Year: 2023

• By Mabel Pais

Documentaries

BLIND EYE ARTIST

Dir/Edit/Prod: Ashwin Chaudhary, USA, 1h 24 m

In March of 2020, artist Justin Wadlington was about to unveil his latest acrylic painting, a large-scale self-portrait, when the global pandemic brought the world to a halt. For Justin, adversity was nothing new, and he decided to make the best of the situation by starting another painting which would become a signature work, called “Black American Dream.”

Justin’s life was changed forever when a tragic accident left him blind in one eye at the age of 5. Growing up without parents in the inner city of Philadelphia, Justin’s youth was a constant struggle to survive, as he lived in emergency shelters and group homes throughout his school years. As an adult, Justin re-discovered his childhood passion for art while in the break room at his day job, eventually building a new identity for himself as the ‘Blind Eye Artist.’ After starting out by asking friends to let him draw and paint them for practice, a decade later he was selling his pieces to world famous art collectors and celebrities.

Today, Justin’s artwork has reached the upper tiers of the art world with numerous famous and influential people among his fans and clients. Now as an established artist, Justin seeks to inspire kids from all backgrounds to believe that they can do anything they put their mind to.

Opening: Steaming on Amazon, October 6

A SONG FILM BY KISHI BASHI: “OMOIYARI

Dirs: Justin Taylor Smith & Kaoru Ishibashi, 2022, USA, Eng, 1h 33m

In ‘A SONG FILM BY KISHI BASHI: “OMOIYARI,”’ internationally acclaimed composer and songwriter K Ishibashi (professionally known as “Kishi Bashi”) embarks on a personal quest by creating his music in locations relevant to the Japanese American Incarceration during WWII. It is on this journey in which Kishi Bashi comes to terms with his own Japanese American identity and uncovers a myriad of social issues that have gripping modern relevance. ‘Omoiyari’ is a genre breaking, artistic exploration that fuses history, music, and the complexities of the human condition.

Kishi Bashi (K) had been commissioned by Nu Deco Ensemble to create a multimedia piece surrounding Executive Order 9066.  He and co-director Smith started to film K’s musical improvisations at these historical Japanese American incarceration camps across the US, with the original vision of making a behind-the-scenes short film. However, what transpired with the up-close and personal filming and intimate performances became this emotional and beautiful feature documentary that has now become a “song film.”

Opening: October 6 in New York, Los Angeles and select cities.

INTO THE WEEDS

Dir: Jennifer Baichwal, 1h 38m

‘Into The Weeds,’ from North America’s foremost and influential documentarians, Jennifer Baichwal, follows the story of groundskeeper Lee Johnson and his fight for justice against agrichemical giant Monsanto (now Bayer, which bought the company in 2018), the manufacturer of the weed killer, Roundup. On October 3, 2023, Film Movement and Fathom Events invited audiences to discover for themselves with a special one-night only nationwide theatrical release.

Does the most widely used weed killer in the world cause cancer?

In 2015, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a branch of the World Health Organization (WHO), classified glyphosate – the active ingredient in Roundup – as “probably carcinogenic to humans.” A year later, Johnson filed a lawsuit claiming that Ranger Pro, a commercial-grade variant of Roundup, was a substantial contributing factor in causing his Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Johnson’s was the first “bellwether case” in a mass tort against Monsanto involving tens of thousands of plaintiffs: gardeners, golfers, farmers, groundskeepers, and ordinary people, following and trusting the instructions on the label.

Tickets for ‘Into The Weeds’ can be purchased via FathomEvents.com

For more information on the film, visit intotheweedsimpact.com.

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Dir/Writ/Prod: Ian Phillips, 1h 14m

Gentrification is not a new phenomenon. In fact, New Yorkers have been talking about gentrification ever since the term was first coined in the 1960s. But over the decades, as more and more wealthy real estate developers and giant corporations have sought to reconstruct urban landscapes for economic gain, what was once a process of gradual change has turned into a nightmare of radical transformation and displacement. New York City is currently undergoing a period of “hyper-gentrification” unlike anywhere else in the world, and ‘There Goes The Neighborhood’ presents a portrait of the communities and activists who are courageously fighting back against the powers of greed and corruption in order to preserve the diversity and culture of their city.

The 74-minute film brings together distinct, yet interrelated, stories, closely following Lower East Side activist Arnette Scott’s fight against four massive 80-plus-story towers emblematic of displacement, greed and power, and Astoria’s Dannelly Rodriguez, who led the charge against Amazon’s HQ2 plan throughout the winter of 2018. The film also follows the elderly owner of a Prospect Heights hardware store surrounded by new development, and the owner of Brooklyn’s only Black L.G.B.T.Q.+ nightclub about to be displaced.

Opening: October 6, 2023 – SVOD service Indiepix Unlimited and via virtual cinema.

Feature

AMERICANISH

Dir/Co-Writ: Iman Zawahry, 1h 31m

‘Americanish’ is the first Muslim romantic comedy directed by an Emmy winning American Muslim woman, Iman Zawahry.

Welcome to America: Where dreams come true…ish. A break from the traditional romantic comedy, ‘Americanish’ highlights different layers of womanhood as they intersect with cultural and societal expectations. The film invites viewers into the home and lives of three marriage-aged women as they navigate the often turbulent waters of romance, culture, career, and family. We follow the joys and tribulations of career-driven sisters Maryam and Sam Khan, and their fish-out-of-water cousin Ameera. Set in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, the film follows a relatable and endearing storyline offering a fresh perspective on classic rom-com tropes. ‘Americanish’ delves into the complexity of trying to both honor and break from cultural traditions while balancing personal values and career goals in a society that does not always accommodate both.

Opening: October 6, 2023.

(Mabel Pais writes on The Arts and Entertainment, Social Issues, Spirituality, Education, Cuisine, Health & Wellness, and Business)