Lights, Camera, Let's Go: Catch Visionary Documentaries This Weekend

NEW HAVEN, CT – Underway now though Sunday, the New Haven Documentary Film Festival brings the magic and mystery of documentary film to venues in the downtown New Haven area including the New Haven Free Public Library, Café Nine, and for the first time, the Bow-Tie Criterion Cinema on Temple Street.

“The subjects range from social justice, climate change, LGBT issues, health, immigration, poetry, animal welfare, rock n roll, beer, life, death, and the World Champion air guitarist thrown in for good measure,” Executive Director/Programmer Gorman Bechard said.

“We have something for everyone, and half the screenings are free," said Director Katherine Kowalczyk.

The brightest and the boldest new filmmakers the area has to offer screen their latest films as The Connecticut Department of Film, Television and Digital Media presents the 2022 NHdocs Student Competition and Award Ceremony (10/22, 1pm at the Bow-Tie Cinema) Twelve short film masterpieces from thirteen students compete for prizes in this juried competition.

Other highlights now through Sunday include:

· A Decent Home (10/21, 2:30pm at the New Haven Free Public Library) When housing that’s on the lowest rung of the American Dream is being devoured by the wealthiest of the wealthy, whose dream are we serving? The film addresses urgent issues of class and economic (im)mobility through the lives of mobile home park residents who can’t afford housing anywhere else. They are fighting for their dreams -- and their lives -- as private equity firms and wealthy investors buy up mobile home parks, making sky-high returns on their investments while squeezing every last penny out of the mobile home owners who must pay rent for the land they live on.

· To The End (10/21, 7pm at the Bow-Tie Cinema) The story of four visionary young women of color who are leading the fight for a Green New Deal—a bold and ambitious plan to stop the climate crisis and make racial and economic justice part of the solution. The film’s high profile protagonists—Varshini Prakash (Sunrise Movement), Alexandra Rojas (Justice Democrats), Rhiana Gunn-Wright (Roosevelt Institute), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—are each grappling with new challenges of leadership and power in the face of cynicism and uncertainty. Over three volatile years of crisis and upheaval, from street protests to the halls of Congress, these young leaders work together to defend their generation’s right to a future and pave the way for the first major climate legislation in US history. To The End gives audiences an unflinching look at how power works in today’s America, and a front seat view of history in the making. Ms. Rojas will be in attendance to answer your questions after the screening.

· Into the Ice (10/21, 9:30pm at the Bow-Tie Cinema) A stunning cinematic achievement. The ice at the poles is melting, which will result in enormous rises in sea level and have major consequences for the world. But how fast will it really go? In the Greenland ice sheet we can see our future. The film travels with three pioneering glaciologists on their expeditions INTO the inland ice of Greenland. Top-notch science meets breathtaking visuals when one of them descends into a 200-meter deep moulin hole to find out about the bottom of the ice sheet. What they find may sound the alarm for our planet’s climate and be a clear call to act now.

· All Wigged Out (10/22, 7pm at the Bow-Tie Cinema) Marcy Marxer is a GRAMMY winning singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist who takes us on her expedition through Breast Cancer and neuropathy caused by Chemotherapy, tempered by her wacky sense of humor and ability to make the personal universal.

· The Greatest Radio Station in the World (10/23, 7pm at Café Nine) CLOSING NIGHT brings us a film about radio station WPKN, located in Bridgeport, which prides itself as being a real alternative to an increasingly homogeneous broadcast radio landscape. It enriches the lives of their listeners while promoting diversity, tolerance, and freedom of expression. Immediately following the screening, put on your dance shoes for a very special DJ dance party featuring WPKN DJs Alec Cumming, Rick Omonte, and some very special guest stars.

In addition, NHdocs will present numerous filmmaking workshops and filmmaker Q&As, all sponsored by the Connecticut Department of Film, Television, and Digital Media. Ticket prices vary from Pay What You Can (at the library and for the student competition) to an average ticket price of $8 to $12 at the Criterion, and $15 for the four events at Café Nine.

For the complete schedule of both live and online screenings, workshops, and more, plus tickets and other information, go to www.NHdocs.org

For more info contact: contact@NHdocs.com or call 203-755-4443