NewEnglandFilm Discovery

| | | | |

Holy Tortilla

Sep 2021

1998 | Directed by Lauren Ivy Chiong

A dash of magic realism, sprinkled with hope, and baked on faith. When a woman sees the face of Jesus in her tortilla, she begins a quest to prove that miracles really are possible in everyday life.

| | | | |

The Blinking Madonna and Other Miracles

Sep 2021

1996 | Directed by Beth Harrington

Making ethnographic documentaries about her North End neighbors had allowed filmmaker Beth Harrington to keep her own background and beliefs at bay. But when she inadvertently videotapes a “miracle” with her camera, she has to wrestle with her past and what it means to believe and belong.

| | | | |

The Commitment

Sep 2021

2012 | Directed by Albert M. Chan

Robert and Ethan are an interracial gay couple fulfilling their dream of adopting a newborn baby. After they meet the expectant Asian birthmother, however, they receive a surprise that threatens their own relationship.

| | | | |

Repetition Compulsion

Sep 2021

1997 | Directed by Ellie Lee

An animated documentary about trauma & the cycles of abuse suffered by homeless women.

| | | | |

FIBA Allow Hijab

Sep 2021

2017 | Directed by Jon Mercer and Tim O'Donnell

Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir is the all-time leading scorer in Massachusetts history for high school basketball (male or female). In 2010, she became the first NCAA Division I player to wear a hijab on the court. But today she is blocked from pursuing her professional basketball career due to a FIBA rule that bans headscarves in international competitions. Forced to sit out, Abdul-Qaadir is now leading the fight for Muslim women’s right to play.

| | | | |

Celebration

Sep 2021

2002 | Directed by Daniel Stedman

An unexpected take on emerging from the closet with a deeper meaning about identity.

| | | | |

My Father’s Story

Sep 2021

1998 | Directed by Mary Kocol

The story of what happened to the non-Jewish Poles during World War II is seldom heard. “My Father’s Story” is just one Polish voice -out of two and a half million people who were taken from their homes and placed into forced labor by the Nazis. This is the story of Romuald Kocol’s struggle, liberation by the Americans, and his emigration to the United States.

| | | | |

Branch

Sep 2017

2016 | Directed by Eric Latek

Living in isolation, Branch only communicates with the portraits he has created. His reality begins to break down when Branch is met by a mysterious voice outside his apartment door. As bizarre circumstances begin to unfold before his eyes, Branch tries to decipher reality from delusion, and discover the truth of who or what he really is.

| | | | |

The Wing

Sep 2009

The Wing
2009 | Directed by Seon Young Kil

When your dreams come true, what happens next? In this film an average circus performer realizes his dream of growing wings — what happens next?

| | | | |

Virginia Lee Burton—A Sense of Place

Sep 2009

Virginia Lee Burton—A Sense of Place
2007 | Directed by Christine Lundberg/Rawn Fulton

Virginia Lee Burton—A Sense of Place explores the life and art of Virginia Lee Burton [1909-1968], considered to be one of the most significant children’s book author and illustrators of the 20th century. For 70 years, her classic books, including the beloved Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel and the Caldecott Award-winning, The Little House, have engaged generations of readers young and old. Burton was also a talented textile designer and established a highly successful textile collective known as The Folly Cove Designers, in the Folly Cove area of Gloucester, Massachusetts. These handcrafted designs with motifs from nature rendered in bright colors were sold nationwide. Through never-before-seen archival materials, location footage and interviews with family, friends and scholars, this film reveals that Burton was a true Renaissance woman whose art and literature remain an enduring part of America’s cultural heritage.