Please join us for our annual screening of new student documentaries from the NYU Culture & Media Program! And please spread the word to your students and colleagues!

Thiaroye by the Sea

by Devin Thomas

Amidst the urban chaos of Dakar–Senegal’s urban capital–one young woman struggles to find her voice as a rapper as she contends with the pressures of poverty, tradition, and religion.

Shásh Jaa’: Bears Ears

by Angelo Baca

Shásh Jaa’ (Bears Ears) encompasses 1.9 million acres of southeastern Utah wilderness,sacred lands to local Native American tribes. Through the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition, five tribal nations (Navajo, Ute, Ute Mountain Ute, Hopi, Zuni) come together to protect this pristine ecological area from natural resource extraction, development, and environmental destruction. This documentary follows Angelo Baca, the director,  and his grandmother, and the coalition’s efforts to convince the Obama administration to designate Bears Ears a  National Monument in partnership with these tribes.

Island to Island

by Jacqueline Hazen

In the fall of 2015, Kris Kato, an emerging filmmaker, and Keoni DeFranco, the founder of a communications technology company, were initiated as kahu oli, caretakers of Hawaiian chant. Both young men live and work in New York City—but now, with the dual responsibilities to safeguard and to share this indigenous, Hawaiian familial tradition. Island to Island explores how Kris, Keoni and other members of the Hawaiian diaspora community are integrating oli into the sounds of the island of Manhattan.

Archives of Extinction

by Alyse Takayesu

Throughout the 19th century, scientists transformed living birds into dried, stuffed, and otherwise preserved scientific specimens. Today, scientists seek to transform these lifeless specimens into living birds through the emerging science of de-extinction. Exploring these transformations, Archives of Extinction evokes questions about de-animating and reanimating forms of life and about the human role in disassembling and reassembling past and future ecologies.

The Love Industry

by Matthew Cusimano

How does one construct love in the digital world? Filmmaker, Matthew Cusimano, a professional wedding videographer, discovers Lisa Hoehn, a professional online dating profile ghostwriter. Cusimano relates to Hoehn’s exhaustive lifestyle of constructing the romantic stories of strangers and follows Hoehn’s creative process after her first book publication and exposure to the media. As Cusimano and Hoehn reflect on edited romance, Hoehn reveals the struggle with maintaining her own personal relationships and illustrates the complicated role of working in the relationship industry.

The Part of Us that Belongs to God / 属灵方面

by Joseph Livesey

The Part of Us that Belongs to God provides an observational portrait of a typical Monday service at Tianfu United Methodist, offering a window into how Chinese culture and Christian teaching are combined to convey a message of hope for Chinese immigrants in New York City.

The Bearden Project

by Chloe Gbai

In a time where the art world is concerned by the lack of African-American artists on gallery walls, this documentary reflects on one of the great black artists that has been waiting for more recognition, Romare Bearden.

Grounded

by Neta Alexander

Grounded focuses on a Digital Detox weekend retreat in Marble Falls, Texas, where 147 participants  re-live their childhood summer camp experience at “Camp Grounded”. Is it possible to build a community in less than four days? What happens when tech-savvy adults are forced to ask who they are outside the narrow confines of age, occupation, or professional achievements?