Mary Bruno spent her childhood along one of the most polluted waterways in America. Decades later, she wrote An American River: From Paradise to Superfund (2012) and eventually teamed with filmmaker Scott Morris and river-guide Carl Alderson to kayak the river of her youth and tell its story with a … [Read more...]
Movies with Documentary
GUARDIANS OF THE FLAME
Directed by Daniel Wolff Produced by Bonnie Elder Yassky and Brooklyn Demme Cinematography by Jonathan Demme Edited by Marta Renzi 2023, USA, 70 minutes Undeterred by decades of prejudice, post-Katrina neglect, and ongoing appropriation of their traditions, three generations of the … [Read more...]
JONATHAN DEMME: CLOSE UP
Jonathan Demme: Close Up Saturday, November 18 At The Nyack Center An evening of film clips and discussion, curated by Brooklyn Demme Tickets will go on sale soon! Here are three common observations about Jonathan Demme: he was well known to be liked and admired by all who met him; … [Read more...]
Summer of Soul – Free outdoors in the Artopee Way Drive In, Nyack
Summer of Soul (… Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is a feature documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, drummer for The Roots and bandleader for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. USA, 2021, 118 minutes, documentary. This … [Read more...]
WHAT HAPPENED TO JACKSON AVENUE: A Story of Urban Renewal
A PHOENIX THEATRE ENSEMBLE PRODUCTION WHAT HAPPENED TO JACKSON AVENUE: A Story of Urban Renewal A Documentary Film by Hakima Alem and Rudi Gohl In the summer of 2019 Clara Francesca, Elise Stone, and Craig Smith from Phoenix Theatre Ensemble were meeting with Bill Batson, Nyack … [Read more...]
JIMMY IN SAIGON
JIMMY IN SAIGON begins as a personal exploration into the mysterious death and radical life of Jimmy McDowell, an American 24-year-old Vietnam veteran who died as a civilian in Saigon in 1972, when filmmaker Peter McDowell was only five. While investigating Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality, Peter … [Read more...]
LAS ABOGADAS: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis – a benefit to pay for the new 16′ screen!
For a group of extraordinary women who practice immigration law, the refugee crisis is a call to action they can’t ignore. LAS ABOGADAS follows a … [Read more...]
RADIOACTIVE: The Women of Three Mile Island
RADIOACTIVE: The Women of Three Mile Island, is an award-winning documentary about the 1979 Three Mile Island nuclear reactor meltdown, the worst commercial nuclear accident in U.S. history. It focuses on never-before-told stories of four intrepid homemakers, two lawyers who took the local … [Read more...]
THE QUIET EPIDEMIC, streaming from April 7 through 13
After years of living with mysterious symptoms, a young girl from Brooklyn and a Duke University scientist are diagnosed with a disease said to not exist: Chronic Lyme disease. The Quiet Epidemic follows their search for answers, which lands them in the middle of a vicious medical debate. What … [Read more...]
LOWNDES COUNTY AND THE ROAD TO BLACK POWER
The passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented not the culmination of the Civil Rights Movement, but the beginning of a new, crucial chapter. Nowhere was this next battle better epitomized than in Lowndes County, Alabama, a rural, impoverished county with a vicious history of racist … [Read more...]
Hopper: An American Love Story, presented by The Edward Hopper House Museum and Rivertown Film
Filmmaker Phil Grabsky's new documentary Hopper: An American Love Story been released in October 2022 to coincide with the Whitney Museum of American Art’s exhibition, "Edward Hopper’s New York" and Edward Hopper House Museum's "Edward Hopper’s Hudson River Boyhood and Emerging Artistic Vision." The … [Read more...]
Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, a Journey, a Song
This feature-length documentary weaves together three creative strands: The songwriter and his times; the song’s dramatic journey from record label reject to chart-topping hit; and moving … [Read more...]
THE WOBBLIES, streaming from September 1 through Sept 9
“Solidarity! All for One and One for All!” Founded in Chicago in 1905, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) took to organizing unskilled workers into one big union and changed the course of American history. This compelling documentary of the IWW (or “The Wobblies” as they were known) tells the … [Read more...]
VIRGIN BLACKTOP: A New York Skate Odyssey – FREE in Memorial Park, Nyack
“VIRGIN BLACKTOP: A New York Skate Odyssey" is an uplifting and sometimes heart-breaking coming-of-age story about a funky crew of suburban New York City kids. To be specific, they were Rockland kids. When they met in 1977, they had nothing in common except a passion for skateboarding. Despite their … [Read more...]
SUMMER OF SOUL, presented by Garner Arts Center and Rivertown Film
Summer of Soul (… Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) is a feature documentary about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, directed by Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson, drummer for The Roots and bandleader for The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. USA, 2021, 118 minutes, documentary. This … [Read more...]
GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN, Meet the Filmmaker, presented with Moms Demand Action Rockland
The extraordinary story of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, her fight to recover following an assassination attempt in 2011, and her life as one of the most effective activists in the battle for gun violence prevention and in promoting understanding of the language condition aphasia. … [Read more...]
THE AUTOMAT, streaming from May 13 through May 26
“The Automat” recounts the lost history of the iconic restaurant chain Horn & Hardart, which served affordable-priced quality food to millions of New Yorkers and Philadelphians for more than a century. Found by Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart in 1888, it revolutionized the nation’s restaurant … [Read more...]
FLEE, presented at the Nyack Center
In FLEE, the Grand Jury Prize winner at last year’s Sundance Festival, filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen tells a poignant story of belonging and the search for identity. Amin’s life has been defined by his past and a secret he’s kept for over 20 years. Forced to leave his home country of Afghanistan … [Read more...]
HOW THEY GOT OVER, streaming at Rivertown Film from February 25
How They Got Over celebrates the spirit of gospel performers and how they helped usher in a musical revolution that changed the world forever. Beginning in the 1920s, Black singers across the country took to the highways as the new technology of radio and records made it possible to reach a wider … [Read more...]
IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM, streaming February 4 – February 17
IN BALANCHINE’S CLASSROOM takes us back to the glory years of George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet through the remembrances of his former dancers and their quest to fulfill the vision of a genius. Opening the door to his studio, Balanchine’s private laboratory, In Balanchine's Classroom reveals … [Read more...]
