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News + PressHighlights at this year's festivalposted September 3, 2009This year's stellar lineup includes a series of films presented in conjunction with the Museum's exhibition Traveling the Silk Road - including Cooking History (Péter Kerekes in person, NY Premiere), an exploration of the customs and conflicts of food on the frontlines, from serving up savory blinis to Soviet soldiers fighting off Nazi armies to feeding French forces during the Algerian War and Hair India (Raffaele Brunetti and Marco Leopardi, NY Premiere), a stirring tale about a destitute family's religious sacrifice of hair that is processed and ultimately sold for profit. Other Festival highlights include Babaji, an Indian Love Story (Jiska Rickels in person, US Premiere), a captivating tale about a centenarian man who has dug a grave next to his late wife's and descends into it each morning to await death; Beyond the Game (Jos de Putter in person, US Premiere), a behind-the-scenes look at the tight-knit and competitive community of cybergamers that follows the top players of Warcraft III, the most popular game globally, on their way to the professional world championships; Blind Loves (Juraj Lehotsky, NY Premiere), an innovatively told story of four non-sighted subjects as they reveal their passions and anxieties while managing independent lives. Special Event: DJ Spooky and The Science of Terra Nova Press Release: 33rd Annual Mead Festivalposted August 31, 2009The Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival – the longest-running documentary film festival in the United States – will celebrate 33 years at the American Museum of Natural History this November 12-15, 2009. The festival will screen an outstanding and varied selection of titles culled from more than 1,000 submissions. Download the press release (PDF)... Straightlaced Benefit Premiereposted May 27, 2009
Presenting partner, Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival With a fearless look at a highly charged subject, Straightlaced unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. From girls confronting media messages about body image to boys who are sexually active just to prove they aren't gay, this fascinating array of students bravely open up about the toll that deeply held stereotypes and rigid gender policing have on all of our lives. Interweaving the stories of students who are straight with those who identify in other ways, Straightlaced makes it clear that these cultural pressures profoundly affect all of our lives. Their intimate stories, filled with courage, pathos, and unexpected humor, offer both teens and adults a way out of anxiety, fear, and violence and point the way toward a more inclusive, empowering culture. May 26, 2009 U.S. Premiere of Back Home, Tomorrow at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festivalposted May 27, 2009
Presenting partner, Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival In Back Home, Tomorrow, directors Fabrizio Lazzaretti and Paolo Santolini share the moving stories of two children affected by war to present the remarkable work of the Italian aid organization Emergency. Yagoub fled with his family from Darfur and now lives in the Mayo Refugee Camp in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. He has to undergo a serious heart operation, but neither his family nor his fellow tribesmen can come up with the money to pay for it. Then there's Murtaza. He's recuperating in a hospital in Kabul after losing his left hand to a landmine. The directors expertly interweave these two fascinating and heartfelt stories without commentary to create a film of rich complexities and emotional resonance. Presented in association with FilmAid International, www.filmaid.org and Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival www.amnh.org/mead U.S. Premiere of Look into My Eyes at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festivalposted May 27, 2009
Presenting partner, Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival Is anti-Semitism a buzz-word for all kinds of real or imagined slights? Is it an arcane expression that should be retired, or is there legitimacy to outcries worldwide that anti-Semitism is again on the rise? Filmmaker Naftaly Gliksberg sets out to investigate what anti-Semitism looks like today, crossing two continents to see how people react to direct questions about their attitudes toward Jews, Israel, and the notion that there is such a thing as anti-Semitism. It is a startling personal journey of painful discoveries as he explores representations and impressions of Jews and Israelis around the world. As he visits individuals in Poland, France, the United States, and Germany, Gliksberg discovers that people's responses to his pointed questions are often a mixture of their own culture, some version of history, and a certain collective psychology. Presented in association with 92YTribeca, The Harriman Institute, and Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival U.S. Premiere of Antoine at the Tribeca Film FestivalPosted April 10th, 2009
Co-presented with the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival Tracking the White Reindeer at the Rubin Museum of ArtPosted April 10th, 2009
Co-presented with the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival
Tracking the White Reindeer (Premiere) In the remote plains of northern Mongolia, the Tsaatan nomads are a proud people who live off hunting and gathering. They travel on the backs of reindeer, on which their survival completely depends. Quizilol, 18, and the beautiful Solongo are in love. But Solongo's father believes that the youth is not mature enough to marry his daughter. Only if Quizilol shows that he is capable of raising a herd of reindeer by himself will he marry Solongo. This is the third of Sardar's Central Asian films to be premiered at RMA. Like its predecessors, it was judged Best Film on Mountain Culture at the Banff Film Festival
Wednesday, April 1, 7:00 p.m.
NY Premiere of In My Genes at the NY African Film FestivalPosted April 10th, 2009
Co-presented with the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival What is it like to be "white" in a "black" society? Agnes, a woman with albinism, overcomes the difficulties of being born with no pigment in a society that discriminates against the condition. In My Genes asks us to consider how it feels to be a member of one of the most hyper-visible and yet effectively invisible groups of people in a predominantly black society.
Sunday, April 12th, 9:15 p.m.
16TH ANNUAL NEW YORK AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL The Recruiter comes to the Human Rights Watch Festivalposted June 1, 2008Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival co-present...
Bringing new meaning to the slogan "An Army of One," The Recruiter follows US Army Sergeant First Class Clay Usie, one of the most successful recruiters in America, as he seeks out the young men and women of Houma, Louisiana. Sergeant Usie's infectious 'can do' spirit draws in the kids, and he begins working with some of them three to four years before they are able to enlist. He becomes their mentor, their role model, and in some cases their surrogate father, as he trains beside his recruits and pushes them to their physical limits to prepare for Army basic training boot camp. But the realities of the war hit closer to home as the death count in Iraq for soldiers from the Houma area begins to rise and fewer and fewer civilians are willing to enlist. Four of Sergeant Usie's recruits - Chris, Bobby, Lauren, and Matt - enter boot camp inflated with Sergeant Usie's vim and vigor and talk of brotherhood and pride, but are soon confronted by the realities of the day-to-day life of a soldier. Sergeant Usie has prepared them for the physical brutality of boot camp, but can anyone prepare them for the emotional and psychological hardship that separation from their families, boot camp, and actual combat will bring? Friday, June 13, 4:00pm Human Rights Watch International Film Festival Award-Winning Soccer Film Premieres at Tribeca Film Festivalposted April 2, 2008Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival co-present...
The members of the Iranian women's international football team (we call it "soccer") possess a dedication to the sport rivaling that of any other league in the world. What they lack, however, is a team to play against. When Marlene, the left back of a German soccer club, learns of their situation, she becomes determined to correct it, putting into motion plans for her club to travel to Tehran for a friendly match against the Iranian women. – Peter Scarlet Sunday, Apr 27, 3:45pm, AMC Village VII Theater 7 Tribeca Film Festival Awaiting For Men Featured at the African Film Festivalposted March 20, 2008Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and African Film Festival co-present...
In the haven of Oualata, a red city on the far edge of the Sahara desert, three women practice traditional painting by decorating the walls of the city. In a society apparently dominated by tradition, religion and men, these women unabashedly express themselves freely, discussing the relationship between men and women. Saturday, April 12, 3:30pm African Film Festival |
The Recruiter
Football Under Cover
Awaiting for Men (En Attendant Les Hommes)
