NY, NY Narrative Competition
The NY, NY Narrative Feature Competition presents New York Stories ranging from the creation of a cult, to familial re-connection, to urban follies, to films that use experimental ideas and push the boundaries of technology.
- East Broadway
Grace is a Chinese American who longs to be a part of New York's high society. At a socialite event, she is mistaken for a Hong Kong heiress and meets her Prince Charming. But what will happen to this Cinderella when the clock strikes midnight? In English and Cantonese. - Fifty Pills
Darren (Lou Taylor Pucci) has just lost his scholarship because of his partying roommate's antics. Now, in order to make his tuition payment, he needs to sell 50 tablets of Ecstasy-graciously supplied by his roommate-over the course of just one day. This directorial debut features Kristen Bell of Veronica Mars as Darren's girlfriend. - New York Waiting
Hedén's debut film sensitively illuminates the effects of lovesickness and wanderlust. After Sidney sends his lost love a plane ticket and a letter, asking her to meet him at the top of the Empire State Building, he unexpectedly meets a lovesick woman. Together they wander the streets of New York, lamenting their lost loves while secretly wondering if they're falling in love with each other. - The Treatment
Jake Singer is a frustrated, confused, and recently dumped New York schoolteacher who enters into therapy in an attempt to find guidance in his life. The treatment appears to be working, but when he suddenly falls in love with a beautiful widow, Jake is forced to battle his therapist's alarmingly strong influence.
NY, NY Documentary Competition
The NY, NY Documentaries Feature Competition section includes stories about immigration, reality TV flops, and the birth of a New York charitable institution.
- American Cannibal: The Road to Reality
In this unflinching, behind-the-scenes look at a doomed reality show, a pair of novice TV writers team up with the distributor of the Paris Hilton sex tapes to create a reality show in which contestants are starved on a desert island. How far will people go in pursuit of fame and fortune? - Dorothy Day: Don't Call Me a Saint
Leftist writer and activist Dorothy Day had an abortion, got a divorce, and bore a daughter out of wedlock. She also co-founded the Catholic Worker movement, leaving an important social legacy. This film explores the complex life of a woman who has already been placed on the official road to sainthood by the Vatican. - Golden Venture
The merchant ship Golden Venture ran aground near New York City in 1993 with 300 undocumented Chinese immigrants onboard. Many of them went to jail for up to four years, and they're still seeking permanent legal residence (i.e. green cards) today. An engrossing chronicle of immigrants and their struggles for recognition and a better life. In English and Mandarin. - The One Percent
Money can buy everything except social justice in this hard-hitting and hilarious documentary. By examining the lives of the rich and the poor, Johnson, heir to the Johnson & Johnson fortune, uncovers frightening realities. Featuring a full spectrum of interviewees: Steve Forbes, members of Johnson's family, cab drivers, and victims of Hurricane Katrina. - Saint of 9/11
A loving tribute to Fire Department Chaplain Father Mychal Judge: parish priest, streetwise New Yorker, recovering alcoholic, and proud homosexual who gave his life on September 11 after administering last rites to a fallen firefighter. Saint of 9/11 traces the journey and struggles of a man whose compassion touched the world.
NY Specials
The newly formed NY Specials showcases a varied group of out-of-competition titles that are quintessentially New York.
- Animated New York
Welcome to the wonderfully warped world of New York City independent animation, where a new breed of radical, rebel animators eschew government funding yet thrive in the exploding indie film culture. Chelsea resident and Oscar-nominated animator Bill Plympton has assembled the best of the best of these outlaw films for this program. - Yo Soy Boricua, Pa' Que Tu Lo Sepas! (I'm Boricua, Just So You Know)
In her debut doc, the always sparkling Rosie Perez takes viewers down the route of New York City's Puerto Rican Day Parade and through an exploration of her heritage. Weaving snippets of family moments and the often bumpy history of the island, Perez and co director Liz Garbus build a pastiche of unbridled optimism and pride.
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