USA • 44 minutes Directed by Frederick DeShon Murphy
Film director, Sidewalk alum and mental health therapist Frederick DeShon Murphy brings together families of both the enslavers and enslaved connected to the Forks of Cypress plantation in Florence, AL, to share their deeply personal histories and to create an opportunity for community and reconciliation.
When an Ohio man builds a fake Facebook profile mocking his local police department, the joke lands him in real legal trouble, escalating to the Supreme Court. To his rescue comes The Onion, a group familiar with parody, resulting in a legal brief so ridiculous that it became a legend.
For centuries, Stan Rennie’s family has worked the same stretch of coastline in northeast England. When a tide of poisoned crabs and lobsters washes up like a biblical plague, all signs point to an industrial development along the River Tees that empties into the once-teeming waters. Stan becomes a reluctant spokesman for his community, with a cool head and a heart of rage.
Documentaries about those who have worked and fought to gain, preserve, and practice their rights and freedom.
Sea Song Directed by An-Phuong Ly 17:58 • USA • Alabama Premiere LIFE & LIBERTY, WOMEN IN FILM Finding solace in the shared experience of their youth, the last remaining South Vietnamese naval officers trained by the US during the Vietnam War reconnect with the few people in the world who understand the complexities that shaped them.
Honor Song Directed by Ryan Begay 19:35 • USA LIFE & LIBERTY Celebrating the long history and service of Native Americans in the United States military, veterans of the Southwest share personal stories and perspectives of their military service and their cultural experience.
60 Years of Selma Directed by Jori Parson 16:04 • USA • Alabama Premiere LIFE & LIBERTY, ALABAMA, BLACK LENS, WOMEN IN FILM Sixty years after the 1965 Voting Rights Act was signed into law, civil rights activists and historians gather to reflect on the movement in Selma, Alabama, that led to revolutionary change.
The Other Roe Directed by Wendy Eley Jackson 14:47 • USA • Southern US Premiere LIFE & LIBERTY, BLACK LENS, WOMEN IN FILM Learn the untold story of attorney Margie Pitts Hames whose Supreme Court victory in Doe v. Bolton - the companion case to Roe v. Wade - reshaped reproductive rights in America.
Projecting Protest Directed by Thomas Clement 22:07 • USA • Southern US Premiere LIFE & LIBERTY Over the past decade, activists across the political spectrum have been deploying a new protest tactic: guerrilla light projection. Projection devices have become cheap, powerful, and can be smaller than a toaster. They are also, for the most part, wildly unregulated by American law.
That Night Directed by Hoda Sobhani 11:00 • USA LIFE & LIBERTY, WOMEN IN FILM In October 2022, Evin Prison in Iran burned. Inside was women's rights activist Neda Naji. This is her story of that night of chaos, fear, and violence.
Correspondence Directed by Paul K. Oh 5:40 • USA • Alabama Premiere LIFE & LIBERTY A filmmaker conducts a mediated interview with the man convicted of murdering his grandmother and tries to reconcile the person sitting across from him with the act that shattered his family.
Investigator Directed by Jennifer Grausman 16:40 • USA • Southern US Premiere WOMEN IN FILM Amidst the foggy evergreen forests of Washington State's Olympic Peninsula, private investigator Leigh Hearon explores the criminal underbelly of a small town and investigates a case of attempted matricide while also examining her own motivations and place in the criminal justice system.
Sites of Memory Directed by Antonio Tarrell, Castel V Sweet, Michael Fagans 24:20 • USA • Alabama Premiere BLACK LENS, LIFE & LIBERTY, WOMEN IN FILM, ALABAMA As U.S. history becomes controversial to teach in some states, one group of people comes to terms with our past and present in Sumner, Mississippi and Montgomery, Alabama.
Free Joan Little Directed by Yoruba Richen 24:20 • USA • Alabama Premiere BLACK LENS, LIFE & LIBERTY, WOMEN IN FILM In 1975, Joan Little became the first woman in US history to be acquitted of using deadly force to resist sexual assault. As a Black incarcerated woman in North Carolina who killed her white prison guard who was trying to rape her, Little's murder trial sparked a nationwide discussion on sexual assault.
USA • 1 hour 37 minutes Directed by Kelsey Ianuzzi
When an Alabama court jeopardizes access to IVF and her own embryos, artist Abbey Crain refuses to surrender her creative power. In this triumphant tour de force, Crain and a group of fertility patients reckon with the threats to their family future, unearthing hope from an unsettled legal landscape.
WARLA is a crime-drama based on the true story of the Warla Gang, a group of transgender women who kidnap foreigners for ransom money to fund their gender-affirming surgeries. The film examines the struggles and treatment of marginalized individuals searching for acceptance.
A sharp take on AI’s dark side—where eugenics fears and human worth clash in a tech-driven world. It dares us to ask: What happens to people’s value when those who build AI decide who matters? The risks of AI go far beyond what most expect.
