This is what happens when we break the rules. Once a rising star on HBO’s THE WIRE, Brandy gave up her acting career to start a family.  When her marriage begins to fall apart she decides to reclaim her life as an actor while the domestic world she’s carefully created crumbles around her.  Using elements of staged melodrama and cinema verité, ACTRESS is a beautifully intimate portrait of a performer coming face to face with life's difficult compromises.  It’s a film about starring in the movie of your life. - CM

From well-known artist agitators like Amanda Palmer and Shepard Fairy, to a trio of photographers obsessed with the sky, this shorts program explores artistic inspiration that comes naturally to some and is sprung to life in others from their interactions with the world. - JM

Since 1939, Astor Barber has remained one of NYC’s most beloved institutions and is responsible for some of the most iconic 80’s hairstyles. The Vezza family, their loyal customers and over 50 stylists are featured in historic footage. From the street there’s not much to see but pass through the doors into a cavernous wonderland that celebrates not just hair, but the very essence of a NYC that has endured against all the odds. - JM

Directed by the son of one of Hustler’s Art Directors from 70’s and 80’s, this entertaining documentary reveals the personalities and features that made this the most offensive magazine of all time. The story is told by its publisher as well as the editors, cartoonists, models, attorneys, art directors and even competitors for the first time ever. Larry Flynt opens up about the turbulent history of the skin trade and the major impact it has had on his life. - JM

A deeply moving and inspiring documentary exploring the life of a Queens, NY native training to become a professional oldetime strongman. The story follows his journey from his early days training in his small basement storage unit to his first performance on the big stage at Coney Island. Alongside his trainer he meets living legends and heroes within the strongman community. A long forgotten time is revisited as the men perform feats that defy limitations of human strength and pain. - CM

Raw, behind-the-scenes CBGBs footage of some of the late-70s' finest musicians before they became icons, featuring material from Blondie, Patti Smith, The Ramones, Television, Talking Heads, New York Dolls, The Heartbreakers and more. Poe's punkish attitude toward film structure is more “in-your-face” than “MTV.” Screens with SOUTHBAY HARDCORE, featuring local 25 year music scene vets Sad Boy Sinister.

When Louis Ortiz shaved off his goatee one day in 2008, his life changed forever. He looked in the mirror and he didn’t see himself – a middle-aged, unemployed Puerto Rican father from the Bronx. He saw the face of change, of hope… of money. BRONX OBAMA tells the strange and improbable tale of a Barack Obama impersonator who tries to cash in on the “look of a lifetime” and chases a fevered American dream from opportunity to oblivion. - CM

Marc Halberstadt’s family lost their home to the Nazis and escaped to the US. He hopes to go to Germany and get reparations. But then he has an idea: If Germany owes me for sixty five years of back rent, and I owe the Native Americans for sixty five years of rent too, why not let the Native Americans collect directly from Germany and cut out the middleman? Soon he’s off to Germany along with four Native Americans. Screens with Cowtown Keeylocko. - JM