Films main content.
The Mead 2019 Films
Groundbreaking, international, nonfiction films and media present fresh cross-cultural perspectives.
View synopses, photos, and trailers for all films at the links below or click the button to view the complete schedule.
Event
Opening Night Film: Freedom Fields
A women’s soccer team fights for their right to play in post-revolution Libya.
Thursday, October 17
Event
Antonio y Piti
The family that helped expel the rubber tappers who enslaved the Asháninka people 30 years ago steps up once again in the face of...
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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Before Father Gets Back (Sanam mama dabrundeba)
Iman and Eva, two daughters of jihadists, reveal the daily lives of the families of ISIS fighters as they await their fathers’ return.
Saturday, October 19
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Black Divaz
Dressed in extravagant outfits and vibrant makeup, Indigenous drag contestants compete for the title of Miss First Nation.
Saturday, October 19
Event
Border South
What can we learn about the lives of people journeying the 2,300-mile-long North American migrant trail through the artifacts they...
Friday, October 18
Event
Collectively at the Mead: Appalshop
Based in eastern Kentucky, Appalshop has been “making media in the mountains since 1969.”
Saturday, October 19
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Collectively at the Mead: Kartemquin
Kartemquin celebrates more than 50 years of collaborative community media making, guided by the motto “democracy through documentary."
Friday, October 18
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Collectively at the Mead: Pacific Islanders in Communications (PIC)
PIC’s mission of “Preserving Our Heritage through the Language of Film” emphasizes the support and development of Pacific Islander...
Sunday, October 20 | Sold Out
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Color
Few know first-hand the personalities of colors like the artists at Kremer Pigments in New York City.
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Covered Up
Rachel’s questions about covering her hair after divorce reveal the complexities of ultra-orthodox Jewish views on this longstanding...
Sunday, October 20
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Cuban Canvas
The bold vision of Cuba’s young artists marks the lines between art and life.
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Cultural Activist—Maree Clarke
Through supersized gold necklaces and clay Kopi skull caps, Indigenous Australian Maree Clarke enables people to actively reconnect...
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Easy Lessons (Könnyű Leckék)
As Kaifa adopts Hungarian customs she reassures her mother in Somalia she still identifies with her roots.
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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Eating Up Easter
The people of Rapa Nui are fighting for their cultural heritage, for job opportunities, and for an island clear of trash.
Sunday, October 20 | Sold Out
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Emerging Visual Anthropologists Showcase
In this special showcase we present five exciting ethnographic documentaries by emerging filmmakers.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
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Evelyn Williams
Evelyn Williams, now in her 80s, fights to protect eastern Kentucky from oil and gas drilling.
Saturday, October 19
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The Guardian of Memory (El Guardián de la Memoria)
In the Juarez Valley, the question of genocide is not historical, but practical and legal.
Friday, October 18
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Hi, AI
On some level we connect with artificially intelligent robots as people. Can they—or should they—be our friends?
Saturday, October 19
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In Stitches
“Vernac” comedians in South African show how language is key to nailing the punch line.
Friday, October 18
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Land, Water, Life
Asháninka of the Peruvian Andes pay tribute to their ancestors and the sacred Kapi river while protesting plans for dams that threaten...
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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The Last Male on Earth
Meet Sudan, the last male rhinoceros of his species and a tourist sensation in Kenya.
Saturday, October 19
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Let the People Decide
Activists in North Carolina fight against intimidation and disenfranchisement at the polls, as we see history repeating itself.
Sunday, October 20
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Living with Grace
Through races and Ironman competitions, Grace pushes back against cancer, exploring the kind of medicine that exercise can provide.
Saturday, October 19, 2019
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Made in Boise
Follow four surrogates experiencing the emotional and physical hurdles of being pregnant with someone else’s baby.
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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MAi: Life Is Not Honey
The social and economic impacts of climate change are ever-present when accessing clean drinking water gets in the way of getting...
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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Marielle’s Legacy Will Not Die
In the absence of justice, activists and artists in Rio used Carnival 2019 to demand answers for the murder of Councilwoman Marielle...
Sunday, October 20
Event
Massacre River
Pikilina, a 23-year-old Dominican-born woman of Haitian descent, scrambles to regain citizenship for herself and her children.
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Miguelito - Canto A Borinquen
Experience the lively world of Puerto Rican music as the mystery of an 11-year-old salsero’s disappearance unfolds.
Sunday, October 20
Event
Mong Kok First Aid
Photographs, fluorescent vests, and gas masks are shared like precious family heirlooms alongside harrowing stories of Hong Kong’s...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
Event
nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up
A Cree family seeks justice for the murder of their son while battling systemic racism against First Nations in Canada.
Friday, October 18
Event
Not a Daughter
Though he was once certain he would not survive his 18th birthday, a young trans boy in Kentucky tells his story of self-acceptance.
Saturday, October 19
Event
Now We Live on Clifton
Witness the gentrification of a Chicago neighborhood in 1974 from the perspective of two elementary school students.
Friday, October 18
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Refusing to Let Go (Duxh Benigulun)
See how weaving lessons spark an elderly woman’s memory while passing down Zapotec cultural legacy.
Saturday, October 19
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Runner
Run alongside Guor Marial on his journey from Sudanese refugee to world-class athlete.
Saturday, October 19
Event
Saudi Women’s Driving School
For women in Saudi Arabia, a driver’s license is more than a certificate—it puts them on the road to independence.
Saturday, October 19
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She Who Must Be Loved
Part detective story, part observational documentary, follow an intergenerational effort to piece together a complicated family history...
Sunday, October 20
Event
Stranger with a Camera
An Appalachian filmmaker examines the relationship between media-makers and the communities they portray in their work.
Saturday, October 19
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Supper for Dead Souls (La cena delle anime)
Every year on November 1, Sardinia, Italy, honors those who have died by preparing an elaborate supper for dead souls.
Sunday, October 20 | Sold Out
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Surface Layer
Ryan Salch reveals how eczema affects a person psychologically and physically through this autobiographical portrait.
Saturday, October 19
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Taste of Hope
The union heroes of a French tea processing plant fight to operate a small co-op in a market oversaturated by huge corporations.
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Tea for Taiwan
Bubble tea has become a surprising tool for Taiwanese-American activists in New York City.
Saturday, October 19
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Through the Artist's Lens
A series of four short films celebrates artists from around the world.
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out
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Unapologetic
Three young black women organize against police violence in Chicago and they will not apologize for their own existence.
Friday, October 18
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The Wandering Chef
Hiking the Korean countryside, Jiho Im cooks meals for elders he meets along the way, with ingredients foraged from their own backyards.
Sunday, October 20 | Sold Out
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Wandering Souls
Can art create closure for a wounded nation? Forty years after the brutal Khmer Rouge reign, artists try with film and Bangsokol...
Saturday, October 19 | Sold Out
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When I Walk
With MS, Jason DaSilva is forced to learn new ways to navigate New York City, using his artistic talents to thrive.
Saturday, October 19
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When We Walk
Jason Da Silva’s MS and his dissolving marriage weigh heavily, but he is determined to be the best father he can be.
Saturday, October 19
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Winnie Wright, Age 11
A story of white working-class Chicago through the eyes of 11-year-old Winnie Wright.
Friday, October 18
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Winter’s Yearning
For the Greenland town of Maniitsoq, broken corporate promises inspire the community to discover alternative financial opportunities.
Sunday, October 20
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A Woman Who Paints Thangkas
Despite external pressures, Lutso does not give up on her trailblazing life as one of the first female painters of Tibetan thangka...
Friday, October 18 | Sold Out