Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2024 announces films, honorees, special events, new initiatives, with Opening Night Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy

The critically acclaimed Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival presented by Oaklawn announced the lineup of films and honorees for its 33rd edition, taking place October 18-26, with Opening Night Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2024 Opening Night with Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy

Screenings will kick off at Oaklawn’s Event Center with the Opening Night presentation of Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy, followed by the world premiere of Centerpiece Selection, Doug Pray’s Louder Than Guns, and Dawn Porter’s Luther: Never Too Much screening on Closing Night.


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Bryce Leavitt Space Cowboy, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
SPACE COWBOY
Louder Than Guns, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
LOUDER THAN GUNS
Luther:  Never Too Much, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
LUTHER: NEVER TOO MUCH

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2024 announces films, honorees, special events, new initiatives

Special presentations include the world premiere of Yoruba Richen and Brad Lichtenstein’s American Coup: Wilmington 1898; a 10th Anniversary Retrospective Screening of Reel South Shorts; Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, and Daniel Glick’s Bring Them Home, which launches the festival’s new Native/Indigenous Film Section;  Sam Green In Process, in which acclaimed documentary filmmaker Sam Green, known for his innovative “live” documentaries, presents material from his latest project, Trees; a special 30 for 30 15th Anniversary Panel celebrating the 15th Anniversary of ESPN’s groundbreaking 30 for 30 documentary series; and HSDFF’s new salute to the art of the mockumentary and docudramas featuring Charles B. Pierce’s classic 1972 horror docudrama The Legend of Boggy Creek. Following Opening Night at Oaklawn, all screenings will take place at The Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa before returning to Oaklawn for Closing Night.

Steve James will receive the HSDFF Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award, and Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault will be the recipients of this year’s Impact Award.

Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2024 announces films, honorees, special events, new initiatives

In addition, the festival is following up on the successful launch last year of the HSDFF Filmmaker Forum, a filmmaker/ industry conference and convening, sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with an expanded edition to be held Oct. 20 – 22. The Forum, a major new annual convening of filmmakers and industry leaders from throughout the South and mid-South regions and from across the U.S., offers dynamic programming focused on the business, art, and craft of documentary storytelling with a focus on public media, and a wider lens on the nonfiction ecosystem as a whole.

Other key events include a work in progress presentation by filmmaker Nathan Willis and Arkansas PBS featuring excerpts from a new film directed by Willis. The film documents the commissioning of new statues for the U.S. Capitol commemorating Arkansas heroes Johnny Cash and Daisy Bates. Also, timed with current events, is Politics on Film Day, which spotlights four documentaries about presidential elections and their repercussions.

A new festival partnership with Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and the National Park Service will bring CB’s Mobile Art Lab to Hot Springs on October 26 for a free, interactive art event. Another free HSDFF event is a special presentation by researcher Hollis Duncan on “The Arlington Hotel: Birth and Rebirth, 1864 – 1924,” presented with the Garland County Historical Society and Garland County Library.

In addition, the festival is partnering with Low Key Arts, a Hot Springs-based arts organization, on its highly successful Inception to Projection (I2P) program, a hands-on filmmaking program. HSDFF is excited to host the world premieres of six new films recently completed as part of I2P’s 8-week summer documentary filmmaking workshop.

Finally, HSDFF reprises last year’s highly popular Secret Screening by featuring a special new film from Japan.

HSDFF Executive Director, Ken Jacobson, said, “In our 33rd year, we continue to celebrate the vibrant art of documentary, while also spotlighting the creative process itself by highlighting two exciting works in progress and the screening of new shorts from our Documentary Filmmaking Workshop. We are also honored, for the second year in in a row, to be the host of the Filmmaker Forum, a three-day filmmaker and industry conference focused on supporting filmmakers in the South and Mid-South region, generously supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, as well as Reel South and PBS.

Jacobson continued, “In addition to our extraordinary Opening, Closing and Centerpiece films, all of which will have guests attending, we are also thrilled to honor one of the true documentary filmmaking stalwarts of our time, Steve James as our Career Achievement Award recipient. For this year’s Impact Award, we couldn’t be more pleased to honor two filmmakers, Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault, whose new documentary Zurawski v Texas is strikingly urgent, dealing with one of the critical issues being discussed during this election season. Finally, we break new ground for a documentary-focused film festival by looking at the art of the mockumentary and docudrama, via an Arkansas classic, The Legend of Boggy Creek.”

THE GALAS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Marah Strauch, and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy will start this year’s edition of HSDFF on Friday, October 18 with their thrilling look at the life of legendary skydiver and cinematographer Joe Jennings. Directors Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt, along with the film’s main protagonist Joe Jennings, will be present for the Opening Night Gala. This year’s Centerpiece selection, taking place Tuesday, October 22, is Doug Pray’s Louder Than Guns. The film follows Ketch Secor, founding member of the bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show, and radio journalist David Greene as they seek to bring people together to have an open conversation about gun violence in America following a 2023 mass school shooting in Secor’s home community of Nashville. Director Doug Pray, producer Ashley York, and the film’s main participants, Ketch Secor, and radio journalist David Greene, will attend the screening. Dawn Porter’s Luther: Never Too Much will close HSDFF on Saturday, October 26 with her highly engaging film about the legendary Grammy-winning superstar with a one-of-kind voice, Luther Vandross. Porter will attend the screening.

American Coup, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
AMERICAN COUP: WILMINGTON 1898
Bring Them Home, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
BRING THEM HOME

Making its world premiere at HSDFF, Yoruba Richen and Brad Lichtenstein’s extraordinary American Coup: Wilmington 1898 illuminates one of the most shocking incidents of white supremacy in American history in which an organized mob of white men in Wilmington, North Carolina terrorized the city’s black community and overthrew the city’s elected government causing reverberations for generations to come. Filmmakers Richen and Lichtenstein will attend along with two of the film’s main participants.

There will be a Special Presentation of Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, and Daniel Glick’s gorgeous and poignant Bring Them Home, which follows the Blackfeet Nation’s preparations to reintroduce bison to their ancestral lands for the first time in a century. Director Ivy MacDonald will be present for the screening. Other Special Presentations include a retrospective screening and panel discussion of Robert Drew’s Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment (1963) held in conjunction with the Clinton Presidential Center’s current exhibit, “Commanding the Screen: The American Presidency in Film and Television,”

The Legend of Boggy Creek, Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival
THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK

In celebration of its new ongoing series, “It’s All Real: A Salute to Mockumentaries, Docudramas and Other Not Quite Documentaries,” HSDFF will present a special retrospective screening of Arkansas indie filmmaker Charles B. Pierce’s classic 1972 horror docudrama The Legend of Boggy Creek. A massive success at the time, the movie still retains its haunting grip on our collective imagination. Charles Pierce’s daughter Pamula Pierce, whose tireless efforts have led to a stunning restoration of the film, will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.

HSDFF HONOREES

Steve James
Maisie Crow
Abbie Perrault

Steve James will be on hand on Tuesday, October 22nd to participate in an on-stage conversation and clips reel, and to receive this year’s Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award. Director of 1994’s Hoop Dreams, considered by many to be the greatest documentary of all-time, acclaimed filmmaker Steve James has created an unparalleled body of work which also includes the Sundance award winner, Stevie; The Interrupters, which won an Emmy®, and Independent Spirit Award; Emmy® winner Life Itself; and Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, which earned James a second Academy Award® nomination. James’ award-winning ESPN 30 for 30 documentary The Luckiest Guy in the World was selected by IndieWire as one of the best documentaries of 2023.

The HSDFF Impact Award will be presented to Maisie Crow and Abbie Perrault. The presentation will take place, along with a screening of their film Zurawski v Texas, on Saturday, October 19th. The film reveals the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s reversal by presenting the stories of women who faced life-threatening crises due to Texas’ harsh abortion laws. Director Abbie Perrault and Amanda Zurawski, one of the film’s main participants, will attend the screening.

Maisie Crow is a documentary filmmaker and photojournalist based in Texas. Her films have aired on HBO and Showtime. Her current film, Zurawski v Texas, which she directed and produced with Abbie Perrault, premiered at the 2024 Telluride Film Festival. She previously directed and produced the 2021 documentary At the Ready. In 2018, her documentary, Jackson, received a News and Documentary Emmy award for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary. In 2022, she was part of This American Life’s reporting team on the Peabody-winning episode “The Pink House at the Center of the World”.

Abbie Perrault is a Chicago-based, independent documentary filmmaker and journalist. Along with Crow, she directed and produced the 2024 documentary Zurawski v Texas, and previously produced the documentary At The Ready, impact produced the Emmy-award winning documentary Jackson, and has associate produced short documentaries for The Intercept. 

APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS
CARVILLE: WINNING IS EVERYTHING, STUPID
THE LAST REPUBLICAN

ADDITIONAL FILM HIGHLIGHTS

Additional highlights among the impressive film lineup include a special Politics on Film Day featuring four extraordinary films: Petra Costa’s Apocalypse in the Tropics, which finds the filmmaker revisiting the volatile, complex terrain of Brazilian presidential politics following her 2019 Academy Award-nominated masterpiece The Edge of Democracy. Matt Tyrnauer’s Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid focuses on political consultant James Carville, long heralded as a strategic genius for masterminding Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign. The Last Republican about Representative Adam Kinzinger, who was a rising star in the Republican party, until his conscience got the better of him following the events of January 6th, directed by Steve Pink, known for a decidedly not-documentary film, the comedy Hot Tub Time Machine. The fourth film is the 1963 cinema verité classic Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment.

Lisa D’Apolito’s Shari & Lamb Chop celebrates the beloved ventriloquist and her famous partner-in-crime, who captivated audiences for five decades. Amy Nicholson’s Happy Campers is a joyful profile of a vibrant Virginian beachside community savoring their last summer together before their beloved trailer park is closed for redevelopment. Bridget Besaw and Par Parekh’s Rooted follows Germaine Jackson who transforms a vacant city lot in a food desert into a thriving urban farm. As gentrification and outside pressures mount, she fights to keep the community’s vital source of fresh food operating. Nesa Azimi’s Driver follows Desiree Wood, who, after losing everything, reinvents herself as a long-haul truck driver and starts to advocate for fair conditions in a male-dominated field.

Passes are on sale now. For more information on purchasing and additional details on the Hot Springs Documentary Film festival, please visit: hsdfi.org.


The 2024 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival official selections:

GALA SELECTIONS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS

Opening Night Gala Selection

Space Cowboy         

Directors: Marah Strauch, Bryce Leavitt

Country: USA              Running Time: 98 min

In this exhilarating and emotional documentary, legendary skydiver and cinematographer Joe Jennings reflects on his life creating art in the air. With dazzling stunts and intimate interviews, Space Cowboy takes audiences on the journey of a lifetime.

Centerpiece Gala Selection

Louder Than Guns                                                               WORLD PREMIERE

Director: Doug Pray   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 90 min

A 2023 mass shooting at a Nashville school took the lives of six children and adults, devastating the community. In response, Nashville parent Ketch Secor, founding member of the bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show, partnered with radio journalist David Greene to bring people together to have an open conversation about gun violence in America. Through music and conversation, a new path forward emerged.

Closing Night Gala Selection

Luther: Never Too Much     

Director: Dawn Porter

Country: USA              Running Time: 101 min

Luther Vandross left an indelible mark on the music world with his unforgettable voice and his prolific skills as a songwriter. Venture behind the scenes as Vandross rises from backing vocalist to Grammy-winning superstar.

Special Presentations

Bring Them Home

Directors: Ivan MacDonald, Ivy MacDonald, Daniel Glick

Country: USA              Running Time: 85 min

The Blackfeet Nation prepares to reintroduce bison to their ancestral lands for the first time in a century, embarking on a healing journey that restores balance between people, land, and animals.

Crisis: Behind A Presidential Commitment

Executive Producer: Robert Drew

Country: USA              Running Time: 53

Released in 1963, Crisis, which helped launch the cinema verité movement in documentary, focuses on President Kennedy’s tactical response, unfolding in real time, to Alabama Gov. George Wallace’s opposition in the summer of ’63 to the court-ordered integration of the University of Alabama, his so-called “stand in the schoolhouse door”.Presented with the Clinton Presidential Center.

The Legend of Boggy Creek

Director: Charles B. Pierce

Country: USA              Running Time: 87 min           

“Here in this primitive river bottom wilderness in southern Arkansas… lurks a creature that walks upright…” In celebration of our new ongoing series, “It’s All Real: A Salute to Mockumentaries, Docudramas and Other Not Quite Documentaries”, join us for a special retrospective screening of Arkansas indie filmmaker Charles B. Pierce’s classic 1972 horror docudrama The Legend of Boggy Creek. A massive success at the time, the movie still retains its haunting grip on our collective imagination: “Is the Fouke monster real? Is it still out there?”

ADDITIONAL FEATURE SELECTIONS

A King Like Me         

Director: Matthew Henderson

Country: USA              Running Time: 85 min

A King Like Me is a vibrant exploration of the Zulu Krewe, a cornerstone of New Orleans’ Mardi Gras tradition. Through intimate portraits and colorful pageantry, the documentary traces the roots of this historic Black organization and celebrates a resilient community.

Agent of Happiness 

Directors: Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó    

Country: Bhutan          Running Time: 93 min

In Bhutan, the Gross National Happiness Index is used to measure the contentment of the population. Agents like Amber traverse the country, evaluating different aspects of life to gauge joy. 

American Coup: Wilmington 1898                                      WORLD PREMIERE

Directors: Yoruba Richen, Brad Lichtenstein            

Country: USA              Running Time: 116 min

American Coup: Wilmington 1898 illuminates one of the most shocking incidents of white supremacy in US history. In 1898, an organized mob of white men in Wilmington, NC terrorized the city’s black community, and overthrew the city’s elected government, impacting generations to come.

American Delivery   

Director: Carolyn Jones         

Country: USA              Running Time: 83 min

​​In the United States, maternal mortality rates are the highest among wealthy nations. Through personal stories of birth and parenting, American Delivery examines this crisis and the urgent efforts to improve healthcare. 

Any Other Way: The Jackie Shane Story 

Directors: Michael Mabbott, Lucah Rosenberg-Lee 

Country: USA              Running Time: 98 min

Trans soul singer Jackie Shane found success as a recording and performing artist in the 1960s, but she disappeared from the public eye in the following decade. This electrifying documentary presents a vivid portrait of an artist ahead of her time. 

Apocalypse in the Tropics 

Director: Petra Costa 

Country: Brazil            Running Time: 110 min

Petra Costa revisits the volatile, complex terrain of Brazilian presidential politics in this riveting follow up to her 2019 Academy Award-nominated masterpiece The Edge of Democracy.

The Battle for Laikipia         

Directors: Daphne Matziaraki, Pete Murimi  

Country: Kenya           Running Time: 94 min

In Laikipia, Kenya, unresolved historical injustices and climate change intensify a long-standing conflict between Indigenous pastoralists and white landowners, escalating tensions over land and resources.

Blink  

Directors: Edmund Stenson, Daniel Roher   

Country: Canada                    Running Time:84 min

When three of the four Pelletier children are diagnosed with a degenerative eye disorder, the family embarks on a global adventure, celebrating the world’s beauty before the kids’ vision fades forever.

The Bones    

Director: Jeremy Xido

Countries: Canada/Germany             Running Time: 98 min

Part true crime caper, part Jurassic Park. At the crossroads of capitalism and colonialism, this enthralling documentary delves into the high-stakes market for dinosaur fossils.

Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid

Director: Matt Tyrnauer         

Country: USA              Running Time: 98 min

Political consultant James Carville was heralded as a strategic genius for masterminding Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 presidential campaign, but it was his portrayal in the classic documentary “The War Game” that made him a legend. Acclaimed filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer breaks down the Carville legend and reveals how the “Ragin’ Cajun’s” ability to size up the 2024 campaign and the state of American politics shows that his instincts (and his elbows) are as sharp as ever.

Champions of the Golden Valley   

Director: Ben Sturgulewski    

Country: Afghanistan              Running Time: 81 min

Champions of the Golden Valley follows one athlete’s mission to introduce skiing to Afghanistan. With minimal equipment but boundless determination, he trains local youth and organizes an annual race that inspires the community.

Dahomey       

Director: Mati Diop     

Countries: France/Senegal/Benin      Running Time: 68 min

When France invaded the Kingdom of Dahomey, royal treasures were looted and brought to Europe. Nearly 130 years later, these items are returned to the Republic of Benin. Witness the complex and historic journey in this poetic documentary.

The Death Tour        

Director: Stephan Peterson   

Country: Canada                    Running Time: 89 min

A group of wrestlers embark on Canada’s most grueling professional wrestling tour, revealing along the way the harsh realities of life on the road and the personal sacrifices made in pursuit of a dream.

Driver

Director: Nesa Azimi  

Country: USA                          Running Time: 92 min

When Desiree Wood begins a new life as a long-haul truck driver, she becomes an advocate for fair conditions in a male-dominated field. Working with a coalition of women drivers, Desiree confronts significant industry challenges with humor and determination

Every Little Thing    

Director: Sally Aitken 

Country: USA                          Running Time: 93 min

Terry Masear operates a hummingbird hotline and rescue in Los Angeles. She treats the birds with care and respect, getting to know each of their unique personalities as she aids in their recovery and eventual release.

Happy Campers       

Director: Amy Nicholson        

Country: USA                          Running Time: 80 min

Happy Campers is a joyful profile of a vibrant Virginian beachside community savoring their last summer together before their beloved trailer park is closed for redevelopment. Amidst the impending change, the residents celebrate life’s simple pleasures with the remaining time they have together.

Homecoming

Directors: Suvi West, Anssi Kömi     

Countries: Finland/Norway                 Running Time: 77 min

Homecoming follows a Sámi filmmaker’s journey to reclaim stolen cultural artifacts, celebrating the return of her people’s heritage as they prepare to open the first museum on indigenous Sámi land.

The Last Republican

Director: Steve Pink   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 88 min

Representative Adam Kinzinger was a rising star in the Republican party, until his conscience got the better of him. Kinzinger’s moral stands, especially those following the events of January 6th, and the political price he paid for them, are poignantly captured in this alternately reflective and amusing, of-the-moment documentary by an unexpected source: Hollywood filmmaker Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine).

Made In Ethiopia      

Directors: Max Duncan, Xinyan Yu   

Countries: USA/Denmark/Canada     Running Time: 91 min

Following a Chinese factory director, a factory worker, and a local farmer, this fascinating documentary explores the impact of a Chinese industrial park on a community in Ethiopia.

Martha           

Director: R.J. Cutler   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 115 min

She’s an international icon, but how well do we know the “real” Martha Stewart? Acclaimed filmmaker RJ Cutler provides an incisive, intimate portrait of the groundbreaking woman who virtually refined the American home, but who couldn’t always fix everything in her own life.

Mistress Dispeller    

Director: Elizabeth Lo

Country: China                        Running Time: 94 min

A Chinese couple’s marriage is rocked by infidelity, but the true intrigue begins when the distraught wife calls in a most unusual third party, a so-called “mistress dispeller” — known for her ability to keep married couples together.

No Other Land          

Directors: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal         

Countries: Palestine/Norway              Running Time: 96 min

No Other Land follows Palestinian activist Basel Adra and Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham as they navigate the harsh realities of the West Bank’s occupation, offering a powerful exploration of friendship, injustice, and hope amidst conflict.

On The Way Home   

Director: Giorgi Kvelidze        

Country: Georgia                    Running Time: 62 min

Driven from their homes by war and continued threats of violence, refugees from the country of Georgia find housing and community in the abandoned resorts and wellness facilities in Tskaltubo.

Porcelain War           

Directors: Brendan Bellomo, Slava Leontyev

Countries: Australia/USA/Ukraine      Running Time: 87 min

Ukrainian artists Slava, Anya, and Andrey must defend their country and their way of life after the Russian invasion in 2022. Creating art becomes a necessary form of resistance as occupying forces work to destroy culture and identity.

The Pryce of Love   

Director: Russell Schaap       

Country: USA              Running Time: 79 min

The name “Pryce Robertson” might not mean much to you — at least not yet — but in Camden, Arkansas, chances are that most townspeople have encountered Pryce at one time or another and are the better for it. As someone born on the autism spectrum, Pryce had many challenges to overcome growing up. But through the love, commitment and faith of his family and friends, as well as his own extraordinary determination, Pryce has shown just what is possible when you refuse to accept the limitations that others may have put on you. Executive Produced by Quinn Grovey. Prepare to be inspired.

The Remarkable Life of Ibelin        

Director: Benjamin Ree         

Country: Norway         Running Time: 104 min

For Mats Steen, playing World of Warcraft became an important tool for self-expression and building community. After his death at only 25-years-old, his parents discover the impact of their son’s online persona.

Rising up at night    

Director: Nelson Makengo     

Country: DR Congo                Running Time: 96 min

Delays on a major hydroelectric power plant have left the citizens of Kinshasa without consistent access to electricity. As the sun sets, residents must navigate the challenges and uncertainties that come with the darkness each night.

Rooted          

Directors: Bridget Besaw, Par Parekh          

Country: USA                          Running Time: 93 min

Germaine Jackson transforms a vacant city lot in a food desert into a thriving urban farm. But, as gentrification and outside pressures challenge her continued access to the lot, she must fight to keep the community’s source of fresh food in operation.

Secret Mall Apartment        

Director: Jeremy Workman   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 91 min

A mall goes up in downtown Providence and a group of displaced renegade artists decide to seek revenge — by building their own apartment inside the belly of the beast.

Shari & Lamb Chop 

Director: Lisa D’Apolito          

Country: USA              Running Time: 92 min

Shari & Lamb Chop celebrates Shari Lewis, the beloved ventriloquist who captivated audiences for five decades. From late-night shows to her iconic children’s program, she continues to inspire today with her groundbreaking puppetry and legacy in entertainment.

Standing Above the Clouds

Director: Jalena Keane-Lee  

Country: USA              Running Time: 83 min

In Hawai’i, the sacred mountain Mauna Kea is marred by an array of telescopes on its summit. A determined group of Hawaiian activists rise up to protect their mountain from further desecration when a thirty-meter telescope is proposed.

True Believer            

Director: Kristen Irving           

Country: USA              Running Time: 93 min

Director Kristen Irving embarks on a deeply personal investigation into her conservative religious upbringing, uncovering the complex history behind the rise of Christian Nationalism and its lasting impact on modern American politics.

The World According to Allee Willis         

Director: Alexis Manya Spraic           

Country: USA              Running Time: 98 min

“I’ll Be There For You.” “September.” “The Color Purple.” You love her music, but do you know Allee Willis? Meet the brilliant songwriter behind the pop hits, Broadway tunes, and TV anthems that have shaped popular culture.

Zurawski v Texas     

Directors: Maisie Crow, Abbie Perrault         

Country: USA              Running Time: 99 min

Zurawski v Texas reveals the aftermath of Roe v. Wade’s reversal by presenting the stories of women who faced life-threatening crises due to Texas’ harsh abortion laws. Their legal battles expose the perilous intersection between medical care and rigid legislation.

SERIES SELECTION

Dallas, 2019  

Director: Darius Clark Monroe                       

Country: USA              Running Time: 100 min

For residents of Dallas, Texas, personal hopes collide with the political realities of a changing community. This intimate episodic documentary examines how a city functions by showcasing the diverse voices of the people who live there.

SHORT FILM SELECTIONS

A Move          

Director: Elahe Esmaili          

Countries: United Kingdom/Iran         Running Time: 27 min

A Swim Lesson        

Directors: Rashida Jones, Will McCormack  

Country: USA                          Running Time: 21 min

The Accidental Archivists  

Director: Scott Calonico           

Country: USA                          Running Time: 10 min

American Grail: A Quest for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker        

Director: Andy Sarjahani       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 16 min

Bad Hostage 

Director: Mimi Wilcox 

Country: USA                          Running Time: 39 min

Baigal Nuur – Lake Baikal   

Director: Alisi Telengut          

Countries: Canada/Germany Running Time: 9 min

Barbette + Fontaine 

Directors: John-Carlos Estrada, Zak Zeh     

Country: USA                          Running Time: 15 min

Dear Aloha    

Director: Cris Romento          

Country: USA                          Running Time: 16 min

Doom & Despair      

Director: Jonathan Childs      

Country: USA                          Running Time: 21 min

Dynasty and Destiny

Director: Travis Lee Ratcliff   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 6 min

The Final Copy of Ilon Specht        

Director: Ben Proudfoot         

Country: USA                          Running Time: 17 min

Flat Town

Director: Bryan Tucker

Country: USA                          Running Time: 24 min

Florida Woman

Director Catie Skipp              

Country: USA                          Running Time 22 min

For Those That Lived There

Director: Shawn Antoine II    

Country: USA                          Running Time: 7 min

Good Enough Ancestor      

Director: Cynthia Wade         

Country: Taiwan, USA            Running Time: 21 min

Hold the Line

Director: Daniel Lombroso    

Country: USA                          Running Time: 17 min

I Am Ready, Warden

Director: Smriti Mundhra       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 37 min

Jamie 

Director: Darcy Hennessey   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 19 min

Little Bit        

Director: Raeden Greer         

Country: USA                          Running Time: 6 min

Livestreams with GrandmaPuzzles           

Director: Emily Sheskin         

Country: USA                          Running Time: 6 min

Love in the Time of Migration        

Directors: Erin Semine Kökdil, Chelsea Good Abbas           

Countries: USA/Guatemala    Running Time: 21 min

Lynn’s Fire    

Director: Steve Zahn 

Country: USA                          Running Time: 7 min

Ma ŋaye ka Masaala a se ka Wɔmɛti (From God To Man)          

Director: Lansana Mansaray 

Country: Sierra Leone            Running Time: 15 min

Makayla’s Voice: A Letter to the World     

Director: Julio Palacio

Country: USA                          Running Time: 23 min

Mama’s Sundry        

Directors: Brody Kuhar, Joshua Cannon      

Country: USA                          Running Time: 15 min

Missing At Sea         

Director: Nicole Noren           

Country: Greece, USA            Running Time: 21 min

More Than Brothers

Director: Andrea von Siebenthal       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 22 min

Mother(s) and Son

Director: Kiersten Houser

Country: USA                          Running Time: 12 min

Motorcycle Mary      

Director: Haley Watson         

Country: USA                          Running Time: 22 min

Nothing Special       

Director: Efrat Berger

Countries: France/Israel         Running Time: 15 min

Our Neighbors, The Peacocks       

Director: Callie Barlow           

Country: USA                          Running Time: 23 min

The People Could Fly          

Director: Imani Nikyah Dennison      

Country: USA                          Running Time: 21 min

Public Defender       

Director: Andrea Kalin

Country: USA                          Running Time: 40 min

Quebrante     

Director: Janaina Wagner     

Country: Brazil                        Running Time: 23 min

The Quilters  

Director: Jenifer McShane     

Country: USA                          Running Time: 31 min

Sandcastles  

Director: Carin Leong

Countries: USA/Singapore     Running Time: 17 min

Sangre Violenta / Sangre Violeta   

Directors: Edna Diaz, Arturo R. Jiménez      

Countries: Mexico/USA          Running Time: 15 min

Sarah Thankam Mathews: After All This  

Director: Andrew Nadkarni    

Countries: USA/Oman            Running Time: 25 min

Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr        

Director: Kimberly Reed        

Country: USA                          Running Time: 15 min

Shotplayer    

Director: Samuel Shainberg  

Country: USA                          Running Time: 22 min

The Smallest Power

Director: Andy Sarjahani       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 7 min

Soul City 

Director: Monica Berra

Country: USA                          Running Time: 24 min

Stud Country

Directors: Lina Abascal, Alexandra Kern      

Country: USA                          Running Time: 11 min

Tahnaanooku’          

Director: Justin Deegan         

Country: USA                          Running Time: 7 min

There Was Nobody Here We knew

Director: Khaula Malik

Country: USA                          Running Time: 9 min

Tiny   

Directors: Ritchie Hemphill, Ryan Haché      

Country: Canada                    Running Time: 16 min

To Be Destroyed      

Director: Arthur Bradford       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 30 min

We Ride For Her      

Directors: Katrina Lillian Sorrentino, Prairie Rose Seminole            

Country: USA                          Running Time: 18 min

Wild Hogs and Saffron        

Director: Andy Sarjahani       

Country: USA                          Running Time: 19 min

Winding Path            

Directors: Alexandra Lazarowich, Ross Kauffman   

Country: USA                          Running Time: 10 min

Wouldn’t Make It Any Other Way   

Director: Hao Zhou    

Countries: USA/Guam            Running Time: 21 min

The critically acclaimed Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival presented by Oaklawn announced the lineup of films and honorees for its 33rd edition, taking place October 18-26, with Opening Night Marah Strauch and Bryce Leavitt’s Space Cowboy