Saturday, August 3, 2024
Zero Gravity w/ Shattering Stars
While it’s true today’s 11-year-olds will one day run the world, middle-schoolers in San Jose, CA are taking their summer break to get a head start. Immersed in their own space race, a diverse group of ambitious students enter the Zero Robotics ISS (International Space Station) Competition.
Their mission: compete with teams across the country to write the most strategic code for surveying satellites, which will help map out a GPS system to successfully orbit Mars in the future, opening the door to infinite opportunities and exploration on the Red Planet.
Wake Up, Leonard w/There Are Mermaids in LA
Part comedy, part self-help nightmare, WAKE UP, LEONARD follows one man”s quest for wellness while failing miserably to stay on his vibe. This is the story of a broken-hearted seeker with a tenuous grasp on his mental health, but an admirable faith in the Universe. Will Leonard learn how to not only love his higher self, but his lower self too? This improvised feature was shot during the pandemic and explores themes of mental wellness, queer love, and self acceptance.
Vulveeta
Riot grrrl band VULVEETA didn’t break up on the best of terms. In fact, lead singer Grrrilda Beausoleil disappeared 20 years ago, just as they were about to ”go big.” Now, she has to convince the band she’s ready to rock and overcome the band’s demons. They’ll need to figure out how to integrate Gordon, who’s transitioned since the band’s heyday. Meanwhile, their formerly two-year-old drummer, Killer Child, is eager to chart a new course in her 20s. Most importantly, how will the band be able to draw a crowd in the digital age, in a time far removed from the 1990s marketing methods of wheat paste and stickers?
The Yin & Yang of Gerry Lopez
The path to enlightenment begins at the world’s deadliest wave, the Banzai Pipeline. Gerry Lopez, AKA Mr. Pipeline, is one of surfing’s most enigmatic heroes—a Zen Buddhist on land who built his early career on aggressive surfing. He is a radical; as he is Zen. He is one of the most influential surfers and surfboard shapers of all time, transcending categorization and pioneering surfing to new frontiers.
The Thief Collector
In 1985, Willem de Kooning’s “Woman-Ochre,” one of the most valuable paintings of the 20th century, vanished into the Arizona desert after being cut from its frame at the University of Arizona Museum of Art. 32 years later, the $160 million painting was found hanging in the home of Jerry and Rita Alter in rural New Mexico. The Thief Collector takes a deep look at how, and why, this mild-mannered couple pulled off one of the greatest art heists of a generation, exploring the complicated dynamics of family, the contours of criminality, and just how far people will go to weave their own grandiose narratives.
The Territory w/ ᎤᏕᏲᏅ (What They’ve Been Taught)
The Uru-eu-wau-wau Indigenous Surveillance Team defends their land against a network of Brazilian farmers intent on colonizing their protected territory. Their fight for survival forces Bitate and Neidinha – a young Indigenous leader and his female mentor – to find new ways to protect the rainforest from the encroaching invaders. Through intimate access to both the Indigenous community and the opposing farmers network, the film brings audiences directly into the heart of the Amazon rainforest.
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.
The Long Rider
When Filipe Leite leaves his adoptive home of Canada, the aspiring journalist sets out on an epic quest to ride from Calgary to his family”s home in Brazil – and later beyond – entirely on horseback. Inspired by Aimé Tschiffely”s 1925 equestrian journey, Filipe”s 8 year odyssey of over 25,000 kms across 12 international borders, sees the young immigrant battle intense heat, drought, speeding transport trucks, nature”s wrath and corrupt border guards on his history-making long ride home.
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.
