It’s the second semester of junior year for Pierce “Sparni” Sparnroft, a gifted jazz vibraphonist studying at Montclair State University in New Jersey. Sparni’s prospects on the vibes were rejuvenated by their new professor, the world-renowned Steve Nelson, and are to be showcased during a student-driven recital in May 2023. But all the while, Sparni must face a crisis within.
In the hills of rural Pennsylvania, the leader of a local militia must prepare his men for the turbulent political landscape of 2020 while at war with his own conscience. For over ten years, 48-year-old Iraqi War Veteran and machinist Christian Yingling has commanded a troop of private militiamen and women concerned with the government’s infringement on their constitutional rights. The group practices paramilitary drills, stockpiles food and ammo, and attends gun rights rallies in preparation for a doomsday scenario. Now that a worldwide pandemic has hit, followed by a summer of racial injustice protests and a Presidential election like no other, Christian—out of work and nearly out of money—must confront his allegiance and choose to act or not.
Jorge and Jeczebel left their four children behind in Venezuela, for what they hoped would be a better life in America. They didn’t expect a bus would bring them from Texas to New York. They also didn’t expect to encounter a city overwhelmed by one of the largest humanitarian crises in its history. The film explores the migrant experience from a deeply personal perspective as they struggle to live in the US and to support their children back home.
Eighteen-year-old Aaliyah flies on aerial silks. Her 16-year-old cousin Bre twirls on hoops. They dream of escaping the violence that marred their young lives. Their possible ticket out is the after-school program Trenton Circus Squad. Now that Covid-19 has changed everything, will the circus and the girls’ dreams survive?
Tatenda Ngwaru left Zimbabwe with sixty dollars and the hope that she would finally find a place she belonged. But for an asylum-seeking intersex woman, even a diverse, queer-friendly city like New York is a hard place to make home.
Bryan Charles Kimes has a lot to say, but the power of language escapes him. Lost in a public-school system that does not suit his needs, his parents fight to help him find his voice.
Holding Fire is a short documentary that offers a behind-the-scenes look at the work of a grassroots Muslim activist in South Brooklyn during a time of unprecedented Islamophobia. The film follows the trajectory of rising Yemeni-American activist Somia Elrowmeim, an immigrant woman of color, whose work challenges expectations within her own community and reaches for higher positions of power. The film provides timely insights into an activist's transition from organizing to politics, as America gears up for the 2020 elections.
