rainbow introduced millions of kids to the wonder and importance of books. Not only did the series insist on having kids speak to kids about their favorite stories, but Reading Rainbow introduced the world to one of the most adored television hosts of all time in LeVar Burton. Thanks to his direct, non-patronizing and, most importantly, kind delivery, Burton became a conduit to learning for children of every background—an entrancing guide to subjects unknown. In this wonderfully nostalgic look back at the origin story of Reading Rainbow, you’re invited to learn about the foundation of a show that for 25 years dedicated itself to not only bringing literature into children’s lives but delving behind the pages to the people, places, and things each new story explored.
Come Find Me
A beautiful, uplifting Latinx story about a mother and daughter facing major life changes and how their love challenges and inspires them. Veteran TV actors Sol Miranda and Victoria Cartagena shine in their first lead feature roles giving two tour de force performances in their portrayals of a mother and daughter striving to connect, belong, and search for meaning.
Exposure
Against all odds and polar advice, a Muslim chaplain, a French biologist, a Qatari princess and eight other women from the Arab World and the West attempt to ski across the melting Arctic sea ice to the North Pole. These boundary-breaking adventurers, led by veteran polar explorer Felicity Aston, navigate everything from frostbite and polar bear threats, to sexism and self-doubt in an intimate story of resilience, survival and global citizenry. These audacious women are also, to date, the last ever to ski over the ice to the North Pole.
Fair Play
The unequal gendered division of labor in the home has long existed, with modern living only exacerbating the stress-filled dynamic between parenthood and work. With the global pandemic forcing millions of women out of the workforce, Fair Play follows four different families on their journey to better balance care work at home, illustrating how we aren’t really fighting about dishes in the sink, but much bigger societal problems. Ultimately, Fair Play makes visible the invisible care work historically held by women and inspires a more balanced and equitable future for all.
Following the screening Olivia Morgan will moderate a discussion with Jen Newsom and Lucia Small (Girl Talk). Sponsored by Women and Film and Video New England.
The Falconer
Inspired by true events, two best friends, Tariq, an Omani teenager and Cai, a privileged Westerner, conspire to steal animals from the zoo and sell them on the black market to raise money for Tariq’s sister’s divorce from an abusive marriage. They are forced to wrestle with morally complex choices that reveal the vast distance between their worlds.
Fire of Love
Katia and Maurice Krafft loved two things — each other and volcanoes. For two decades, the daring French volcanologist couple roamed the planet, chasing eruptions, documenting their discoveries. Ultimately, they lost their lives in a 1991 volcanic explosion, leaving a legacy that forever enriched our knowledge of the natural world. Director Sara Dosa and the filmmaking team fashion a lyrical celebration of the intrepid scientists’ spirit of adventure, drawing from the Kraffts’ spectacular archive. Fire of Love tells a story of primordial creation & destruction, following two bold explorers as they venture into the unknown, all for the sake of love.
Free Renty: Lanier v. Harvard
Tamara Lanier, is an African-American woman determined to force Harvard University to cede ownership of daguerreotypes of her great-great-great grandfather, an enslaved man named Renty. The images are emblematic of the inhumanity of slavery, the racist science that supported it, and the white supremacy that continues to infect our society today. The film focuses on Lanier, following her lawsuit and the growing activism around it, and features Attorney Benjamin Crump and author Ta-Nehisi Coates. Following the screening Tamara Lanier, Attorney Preston Tisdale, Dr. David Harris (former Managing Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice at Harvard Law School) and Jill Abramson (Senior Lecturer, Department of English, Harvard University) will discuss the the film and the implications of the decision issued recently by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Girl Talk
Set in the cutthroat, male-dominated world of high school debate, where tomorrow’s leaders are groomed, five girls on a top-ranked Massachusetts high school debate team strive to become the best debaters in the US. As the Newton South girls remain steadfast in their determination to overcome the odds, they remind us that equal rights and freedom of expression are worth fighting for, both within debate and beyond.
The Lake at the Bottom of the World
An international team of scientists explores a subglacial lake buried 3,600 feet beneath the Antarctic ice to reveal hidden truths about our planet’s dynamic past. As they struggle against the ferocity of the ice and wind, they consider how our relationship with nature – and with one another — will impact humanity’s future and the future of all life on our rapidly changing planet.
The Mirror Game
Childhood friends Rose and Abe both find themselves in Las Vegas on the same weekend, but when Rose asks Abe for a life-changing favor, the evening takes a turn for the unexpected, and the two spend the night trying to beat the odds.
Panel: From Pole to Pole
Explorer Will Steger, Filmmakers Tasha Van Zandt (After Antarctica), Holly Morris (Exposure), Kathy Kasic (The Lake at the Bottom of the World) and WHOI Polar scientist Sarah Das will discuss the process of communicating climate change through documentary film. After Antarctica, Exposure and The Lake at the Bottom of the World will screen as part of the Woods Hole Film Festival line up. The panel is presented by the Yawkey Foundation as part of WHOI’s summer series DISPATCHES FROM AN OCEAN PLANET. The panel is free, but a ticket is required.
Route One North w/ The Errand
Sisters Sarah and Bee set off to track down their long-absent father after their mother refuses to give 16-year-old Bee permission to marry her military boyfriend.
Scrum
Frank McKinney is the first (and only) Black college rugby coach in the U.S. When Frank is hired to build a new rugby team at a predominantly white Southern university, his dream was of bringing diversity to the game that he loved was suddenly within reach. Character and good grades required. Rugby skills? Optional.
SHORTS: Finding Our Way
Fourth of July • More Than I Remember • My Dear God • North Star • The Sea of Hope • WanderLand
