Synopsis

Sonic experimentation, radical community-building, and an imagination that is far beyond this world are pieces of the impossible whole of Afrofuturist pioneer Sun Ra. This documentary explores the mind of one of the most visionary figures of the 20th century—layering rare archival footage, pulsing performances, and wistful interviews into a fitting portrait of the jazz icon and philosopher. Chronicling his musical rise, including a stint in Chicago, where his radical sound and communal ethos took root, the film explores how Sun Ra used music as both spiritual weapon and liberatory technology, reimagining Black identity across space and time.

Through layered sound design woven together with a tapestry of concert recordings and rhythmic editing, director Christine Turner offers a film that sings, thinks, and soars, capturing the enduring power of Sun Ra’s mission: to dream beyond Earth and make the impossible not only visible, but inevitable.

Synopsis

Inspired by a folktale about a young boy who is turned into a stork by his father, the new film from the Oscar-nominated director of Honeyland tells a heartwarming story of family, farming and sustainability in North Macedonia. Set in a region with one of the densest stork populations, the film parallels the children’s fable with the real-life story of charming elderly farmers Nicola and Jana. Facing mounting economic pressures that force his family into working in exile, Nicola stays behind, unsure whether they should sell the farm altogether. When the veteran farmer rescues an injured stork from a nearby landfill, he finds new meaning and hope in the nurturing of his feathered friend.

So skillfully crafted that it feels as much like a cinematic parable as a documentary, The Tale of Silyan features captivating storytelling and visually stunning cinematography, exquisitely capturing both the rural landscape as well as the majestic storks. Both personal and poetic, the film relates a cautionary tale of ecological imbalance. Perhaps the storks have something to tell us all.

Synopsis

Bebo, a wayward teenager from a coastal Puerto Rican town, lives with his brother in a public housing complex. They struggle to make ends meet as fishermen, but the promise of easy money from an illegal side hustle has them running up against the local drug dealer. When violence suddenly comes for the brothers, Bebo flees to the mountains with his new love Lola, a wealthy girl seeking escape from her troubled home life. As they navigate the island’s wilderness, attempting to evade their pursuers, they encounter mountain inhabitants who practice a fading pastoral way of life. As the tranquil community welcomes them in, the young couple is confronted with the possibility of reinvention—yet the past is never far behind.

Lorraine Jones Molina and Cristian Carretero’s feature debut is a timely examination of Puerto Rico’s precarious present through the eyes of its youth, who seek a better future through connection with history and tradition.

Synopsis

After what seemed like a trivial argument, Marta (Alba Rohrwacher) and Antonio (Elio Germano) break up. Reeling from heartache, gym teacher Marta withdraws into herself, completely losing her appetite and enthusiasm for life and finding solace in a lifesize K-pop idol cardboard standee. Antonio, a chef, throws himself into his skyrocketing career. Even though he was the one who ended things, he can’t seem to get her off his mind. When Marta discovers that her loss of appetite has more to do with her health than her grief, everything changes: the taste of food, the feel of music, romantic desires, and the certainty of choices made.

At once disarming and devastating, Three Goodbyes is a bittersweet tale of love lost and found—for oneself, for others, and for the joys in life. With gentleness and a touch of humor, celebrated Catalan auteur Isabel Coixet eloquently adapts Michela Murgia’s autobiographical best-seller, crafting a guide for how to navigate life circumstances that create a clear delineation between a before and an after with grit and grace.

Synopsis

Based on the beloved novella by Denis Johnson, Train Dreams is the moving portrait of Robert Grainier (Golden Globe nominee Joel Edgerton), whose life unfolds during an era of unprecedented change in early 20th century America. Orphaned at a young age, Robert grows into adulthood among the towering forests of the Pacific Northwest, where he helps expand the nation’s railroad empire alongside men as unforgettable as the landscapes they inhabit. After a tender courtship, he marries Gladys (Academy Award nominee Felicity Jones) and they build a home together, though his work often takes him far from her and their young daughter. When his life takes an unexpected turn, Robert finds beauty, brutality, and newfound meaning for the forests and trees he has felled.

An ode to a vanishing way of life, an ever-evolving world, and to the extraordinary possibilities that exist within even the most simple of existences, Train Dreams captures a time and place that are now long gone, and the people who built a bridge to a future they could only dream of.

Screening in 35mm on Mon, Oct 20.

Awards Event

Mon, Oct 20 @ 6:30pm

At this screening, director and co-writer Clint Bentley will receive the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award in Directing, and actor Joel Edgerton will receive the Festival’s Artistic Achievement Award in Acting.

Clint Bentley is an Academy Award-nominated writer, director, and producer whose feature directorial debut, Jockey, premiered in competition at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. With frequent collaborator Greg Kwedar, Bentley co-wrote and produced 2023’s Oscar-nominated drama Sing Sing.

Joel Edgerton is an acclaimed Australian actor, writer, and filmmaker who has starred in films
including The Great Gatsby, Zero Dark Thirty, Warrior, Black Mass, Loving, and The Gift, which also
marked his directorial debut. Most recently, he starred in the series Dark Matter and Charlie Polinger’s The Plague, which premiered at Cannes and is screening at the Festival.