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2026 Oscar® Winner
All the Empty Rooms
2025: Telluride (World Premiere), Toronto International (International Premiere)
All the Empty Rooms
Reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp embark on a cross-country journey to memorialize the childhood bedrooms of those lost to school shootings, highlighting the urgent need for action against the rising epidemic of gun violence.
DIRECTOR Joshua Seftel
2026 Oscar® Nomination
Children No More
“Were and Are Gone”
2025 DOC NYC Short List Premiere
Children No More
“Were and Are Gone”
An observational short about a vigil that began in March 2025 with a handful of protestors standing silently in a public square in Tel Aviv, each holding a photo of a child killed in Gaza. Confronted by the images, some passersby avert their eyes. Others react with denial, sorrow, or rage. Week after week, new photos are added. More people join the protest.
DIRECTOR Hilla Medalia
The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye
The Early Works of Cheryl Dunye
Spanning 1990-1996, THE EARLY WORKS OF CHERYL DUNYE explores identity, race, culture, desire, sexuality, politics, family, and relationships, offering stories that fulfill what Dunye perceived was a lack of films about, and images of, African American lesbians.
DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye
2025 Oscar® Nominee
I Am Ready, Warden
2024: Big Sky (World Premiere)
I Am Ready, Warden
Directed by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Smriti Mundhra for MTV Documentary Films. In the days leading up to his execution, Texas death row prisoner John Henry Ramirez seeks redemption from his victim’s son.
DIRECTOR Smriti Mundhra
2025 Oscar® Shortlist
Seat 31
Zooey Zephyr
2024: Big Sky (World Premiere)
Seat 31
Zooey Zephyr
When Zooey Zephyr was expelled from the Montana House of Representatives for speaking on a bill banning transgender medical care, she made a nearby bench her “office.” Director Kimberly Reed’s cameras land next to Zooey, capturing shocking, funny, and joyous events.
DIRECTOR Kimberly Reed
2024 Oscar® Nominee
The ABCs of Book Banning
2023: Hamptons International (World Premiere)
The ABCs of Book Banning
In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues.
DIRECTOR Sheila Nevins
CO-DIRECTORS Naz Habtezghi, Trish Adlesic
Dreamcaster
2024: Dallas International (World Premiere)
Dreamcaster
Cameron Black was born completely blind. After a one year journey, he’ll attempt to reach his dream of becoming a sportscaster with the help of never-beforeused technology.
DIRECTOR William Maher
I Have a Name
2024: Sarasota (World Premiere)
I Have a Name
SHORT DOC: TRT 40 mins
Utilizing his passion for art and photography--and a friendly colored bus--Jon Linton became an unlikely advocate for the unhoused after losing a dear friend to addiction and homelessness. In I HAVE A NAME, Linton compassionately documents the names, experiences, and inner-lives of unhoused folks in his own community who are all too often forgotten and unheard, giving them a voice and dignity in personhood.
DIRECTOR Eric S. Vaughan
The Children of October 7
2025: Paramount+ Premiere
The Children of October 7
On October 7, 2023, Israeli children were among the most vulnerable victims impacted by the Hamas attacks. Of the estimated 1,200 Israelis murdered, 37 were children. Of those who survived, over 100 children lost one parent, over 20 lost both parents and more than 35 were kidnapped to Gaza THE CHILDREN OF OCTOBER 7 features deeply sensitive conversations between social media activist Montana Tucker and these children who bravely share their experiences of trauma and survival as they continue to process the unthinkable.
DIRECTOR Asaf Becker
Toe Tag
2023: OUTshine Miami (World Premier)
Toe Tag
Based on a true story by Michael Fisher, Sam Foster discovers a toe tag in the dunes of Fire Island. While searching for its owner, he’s struck by memories of his lover who succumbed to AIDS. Sam brings the tag to the engraved address, a crematorium in New Jersey. As Sam connects with a stranger also in mourning, he learns his memories hold the true answer to understanding grief.
2023 Oscar® Shortlist
Holding Moses
2022: San Francisco International (World Premiere)
Holding Moses
A Broadway performer becomes a mother, braiding rhythm and grief and time and joy on her path to connect with her profoundly disabled son.
DIRECTOR Rivkah Beth Medow
CO-DIRECTOR Jen Rainin
Black Beauty
2022: Inside Out Toronto, Cinema Columbus (Premieres)
Black Beauty
Directed by and featuring activist Elle Moxley, BLACK BEAUTY is a visual diary that traces Elle’s story in her own words—as she reconnects with loved ones from the past, recalls her coming of age experience as a woman from the Midwest, and reflects on her journey as a movement leader and founding strategic partner of the global movement Black Lives Matter.
DIRECTOR Elle Moxley
Birthing a Nation
The Resistance of Mary Gaffney
Birthing a Nation
The Resistance of Mary Gaffney
Short Documentary: TRT 18:44 The story of the formerly enslaved Mary Gaffneys fight for reproductive freedom serves as an enduring reminder of the commodification of Black womens bodies and the ongoing struggle for self-determination.…
DIRECTOR Nazenet Habtezghi
Alive in Bronze
Alive in Bronze
Sculptor Dana King’s hands and activist Fredrika Newton’s memories come together to build a new monument—a bust of Black Panther Party (BPP) leader Huey P. Newton for the Oakland community that he loved and shaped. As the sculpture takes form, more than just a face is revealed. From the project’s conception through its community unveiling, these two women take us on a journey to reclaim erased histories—personal and collective—and to rededicate them to the future. Music by Marcus Shelby with performance by three-time Grammy Award winner Fantastic Negrito.
DIRECTOR A.K. Sandhu
A Tattoo on My Brain
A Tattoo on My Brain
A rare look at Early Onset Alzheimer’s disease, A TATTOO ON MY BRAIN tells the extraordinary story of Dr. Dan Gibbs, a seasoned neurologist, who becomes his own patient when he suspects something is wrong with his brain. By tracking his mental state, Dan learns that he has started to develop Alzheimer’s disease and becomes a living example of how people may slow down the onset of memory loss and savor the joy of being alive.
DIRECTORS Kate Davis, David Heilbroner
Last Song From Kabul
Last Song From Kabul
The music stopped when the Taliban took over Afghanistan—it was forbidden, the penalty death. Young girls who belonged to a quiet music school had to go into hiding where they feared for themselves and their families.Now orphans with broken hearts, The Last Song in Kabul tells the riveting, heroic story of their escape to Portugal where they try to rebuild their fractured lives and begin to play music again.
DIRECTOR Kevin MacDonald
contributing director Ruhi Hamid
Black is Blue
Black is Blue
BLACK IS BLUE is a short narrative that tells the story of Black, an African American Trans man, who works as a security guard inside an apartment complex in present day Oakland, California. On the night of a ‘stud party,’ Black is forced to confront his pre-transition past, struggling to make his outside match his inside.
DIRECTOR Cheryl Dunye