Welcome to Thin Line Virtual Fest!
Punta Sacra (100 min)
At the edge of Rome, at the mouth of the Tiber, the small district of Idroscalo di Ostia juts right out over the sea. The women who live there, such as Franca and her daughters, bear its stories, with the natural force of the site, between wild realism and popular imagination. This sacred point becomes a theatre for the resistance of a community that expresses its right to live there.
Proof (72 min)
Byrd Williams the Fourth is on a hero’s journey to preserve the past, bequeathed to him in the form of 400,000 photographs, cameras, letters and journals by his father, grandfather, great grandfather, and now by him. Four hundred years from now these images will need only to be held to the light to understand how we lived and died.
Operation Wolf Patrol (86 min)
"OPERATION WOLF PATROL," is a feature length documentary about eco-activist, Rod Coronado, and his attempt to end wolf hunting in the United States.
Over the course of three years we watch Rod work to redefine his activism in an era– post 9/11, where some have called him an “eco-terrorist.” The film comes to a climax when Coronado's "Wolf Patrol" is met with a tightening of "hunter harassment" laws that prohibit photography on public lands. Now Coronado has to ask himself is he willing to go back to prison to fight a law that some are calling "unconstitutional."
O Reflexo do Lago (Amazon Mirror) (79 min)
O REFLEXO DO LAGO (AMAZON MIRROR) reflects the societal impact of major industry, presenting a gentle exploration of the lives of the residents of Tucuruí, a beautiful region alongside the Amazon that has nonetheless been severely impacted by the building of a hydroelectric dam. In the polluted waters, the remains of dead trees serve as a bleak reminder of whole ecosystems long since lost. And yet, the river still flows on, as workers and their families invite Director Segtowick into their livelihoods and homes with warmth and generosity. The film is a patient testimony to resistance, as well as a sensational document of an environment in crisis.
My Darling Supermarket (80 min)
In the confined space of a supermarket, and in the midst of daily repetitive tasks, employees find ways of coping with the drudgeries of low-wage labor. They express their doubts and fears, and explore profound existential questions. Humor, drama, mystery, romance and quantum physics coexist alongside milk cartons, baked goods, bar codes and security cameras.
Mu and The Vanishing World (86 min)
Mu, a young Kayan woman from Myanmar, lives as a refugee and tourist attraction in Thailand. Determined to pursue freedom for herself and her baby, Mu ruptures ties with her tribe to resettle to the USA where she meets the challenges but begins to wonder where her world truly lies.
Missing in Brooks County (81 min)
Just 70 miles north of the Mexican-US border is a land haunted by ghosts. Brooks County, Texas is a barren landscape designed as a deterrent to illegal crossings, but people continue to attempt to cross, and many die trying. The municipality lacks the resources to properly deal with this sad reality, and the numbers keep rising. Multiple locals proffer contrasting opinions as two families search for their loved ones, and the toll of an unsustainable immigration policy is laid bare.
Kombinat (76 min)
Magnitogorsk is an industrial town, in the heart of Russia that lives in the shadow of its gigantic combine’s rusting smokestacks. Lena, a young mother, daughter of steel workers, teaches salsa, one of the many activities organized by the Kombinat. Sasha found a way to escape from the daily pressure in the steel plant. His Brother, Guenia, and his wife have decided to leave the town and its permanent pollution, the cause of their daughter’s mental handicap.
Help Is On The Way (90 min)
HELP IS ON THE WAY brings to the screen a busy training center in Indonesia preparing women to work overseas as domestic workers. Every year, hundreds of women like Sukma, Meri, Muji and Tari are recruited by local agents who are remunerated after successfully seeing their recruits enrolled and placed abroad. They are among the many women from rural areas aspiring to work in countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore. It is at times an emotional journey, but also funny, enlightening and a little competitive, offering a unique insight into a lifestyle not often seen on screen.
program
In 1997 conservationist J. David Bamberger broke ground on a wildly ambitious and expensive endeavor: the first ever man-made bat cave. Four years after the cave was built, it stood empty. Bamberger spent untold wealth to create a habitat for bats, but no bats ever came. Until, miraculously, they did. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Our Planet," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
In 1997 conservationist J. David Bamberger broke ground on a wildly ambitious and expensive endeavor: the first ever man-made bat cave. Four years after the cave was built, it stood empty. Bamberger spent untold wealth to create a habitat for bats, but no bats ever came. Until, miraculously, they did. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Our Planet," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family's lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This Oscar-nominated short film screens as part of the shorts program, "Music and Movement," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
A virtuoso jazz pianist and film composer tracks his family's lineage through his 91-year-old grandfather from Jim Crow Florida to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. This Oscar-nominated short film screens as part of the shorts program, "Music and Movement," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Director, Timothy Stevens, gives the audience a peak into Denton''s independently-owned and beloved-yet-strange little costume shop. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Changes," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Director, Timothy Stevens, gives the audience a peak into Denton''s independently-owned and beloved-yet-strange little costume shop. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Changes," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Al Key’s driving force for weather photography is his Texas pickup and a lifetime of lenses. The International Space Station takes a 24/7/365 look at Al’s world and our own. Weather never sleeps and Al rarely does. Meanwhile the Space Station makes 16 daily orbits of our planet with continual attention to details below. Photography's elegance links AL ON EARTH with the ISS for twenty years and counting. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Our Planet," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Al Key’s driving force for weather photography is his Texas pickup and a lifetime of lenses. The International Space Station takes a 24/7/365 look at Al’s world and our own. Weather never sleeps and Al rarely does. Meanwhile the Space Station makes 16 daily orbits of our planet with continual attention to details below. Photography's elegance links AL ON EARTH with the ISS for twenty years and counting. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Our Planet," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Alejandra is a criminalized organizer and unapologetic immigrant. While she prepares for one of the biggest events of her life — her deportation case — Alejandra is forced to reckon with a past mistake and a system that could tear her apart from her family and the only home she has ever known. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Activist Portraits," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Alejandra is a criminalized organizer and unapologetic immigrant. While she prepares for one of the biggest events of her life — her deportation case — Alejandra is forced to reckon with a past mistake and a system that could tear her apart from her family and the only home she has ever known. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Activist Portraits," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
PAIRED WITH SHORT FILM, People Over Profit Two artists form an unlikely partnership to paint their most ambitious mural to date in Oakland’s downtown, ground zero for gentrification. The mural is dedicated to the diverse cultural artists that intersect on the corner, who are threatened by displacement. As the mural paint dries, a luxury condo is planned that will obstruct the art and cultural history. The community decides to fight back.
PAIRED WITH SHORT FILM, People Over Profit Two artists form an unlikely partnership to paint their most ambitious mural to date in Oakland’s downtown, ground zero for gentrification. The mural is dedicated to the diverse cultural artists that intersect on the corner, who are threatened by displacement. As the mural paint dries, a luxury condo is planned that will obstruct the art and cultural history. The community decides to fight back.
At first gathered to create an after-school film project, six Black middle school girls return each week to collaborate with their Black and *white mentors on a feature-length documentary about their own coming-of-age in Baltimore City. Weeks turn into years. Then, shortly before the girls’ high school graduations, a sea of misunderstanding arises about what’s to come. This self-defined ‘second family’ is left to question if their solidarity will survive the realities of living in a world of racial inequity.
*We have capitalized ‘Black’ and lower-cased ‘white’ in recognition of Black Lives Matter and Decolonizing Cinema with presence and spaciousness.
At first gathered to create an after-school film project, six Black middle school girls return each week to collaborate with their Black and *white mentors on a feature-length documentary about their own coming-of-age in Baltimore City. Weeks turn into years. Then, shortly before the girls’ high school graduations, a sea of misunderstanding arises about what’s to come. This self-defined ‘second family’ is left to question if their solidarity will survive the realities of living in a world of racial inequity.
*We have capitalized ‘Black’ and lower-cased ‘white’ in recognition of Black Lives Matter and Decolonizing Cinema with presence and spaciousness.
PAIRED WITH FEATURE FILM, SanDance!: A Journey to the Heart of San Culture A boxing gym on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation teaches young girls how to defend themselves in response to over 100 Native American girls and women from Montana having disappeared, been murdered, or their status remains unknown in the past two years.
PAIRED WITH FEATURE FILM, SanDance!: A Journey to the Heart of San Culture A boxing gym on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation teaches young girls how to defend themselves in response to over 100 Native American girls and women from Montana having disappeared, been murdered, or their status remains unknown in the past two years.
When the Philadelphia public-school system began losing almost all the funding for its music- education programs in 2007, hundreds of instruments in need of repair were left for dead, and community members moved to action. With this film we are introduced to a few of the innovators, educators, volunteers, advocates, and musicians behind Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, a music and art project begun in 2017 that raised awareness for the issue, helping to get those broken instruments back into Philadelphia students' hands. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Music and Movement," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was originally created and commissioned by Temple
Contemporary at Temple University, USA. Original support for Symphony for a Broken
Orchestra was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia.
When the Philadelphia public-school system began losing almost all the funding for its music- education programs in 2007, hundreds of instruments in need of repair were left for dead, and community members moved to action. With this film we are introduced to a few of the innovators, educators, volunteers, advocates, and musicians behind Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, a music and art project begun in 2017 that raised awareness for the issue, helping to get those broken instruments back into Philadelphia students' hands. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Music and Movement," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Symphony for a Broken Orchestra was originally created and commissioned by Temple
Contemporary at Temple University, USA. Original support for Symphony for a Broken
Orchestra was provided by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Philadelphia.
A young refugee tries to live his life in France, fleeing the shadows of his past. Between the weight of his memories and the precarity of being undocumented, he has no other choice than moving forward.This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Asylum Seekers," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
A young refugee tries to live his life in France, fleeing the shadows of his past. Between the weight of his memories and the precarity of being undocumented, he has no other choice than moving forward.This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Asylum Seekers," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Under Paris' glittering Eiffel Tower, undocumented Senegalese migrants sell miniature souvenirs of the monument, to support their families back home. Far from their loved ones and hounded by the police, each day is a struggle through darkness in the City of Lights. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Asylum Seekers," which begins at the dates and times listed here.
Under Paris' glittering Eiffel Tower, undocumented Senegalese migrants sell miniature souvenirs of the monument, to support their families back home. Far from their loved ones and hounded by the police, each day is a struggle through darkness in the City of Lights. This film screens as part of the shorts program, "Asylum Seekers," which begins at the dates and times listed here.