Mead Film Festival: Saturday
Saturday, May 2, 2026
This three-day celebration takes place from Friday, May 1–Sunday, May 3, 2026, and will present storytelling and documentary films from diverse voices near and far.
We Are the Fruits of the Forest
11:30 am | LeFrak Theater
From Academy Award nominee Rithy Panh comes a lyrical portrait of the Indigenous Bunong people and their deep connection to ancestral traditions and the natural world. As modernity, climate change, and global development encroach, the film weaves archival and contemporary images into a meditation on time, belonging, and resilience.
Bucks Harbor
2:30 pm | LeFrak Theater
Photographer Pete Muller makes his feature debut with Bucks Harbor, an award winner at Berlinale 2026. Set in Downeast Maine, the film portrays a fishing community shaped by an unforgiving coast, exploring gender, labor, and the environment.
River Dreams
3:30 pm | Kaufmann Theater
An award winner at Berlinale 2026, River Dreams invites young women living in Kazakhstan to imagine themselves as a river, delving into the emotional landscapes of their inner worlds. An ode to sisterhood, healing, and resistance, the film is both culturally specific and universal.
Whispers in May
5:15 pm | LeFrak Theater
Follow three teenage girls as they road trip from China’s Liangshan Mountains to buy a ceremonial skirt for a coming-of-age ritual. Winner of the top prize at CPH:DOX 2026, the film blurs documentary and fiction as the young protagonist Qihuo leaves childhood behind.
Black Zombie
6:15 pm | Kaufmann Theater
Black Zombie excavates the hidden history of the mythical figure, tracing its journey from Haitian Vodou to Hollywood horror and pop culture. An electrifying act of reclamation and spiritual resistance, this film ensures you’ll never see zombies the same way again.
The Oldest Person in the World
8 pm | LeFrak Theater
More than a decade in the making, documentarian Sam Green returns with a charming, deeply-felt portrait of the world’s oldest living person—a title that changes hands several times over the course of the film. Profiling a succession of record holders, he captures the wit, grit, and humor of extraordinary longevity in a moving reflection on time and a joyful celebration of life.
Generous support for the Margaret Mead Film Festival has been provided by
The Mead Trust.
A portion of the Margaret Mead Film Festival is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.