Newburyport Documentary Film Festival

Join Us For The Newburyport Documentary Film Festival 2024!

Schedule of Events:

10:00am
Firehouse Center For The Arts

A Young Filmmaker And His Childhood Best Friend Set Out On A 10,000-Mile Exploration Of Our Magnificent National Parks During The Centennial Year Of The Formation Of The National Park Service. Along The Road, They Record The Stories Of The Vast Diversity Of Visitors For Whom The Parks System Was Created.

Year: 2024
Runtime: 73 Minutes
Language: English
Country: United States
Sponsor:
Director: Brendan Hall

Hollywoodgate
11:30am
Firehouse Center For The Arts

When The United States Withdrew From Its 20-Year “Forever War” In Afghanistan, The Taliban Regained Control Of The Ravaged Country And Immediately Found An American Base Loaded With Weaponry. Unprecedented And Audacious, Director Ibrahim Nash'at's Immersive Documentary Spends A Year Inside Afghanistan Following The Taliban As They Take Possession Of The Cache America Left Behind — And Transform From A Fundamentalist Militia Into A Heavily-Armed Military Regime.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 89 Minutes
Language: Pashto (Pushto)
Country: Egypt
Premiere: Massachusetts
Sponsor:
Director: Ibrahim Nash'at

Creative Act Shorts Block
1:30pm
The Screening Room

Silver's Uprising
1:30pm
Firehouse Center For The Arts

In A Country Ravaged By Ptsd, Amos Dov Silver Swore He Would Never Let Anyone Suffer The Way He Did. But When The Mobile App He Creates Becomes The Largest Marketplace For Marijuana In Israel, He Becomes A Guru To Thousands, And A Persecuted Enemy Of The State.

Year: 2022
Runtime: 97 Minutes
Language: Hebrew
Country: Israel
Premiere: Massachusetts
Sponsor:
Director: Don Shadur

April In France
3:30pm
The Screening Room

A Rare Portrait Of The Magic Of Early Childhood. April, A 5-Year-Old English Girl, Moves To Paris Just Before The Lockdown. She Feels Miserable, Isolated In Her Parisian Flat And Desperately Wanting To Return To London. When The Restrictions Ease, Her Father Drives Her To A Small Medieval Village In The Southwest Of France, Where Her Great-Grandfather Bequeathed Them His House. At First April Is Not Much Happier In The Deserted Village, But She Slowly Discovers It. Eventually She Meets Some Of Her Great-Grandfather's Surviving Friends, With Whom She Will Open To The World.

Year: 2023
Runtime: 76 Minutes
Language: French, English
Country: France
Premiere: East Coast
Sponsor:
Director: David Boaretto
First Time Filmmaker

Pink Belt
3:30pm
Firehouse Center For The Arts

Aparna Rajawat, India's 16-Time Champion In Martial Arts, Attempts To Break The Guinness World Record For Most Women Trained In A Self-Defense Lesson. As A Girl, Aparna's Father Prevented Her From Taking Karate Lessons Because He Thought It Was A Boys' Sport And Believed Her Participation Would Shame The Family. Her Cousin, A Men's National Champion, Convinced Her Father To Let Him Train Her. Aparna Passed As A Boy At The Karate School, And She Won Several Competitions. Years Later She Started Pink Belt To Teach Girls Their Legal Rights, Self-Defense, And Self-Determination.

Year: 2024
Runtime: 79 Minutes
Language: English, Hindi
Country: United States
Premiere: North America
Sponsor:
Director: John Mccrite

Porcelain War
5:30pm
Firehouse Center For The Arts

Under Missile Strikes And Roaring Fighter Jets, Ukrainian Artists Slava, Anya, And Andrey Choose To Stay Behind And Fight, Contending With The Soldiers They Have Become. Defiantly Finding Beauty Amid Destruction, They Show That Although It's Easy To Make People Afraid, It's Hard To Destroy Their Passion For Living.

Year: 2024
Runtime: 87 Minutes
Language: Russian, Ukranian
Country: United States
Sponsor:
Director: Brendan Bellamo and Slava Leontyev
First Time Filmmaker

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