Our ideal project is one that uses artful, distinctive, and authentic storytelling as a leverage point in shifting cultural attitudes and norms. Through projects developed in our lab and program related investments, we power stories designed not for isolated brilliance, but for reverberation.
Featured Projects
2021
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Like millions of people around the world, we’ve been in love with Marcel since 2010. His innate kindness and curiosity about the world around him were all things that we as a company strive to uphold in our own work…and of course, the voice…no one could resist that voice. When we had the opportunity to work with the incredible filmmaking team to bring Marcel to the big screen at a time when his outlook on the world is essential, we jumped at the chance. Marcel is an adorable one-inch-tall shell who ekes out a colorful existence with his grandmother Connie and their pet lint, Alan. Once part of a sprawling community of shells, they now live alone as the sole survivors of a mysterious tragedy. But when a documentary filmmaker discovers them amongst the clutter of his Airbnb, the short film he posts online brings Marcel millions of passionate fans, as well as unprecedented dangers and a new hope at finding his long-lost family. A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners.
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2021
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Completed
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When his young daughter's beloved companion - an android named Yang - malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.
2018
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Us three. Us brothers. Us kings, inseparable. Three boys tear through their childhood, in the midst of their young parents' volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to shelter her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own. With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated Justin Torres novel, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered performances from its astounding cast -including three talented, young first-time actors -and stunning animated sequences which bring Jonah's torn inner world to life. Drawing from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood.
2018
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In an alternate present-day version of Oakland, telemarketer Cassius Green discovers a magical key to professional success, propelling him into a macabre universe.
2018
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MATANGI / MAYA / M.I.A. is drawn from a cache of personal tapes shot by Maya Arulpragasm and her closest friends over the last 22 years, capturing her remarkable journey from immigrant teenager in London, to the international popstar M.I.A. Inspired by her roots, M.I.A. created a mashup, cut-and-paste identity that pulled from every corner of her journey; a sonic sketchbook that blended Tamil politics, Art school punk, hip-hop beats and the voice of multicultural youth. Never compromising, Maya kept her camera rolling through her battles with the music industry and mainstream media as her success and fame grew and she rose to become one of the most provocative and divisive artists working in music today. Matangi / MAYA / M.I.A. premiered in the World Cinema Documentary Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award.
2017
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On the outskirts of Brooklyn, Frankie, an aimless teenager, suffocates under the oppressive glare cast by his family and a toxic group of delinquent friends. Struggling with his own identity, Frankie begins to scour hookup sites for older men. When his chatting and webcamming intensify, he begins meeting men at a nearby cruising beach while simultaneously entering into a cautious relationship with a young woman. As Frankie struggles to reconcile his competing desires, his decisions leave him hurtling toward irreparable consequences. Eliza Hittman's award-winning Sundance hit is a powerful character study that is as visually stunning as it is evocative.
2015
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The world's largest salt flat, Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, is a pristine, otherworldly expanse of white. For generations, the only signs of life have been the "saleros" who harvest salt from its radiant surface. This remote region is thrust into the future when Bolivia's leaders embark on a plan to extract a precious mineral found beneath the salt crust, and to build an infrastructure connecting the Salar to the outside world. Salero, a nonfiction feature film, is a poetic journey through the eyes of Moises, one of the last remaining salt gatherers. Set at the dawn of the modern age in one of the most secluded places on earth, Moises' story explores how identity is formed by both tradition and progress.
2013
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When his fiercely self-reliant mother dies unexpectedly, eleven year-old Atticus is wary of the authorities and flees deep into the forests of his Catskills home. His sheltered, off-the-grid childhood is over, and a new life on the move has begun. As Atticus wanders the woods in a daze, relying on whatever food and shelter he can find, the line between reality and fantasy begins to blur. When he encounters Carter, a scruffy, pot smoking drifter who lives out of his car and sells necklaces at music festivals, Atticus latches on. The two form a wary alliance, and as their dependence upon each other grows, neither is quite sure he is making the right decision.
2013
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Before the 'Teenager' was invented, there was no second stage of life. You were either a child or you went to work as an adult. At the turn of the century, child labor was ending, 'adolescence' was emerging, and a struggle erupted between adults and youth. Would the young be controlled and regimented, or could they be free? Inspired by punk author Jon Savage's book, Teenage gives voice to young people from the first half of the 20th century in America, England, and Germany - from party-crazed Flappers and hip Swing Kids to zealous Nazi Youth and frenzied Sub-Debs. By the end of World War II, they were all 'Teenagers': a new idea of youth. Four young voices (Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Julia Hummer, Jessie Usher) bring to life rare archival material and filmed portraits of emblematic teenagers from history - Brenda Dean Paul, a self-destructive Bright Young Thing; Melita Maschmann, an idealistic Hitler Youth; Tommie Scheel, a rebellious German Swing Kid; and Warren Wall, a black Boy Scout. This living collage is punctuated by a contemporary score by Bradford Cox (Deerhunter, Atlas Sound). Teenage is a story that ends with a beginning: a prelude to today's youth culture. In each generation, adults often mistake youthful unrest for an emotional right of passage. But history proves that rebelling teenagers aren't just claiming their independence, they're shaping the future.
Featured Projects
2025
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Seeds is a portrait of a centennial African-American farm in Thomasville, Georgia. Using lyrical black and white imagery, this meditative film examines the decline of generational black farmers and the significance of owning land.
2025
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After a wildfire takes the family farm, a rancher seeks a way forward.
2025
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A BODY TO LIVE IN is a feature film that traces the life and work of legendary photographer, performer, and "Gender Flex" cultural icon, Fakir Musafar (1930-2018). Through investigating the body modification movement and the trajectory of Fakir’s art career and philosophy, A BODY TO LIVE IN uncovers a riveting facet of queer history. Using Fakir’s early experiments in body play and his photographic works from the 1940s and 50s as a springboard, the film traces the body modification movement as it emerged in LGBT subculture in the early 1970s. The film introduces us to early collaborative experimentation at gay underground BDSM parties, leading to the first piercing shop, moving through the radical faerie movement and the role of body modification during the AIDS epidemic, the emergence of body-based performance art, and the rise of an entire subculture. Insights from key figures including Annie Sprinkle, Ron Athey, Idexa Stern, Cléo Dubois, Jim Ward, Midori, and others provoke deeper reflections about art making, surviving AIDS, and the controversial collaging of various spiritual and cultural practices to build a philosophy. Captured in static 16mm film portraits, A BODY TO LIVE IN unfolds conversationally between Fakir’s archive of 100+ hours of unseen footage, and the voices of the canonical elders of this movement, to create intergenerational dialog, question cultural responsibility, and provoke larger ideas about the drive to transcend the limits of the body.
2024
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Rayelle Martin, a commercial cleaning woman in Gary, Indiana, stumbles into a new job cleaning the homes of several rich, suburban families. While working, she tells one small lie that spins out of control.
2024
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Completed
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When Death, a size shifting Macaw parrot, comes to collect teenage Tuesday, who is nearing the end of her life, the pair form an unexpected bond. Their connection compels him to grant more time so she can say goodbye to her mother, Zora. As the world slowly crumbles under the mounting pressure of Death's absence, Zora's desperate passion to keep her child alive leads her to attempt to kill the Macaw - and, when he won't die, to consume him. But he cannot be destroyed easily, and when Tuesday realizes that her mother is unwillingly becoming Death herself, she is forced to guide them through the process of understanding the rightful place of mortality and grasping the importance of letting go.
2024
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One of the most influential Black women in technology is a figment of our collective imagination. Mavis Beacon was invented by the Co-Founder of Myspace to sell the world's most popular typing software, but the real woman she was modeled after, Renée L'Espérance, disappeared in 1995. Seeking Mavis Beacon poses critical questions regarding anthropomorphization and the consumption of marginalized bodies in the tech industry, while reimagining the legacy of a missing woman.
2024
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Completed
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Filmmaker Elizabeth Ai embarks on a project to tell a story of joy and youthful defiance as she explores a musical phenomenon in the 1980s known to Vietnamese American teens as new wave. As she delves into the lives of family members and icons of the new wave scene, she uncovers much more than just music and fashion. In the heart of Orange County, California, this counterculture movement takes the youth by storm, becoming a sanctuary for rebellious teens. The fun Euro-synth dance beats and punk/goth aesthetics mask deep traumas—broken dreams and unfulfilled expectations that have shaped her community. The joyful memories of her uncles and aunts sneaking out to this underground scene clash with her own childhood, haunted by her mother's abandonment. As the filmmaker digs deeper, the excavation becomes an emotional journey, unraveling mysteries that touch on cultural identity, generational trauma, and the Vietnam War's lasting impact. The exploration transforms from a love letter to her community into a cathartic process for the filmmaker. By confronting these buried emotions, the film takes us on a soulful journey that binds wounds, celebrates resilience, and offers new beginnings.
2024
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My First Film is a retelling of the filmmakers failed attempt at making her first feature film. My First Film explores the relationship between an artist's body and body of work, and is based on a performance of the same name.
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