Best of Fest Encore Screening

What is the Arrowhead 135? Nothing more than one of the toughest, most dangerous races in the world. Run, bike, ski, you have to make it 135 miles in the coldest, most desolate areas in America, in the dead of January. And the participants wouldn’t change a thing.

From acclaimed documentary filmmaker Steve James (Hoop Dreams) comes this fascinating look at Theodore Hall, the youngest physicist on the Manhattan Project… and a former Soviet spy. Featuring interviews with Hall and his wife of over 50 years, A Compassionate Spy is a tale of espionage, romance, and profound moral questions.

Director Matthieu Rytz returns to MSPIFF (Anote’s Ark from 2018) with Deep Rising, a fascinating and compelling documentary about secret organizations mining metals in the sea floor, for use in green technology. Narrated by Jason Momoa, Deep Rising illuminates the vital relationship between the deep ocean and sustaining life on Earth.

Best of Fest Encore Screening

In the bitter winter of 1931, in the small farming community of Schafer, North Dakota, an entire family vanished, mother, father, and four children. The investigation immediately focuses on Charles Bannon, and soon the community is impatient for a particular bloodthirsty justice. 

James Beard-winning Author/Chef Amy Thielen (The New Midwestern Table) joins Director Laura Gabbert in conversation following the 7:00pm screening on Wednesday, April 26th at The Main Cinema.

Filmmaker Laura Gabbert focuses her camera on Ruth Reichl, one of America’s most beloved food writers, whose work to save small farms, ranches and restaurants in the face of corporate takeover makes for an amazing documentary. “An invitation into caring about the truth of how we eat.” –Alissa Wilkinson, Vox

In this riveting documentary about World War II, director Julia Mintz weaves together archival footage and interviews with the Jewish partisans who took up arms, hunkered down in the forests, and fought the Nazi war machine. 

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Samuel-Ali Mirpoorian’s urgent and intimate documentary looks at four multigenerational American farming families, including in Minnesota, wrestling with the various farm stressors, policies and politics farmers must maneuver to survive, connecting the dots between mental health, industrialization, food production and climate change.

Director Caylee So and Writer/Actor Doua Moua Attending.

Based Doua Moua’s own script, director Caylee So’s The Harvest is the rare feature focusing on a Hmong American family. According to Moua, “As an actor, I was told my type of Asian does not fit into the narrative of America, which led me to writing narratives that I wanted to tell.”

Generations of readers have found themselves in a Judy Blume book. Her name alone launches a flood of memories for anyone who’s gripped one of her many paperbacks. With humor, sensitivity, and a healthy dose of adolescent cringe, Judy Blume Forever tells the story of the woman whose trail-blazing books changed the way millions of readers understand themselves, their sexuality, and what it means to grow up.

Central Appalachia is a place of mountains and myth. Director Elaine McMillion Sheldon knows this well, calling those mountains home. Coal has had a profound influence on this community’s identity, but Sheldon dares to consider what future stories might look like out of the shadow of coal, now that relationships to coal are changing. She takes us on an alluring cinematic journey through the past, present, and future of Appalachia.

This astonishing black-and-white documentary tells the incredible stories of four Black transgender sex workers in New York and Georgia. Two-time Grammy nominee D. Smith’s stunning directorial debut took Sundance by storm. “??A raucous compilation of charismatic storytellers gathered in the most lively way possible.” –Nick Allen, RogerEbert.com

Best of Fest Encore Screening

It is the most sacred place on earth, the birthplace of the Lakota that has shaped thought, identity and philosophy for the Océti Šakówi? since time immemorial--the life-giving land known as the Black Hills. Lakota Nation vs. United States is a lyrical and provocative testament to a land and a people who have survived removal, exploitation and genocide--and whose best days are yet to come.

Special Guest Attending.

Minnesota gymnast Shane Wiskus is at the top of his game, destined for a spot on the Olympic team. But when the COVID pandemic hits, and the University of Minnesota sees this as an opportunity to cut the program, will Shane be able to realize his dreams?

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Minnesota filmmaker and festival favorite Dawn Mikkelson (Risking Light, 2018 MSPIFF) returns with this rousing documentary following six fierce members of Minnesota Roller Derby as they fight to win the Hydra, the prize for the best women's flat track roller derby team in the entire world.

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Director Justinsuperstar + Special Guests Attending.

When director Justinsuperstar’s mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, his father, an inveterate inventor, crafted a prosthetic nipple that impressed all of their medical staff. But mom and dad’s business is a bit of an embarrassment for this conservative couple, and is kept under wraps until their little secret is discovered. 

Writer/director Andrea Pallaoro attending the 7:20pm screening on Sunday, April 16th at The Main Cinema.

Trace Lysette (Transparent) stars as Monica in an intimate portrait of a woman who returns home after a long absence to confront the wounds of her past. Reconnecting with her mother (Patricia Clarkson) and the rest of her family for the first time since leaving as a teenager, Monica embarks on a path of healing and acceptance.

Director Marie-Michele Jasmin-Belisle Attending!

Ojibwa Warrior is the stirring documentary about Indigenous leader Nowa Cumig, known as Dennis Banks. From Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag (Leech Lake Reservation, Minnesota), Banks was the co-founder of the American Indian Movement (AIM) in Minneapolis. Through its many actions, AIM changed the course of American history: the seizing of Alcatraz, the Custer Riots and Wounded Knee, among others, fighting for the rights of Indigenous people. Narrated by actor, artist and activist Michael Horse and based on Banks’ autobiography, “Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement”, Ojibwa Warrior is a definitive retrospective of the life of the inspiring leader.

Directors Rachael Dyer and Scott Alexander Ruderman + Special Guests Attending.

Nearly two million Americans suffer from diabetes, and without insulin they’ll die. And yet, in the wealthiest nation on earth, too many people don’t have the money to pay for it. Directors Scott Ruderman (who has type 1 diabetes) and Rachael Dyer expose the affordability crisis in this stirring–and infuriating–documentary.

Best of Fest Encore Screening

Post-screening conversation following the 1:50pm screening on Saturday, April 22nd at The Main Cinema.

It’s an American civil rights story rarely discussed: the right to read. In Jenny Mackenzie’s startling documentary, she follows an activist and teacher from Oakland and two families from the South who are trying to help children–especially Black and brown kids–to have the skills they need to succeed. 

Executive Producer Andy McDonough Attending 4/27.

Filmed over an expanse of 25 years, two brothers go on a 2,000-mile road trip to solve a family mystery of their missing mom. Using every video format imaginable, they make a movie stitching together years of home videos and filling the gaps in the archive with play, Sam Now is a mosaic of love, longing and loss, as well as an attempt to overcome intergenerational trauma.

Director Jasmin Mara López attending.

In this stunning and poetic autobiographical documentary, director Jasmin Mara López explores generations of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her grandfather, a Baptist minister. Generously allowing viewers along on this personal, cinematic journey, López bravely reveals a beautiful grace in the process of healing.

One afternoon, Jerry Hsu, a Florida man, gathers his family to tell them a secret: he was recruited by the Chinese government as an undercover agent. Law Chen’s fascinating docufiction astounded audiences at Slamdance, and won three awards: Festival Grand Jury Documentary Feature, Audience Award Documentary, and Acting Award.

Post-screening conversation following the 2:20pm screening on Sunday, April 16th at The Main Cinema.

Director Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice follows Mati, a chaplain completing a year-long hospital residency, as she learns to provide spiritual care to people confronting profound life changes. Through Mati’s experiences with her patients, her struggle with professional burnout, and her own spiritual questioning, we gain new perspectives on how meaningful connection can be and how painful its absence is.

From 2011 to 2013, tubas were stolen from Los Angeles high schools. This is not a story about thieves or missing tubas. Instead, it asks what it means to listen. d/Deaf filmmaker Alison O’Daniel creates a mind-bending work of autofiction in this wonderfully creative documentary. You will never see–nor experience–anything like The Tuba Thieves.