Documentaries

THE SWEETEST LAND

OCT 28 2022 • 7:30 PM - 9:00 PM R/C READING MOVIES 11 & IMAX - THEATER 2 Filmmaker: Jeffrey B. Teitler In urban America, there are communities where unprecedented courage resides, extraordinary families are tested and improvement is difficult to find. Not unlike other cities, Hartford, Connecticut has been named one of America’s most violent small towns. There are millions spent on violence prevention, passionate calls for equality and new promises, broken…until now. From the midnight surgeons, to the beat cops and a community on the front lines of hope and sacrifice, a new truth is about to be told. THE SWEETEST LAND – a documentary film on gun violence, prevention and politics, where nothing is what it seems. Sponsored by: Alvernia University College Towne

OLGA’S ODYSSEY

OCT 29 2022 • 12:00 PM - 1:20 PM R/C READING MOVIES 11 & IMAX - THEATER 2 Filmmaker: Adrian Steve Horodecky 1:20:00 The story of the filmmaker’s mother Olga Leskiw, who was born in western Ukraine in 1931, escaped the Russians in 1944, lived in a German DP camp for 5 years, and came to America in 1949 to live her life.

STAND TOGETHER

OCT 29 2022 • 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM ALVERNIA - COLLEGE TOWNE CAMPUS Filmmakers: Julia Adilman, Nicole Fryer 1:08:00 An ongoing movement to address racism in our community launched in 2020 by local Berks County youth has been documented in the new film entitled Stand Together. The hour-long documentary tells the story of Youth Volunteer Corps of Reading students’ Stand Together Against Racism (S.T.A.R.) initiative to address racism through education and dialogue that is initiated and facilitated by youth.

THIRST FOR JUSTICE

OCT 29 2022 • 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM R/C READING MOVIES 11 & IMAX - THEATER 1 Filmmaker: Leana Hosea 57:49 “You might think America is a democracy, where freedom of speech and basic rights are guaranteed. But at its heart, there is a great injustice. Against all the odds several extraordinary citizens are banding together and fighting back for their basic right to clean water. Armed only with facts and their illnesses, they risk arrest to take on the might of industry and government. From Flint to the Navajo Nation, via Standing Rock, this is their story.”

BLACK INVENTORS GOT GAME (BIGG)

OCT 29 2022 • 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM ALVERNIA - COLLEGE TOWNE CAMPUS Black Inventors Got Game (BIGG) is a featurelength documentary that tells the story of six African inventors and their groundbreaking contributions to the toy and game industry. African Americans have created many toys and products marketed by major toy manufacturers over the years, yet they are relatively unknown to the general public. Join us for a special Q&A featuring two of the six trailblazing inventors, James Howard and David Vonner, Moderated by: Wynton Butler

Find Your Dream Home!

LET ME BE ME

OCT 29 2022 • 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM GOGGLEWORKS BOSCOV THEATRE Filmmaker: Dan Crane, Katie Taber 01:15:00 When the Westphal family learned that their 6-year-old Kyle was on the Autism spectrum, they feared they might never develop a real connection to their child. Withdrawn and constantly wrapping himself in fabric and blankets, Kyle was retreating from the world around him. Let Me Be Me reveals what happens when a boy who used fabric as his shield to hide himself grows up to become a fashion designer, forging connections with friends and family along the way. Kyle Westphal, the subject of the film. will be present for the post-film Q&A

UNGUARDED

OCT 29 2022 • 4:00 PM - 5:30 PM GOGGLEWORKS BOSCOV THEATRE

Filmmaker: Simonetta D’Italia Wiener

“UNGUARDED takes us inside the walls of APAC, the revolutionary Brazilian prison system centered on the full recovery and rehabilitation of the person.

Beginning in 1972, APAC founder Dr. Mario Ottoboni volunteered in some of Brazil’s worst prisons. Seeing men and women frequently return to a life of crime once they left prison, Dr. Ottoboni decided to found his own restorative justice-based system. The results have been extraordinary: while the crime rate and recidivism rates have continued to increase in Brazil’s public prisons, within the APAC (Association for the Protection and Assistance of Convicts) system they have steadily decreased. (SUBTITLED)

CRUTCH

OCT 29 2022 • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM R/C READING MOVIES 11 & IMAX - THEATER 1 Filmmakers: Sachi Cunningham, Vayabobo 1:36:11 CRUTCH chronicles the gravity-defying life of Bill Shannon, an internationally renowned artist, breakdancer and skate punk—on crutches.

Two decades of exclusive access, plus a lifetime of archival footage, depict Bill Shannon from his early years, to his rise as an award-winning dancer and cutting-edge performance artist whose work finds outlet at prestigious venues worldwide.

STAY FOR THE PANEL DISCUSSION

ENTANGLED

OCT 29 2022 • 5:30 PM - 6:45 PM GOGGLEWORKS BOSCOV THEATRE Filmmaker: David Abel 1:15:00 ENTANGLED chronicles the efforts to protect North Atlantic right whales from extinction, the impacts of those efforts on the lobster industry, and how the National Marine Fisheries Service has struggled to balance the vying interests.

HONK

OCT 30 2022 • 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM GOGGLEWORKS BOSCOV THEATRE Filmmaker: Cheryl Allison 46:29 minutes Dumped and alone at a city park, Honk spends his days dodging cars, begging for food and looking for friends. When Cheryl and Honk’s path cross unexpectedly, what follows is a story in which fairy tales are made. During an unprecedented time of lock downs and social distancing, this unlikely pair turn to each other for companionship. After Cheryl shares videos of their unusual friendship on social media, Honk becomes an overnight sensation. News and other media outlets share his story which results in people all over the world becoming invested in his well-being. Cheryl soon learns why Honk is alone and the two embark on an uncertain journey together. Sponsored by Wyomissing Animal Hospital