PANT HOOT

Richard Reens

21 min| 2020 | US/Canada/South Africa | East Coast Premiere

A genocide survivor transcends overwhelming odds to become a master chimpanzee linguist. As the world’s chimpanzee population dwindles in the wild, one-man risks everything to care for a group of mistreated animals rescued by Jane Goodall’s Chimp Eden Sanctuary in South Africa. Stany Nyandwi, a survivor of the Burundi genocide, overcomes insurmountable odds to become one of the only humans to master the complicated ‘pant hoot’ chimp language. Recognizing that it’s not just a chimpanzee/human struggle, he’s taken it upon himself to reconnect with our closest relatives on this planet. Love knows no man-made boundaries in this universal story about understanding.

LUGAR ALGUM - NO PLACE

Gabriel Amaral

23 min | 2019 | Brazil |  East Coast Premiere

When Nego discovers that the cacao farm he lives and works on is going to be sold, he must face not only the loss of his home and job, but also the daily contact he has with the land he cherishes so much.

LA RÁFAGA - THE GUST

Edgar García

30 min | 2019 | Puerto Rico |  US Premiere

Weeks after Hurricane María devastated Puerto Rico, a lonely middle-aged man finds himself obsessing with his squatter neighbor, a young closeted and tormented athlete who insistently pursues his attention. The movie deals with fragility issues of living in a forgotten paradise, in the world's oldest colony, still half-torn, half-supported, with half-citizens, half-gods, and half-demons.