CENTERSTAGE – New section! Four films put the spotlight on performance.
Capturing Grace
Dir: David Iverson, 2014, NYC Premiere
Recognizing that music and rhythmic activity can help those suffering from Parkinson’s disease achieve greater control of their mobility, two dancers from New York’s Mark Morris Dance Group lead a dance workshop.
Capturing Grace screens with the short film The Astronaut’s Secret (Zach Jankovic, 30 min.). After his 1996 mission in space, astronaut Rich Clifford and NASA kept a secret for 17 years.
The Last Impresario
Dir: Gracie Otto, 2014, NYC Premiere
From The Rocky Horror Picture Show to Monty Python and the Holy Grail, producer Michael White has helped bring enduring cultural touchstones to Broadway, London’s West End and the silver screen over the last four decades, but the bon vivant may be the most famous person you’ve never heard of. FilmBuff, opens Dec. 5.
Still Dreaming
Dirs: Hank Rogerson & Jilann Spitzmiller, 2014, World Premiere
Located just outside of Manhattan, the Lillian Booth Actors Home provides a most resonant setting for the staging of a classic play in which nothing is what it seems.
Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey
Dir: Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander, 2014, World Premiere
A pair of acrobatic burlesque performers attempt to juggle art, love and financial stability in this perceptive portrait.
JOCK DOCS – New section! Five films focused on sports and athletes.
9-Man
Dir: Ursula Liang, 2014
A variant of volleyball developed by Chinese immigrants to America as both an athletic pastime and a social outlet in a time of widespread anti-Chinese sentiment, discrimination and segregation, now serves to unite young men with their culture.
Althea
Dir: Rex Miller, 2014, World Premiere
In the 1950s, long before Arthur Ashe or Venus and Serena Williams, Althea Gibson was the first African-American tennis player to win Grand Slam tournaments.
Hardy
Dir: Natasha Verma, 2014, NYC Premiere
Although Brooklyn’s Heather “The Heat” Hardy has only been boxing for a few years, she’s a world champion in the making—but first she has to be given the chance to prove herself in a sport that has been slow to open its doors to female athletes.
Opposite Field
Dir: Jay Shapiro, 2014, World Premiere
In its nearly 70-year history, the Little League World Series has never hosted a team from Africa. The Ugandan team hopes to change that.
Top Spin
Dirs: Sara Newens & Mina T. Son, 2014, World Premiere
Three driven teenage athletes attempt to go for Olympic gold in the perpetually popular but underappreciated game of table tennis.