Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow starts where most films about homeless kids end, the day after they are taken in, and we assume it’s a happy ending – but what really happens next?
Martina Radwan, a determined, idealistic and thoroughly unprepared New York City-based cinematographer, turns the camera on herself to tackle the emotional and ethical challenges that arise when she decides to support three Mongolian orphans (Baaskaa, Nasaa and Baani), while traveling back and forth.
The film, “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow” marks Radwan’s feature documentary directorial debut, which makes its World Premiere in the U.S. Competition at DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival. The film screens on Friday, November 10 at 6:30 p.m. ET at Village East by Angelika.
Told over the span of six years, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow is a deeply personal film and an honest portrait of how storytellers and their characters impact each other. As the filmmaker and central character, Radwan grapples with what it means to intervene in a meaningful way. Ultimately she has to ask herself who is helping whom. Without ever being sentimental, the film is an honest portrait of how storytellers and their central participants impact each other and addresses the messiness of love and belonging and the universal experience of parent-child relationships – while questioning the power imbalance and accountability that arise when we look and document.
“I instantly felt a deep connection when I met Baaskaa, who volunteered to participate in the film I initially was hired to shoot in Mongolia,” said Radwan. “When he shared his plan on how to get off the streets, I questioned if my camera alone could make a difference for him and decided to support him. A filmmaker at heart, I wanted to tell our story, but to do so truthfully, I had to include myself as a character, as my actions were changing the protagonists’ lives. But was my intervention helpful? The question really is how willing we are to go beyond the initial step and then examine the consequences of our action. I also wanted to tell a story that not only accepts, but embraces chaos and uncertainty. We have become so used to documentaries following the hero’s story, when in fact none of us gets to live it. Life is complex, confusing and requires do-overs, and our story reflects that.”
In addition to the World Premiere of Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow at DOC NYC, Radwan is the cinematographer of the short documentary The Only Girl in the Orchestra. And she will also be participating in one of DOC NYC PRO’s Cinematography panels: “From DP to Director” on Saturday, Nov. 11.
Martina Radwan (Director/Producer), a German Syrian, is based in New York City, where she has lived for 30 years. She is an accomplished, award-winning cinematographer, who has traveled the world to tell stories that otherwise would fall through the cracks. Her cinematography credits include SAVING FACE, the 2012 Academy Award and Emmy Winner for Short Documentary, for which earned her an Emmy nomination. Her short documentary directorial debut, Spring In Awe, won multiple awards and screened on PBS. Her second short documentary, Aliens Among Us, played theatrically and at numerous festivals. Martina is a member of the Academy and Bafta Documentary Branch.
Ruchi Mital (Producer) is an independent filmmaker with a creative writing and social justice background. Her latest film, This World Is Not My Own, a hybrid documentary/fiction feature, is about the life and times of self-taught artist Nellie Mae Rowe, premiered in SXSW, 2023. Most recently, she produced The Me You Can’t See with directors Dawn Porter and Asif Kapadia. For HBO, she produced the Emmy- and Cinema Eye-nominated series, The Case Against Adnan Syed. In 2014, Ruchi produced the feature, We Could Be King, which won the Emmy for Outstanding Sports Documentary. In 2020 she was selected as one of DOCNYC’s 40 Under 40 emerging filmmaker talents. She holds a Masters in Media Studies from The New School, with a concentration in documentary.