The ABCs of Book Banning

In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues. By weaving together a lyrical montage of young readers and authors, THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING reveals the voices of the impacted parties, and inspires hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.

PUTREFACTO

Lonely Planet

A swindler returns to her hideout at night and finds a stranger.

A Deer Died Here

A young man rejects a foster kid, mirroring the unresolved pain of his own childhood.

Strangers

When aged-care facility workers find two residents in bed together, familial tensions rise.

Del mero corazón

A lyrical journey through the heart of Chicano culture as reflected in the love songs of the Tex-Mex Norteña music tradition. Performers include, Little Joe & La Familia, Leo Garza, Chavela Ortiz, Andres Berlanga, Ricardo Mejia, Conjunto Tamaulipas, Chavela y Brown Express and more.

Cold Coffee

Millo and Delia, an elderly Puerto Rican couple, navigate a new reality of Millo's progressing illness; while trying to hold on to what remains of the life they've always known.

Vorstellungsgespräche

Hold It!

Into the Blue

Thirteen year old Julija and her mother flee their abusive household to find refuge on an idyllic Croatian island where Julija grew up. Emotionally scarred, Julija is desperate to reconnect with her best friend, Ana. But Ana is in love with a boy and Julija is no longer a priority.

Live

The film is inspired by the real events – the story of Kati Andreevoj and Daria Chultsova – the two journalists from TV Belsat, an independent station broadcasting from Poland and their arrest by the Belarusian police in Minsk.

Das Bewegungssystem des Menschen

Short film about the human body

Auf den Spuren der wilden Otter

Short film about otters

The Birth of the Robot

This experiment was a “prestige advertisement” for Shell Motor Oil. As conventional animation became dominated by Walt Disney, many European filmmakers turned to puppets as an alternative, and Lye enlisted the help of avant-garde friends such as Humphrey Jennings and John Banting to make the amusing puppets. Exploring the still-complex color process, which involved the combination of three separate images, Lye creates such a vivid storm scene that reviewers hailed it as “proof that the color film has entered a new stage.” The music is Holst’s The Planets. - Harvard Film Archive

Rhythm

Intended as a publicity film for Chrysler, Rhythm uses rapid editing to speed up the assembly of a car, synchronizing it to African drum music. The sponsor was horrified by the music and suspicious of the way a worker was shown winking at the camera; although Rhythm won first prize at a New York advertising festival, it was disqualified because Chrysler had never given it a television screening. P. Adams Sitney wrote, “Although his reputation has been sustained by the invention of direct painting on film, Lye deserves equal credit as one of the great masters of montage.” And in Film Culture, Jonas Mekas said to Peter Kubelka, “Have you seen Len Lye’s 50-second automobile commercial? Nothing happens there…except that it’s filled with some kind of secret action of cinema.” - Harvard Film Archive

Hannas baby

The End of All Things

After her parents' death, Victoria ends up in the care of a distant relative, a strict Woman who is convinced that the erratic behavior and sickly appearance of the girl can be corrected by traditional treatments and a regular attendance to church. But Victoria doesn't get better and the Woman's cheek tooth starts to ache. And the more frequent Victoria's visits to the garden shed become, the worse her pain gets.

The House Cleaning Horrors

Eddie Lyons and Dorothy Devore have hired "The Careful Decorator" to paper their walls. What they get is Lee Moran who is anything but! Add in a pushy mother-in-law and hilarity ensues.

Step Lively, Please

During the course of his flirtation a driver's cab is used by a notorious robber who deposits his evil gains underneath the seat of the cab. The girl proves to be a detective in search of this man and mistakes the cab driver for the criminal. The horse, however, saves his master and brings the real guilty man into the courtroom just in time

Monks a la Mode

Dress shop owner Madame Maxine employs two chimps to serve in her establishment. It goes about as well as you would expect!