JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE
Dawn Porter

Oct 14, 2020
The Yard

The documentary illuminates the 80-year-old Congressman’s life as it chronicles the moments on the extraordinary journey that have shaped his place in history and make him such a galvanizing figure today as protests circle the globe. Discussion with Beacon 4 Black Lives (local BLM chapter) followed the screening.

COLLEGE BEHIND BARS
Lynn Novick

Sep 16, 2020
The Yard

College Behind Bars tells the story of a small group of incarcerated men and women struggling to earn college degrees and turn their lives around in one of the most rigorous and effective prison education programs in the United States — the Bard Prison Initiative.  Q&A with film participant and founder of Bard Prison Initiative followed the screening.

TRUE JUSTICE
Peter Kunhardt

Dec 10, 2019
BEAHIVE

Examines the remarkable personal journey of Bryan Stevenson, a public defender in Alabama and director of the Equal Justice Initiative, who is working to bring justice to the incarcerated, wrongfully convicted and disadvantaged. Q&A with film producers followed the screening.

SACRED
Thomas Lennon

Dec 5, 2018
BEAHIVE

Directed by Academy Award winner Thomas Lennon and shot by more than 40 filmmaking teams around the world, Sacred immerses the viewer in the daily use of faith and spiritual practice. At a time when religious hatreds dominate the world’s headlines, this film explores faith as primary human experience, and how people turn to ritual and prayer to navigate the milestones and crises of private life.

A BREAD FACTORY
PARTS 1 & 2
Patrick Wang

Nov 18, 2018
BEAHIVE

A pair of films that looks at the state of art, community and commerce in our lives. The films take their inspiration from the life story of Time & Space Limited in Hudson and its co-directors Linda Mussmann and Claudia Bruce and was shot at the arts venue in 2017 using local cast and crew. Q&A with writer/director/producer Patrick Wang and Linda Mussmann.

NETIZENS
Cynthia Lowen

Oct 28, 2018
BEAHIVE

Netizens exposes the proliferation of cyber harassment faced by women, spreading from the web to the most intimate corners of their lives. Q&A with director/producer Cynthia Lowen followed the screening.

WALKING OUT
Alex Smith

Jan 26, 2018
BEAHIVE

An estranged father and son are forced to rely on one another to survive an unforgiving wilderness in this riveting, richly emotional thriller. Q&A with director Alex Smith followed the screening

RAINBOW TIME
Linas Phillips

July 26, 2017
BEAHIVE

Todd grew up under the strange shadow of his older mentally challenged brother Shonzi. As kids, Shonzi forced Todd to make action movies. As adults he pressures him to share love life details, even showing Shonzi a sex tape he made with an old girlfriend to help him cope when family tragedy hits. When their dad suffers a heart attack, Shonzi (now 40, and still a virgin) moves in with Todd and his new girlfriend Lindsay. Shonzi wants desperately to be included in their relationship like old times. When Shonzi’s begging become threats to reveal secrets from their past, Todd must find the courage to be honest with Lindsay, even if it means the end of their relationship. Q&A with director Linas Phillips followed the screening.

THE SECRET LIFE OF GIRLS
Steve Collins

June 21, 2017
BEAHIVE

A lyrical documentary that follows a year in the life of two little sisters growing up against the backdrop of the changing New England seasons. Told entirely from the children’s perspectives, the film puts a microscope on the small obstacles of youth, allowing us to see the beauty of everyday struggle and return to the world of the senses. The subjects are the director’s own daughters, Lily and Violet Collins (ages 8 and 6), who previously appeared in his film You Hurt my Feelings. Q&A with filmmaker Steve Collins followed the screening.

ONE BIG HOME
Thomas Bena

May 3, 2017
BEAHIVE

Gentrification comes in many forms. On the tiny island of Martha’s Vineyard, where presidents and celebrities vacation, trophy homes threaten to destroy the island’s unique character. Twelve years in the making, One Big Home follows one carpenter’s journey to understand the trend toward giant houses. When he feels complicit in wrecking the place he calls home, Thomas Bena takes off his tool belt and picks up a camera. Bumping up against angry homeowners and builders who look the other way, he works with his community and attempts to pass a new bylaw to limit house size. Q&A with filmmaker Thomas Bena and editor James Holland followed the screening.

AN ART THAT NATURE MAKES
Molly Bernstein

Nov 10, 2016
BEAHIVE

Finding unexpected beauty in the discarded and decayed, photographer Rosamond Purcell has developed a body of work that has garnered international acclaim, graced the pages of National Geographic and over 20 published books, and has attracted admirers such as Jonathan Safran Foer, Errol Morris and Stephen Jay Gould. An Art That Nature Makes details Purcell’s fascination with the natural world – from a mastodon tooth to a hydrocephalic skull – offering insight into her unique way of recontextualizing objects both ordinary and strange into sometimes disturbing but always breathtaking imagery. Q&A with director Molly Bernstein followed the screening.

WEINER
Elyse Steinberg and Josh Kriegman

Sep 13, 2016
BEAHIVE

Sexts, lies, and Carlos Danger: watch the wildest political meltdown in recent history as it unfolds. It’s 2013 and Anthony Weiner — still reeling from the sex scandal that ended his political career two years earlier — is back in the spotlight as he mounts an audacious comeback campaign for New York City mayor. But it’s not long before history repeats itself and new sexting allegations leave Weiner and his aides scrambling to contain the damage. Granted unfettered access to the candidate and his campaign, filmmakers Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg capture a jaw-dropping, behind-the-scenes look at the political machine as it breaks down. Q&A with Josh Kriegman followed the screening.

THE AMERICAN DREAMER
Lawrence Schiller

Mar 8, 2016
BEAHIVE

Shot during a key moment in film history, when Hollywood had just granted entry to the counter-culture without really understanding what it had grabbed hold of, this 16mm feature documents the rebel filmmaker Dennis Hopper, still reeling from his two-week marriage to singer Michelle Phillips, as he ruminates on his lonely, fish-out-of-water Kansas upbringing, and goes on to pontificate about girls, grass, art, society, and what drew him to photography. All the while he’s entertaining ladies — sometimes in a carnal way — shooting off guns, and rambling around the historic Mabel Dodge Luhan house in Taos where he and various others are editing The Last Movie. To us, The American Dreamer is interesting not just as a document of the early 70s but as an example of a documentary that challenges our idea of what documentaries should be. Q&A with director Lawrence Schiller followed the screening.

SONG OF LAHORE
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Andy Schocken

Feb 9, 2016
BEAHIVE

When Pakistan won its independence in 1947, Lahore was known as a haven for musicians, artists and poets. But Islamization, ethnic divisions, war and corruption have torn apart the country’s cultural fabric. In 2004, Izzat Majeed founded Sachal Studios to create a space for traditional music; after convincing a number of musicians to pick up their instruments, the band quietly released classical and folk albums, along with an experimental album fusing jazz and South Asian instruments that has brought Sachal global acclaim. Their rendition of Dave Brubeck’s “Take Five” became a sensation and Wynton Marsalis invited them to perform at Lincoln Center. After a week of rehearsals fusing the orchestras from Lahore and New York, the musicians took the stage for a remarkable concert. Q&A with co-director Andy Schocken followed the screening.

ONE CUT, ONE LIFE
Directed by Lucia Small

Sept 8, 2015
BEAHIVE

When seminal documentarian Ed Pincus, considered the father of first person non-fiction film, is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he and collaborator Lucia Small team up to make one last film, much to the chagrin of Jane, Ed’s wife of 50 years. Ed and Lucia’s unique approach to filming offers a vulnerability and intimacy rarely seen in non-fiction, questioning whether some things might be too private to be made public.

Q&A with the Director followed the screening

HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX
Directed by Jon Nealon and Jenny Raskin

June 9, 2015
BEAHIVE

In the 1960s and 70s, a group of renegade journalists—the Videofreex—blazed a trail for truly alternative media. VIDEOFREEX  charts  the  path  of  this  underground  video  collective  of men  and women,  from  their  time  traveling  the  counterculture  beat  for  CBS  News  to  the establishment of their radically local pirate television station in upstate New York.

Q&A with the Director followed the screening.

MY OWN MAN
Directed by David Sampliner

May 12, 2015
BEAHIVE

David is about to become a father and he’s terrified. How can he bring his son into manhood if he feels like he hasn’t arrived himself? He tries various methods of tapping into his masculinity, but all roads lead back to the complicated relationship with his own father. MY OWN MAN is a funny and original look into the timeless tug of war between fathers and sons, and a moving story about the transformative power of forgiveness.

Q&A with the director followed the screening.

THANKSGIVING
Directed by Adam Newport-Berra

Nov 25, 2014
BEAHIVE

Alex and Amy are the perfect Brooklyn couple. They have a cat, a Thanksgiving table of bohemian friends, and a glowing future together. Yet the sudden holiday appearance of Amy’s mysterious brother Will quickly disrupts their idyllic lifestyle and calls into question what we’re truly “thankful” for.

Q&A with the Director followed the screening.

ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE
Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Oct 28, 2014
BEAHIVE

Set against the romantic desolation of Detroit and Tangier, an underground musician, deeply depressed by the direction of human activities, reunites with his resilient and enigmatic lover.

FAKE IT SO REAL
Directed by Robert Greene

Sept 23, 2014
BEAHIVE

Filmed over a single week leading up to a big show, the film follows a ragtag group of wrestlers in North Carolina, exploring what happens when the over-the-top theatrics of the wrestling ring collide with the realities of the working-class South.

Q&A with the Director followed the screening.

EVERYMAN’S JOURNEY
Directed by Ramona S. Diaz

Aug 5, 2014
BEAHIVE

In this highly enjoyable new summer release, Everyman’s Journey follows the real life rock ’n’ roll fairy tale of Arnel Pined, who was plucked from YouTube to become the front man for one of the most iconic American rock bands in history, Journey.

MUSEUM HOURS
Directed by Jem Cohen

June 24, 2014
BEAHIVE

When a Vienna museum guard befriends an enigmatic visitor, the grand Kunsthistorisches Art Museum becomes a mysterious crossroads which sparks explorations of their lives, the city, and the ways artworks reflect and shape the world.

Q&A with Director Jem Cohem followed the screening.

LLYN FOULKES ONE MAN BAND
Directed by Tamar Halpern and Chris Quilty

April 29, 2014
Dogwood

Eight years in the making, Llyn Foulkes One Man Band is an intimate portrait of an artist battling his own demons as well as the perceived demons of the art world.

Q&A with the director followed.

VISITORS
Directed by Godfrey Reggio

March 25, 2014
BEAHIVE

VISITORS reveals humanity’s trancelike relationship with technology, which, when commandeered by extreme emotional states, produces massive effects far beyond the human species.

EXPOSED
Directed by Beth B

EXPOSED, profiles eight cutting-edge burlesque stars who use their naked bodiesas canvas for their art, melding politics, satire and physical comedy to challenge our notions of gender identity, disability, and sexuality.

Pre-Show performance by DIRTY MARTINI and Q&A with director and performance artist, Beth B., followed the screening.

RAMPAGE
Directed by George Gittoes

George travels to a neighborhood in Miami known as Brown Sub: an extremely violent, difficult area held hostage by drugs, guns and poverty. He not only documents some violently difficult neighborhoods, but also records some some incredible hip-hop performances – all created off the cuff by the people he encounters.

Q&A with the director followed the film.

SHORT TERM 12
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton

Short Term 12 is a sharp and incredibly moving story about Grace (played by Brie Larson), a foster-care home whose life changes forever while working at a home for troubled children who were spectacularly failed by their families.

Q&A with award-winning director, Destin Daniel Cretton followed the film.

THE DEVIL’S BOX
Directed by Jason Hammond

This was a fun doc that is all about the highly competitive world of Texan fiddling.

And some great post-film performances by local Beaconite and fabulous fiddler, Sara Milonovich and the incomparable, Daisy Jopling.

FLEX IS KINGS
Directed by Michael Beach Nichols and Deidre Schoo

Flex dancers channel the grittiness and crime of East New York into choreographed violence with gun movements, simulated bone-breaking, and the mimicked ripping of hearts from opponent’s chests.

Skype Q&A with Michael Beach Nichols and Deidre Schoo after the screening.

THE LOVING STORY
Directed by Nancy Buirski

The story takes us to 1960’s Virginia where Mildred and Richard Loving were exiled from the state for committing to an interracial marriage – she was black, he was white.

Q&A with director Nancy Buirski followed

BEFORE AND AFTER DINNER
Directed by Cindy Kleine

A witty and often hilariously funny raconteur, Gregory looks back on a career that spanned decades, shattered boundaries and established him as a cultural icon.

We had a lovely Q&A with director Cindy Kleine and legendary actor, André Gregory after the film.

DETROPIA
Directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

A great film about what Detroit was and what it has become.

COCKSUCKER BLUES
Directed by Robert Frank

A fascinating study of the rock star persona that blurs the lines between what is documentary and what is fantasy.

This was followed by an open-mic jam of all Stones tunes… fun for all…

BIG EASY EXPRESS
Directed by Emmett Malloy

3 bands, 6 cities, 1 train, and thousands of miles of track…the BIG EASY EXPRESS documents a cinematic musical journey.

THE DOUBLE-HOUR
Directed by Giuseppe Capotondi

In this fine Italian suspense thriller, a romantic getaway takes a dark turn as reality begins to crumble.

THE MISCREANTS OF TALIWOOD
Directed by George Gittoes

Director George Gittoes gathers an astonishing cast of characters, as they dodge the anti-entertainment forces, and are caught in the current of events which are turning back the clock on the digital age.