The Assignment

Obie (Erica Marks) is second-in-command in the Vigils, an established secret organization at Trinity High School. A professor enlists the Vigils' help, wishing to use their influence to convince students to sell overpriced, fundraiser chocolates. When new student Jerry Renault (Garrett Hnatiuk) refuses to participate, Obie attempts to persuade him to sell the chocolates. The two begin a secret romance, though he continues his defiance. As Obie witnesses the Vigils escalate their aggressive tactics towards Jerry, she is forced to examine her involvement with the organization that once protected her but now seems ready to destroy everyone she cares about. 

This undergraduate student project from Winnipeg, Canada came about thanks to funding from the University of Manitoba and Canadian private investors, and director Cam Peters has taken this modest charter to produce a work that far exceeds the requirements of his own assignment. Based on Robert Cormier's 1974 young adult novel, The Chocolate War, this film is dark, brutal and realistic; as the filmmakers make clear in the (parental discretion advised) Featurette, The Assignment is an allegorical tale about power structures and how people cope with them. 

Check out the trailer here (parental discretion advised): The Assignment Trailer

Battle: Change from Within

Battle: Change from Within is a documentary about educator Eliot Battle and the pivotal role he played in desegregating schools, housing, and the Columbia, Missouri community. As Battle facilitated changes with quiet resolve, he faced resistance from both the black and white communities. His calm demeanor and dedicated work within existing institutions and systems allowed him to bridge the gap between the two races and change Columbia for the better. 

Written and produced by Michael Hicks of University of Missouri Extension, this film is highly educational and offers great social value. You can watch the trailer on the documentary's website: Battle Preview

All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert

All Me: The Life and Times of Winfred Rembert chronicles the journey of Winfred Rembert, an African-American artist who recently had a retrospective in a top-tier Madison Avenue gallery but who earlier in his life had served seven years on a chain gang in Georgia. 

His brightly colored paintings, all executed on leather canvases that Rembert tools, a technique he learned in prison, describe life in the Jim Crow south of the 1950's and 60's. A native of Georgia, Rembert now lives with his wife and eight children in a rough neighborhood in New Haven, but also operates in the social universe of well-off white collectors in Connecticut who buy his work. This wonderful, inspiring film by Vivian Ducat traces Rembert's life and contextualizes the era he describes. 

Check out the Feature in Vanity Fair and watch the trailer here: Winfred Rembert Preview

Refuge

Set in present-day Iraq, Refuge tells the story of Nabil, who moves to Baghdad with his two young sons after the kidnapping and murder of his wife Mariam. Nabil has trouble finding employment in the city, which is full of other internally displaced Iraqis. One of these new arrivals is his neighbor, Tariq. 

Tariq’s face haunts Nabil – his eyes are so familiar, much like the eyes he glimpsed through a keffiyeh on the day his wife was taken from him. As Nabil’s dreams grow more intense, he becomes convinced that his intuition is correct - Mariam’s killer is living in his building, mere feet away from his two vulnerable sons.  

Directed by Michelle Steffes and co-written by Rebekah Score and Paul Luebbers, this American film is delivered with a heightened sense of verisimilitude, making a story that deals with the machinations of modern-day Iraq all the more compelling. At the same time, Steffes, Score and Luebbers display oceans of heart for a place in which hope and love for your fellow man ultimately rein supreme.

You can watch the trailer here: Refuge Preview

Autumn

Ten-year-old Autumn (Reagan Frankhouser) lost her father several years before the story begins, and her family and she are still struggling to find equilibrium. The girl's mother Kate and her teenaged sister Amanda are too caught up in their own concerns to pay her much attention, so Autumn throws herself with desire and determination into her favorite pastime, taking photographs, and finds solace in the company of a father figure. But wandering the neighborhood and capturing strangers on camera has its risks, as she soon discovers. Will she remain safe, and if so, will she use that safety to realize her potential as an artist?

The cinematography is this locally produced film makes excellent use of the textures one can find in historic Bucks County, as one might expect in a film so immersed in photography, but there's much more at work than aesthetics here. Director Susan Barry displays a remarkably delicate and sensitive touch as she explores the inner world of an awkward girl whose inability to find answers for big questions propels her to observe and record the people around her. And the biggest strangers she needs to figure out are her own parents. 

Recently featured in a Bucks County Herald Story, Autumn is a film with New Hope roots that easily holds its own with our national and international offerings. Frankhouser's acting is right on the money and the story is poignant. You can watch the trailer here: Autumn Trailer

Out of Print

Books have long been essential to human civilization.

Out of Print draws us into the realm of the written word, illuminating the turbulent but exciting journey from the book through the digital revolution. We live in an age where writers, publishers, and readers are all in flux, booksellers are closing, students are confronting new challenges, and librarians and teachers are seeking new responsibilities. 

Storytellers Ray Bradbury and Jeffrey Toobin, novelist and Authors Guild President Scott Turow, Amazon.com Founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Harvard University Library Director and Digital Public Library of America enthusiast Robert Darnton, and other book world luminaries are interviewed in this essential new documentary by director Vivienne Roumani. Narrated by Hollywood legend Meryl Streep.

You can watch the trailer here: Out of Print Trailer

Kayip

In Kayip (The Loss), Turkish filmmaker Mete Sozer tells the story of a man who, after a painful breakup with the love of his life, waits at a cafe for a lifetime in hopes she will walk in again. Produced in Belgium, Turkey and Los Angeles as a student project, this short film is at times surreal and at times vulnerable, and it's always fine aesthetically. Watch the actress (Ozge Ozpirincci) in the preview and you will see that Sozer has a subtle sense for authenticity and detail.

You can watch the trailer here: Kayip Trailer