Mead Film Festival: Sunday
Sunday, May 4, 2025
This three-day celebration takes place from Friday, May 2–Sunday, May 4, and will present storytelling and documentary films from diverse voices near and far.
Bright Future
1 pm | Kaufmann Theater
In July 1989, Pyongyang hosted the 13th World Festival of Students and Youth, bringing together 22,000 people from 177 countries in a display of anti-imperialist unity. Offering a view into the summer between the Tiananmen Square protests and the Romanian Revolution, Bright Future captures a pivotal moment in the global youth struggle for democracy.
Make It Look Real
2 pm | Linder Theater
Director Daniel Shah follows Watan, the proprietor of a photography studio where subjects undergo extensive photo editing to become kings, celebrities, warriors, and heroes. Shah follows Sakhi as he transforms everyday people into icons, investigating the broad appeal of Sakhi’s uncanny portraiture.
How Deep is Your Love
2 pm | LeFrak Theater
The ocean depths are more alien to us than Mars. Teeming with iridescent life and studded with precious minerals, they attract both biologists and mining companies. As 50 biologists descend 2.9 miles (4,700 m) to study this fragile underworld, they uncover Earth’s most primordial forms and issue a call to defend its most remote corners from exploitation.
River of Grass
3:30 pm | Kaufmann Theater
Betty Osceola, a member of the Miccosukee tribe, has defended Florida’s Everglades for decades against fracking, agribusiness, and water pollution, leading multi-day prayer in protest along major highways. The film’s title evokes a Miccosukee phrase describing the Everglades, emphasizing the region’s natural resilience in the face of climate devastation.
Partition
4:30 pm | Linder Theater
Consisting of documentary footage captured during the British occupation of Palestine (1917-1948), Partition is a subversive approach to the colonial archive. Director Diana Allan overlays the film with audio from Palestinians, whose stories challenge colonial narratives embedded in the archival imagery.
Darren Aronofsky presents Viktor
4:30 pm | LeFrak Theater
Kharkiv, Ukraine, has been under siege by Russia for three years. Barred from enlisting in the Ukrainian army due to his deafness, local photographer Viktor heads to the frontlines with his camera, capturing the extent of war’s devastation.
Viktor will be screening with open captions, and ASL interpretation will be provided for the post-screening conversation.
FOLKTALES
7 pm | LeFrak Theater
Pasvik Folk High School attracts students from around the world to experience Norway’s raw wilderness, continuing the folk school tradition of wilderness training. Through dog sledding races, icy expeditions, and survival education, students forge a close-knit community while embracing life’s great unknowns.
Our Friends, The Animals
All Day | Milstein Hall of Ocean Life
This collection of five imaginative short films explores the deep and often mysterious connections between humans and animals. These stories—told through myth, magic, and quiet moments of discovery—remind us how animals reflect our fears, guide our journeys, and illuminate our place in the natural world.
These films will play continuously throughout the day in the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life. Free with Museum admission.
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.
The Margaret Mead Film Festival is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.