EXCLUSIVE: The Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival in Arkansas – the longest-running nonfiction cinema festival in North America – announced its lineup today, a slate packed with many of the year’s top awards contenders, from The Perfect Neighbor to Seeds, Riefenstahl and Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk.
The 34th edition of HSDFF will kick off Friday, October 10 with a gala event and screening of Tom Winston’s Lost Wolves of Yellowstone, about the audacious plan to reintroduce wolves to the famed national park that spans parts of Wyoming, Montana, and Utah. The Centerpiece Gala presentation will be the North American premiere of The Cowboy, directed by André Hörmann, a film about aspiring cowboy Crowley McCuistion that begins with him at age 11 learning to rope and ride, and follows him for the next decade.
HSDFF will close Sunday, October 18 with Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House, Elegance Bratton’s documentary about the underground dance music that emerged from Chicago’s club scene in the 1970s and ‘80s. Scroll for the full festival lineup.
The impressive roster of Oscar contenders includes the features The Tale of Silyan, the Tamara Kotevska film recently acquired by National Geographic; NatGeo’s Love+War, directed by Oscar winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin; Holding Liat, directed by Brandon Kramer; Come See Me in the Good Light, the multiple award-winning film from Ryan White; Cover-Up, from Oscar winner Laura Poitras and Mark Obenhaus; Cutting Through Rocks, directed by Mohammadreza Eyni and Sara Khaki; Kim A Snyder’s The Librarians; Natchez, directed by Suzanna Herbert; The Dating Game, directed by Violet Du Feng; Oscar winner Morgan Neville’s Man on the Run, about Paul McCartney’s creative surge in the decade after he left the Beatles; and Yanuni, directed by Richard Ladkani and executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Netflix short All the Empty Rooms, directed by Joshua Seftel, is also a top Oscar contender as is Carol & Joy, directed by Nathan Silver. Armed Only with a Camera, the HBO Oscar-contending short directed by Craig Renaud, explores the death of Renaud’s brother, Brent Renaud, a filmmaker and photojournalist who was killed in 2022 while covering the war in Ukraine. The film is particularly meaningful for HSDFF because Renaud grew up in Little Rock and the festival has named one of its top honors for him – the Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award (this year, that award will be presented to filmmaker Jon Alpert; read more about that below).
“In a world that seems, at times, on the verge of spinning out of control,” HSDFF Executive Director Ken Jacobson observed, “I marvel at the fact that something as simple as a gathering of people to watch documentary films on a big screen can feel as miraculous and urgent as it does this year. For 34 years, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival has brought the best in non-fiction filmmaking to Hot Springs. Our community has responded by welcoming filmmakers and other guests here to join with us in celebrating this remarkable art form. This year, I am struck by the sheer quality and dynamism of the filmmaking, the courage of those willing to share their lives with the filmmakers, and the emotional depths explored through these incredibly diverse stories. If this year’s festival lineup tells us anything, it’s that creativity and truth-telling still remain as vital as ever. From our Opening to our Closing Night and everything in between, I know that our audiences are in for a very special and unique experience.”
A major highlight for cinephiles will be the screening of the first two episodes of Mr. Scorsese, a five-part documentary series on Martin Scorsese directed by award-winning filmmaker Rebecca Miller. The series features Scorsese collaborators Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Margot Robbie, Daniel Day-Lewis (Miller’s husband), screenwriter Paul Schrader, editor Thelma Schoonmaker, among others.
Jon Alpert will attend the Brent Renaud Career Achievement Award presentation, which will follow a special work-in-progress screening of his new documentary short The Raging Rabbi on Tuesday, October 14. “Winner of a staggering 17 National Emmy Awards, Jon Alpert has been making extraordinary documentaries on a wide range of topics for six decades,” HSDFF notes. “Nominated for two Academy Awards, Jon has won four DuPont-Columbia Awards, a Peabody Award, and was the first Inductee in the National Emmy Awards Golden Circle (Hall of Fame). Whether shooting films in war zones or capturing intimate and largely overlooked stories at home, Jon has demonstrated documentary filmmaking’s unlimited potential to educate, engage, and enlighten.”
Geeta Gandbhir will receive the festival’s Impact Award at a ceremony following the screening of her film The Perfect Neighbor, which earned her the Directing Award for U.S. Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Netflix is set to premiere the documentary on October 17.
Gandbhir “is an award-winning filmmaker who began her career in narrative film under the mentorship of Spike Lee and Sam Pollard,” HSDFF writes. “After more than a decade in scripted film, collaborating with masters such as the Coen Brothers and Robert Altman, she transitioned to documentary filmmaking. Geeta directed Katrina: Come Hell and High Water (Netflix, 2025) alongside Spike Lee and Samantha Knowles, a three-part series revisiting post-Katrina New Orleans… Other directing credits include The Devil Is Busy (HBO) — which screens at this year’s HSDFF — How We Get Free (Oscar-shortlisted, HBO), Born in Synanon (Paramount), Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power (Emmy Award Winner, 2023).”
As Deadline reported last week, the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival will play host to many of the most important figures in documentary at its Filmmaker Forum, which runs from Oct. 12-14. As the festival notes, “In this unprecedented year, in which federal government funding has been stripped from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and public media, there is no more urgent time for filmmakers and industry leaders to meet, discuss and raise critical questions about where the documentary field stands and where to go from here.”
This is the full lineup for the 34th edition of the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival:
GALA SELECTIONS AND SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS
Opening Night Gala Selection
Lost Wolves Of Yellowstone
Director: Thomas Winston
Country: USA | Running Time: 91 mins
By the mid-1920s, all known wolf packs had been systematically eliminated from Yellowstone. On January 12, 1995, in an audacious plan launched by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alpha Female Wolf No. 5 from Canada was carried into Yellowstone National Park, the first step in a project that would dramatically change the course of wildlife restoration in America’s most popular national park. Thomas Winston’s inspiring film captures the wolves’ remarkable journey and the courageous story of Mollie Beattie, director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, who led the way.
Centerpiece Gala Selection
The Cowboy NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Director: André Hörmann
Countries: Germany, USA | Running Time: 89 mins
Comparable in scope to such epic longitudinal portraits as 7 Up and Boyhood, director André Hörmann’s The Cowboy sets its sights on the most iconic of all American archetypes — the Western cowboy. In 2015, when we first meet 11-year-old Crowley McCuistion, he’s riding horses and learning how to rope on a Colorado ranch. Over the course of the next ten years, we bear witness as Crowley grows from boyhood to early adulthood and sees his dream of being an American cowboy prove as elusive as a runaway bull.
Closing Night Gala Selection
Move Ya Body: The Birth Of House
Director: Elegance Bratton
Country: USA | Running Time: 87 mins
Tracing the roots of house music, the irresistible form of synth-based dance music that exploded out of Chicago’s underground music scene in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, this electrifying documentary celebrates the pioneers and marginalized youth who transformed struggle into rhythm, igniting a joyful revolution that continues to move bodies and inspire people worldwide.
Special Presentations
All the Empty Rooms Screening (and “Top Docs” Podcast Conversation)
Director: Joshua Seftel
Country: USA | Film Running Time: 34 mins
Short film follows CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they spend seven years documenting the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. The powerful and emotional film features photographs of these “sacred spaces frozen in time,” aiming to provide a deeper understanding of the impact of gun violence in America.
Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud
(Screening and Conversation)
Director: Brent Renaud
Country: USA | Film Running Time: 38 mins
In March 2022, Little Rock-raised filmmaker Brent Renaud was tragically killed by Russian fire while documenting the invasion of Ukraine — the first American journalist killed in the war. Now, three years later, his brother Craig has completed an extraordinary and deeply personal portrait of Brent’s life, career and legacy. The film honors Brent’s unwavering dedication to his craft and sheds light on the dangerous realities faced by journalists working in conflict zones.
Mr. Scorsese – Part 1: Stranger in A Strange Land And Part 2: All This Filming Isn’t Healthy
Director: Rebecca Miller
County: USA Running Time: 120 min
This thoroughly engaging new three-part series from Rebecca Miller (Maggie’s Plan) goes deep inside the life, art, and career of legendary filmmaker Martin Scorsese, with revelatory introspection from the master himself.
ADDITIONAL FEATURE SELECTIONS
Apollo 1
Director: Mark Craig
Countries: United Kingdom, Germany | Running Time: 102 min
As the United States set its sights on the Moon, a dedicated team worked to make those dreams a reality. These efforts were forever shaped by the tragic loss of the pilots of Apollo 1. Through archival footage and intimate interviews, meet Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee, the team selected to fly the first mission. Director Mark Craig profiles the brave crew and examines the science of space exploration in this harrowing documentary.
Ask E. Jean
Director: Ivy Meeropol
Country: USA | Running Time: 91 min
Meet E. Jean Carroll. She sued Donald Trump for defamation and battery… and won — twice. But that is just one small part of E. Jean’s story. A highly successful magazine writer, she also penned one of the longest-running advice columns in American publishing.
Backside
Director: Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana
Country: USA | Running Time: 85 min
Churchill Downs is home to the excitement and opulence of the Kentucky Derby. Behind the scenes, a crew of dedicated workers care for the racehorses. Through interviews and observational footage, director Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana invites audiences into the stables to meet the people that make this legendary event possible. Filmed during an entire season at the famous racetrack, Backside presents an immersive look at the world of horse racing.
The Balloonists US PREMIERE
Director: John Dower
Countries: United Kingdom, Austria, USA | Running Time: 86 min
In the 1990s, the world was captivated by competing teams of balloonists who sought to become the first to circumnavigate the globe. John Dower’s thrilling documentary follows the ups-and-downs (literally and figuratively) of the odd couple Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones as the two men attempt to make history.
A Brief History Of Chasing Storms
Director: Curtis Miller
Country: USA | Running Time: 80 min
Twisters and cyclones and tornadoes — oh my! Filmmaker Curtis Miller dives headfirst into his own tornado obsession, spinning the storm into more than wild weather, but a full-blown American icon.
Cecil
Director: Arthur Cary
Country: United Kingdom | Running Time: 101 min
In 2015, the fate of a prominent and much photographed lion in Zimbabwe — Cecil, with his striking black mane and golden eyes — became entangled with that of an American dentist named Walter Palmer. The events that unfolded sparked a media frenzy and global outcry over trophy hunting practices. Yet, the simplicity of the outrage stood in stark contrast to the complexity of the reality. Tourism and hunting are major economic drivers in the region, often at odds with the perspectives of wildlife protectors and, especially, the local communities most directly impacted. Cecil urges us to confront the history of colonization, the ethics of conservation, the limitations of legal systems and the impacts of cancel culture.
Come See Me In The Good Light
Director: Ryan White
Country: USA | Running Time: 104 min
Colorado Poet Laureate Andrea Gibson has always turned to poetry in moments of upheaval. When diagnosed with terminal cancer, they once again lean on their art, weaving verse into a profound response to mortality. With their wife and fellow poet, Megan Falley, by their side, Andrea prepares for one final, unforgettable performance while reflecting on the life, love, and community that sustained them. Full of warmth, tenderness, and poetic brilliance, this 2025 Sundance Festival Favorite Award winner is a heartbreaking yet life-affirming celebration of creativity, partnership, and the enduring power of words to light the darkest times.
Cover-Up
Directors: Mark Obenhaus, Laura Poitras
Country: USA | Running Time: 117 min
After 20 years of trying, Academy Award-winning filmmaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) and Mark Obenhaus finally catch up with arguably the most important investigative reporter of our time, the dogged truth seeker and reluctant participant Seymour Hersh, who broke the My Lai massacre story and many others.
Cutting Through Rocks
Directors: Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki
Countries: Iran, Germany | Running Time: 96 min
In a small Iranian village, newly elected councilwoman Sara Shahverdi challenges patriarchal traditions — from child marriage to women’s property rights — only to face fierce backlash and life-altering accusations in this gripping portrait of courage and resistance.
The Dating Game
Director: Violet Du Feng
Country: China | Running Time: 95 min
Eager to find a lasting relationship, three men in China work with Hao, a popular dating coach, as they search for a partner in this charming, funny and poignant story about modern love. Hao’s methods encourage the men to create an elaborate online persona with staged photoshoots in an effort to attract the attention of potential dates. Director Violet Du Feng’s (Hidden Letters) thoughtful documentary examines the world of online dating and the tension that exists between personal authenticity and digital perception.
Diamond Diplomacy
Director: Yuriko Gamo Romer
Countries: USA, Japan |Running Time: 84 min
Director Yuriko Gamo Romer (Baseball Behind Barbed Wire) explores how the U.S. and
Japan — two countries whose distinct cultures, politics, and economies have at times set them on a collision course — found common ground through a shared love of baseball.
Drowned Land
Director: Colleen Thurston
Country: USA | Running Time: 86 min
What happens when we begin to lose our connection with the natural world? As outside interests seek to exploit the Kiamichi River in southeastern Oklahoma, a group of Indigenous water protectors, community leaders, and activists come together to preserve their home. Director Colleen Thurston skillfully situates deeply personal storytelling within a historical framework detailing the intentional efforts to displace people from their native lands. Drowned Land is a powerful call to restore Indigenous land stewardship and to advocate for the environment no matter where you are.
For Venida, For Kalief
Director: Sisa Bueno
Country: USA | Running Time: 90 min
Kalief Browder was just sixteen when he was accused of stealing a backpack and sent to Rikers Island because his family couldn’t afford $3,000 bail. Though never convicted of a crime, he spent three years behind bars — two in solitary confinement — before charges were finally dropped due to insufficient evidence. Haunted by the trauma, he later took his life at 22. Told in part through his late mother’s poetry, this moving and inventive film is both heartbreaking and profound. More than a tribute, it’s a searing indictment of a broken system that discards lives, fractures communities, and disregards due process.
The Gas Station Attendant
Director: Karla Murthy
Country: USA | Running Time: 80 min
This moving personal documentary by Karla Murthy pieces together the story of an Indian immigrant to America who raised a family while pursuing an ever-shifting dream. From frequent relocations to a carousel of careers (culminating in a stint in Hot Springs), his choices left indelible marks on those closest to him, including strained relationships and tangled finances. Through the eyes of his daughter, the film explores a legacy that is at once frustrating, and deeply human. By turns tender and candid, it’s a portrait of a father remembered in all his complexity, contradictions, and love.
Ghost Elephants
Director: Werner Herzog
Country: USA | Running Time: 98 min
Legendary filmmaker Werner Herzog joins Dr. Steve Boyes in his search for rare elephants in this fascinating documentary about the awe and mystery of the natural world. Herzog brings his signature style to his latest work as the quest to find photo evidence of the creatures evolves into a philosophical and lyrical reflection on the search for knowledge and certainty. With beautiful cinematography and a deep well of curiosity, Ghost Elephants celebrates science and the complexity of life on Earth.
Girl Climber
Director: Jon Glassberg
Country: USA | Running Time: 82 min
Join Emily Harrington as she prepares for her next epic climb: ascending El Capitan in 24 hours. From the extreme toll of training to the desire to start a family, director Jon Glassberg shines a light on the pressures faced by a person completing a high profile feat. This personal documentary offers a thrilling and intimate look at Harrington’s life and career. Featuring interviews with outdoor legends Hilaree Nelson and Alex Honnold, Girl Climber is an exciting look at the pursuit of excellence.
A Healing Journey – Comanche Academy
Directors: Comanche Academy, Kathryn Boyd-Batstone
Country: USA | Running Time: 82 min
After generations of language loss caused by federal policies and forced assimilation, the Comanche Nation is reclaiming its ancestral tongue through a groundbreaking charter school in rural Oklahoma. More than a classroom, the school serves as a site of community healing and nation-building, helping students and elders alike confront and overcome generational trauma. Through an intimate portrait of resilience, the film reveals the enduring strength and hope of a people determined to create positive futures for the next generation by centering culture and within their education system.
Holding Liat
Director: Brandon Kramer
Country: USA | Running Time: 97 min
On October 7, 2023, Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband were kidnapped during the Hamas attack on Israel, leaving their family shattered and desperate for answers. Shortly after, filmmaker and relative Brandon Kramer began documenting their fight to bring Liat home. What emerges is an unflinching portrait of loved ones navigating anguish, hope, and division as they struggle to remain united. Intimate and deeply personal, the film captures a family wrestling with impossible choices, asking how far we should go for those we love and what it means to hold onto our convictions in the darkest of times.
The Inquisitor
Director: Angela Lynn Tucker
Country: USA | Running Time: 98 min
Known as “The Voice of God,” Barbara Jordan brought cool reasoning and profound oratory to the national stage, shattering barriers as the first Black woman elected to the Texas Senate. Elected to Congress in 1972, her sharp intellect and moral clarity made her a beacon during the Watergate hearings, when she spoke with courage and conviction for the American people. Featuring rich archival footage, including appearances from fellow Southern icons of the era, this moving documentary honors Jordan’s remarkable presence, power, and principles.
Jimmy & The Demons
Director: Cindy Meehl
Country: USA | Running Time: 93 min
Witness the magic of the creative process as acclaimed sculptor James Grashow begins work on a new, major project in this heartwarming documentary about legacy and faith. Over the course of four years, Jimmy creates “The Cathedral,” an impressive wood carving that recreates and recontextualizes Christian iconography.
Just Kids
Director: Gianna Toboni
Country: USA | Running Time: 93 min
Three transgender teens and their families navigate the everyday realities of growing up while also confronting the rise of legislation banning gender-affirming care in the United States. Director Gianna Toboni spends a year with the families as they must decide whether to stay in their home state or move to an area that is more compassionate and inclusive. This powerful coming-of-age documentary profiles these remarkable teenagers while also depicting the everyday advocacy that empowers individuals and stands up to intolerance.
K-Number US PREMIERE
Director: Jo Seyoung
Country: Republic of Korea | Running Time: 112 min
K-number is an affecting true-crime documentary that pulls back the curtain on the dark underbelly of South Korea’s adoption industry. Following one adoptee’s deeply personal search for her biological roots, the film uncovers the hidden history of Korean overseas adoption. The title refers to the identification number assigned to each child before being sent abroad to strangers — a haunting symbol of loss and displacement.
The Librarians
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Country: USA | Running Time: 97 min
As calls for book bans sweep across the United States, more than 850 titles — most centered on race, inclusivity, and LGBTQIA+ stories — are suddenly under fire. Nowhere is the battle more heated than in Texas and Florida, where librarians stand at the frontlines. Fiercely defending the First Amendment, they resist mounting pressures to erase diverse voices from shelves, even as organized efforts push censorship nationwide.
Life After
Director: Reid Davenport
Country: USA | Running Time: 99 min
In this gripping follow-up to the acclaimed I Didn’t See You There, filmmaker Reid Davenport turns his lens to the disability rights movement through the story of Elizabeth Bouvia. Once at the center of a landmark Right to Die case, Bouvia fought to end her life while living with the challenges of cerebral palsy. Though her legal battle became a fixture in classrooms and ethics debates, she herself vanished from public view. As Davenport searches for her, he exposes the intimate struggles behind the headlines and the thorny questions of government control, personal autonomy, and the fight for disability rights.
A Life Illuminated
Director: Tasha Van Zandt
Country: USA | Running Time: 89 min
Descend into the darkest parts of the ocean with marine biologist Dr. Edith Widder as she embarks on a thrilling and potentially game changing scientific quest: to gather video evidence of bioluminescent lifeforms. Director Tasha Van Zandt showcases the painstaking process of Widder’s work, crafting a documentary that is a love letter to both science and the natural world.
Love+War
Directors: Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin
Country: USA | Running Time: 96 min
Lynsey Addario’s photos have shown the human face of global conflict for more than two decades. In this intimate portrait, the legendary photojournalist reflects on her personal and professional life as she is called to report on the war in Ukraine. This intimate profile directed by Academy Award winners Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin (Free Solo) follows Addario as she navigates the joys and responsibilities of family and the distance and dangers inherent in her work.
Man On The Run
Director: Morgan Neville
Countries: USA, United Kingdom | Running Time: 117 min
What comes after The Beatles? This rousing music documentary offers an intimate profile of Sir Paul McCartney as he embarks on his next creative journey following his time with the Fab Four. Oscar winner Morgan Neville takes audiences behind the fame, the speculation, and the headlines to witness the craft and the process of creating new music.
Natchez
Director: Suzannah Herbert
Country: USA | Running Time: 86 min
In Natchez, Mississippi, antebellum mansions aren’t just historic landmarks — they’re the heart of a thriving tourism industry that fuels the town’s identity and economy. This insightful documentary introduces the many people who keep the tours alive: mansion owners clinging to family legacy, costumed guides reveling in pageantry, park rangers committed to fuller history, and locals pushing for more complex storytelling. Each participant has their own reasons — pride, profit, or passion — making for a fascinating and often contradictory portrait of a community built on memory.
Never Get Busted!
Directors: David Anthony Ngo, Stephen McCallum
Country: Australia | Running Time: 105 min
For years, Barry Cooper was a star Texas narcotics officer, famed for busting marijuana dealers with swagger and skill. But when the toll of his aggressive tactics became undeniable, Barry stunned his peers by quitting the force—turning instead to teach the very people he once targeted how to evade the cops, while exposing police corruption. Hailed as a folk hero by cannabis users and branded public enemy number one by law enforcement, Barry’s outrageous reinvention is filled with wild stories, big personalities, and Texas-size spectacle.
The Perfect Neighbor
Director: Geeta Gandbhir
Country: USA | Running Time: 97 min
One night, a seemingly ordinary Florida neighborhood is forever changed when a woman fatally shoots her neighbor, citing the state’s “stand your ground” law. Was she acting out of fear, or something more sinister? Constructed from extensive police body camera footage, this remarkable documentary pieces together the unraveling of a vibrant community, capturing the devastation that follows in raw, immediate detail. As neighbors grieve and a town struggles to make sense of the violence, the film asks whether such laws truly protect or embolden dangerous manipulators to justify deadly choices.
Powwow People
Director: Sky Hopinka
Country: USA | Running Time: 88 min
Sky Hopinka’s immersive documentary carries us into the heart of a day at a pow wow, from the quiet bustle of setup to the riveting final dances. With an intimate and energetic lens, the film pulls back the curtain on this iconic American gathering, and showcases the rhythms that bring the pow wow to life. Behind the camera, Hopinka entwines himself into the narrative, playfully acknowledging his own positionality as a pow wow person while inviting viewers to share in the personal connections that define the event.
Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk
Director: Sepideh Farsi
Countries: France, Palestine, Iran | Running Time: 113 min
In this harrowing documentary, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi shares the recordings of video calls with her late friend Fatma Hassouna, a Palestinian photographer living in Gaza. Over the course of one year, Hassouna shares her experience of the rapidly deteriorating conditions as Israeli forces continue their assault on Gaza. Even amidst the atrocities and the devastating loss, Hassouna remains defiantly hopeful and forms a deep connection with Farsi. Put Your Soul On Your Hand and Walk is a powerful meditation on friendship and a searing look at the unending violence in Gaza.
The Raging Rabbi
Director: Jon Alpert
Country: USA | Running Time: 39 min
In this work in progress screening, Jon Alpert provides an intimate portrait of Yuri Foreman, a man who lives in two worlds that are seemingly at polar opposites. While studying to be a rabbi, Foreman seeks to become the first Jewish athlete in decades to claim a world boxing title.
Remaining Native
Director: Paige Bethmann
Country: USA | Running Time: 87 min
This multiple award-winning coming-of-age documentary follows 17-year-old Ku Stevens, a runner training alone on the Yerington Paiute reservation in Northwest Nevada, chasing his dream of competing for the University of Oregon. As he pushes his body across the desert landscapes, memories of his great-grandfather Frank Quinn surface, who at eight-years -old ran 50 miles to escape an Indian boarding school. Ku’s pursuit of a collegiate qualifying time becomes inseparable from this family legacy, as he weaves past and present into every stride. Amid the solitude of his training, Ku confronts generational trauma and creates new ways to heal his community through running.
Riefenstahl
Director: Andres Veiel
Country: Germany | Running Time: 115 min
Leni Riefenstahl remains one of cinema’s most controversial figures—hailed for her artistry, condemned for her propaganda. This probing documentary explores her life and career while confronting questions of complicity, responsibility, and power: who gets to tell history, and at what cost? Drawing on Riefenstahl’s own words to reveal hypocrisy and self-mythologizing, the film utilizes archival footage and photographs to make history feel alive, immediate, and unsettlingly urgent.
Seeds
Director: Brittany Shyne
Country: USA | Running Time: 122 min
For generations, Black farmers in the American South have cultivated the land, only to be left behind by programs meant to support them. Seeds follows multigenerational families determined to preserve their heritage despite mounting obstacles — navigating lawsuits, shifting federal promises, and the changing landscape of modern agriculture. With patience and power, the film gradually reveals how an unequal system threatens livelihoods, legacies, and the broader future of American farming.
State of Firsts
Director: Chase Joynt
Country: USA | Running Time: 93 min
History is made when Sarah McBride is elected to the House of Representatives and she becomes the first transgender person to serve in Congress. Join McBride on her journey from the campaign trail to Washington DC in this powerful political documentary. Director Chase Joynt (Framing Agnes) accompanies McBride through the triumphant highs and devastating lows in the life of a public servant chronicling everything from a celebratory call from President Biden to harassment on Capitol Hill.
The Tale of Silyan
Director: Tamara Kotevska
Countries: North Macedonia, USA | Running Time: 80 min
In rural North Macedonia, a farmer is confronted by the harsh realities of a changing economy and must chart a path forward for himself, his family, and the land he stewards. Nicola finds a renewed sense of self amidst these hardships as he cares for an injured white stork. Academy Award-nominated director Tamara Kotevska (Honeyland) tells a story both folkloric and startlingly frank, exploring poignant parallels between the cultural fabric of a region and the lived experience of a people trying to survive in an increasingly unstable financial situation.
The Track
Director: Ryan Sidhoo
Countries: Canada, Bosnia | Running Time: 90 min
Set on the bullet-scarred bobsled track of Sarajevo, The Track follows three close friends — Mirza Nikolajev, Zlatan Jakić, and Hamza Pleho — and their devoted coach, Senad Omanović. Together, they chase their Olympic dreams on crumbling infrastructure left behind from a war that scarred both their country and its people. In a generation still reckoning with the legacy of conflict, their story unfolds as a true underdog journey driven by grit, resilience, and the hope of carving a future on a track built from the past.
We Are Pat
Director: Rowan Haber
Country: USA | Running Time: 89 min
Julia Sweeney’s character Pat became a popular figure on Saturday Night Live in the 1990’s, even inspiring a feature film. Pat’s androgynous characteristics subverted gendered norms at time, but how is the character be perceived by contemporary audiences? With humor, ingenuity and pathos, director Ro Haber reflects on Pat’s complex legacy in the representation of trans and queer stories in media, ensuring that trans voices are centered in the process.
Welded Together NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Director: Anastasiya Miroshnichenko
Countries: France, Netherlands, Belgium | Running Time: 96 min
Katya is determined to save her younger sister from the trauma of her own childhood. Having built a life for herself as a welder, Katya is prepared to do what it takes to help her family. However, her efforts to build a better life for her sister are complicated when she is forced to make a life-changing decision. In this masterfully crafted profile of Katya and her sister, director Anastasiya Miroshnichenko has painted a powerful story about sisterhood and the sacrifices we make for the people that matter most to us.
Widow Champion
Director: Zippy Kimundu
Country: Kenya | Running Time: 90 min
Upon her husband’s death, Kenyan widow Rodah was not met with comfort by her in-laws but with eviction, forcing her from her home and claiming the land for themselves. Refusing to accept this injustice, she fought a long and difficult battle to win back what was rightfully hers. Emerging as a determined advocate, she now dedicates her life to helping other widows do the same. Her work reveals the clash between tradition and progress, as patriarchal customs strip women of dignity and stability.
Yanuni
Director: Richard Ladkani
Countries: Austria, Brazil, USA, Canada, Germany | Running Time: 112 min
Both a brilliantly crafted portrait and an edge-of-your-seat thriller, Yanuni documents Juma Xipaia, the first female chief of the Xipaya people in the Brazilian Amazon, and the fight to protect her ancestral land. This riveting documentary offers unprecedented access to the fight against illegal miners and Xipaia and her allies’ activism to protect the forest, a beacon of biodiversity and the lungs of the earth.
SHORT FILM SELECTIONS
SHORT PRECEDING A FEATURE
The Treasures Of Mrs. Grady’s Library
Precedes the feature The Librarians
Director: Richard O’Connor
Country: USA | Running Time: 3 min
A young life is transformed by the kindness of two librarians.
SHORTS PROGRAM: CROSSING BORDERS
Death Education
Director: Yuxuan Ethan Wu
Country: China | Running Time: 13 min
On Tomb-Sweeping Day, a Chinese teacher guides students through a unique death education class: burying the ashes of the unnamed. This tender short honors life while confronting mortality with grace and reverence.
La Mayordomía
Director: Martin Edralin
Country: Canada | Running Time: 23 min
Members of a close-knit community in Mexico City hope for the opportunity to host and care for beloved statues of the Baby Jesus that rotate from home to home each year.
No Mean City
Director: Ross McClean
Country: United Kingdom | Running Time: 16 min
As Belfast’s streetlights shift from amber to LED, two workmen and their apprentice carry out the task while residents question the replacement — illuminating how even small shifts can reveal a community’s resistance to change.
Okienko / Through The Window
Director: Daniel Stopa
Country: Poland | Running Time: 11 min
From a Polish newspaper kiosk, fleeting encounters unfold: customers chat, share worries, or simply pass through. This charming short captures everyday routines with wit and warmth, revealing how small moments quietly shape our lives.
Where The Wind Blows
Director: Hana Elias
Country: USA | Running Time: 17 min
Palestinian-American Nassib journeys back to his ancestral land, where tending to his family’s ancient olive trees becomes an act of remembrance, belonging, and renewal.
Your Opinion, Please
Director: Marshall Granger
Country: USA | Running Time: 15 min
The weekly radio show “Your Opinion, Please!” invited listeners across Montana to share what was on their mind in the early 2000s. This absorbing documentary shares audio from the trailblazing show and creates an intimate portrait of a people and the place they call home.
SHORTS PROGRAM: THE NATURAL STATE
Faux Ball: The Legend Of Village Academy
Director: Eric White
Country: USA | Running Time: 7 min
Two jokesters in Arkansas begin to report football scores for a fictional high school, Village Academy, to the local media and a simple prank evolves into something much bigger.
Kanenon: We – Original Seeds
Director: Katsitsionni Fox
Country: USA | Running Time: 26 min
Three Haudenosaunee seed keepers weave ancestral knowledge with contemporary rematriation practices, centering food sovereignty in the path toward cultural sustainability.
Ridge To River; The Arkansas Traverse
Director: Allyson de la Houssaye
Country: USA | Running Time: 49 min
An avid group of cyclists chart a path to ride across the state of Arkansas. Along the way, their bonds deepen and they learn about the land they call home.
A Still Small Voice WORLD PREMIERE
Directors: Nolan Dean, Laney Gradus
Country: USA | Running Time: 21 min
Arkansas artist V.L. Cox reflects on the personal nature of her work as she begins to craft a new installation inspired by the history of an abandoned church.
SHORTS PROGRAM: LIFE IN FOCUS
Appalheads
Director: Scott Faris
Country: USA | Running Time: 17 min
A daughter returns to eastern Kentucky to excavate her father’s filmmaking legacy.
Carly Buckets
Director: Mark Williams
Country: USA | Running Time: 26 min
Growing up on the Mississippi Choctaw reservation, Carly Keats stood out as a stickball player before transitioning to a college career as a standout on the University of Arkansas women’s basketball team.
Carol & Joy
Director: Nathan Silver
Country: USA | Running Time: 39 min
Spend a charming, and unforgettable, afternoon with Oscar nominee Carol Kane and Joy, her mother and roommate, as they revisit memories, hold music lessons, and tell stories from their lives.
Embracing Instability
Director: Nathan Willis
Country: USA | Running Time: 5 min
In this lyrical self-reflection, filmmaker Nathan Willis leans into the tremor of his young-onset Parkinson’s and the fragile beauty of Super 8mm film, finding meaning in their shared imperfection.
Not Yet NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
Director: Souvid “JIJO” Datta
Country: United Kingdom | Running Time: 10 min
Created in 48 hours, this observational short chronicles an afternoon in the life of three high school students the day after graduation, as they confront anxieties and possibilities about the future before them.
PB&P
Director: Eleanor Galloway
Country: USA | Running Time: 5 min
Ah, the iconic sandwich: peanut butter and… pickles?! Don’t knock it until you try it! In this delightful short, Dwight Garner shares his recipe for the unlikely combo.
SHORTS PROGRAM: LOOKING FORWARD
The Last Clinic In Arkansas WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Phillip Davis
Country: USA | Running Time: 21 min
Clinic staff and volunteers work to support the reproductive rights of their Arkansas community following the overturn of Roe V Wade.
Last Days On Lake Trinity
Director: Charlotte Cooley
Country: USA | Running Time: 29 min
When their South Florida trailer park is slated for closure, three older friends face eviction and uncertainty, clinging to community and one another as they search for a place to call home.
Shanti Rides Shotgun
Director: Charles Frank
Country: USA | Running Time: 8 min
Meet New York City’s most eccentric driving instructor: foul-mouthed, unorthodox, and wildly effective. Between curses and chaos, she turns nervous students into licensed drivers.
Swimming With Butterflies
Director: Karl Stelter
Country: USA | Running Time: 8 min
After missing a Paralympic medal by just 1/100th of a second in 2016, Lizzi Smith channels her heartbreak into fierce determination, setting her sights on second chances.
Teaching America
Director: Anurima Bhargava
Country: USA | Running Time: 20 min
Educators and students face challenges from the State of Arkansas as high schools prepare to offer AP African American Studies courses in this thought-provoking documentary about education and history.
SHORTS PROGRAM: FAMILY BONDS
Bouncy Brothers
Director: Nicholas J. Santore
Country: USA | Running Time: 20 min
When an aging dreamer’s bouncy house business falters, he turns to his steadier sibling for help—risking old resentments resurfacing in this poignant short about family, second chances, and the fragile ties that hold us together.
The Dying Business
Director: Joe Duca
Country: USA | Running Time: 21 min
Frank Duca Funeral Home has been a family-run business for three generations. As times change, the Duca family must now decide how to best adapt their business model to serve their clientele.
Red Sands
Director: Romina Cenisio
Country: USA | Running Time: 20 min
The color of the Chihuahuan desert outside El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Red Sands is home to a vibrant community of off-roaders: charging through the landscape in extravagant pastel and neon trucks.
Tiger
Director: Loren Waters
Country: USA | Running Time: 13 min
Muscogee artist Dana Tiger and her family made waves with their bold expressions of contemporary Native art. Following years of hardship in the family, Dana revitalizes their iconic t-shirt line, breathing new life into a legacy of creativity.
Victoria US PREMIERE
Director: Sam Soko
Countries: Kenya, USA | Running Time: 12 min
After escaping an abusive relationship, Victoria starts anew in Nairobi, lifting children’s spirits—and her own — with her balloon business. This tender short captures her journey toward healing, independence, and the rediscovery of joy.
SHORTS PROGRAM: CREATING CHANGE
The Changebaker
Director: Courtney Dixon
Country: USA | Running Time: 16 min
Made in America by the Hands of Immigrants. These powerful words showcase the core values of Manolo Betancur’s bakery in North Carolina. As the number of ICE raids begin to increase in his community, Betancur boldly stands with his neighbors.
The Devil Is Busy
Director: Geeta Gandbhir
Country: USA | Running Time: 30 min
This powerful short captures the extraordinary work of those providing care under constant threat in an Atlanta abortion clinic—revealing the vulnerability, resilience, and courage required to safeguard women’s health in a time of crisis.
Fenice
Director: Sterling Hampton
Country: USA | Running Time: 13 min
A brutal assault could have silenced her. Instead, a young woman reclaims her voice, channeling creativity and conviction into a fight for legislation that safeguards survivors and reshapes how justice is pursued.
Sallie’s Ashes
Director: Brennan Robideaux
Country: USA | Running Time: 40 min
Led by 80-year-old Sallie Smith, a fearless group of Alabama grandmothers trade retirement for resistance, battling the state’s largest power company and its toxic coal ash pond threatening their waterways, health, and future.
NATIONAL PARK COLLEGE SHORTS PROGRAM
Appalheads
Director: Scott Faris
Country: USA | Running Time: 17 min
A daughter returns to eastern Kentucky to excavate her father’s filmmaking legacy.
La Mayordomía
Director: Martin Edralin
Country: Canada | Running Time: 23 min
In a borough of Mexico City, families take turns caring for Baby Jesus icons.
Oh Yeah!
Director: Nick Canfield
Countries: USA, Switzerland | Running Time: 17 min
The story of the iconic electronic music group Yello and their classic 1980’s hit song.
Okienko / Through The Window US PREMIERE
Director: Daniel Stopa
Country: Poland | Running Time: 11 min
A slice of life as seen through the kiosk window.
PB&P
Director: Eleanor Galloway
Country: USA | Running Time: 5 min
An unconventional sandwich that speaks to the power of food to connect us all.
Shanti Rides Shotgun
Director: Charles Frank
Country: USA | Running Time: 8 min
A portrait of NYC’s most iconic driving instructor.
SHORTS PROGRAM: MODERN REFLECTIONS
Hold Me Close
Director: Aurora Brachman
Country: USA | Running Time: 19 min
Intimate audio recordings trace a season in the daily life of Corinne and Tiana, two Black womxn whose tender partnership reveals the beauty, compassion, and resilience of love shared in everyday moments.
L’mina
Director: Randa Maroufi
Countries: France, Morocco, Italy, Qatar | Running Time: 26 min
In L’mina, residents of a Moroccan town step into meticulously crafted sets to reenact the mining operations that define their community
Looking For Cover With Sam Green
Director: Jonn Herschend
Country: USA | Running Time: 6 min
What’s more delightful — the various patterns stamped on manhole covers, or the eccentric man who can’t stop admiring them?
The Last Jews of Guantanamo (Los Últimos Judíos De Guantánamo)
Director: Yael Bridge
Country: Cuba | Running Time: 13 min
An intimate portrait of a Jewish community in Guantánamo, Cuba.
Their Eyes
Director: Nicolas Gourault
Country: France | Running Time: 23 min
Meet the people behind the technology guiding self-driving cars in this innovative documentary that uses screen-recordings and interviews to showcase how humanity is still in the driver’s seat.
SHORTS PROGRAM: ACROSS TIME
Daily Worker
Director: Ting Su
Country: USA | Running Time: 10 min
A visually striking journey through digitized 1920s communist film negatives, archivist Ting Su unearths echoes of her past, linking generational labor struggles to her family’s own story in China.
Love Birds
Directors: Elliott Kennerson, Angel Morris
Country: USA | Running Time: 28 min
In 1972, biologists were surprised to discover that a large number of nesting Channel Island seagull pairs are female. The “lesbian seagulls” spark a media frenzy during an era influenced by the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
Love Immortal
Director: Ömer Sami
Country: Denmark | Running Time: 12 min
A couple plan to be cryogenically frozen so that they can be reunited even after death. The plan becomes complicated when Alan meets someone new after his wife passes away.
A Picture of My Father WORLD PREMIERE
Directors: Jonathan Miller, Zachary Russo
Country: USA | Running Time: 21 min
As a child, Danielle Ferrante knew nothing about her father. All she had was one photograph. Over time, Ferrante learns the complicated truth about her father’s absence, his incarceration, and the legacy he leaves behind.
The Roaming Center For Magnetic Alternatives
Director: Brydie O’Connor
Country: USA | Running Time: 13 min
A theater production of Hitchcock’s The Birds. A weekend in a Frank Lloyd Wright house. A birthday party among friends. These moments, captured on VHS, are revisited decades later as their creators watch them in a mobile archiving project.
HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE SHORTS PROGRAM
Appalheads
Director: Scott Faris
Country: USA | Running Time: 17 min
Through rich archival footage and a personal lens, this heartfelt short honors the groundbreaking work of Appalshop, where young people in Eastern Kentucky used cameras to authentically portray Appalachian life and reclaim their community’s story.
The Changebaker
Director: Courtney Dixon
Country: USA | Running Time: 16 min
Made in America by the Hands of Immigrants. These powerful words showcase the core values of Manolo Betancur’s bakery in North Carolina. As the number of ICE raids begin to increase in his community, Betancur boldly stands with his neighbors.
Faux Ball: The Legend Of Village Academy WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Eric White
Country: USA | Running Time: 7 min
Two jokesters in Arkansas begin to report football scores for a fictional high school, Village Academy, to the local media and a simple prank evolves into something much bigger.
La Mayordomía
Director: Martin Edralin
Country: Canada | Running Time: 23 min
Members of a close-knit community in Mexico City hope for the opportunity to host and care for beloved statues of the Baby Jesus that rotate from home to home each year.
PB&P
Director: Eleanor Galloway
Country: USA | Running Time: 5 min
Ah, the iconic sandwich: peanut butter and… pickles?! Don’t knock it until you try it! In this delightful short, Dwight Garner shares his recipe for the unlikely combo.
Tiger
Director: Loren Waters
Country: USA | Running Time: 13 min
Muscogee artist Dana Tiger and her family made waves with their bold expressions of contemporary Native art. Following years of hardship in the family, Dana revitalizes their iconic t-shirt line, breathing new life into a legacy of creativity.
Your Opinion, Please
Director: Marshall Granger
Country: USA | Running Time: 15 min
The weekly radio show “Your Opinion, Please!” invited listeners across Montana to share what was on their mind in the early 2000s. This absorbing documentary shares audio from the trailblazing show and creates an intimate portrait of a people and the place they call home.
SHORTS PROGRAM: CREATIVITY UNBOUND
Dears In The Headlights
Director: Julia Jansch
Country: USA | Running Time: 16 min
A woman turns to taxidermy to process grief, transforming roadkill into art. This eccentric yet tender short uncovers an unexpected path through loss, discovering beauty in the bizarre and honoring love through the most unlikely of materials.
Freeman Vines
Director: Tim Kirkman
Country: USA | Running Time: 15 min
In rural North Carolina, eccentric artist Freeman Vines hand-carves guitars, chasing a sound he first created decades ago. This lyrical short profiles a visionary craftsman steeped in myth, music, and mystery.
Icebreakers
Director: Marlo Poras
Country: USA | Running Time: 22 min
A group of queer athletes train for the Gay Games in this joyful documentary about figure skating and creating more inclusive spaces within the world of sports.
Oh Yeah!
Director: Nick Canfield
Countries: USA, Switzerland | Running Time: 17 min
The music group Yello captured the style and attitude of the 1980s in their song Oh Yeah. The tune became an instantly recognizable sensation after it was included in Ferris Beller’s Day Off. Meet the musicians behind the smash hit in this charming documentary.
Stankface Standing Soldier: The Rise of Mato Wayuhi WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Josiah Wesley Jones
Country: USA | Running Time: 16 min Meet Mato Wayuhi. The young Lakota musician brings his distinct voice and style to all of his projects including the beloved TV series Reservation Dogs. Go behind the scenes as he works on his album Stankface Standing Soldier.
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