OVID’s July Lineup: Nocturnal Neo-noir, Comedy of Errors & Art in Normandy, Dardenne brothers-produced thriller, Lewis Klahr collage shorts, Indie Doc Summer w/ New Day Films & much more!

This July OVID presents 34 new films!

Features on the way include a nocturnal neo-noir (and NY Times Critic’s Pick!) Streetwise: “Consistently striking… [director Na Jiazuo] executes it with an assurance that makes him more than merely promising… The perspectives here put this picture in a different dimension from the average coming-of-age-in-crime movie.” (Glenn Kenny, The New York Times)

More features include Thunder, a Pasolini-inspired drama set in Switzerland about a nun returning home after her sister’s passing, and Red Soil, a Dardenne brothers-produced thriller and French cousin to Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, about the exploitation of workers at a chemical factory.

Exclusive premieres include Belgian-French comedy The Art of Nothing starring Belgian comedian Benoît Poelvoorde, about a conceptual painter set adrift in French Normandy. Other exclusive premieres include fun (who has that anymore?!) experimental shorts by Lewis Klahr, who for decades has been deftly recombining DC comics and other American iconography of the twentieth century to “reveal the mythic strength of past media.” (Courtney Stephens, BOMB)

Another doc coming your way, This is Not a Movie – Robert Fisk and the Politics of Truth, a portrait of the uncompromising late journalist and his conviction that journalists must “challenge authority, all authority, especially so when governments and politicians take us to war.” Slant Magazine stated: “The two things that give this documentary its power and provocativeness are intellectual rather than dramatic: Fisk’s work, and his ideas.”

Plus, a summer of social issue indie docs from our new partnership with New Day Films, including Kristal Sotomayor’s Expanding Sanctuary, which follows an immigrant mother as she becomes a community leader during the fight to end Philadelphia police’s data-sharing with ICE, to effect change in legislation. More information about this new partnership HERE, and much more to come throughout the summer!

Full details on July’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Stefan Liberski's THE ART OF NOTHING, premiering on OVID on July 11th.

Wednesday, July 2

Tanna
Directed by Bentley Dean & Martin Butler
With Marie Wawa, Mungau Dain, Marceline Rofit, Charlie Kahla
Visit Films/Monument Releasing | Feature | Australia, Vanuatu | 2016

In a traditional tribal society in the South Pacific, a young girl, Wawa, falls in love with her chief’s grandson, Dain. When an intertribal war escalates, Wawa is unknowingly betrothed as part of a peace deal. The young lovers run away, refusing her arranged fate. They must choose between their hearts and the future of the tribe, while the villagers must wrestle with preserving their traditional culture and adapting it to the increasing outside demands for individual freedom.

“Told with captivating simplicity and yet richly cinematic… A haunting love story with classic undertones, affording a glimpse into a little-known culture.” —David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter

“A warm, shimmering vitality. Like the trees and the birds, the frame feels alive.” Phil Hoad, The Guardian

Thursday, July 3

This Is Not a Movie – Robert Fisk and The Politics of Truth
Directed by Yung Chang
KimStim | Documentary | Canada, Germany | 2019 

For more than 40 years, journalist Robert Fisk has reported on some of the most violent and divisive conflicts in the world. Yung Chang captures Fisk in action—feet on the ground, notebook in hand, as he travels into landscapes devastated by war, ferreting out the facts and firing reports back home to reach an audience of millions. In his relentless pursuit of the facts, Fisk has attracted his share of controversy. But in an era of fake news, Fisk’s resolve to document reality has become an obsessive war to speak the truth.

“A compelling reminder of just how real the news can be.” —Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

Friday, July 4

My Motherland 
Directed by Benoit Cohen
With Fanny Ardant, Nawid Elham, Pierre Deladonchamps
Distrib Films US | Feature | France | 2023 | 90 min

Celebrated French actress Fanny Ardant (8 Women) stars as “France,” a well-to-do widow living alone in her Parisian apartment who welcomes a young Afghan refugee named Reza (Nawid Elham) into her home and life. 

“A comedy that inspires hope!” —Ouest France

“[A] generous film full of tenderness.” —Télé 7 Jours

“Its timing could not be better considering current events.” —FulvueDrivein

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, July 8

Red Soil
Directed by Farid Bentoumi
With Zita Hanrot, Sami Bouajila, and Céline Sallette
Distrib Films US | Feature | France | 2020 | 86 min

Zita Hanrot delivers an extraordinary performance as a nurse put on probation after a fatal accident at her emergency room. Taking charge of the infirmary of a chemical factory where her father works, suspicions build when a reporter raises concerns about undisclosed toxic waste dumps. With each harrowing revelation, Red Soil pulls apart a conspiracy at the damning intersection of pollution and globalist exploitation. 

“A French cousin to Erin Brockovich and Todd Haynes’ Dark Waters, Red Soil pits a tireless underdog against the forces of corporate greed and looming environmental catastrophe.” —Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

“A timely and edge-of-your-seat Dardenne brothers-produced thriller.” —Jack Walters, Loud & Clear Reviews

Wednesday, July 9

Six Shorts by Lewis Klahr

Alcestis 
OVID | Short | USA | 2022 | 22 min

An interpretive adaptation of the Greek myth and the Euripides play that uses a melange of comic book characters as its cast. Klahr’s most explicitly narrative collage film. From the series The Blue Rose of Forgetfulness.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thin Rain
OVID | Short | USA | 2023 | 15 min

An amnesiac film noir that draws on 1940s and 1950s magazine imagery to create a city symphony for its lost, flâneur protagonist to wander through.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

 
The Three Friends of the Cold Season
OVID | Short | USA | 2024 | 15 min

A three-act adventure epic that genre hops from swashbucklers to westerns to melodrama. Each act occurs in a different century and is set to a different iconic song from master American song book collagist Dick Connette. 

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Monogram
OVID | Short | USA | 2019 | 9 min

Poetic Screenplay by Tom Gunning based on the 1944 William Castle feature “When Strangers Marry”

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Well Then There Now
Script and Music by John Zorn
OVID | Short | USA | 2011 | 13 min

An unfaithful and playful interpretation of John Zorn’s early 80s film script Treatment For a Film in 15 Scenes, which was written as a shot list.  

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Turn It Back
OVID | Short | USA | 2012 | 3 min

A feature-length melodrama compressed into just under three minutes, in which a quintessential ’60s blonde discovers who she really desires.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, July 10

Green White Green
Directed by Abba T. Makama
With Samuel Abiola Robinson, Dabis Christopher, Erick Didie
Dekanalog | Feature | Nigeria | 2016

Shot on location in Lagos, and playing like a cross between American Graffiti and Be Kind Rewind, in this richly textured and frequently funny look at Nigeria’s next generation, a group of young bohemian artists hang out and search for direction in their lives in the stagnant months leading up to the beginning of their university studies. A story about classism and how people from different economic and cultural backgrounds think and behave, Abba T. Makama’s feature debut plays with stereotypes to illustrate just how similar we are despite our diversity and prejudices.

“A hopeful, downright energizing love letter to Nigeria’s enterprising youth.” —Noah Tsika, Africa Is a Country

Friday, July 11

The Art of Nothing 
Directed Stefan Liberski
With Benoît Poelvoorde, Camille Cottin, Francois Damiens 
Distrib Films US | Feature | Belgium, France | 2024 | 110 min

A conceptual painter whose career came to an abrupt halt decides to leave Brussels and his job as a teacher to settle in French Normandy, the ultimate embodiment of Impressionism. There, he is introduced to the local artistic community, including a warm-hearted painter and a charming gallery owner who disrupts his concentration with vague promises of love. 

“A portrait that’s funny, but also equal parts absurd and melancholy.” —Cineuropa

“A tender and fierce comedy.” —20 Minutes

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, July 16

THE SUMMER OF NEW DAY BEGINS!

Benevolence, A Journey
Directed by Joanne Hershfield
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 62 min

The journey of five women who leave prison and move onto a working farm in North Carolina. 

“A rare and genuine glimpse at the immediate obstacles women face directly after leaving prison.” —Dr. Lisa Carter, Chair and Associate Professor of Criminology, Florida Southern College

“Watching Benevolence showed how difficult the transition process for formerly incarcerated women has been while at the same time showing the humanity of a population that is so often overlooked.” —Rolanda JW Spencer, EdD, Author of Reexamining Reentry: The Policies, People, and Programs of the United States Prisoner Reintegration Systems

Deej
Directed by Robert Rooy
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2017 | 72 min

After spending his early years in foster care, without access to language, DJ Savarese (“Deej”) found not only a loving family but also a life in words, which he types on a text-to-voice synthesizer. As he dreams of college, he confronts the terrors of his past, society’s obstacles to inclusion and the often-paralyzing beauty of his own senses. A first-of-its-kind collaboration between a veteran filmmaker and a nonspeaking autistic, Robert Rooy and DJ share editorial control as they navigate the challenges of representing autism. Deej is a story told from the inside, not by parents or “experts”.

“A breath of fresh air comes in foregrounding Deej, front and center, as the agent of his own story.” —Cynthia Wu, School Library Journal

Elephant Path / Njaia Njo
Directed by Todd McGrain
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 52 min

An indelible tale of friendship and commitment to Forest Elephants in the Central African Rainforest. 

“Riveting! Touching, important, beautiful…it opened my eyes.” —Maureen Langan, KGO Radio

“Beautifully crafted and poetic documentary.” —Kristy O’Brien, Eat Drink Films

English Hustle
Directed by Charles Abelmann
New Day Films | Documentary | 2023 | USA | 32 min

Explores the complexities of the multibillion-dollar English online tutoring industry through personal stories with insights from academic experts on Chinese education, history, and foreign affairs. The film explores the power of cultural connections, highlighting the challenging gig work the teachers endured during a financial and political upheaval.

“Fascinating… If you’re interested in the impact of the internet on learning, the networking of the world, and the rise of China, watch English Hustle.” —Ray Suarez, Host, PBS

Expanding Sanctuary
Directed by Kristal Sotomayor
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2023 | 21 min

Winner of the Philadelphia Filmmaker Award at the BlackStar Film Festival, Expanding Sanctuary follows an immigrant mother who becomes a community leader during the fight to end Philadelphia police’s data-sharing with ICE. This powerful story reveals how a resilient Latinx community organized to change legislation, protect families, and challenge systemic injustices against immigrants.

“Expanding Sanctuary is a success story. And a record of how immigrants changed policy in Philadelphia.” —PeakJohnson.com

How to Power a City
Directed by Melanie La Rosa
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 73 min

Explores the front lines of the clean energy revolution. From zeitgeist solar adopters to hurricane survival and communities fighting to keep the lights on, How To Power A City showcases a diverse group of people leading the way to our nation’s clean energy future.

“Provides an unprecedented glimpse into the material steps being taken to improve the energy economy for those curious about green investment and renewable energy redevelopment.” —Evan Robins, Arthur Press

My Brooklyn
Directed by Kelly Anderson
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2012 | 77 min

Director Kelly Anderson documents the redevelopment of Fulton Mall, a bustling African-American and Caribbean commercial district that is maligned for its inability to appeal to the affluent residents who have come to live around it. As a hundred small businesses are replaced by high-rise luxury housing and chain retail, Anderson uncovers the web of global corporations, politicians and secretive public-private partnerships that drive seemingly natural neighborhood change.

“A sensitive study of gentrification … traces a tale of aggressive rezoning, multimillion-dollar development deals and racial displacement. The history of the American city is in itself one of cyclical displacement, but here the apparent lack of transparency and official callousness are especially troubling.” —Jeanette Catsoulis, The New York Times

My Dear Children
Directed by LeeAnn Dance
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 56 min

A woman’s quest to solve a family mystery reveals a forgotten humanitarian tragedy. 

“This extraordinary testament was named ‘Audience Favorite’ in the documentary category at our festival. People loved it, were incredibly touched by it, and agreed that it was a very important piece of history that should not be forgotten.” —Julie Sherman, Chair, Harrisburg Jewish Film Festival

Friday, July 18

Thunder
Directed by Carmen Jaquier
With Lilith Grasmug, Sabine Timoteo, François Revaclier, Barbara Tobola
Dekanalog | Feature | Switzerland | 2022 | 92 min

Inspired by Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1964 neorealist drama The Gospel According to St. Matthew, this bold feature debut is set in a lush Swiss valley in the summer of 1900, where young Elisabeth is preparing to take her vows at a nunnery, where she was sent to pray. After five years in pious seclusion, Elisabeth’s fate is altered when she is summoned home to work the fields following the death of her elder sister, Innocente. While it was Innocente who instilled in Elisabeth a devotion to God, she learns that her sister’s soul has been condemned to wander.

“Pure visual poetry.” —Stephen Dalton, The Film Verdict

“A rich and moving story about faith. Gorgeously filmed. Sensually thrilling.” —Ed Frankl, The Film Stage 

Wednesday, July 23

Nobody Wants Us
Directed by Laura Seltzer-Duny
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2020 | 43 min

The story of three teenagers and their families hoping to make it safely onto American soil while trying to escape the Nazi invasion of Europe.

“Powerful, important, and profoundly moving. An urgent reminder that courage can be as contagious as fear, and much more meaningful.” —Blanche Wiesen Cook, Author of Eleanor Roosevelt biographies, US History & Women’s Studies Professor, John Jay College & City University of NY

Rollout
Directed by Trevor Zimmer
New Day Films | Documentary | 2024 | Kenya | 16 min

A vérité-style journey alongside residents of a tight-knit Kenyan community, as they face mounting pressure from a government they don’t trust, to get a Covid-19 vaccine they fear may cause more harm than good.

“A poignant look at vaccine hesitancy within communities, offering a human perspective that’s both enlightening and essential for understanding public health challenges.” —George Osoro Momanyi, Pandemic & Epidemic Intelligence Hub, World Health Organization

Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World
Directed by Glenn Morey
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2018 | 38 min

Nine international stories of abandonment, relinquishment, orphanages, and inter-country adoption.

“While inter-country adoptions provided these children with a new family and home, for many the pain of abandonment lingered, a sense of loss buried deep within, only to resurface years later.” —Joan MacDonald, Forbes

Sin País
Directed by Theo Rigby
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2010 | 20 min

In 1992, Sam and Elida Mejia left Guatemala during a violent civil war and brought their one-year-old son, Gilbert, to California. The Mejia’s settled in the Bay Area, and for the past 17 years they have worked multiple jobs to support their family, paid their taxes, and saved enough to buy a home. Two years ago, immigration agents stormed the Mejia’s house looking for someone who didn’t live there. Sam, Elida, and Gilbert were all undocumented and became deeply entangled in the U.S. immigration system. With intimate access and striking imagery, Sin País explores the complexities of the Mejia’s new reality of a separated family – parents without their children, and children without their parents.

The Interpreters
Directed by Andres Caballero & Sofian Khan
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2019 | 57 min

Nominated for a 2020 Emmy Award, The Interpreters tells the story of Afghan and Iraqi interpreters who served as a crucial bridge between American soldiers and local nationals. But as a result of their work with the U.S. forces, many have become targets. Now they’re struggling to find a way out for themselves and their families.

“Needs to be seen.” —Christopher Llewellyn Reed, Hammer to Nail

What These Walls Won’t Hold
Directed by Adamu Chan
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2023 | 43 min

Adamu Chan’s powerful documentary transcends the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing resilience and hope inside San Quentin State Prison. As a formerly incarcerated person, Chan offers an insider’s perspective on his journey to freedom while amplifying the voices of his community on both sides of the prison walls.

Who Am I To Stop It
Directed by Cheryl Green, Cynthia Lopez
New Day Films | Documentary | USA | 2016 | 86 min, 16 min, 27 min, 32 min

Documentary on isolation, art, and transformation after traumatic brain injury.

“Co-directed by a person with brain injury disabilities, the film provides an intimate look into many topics that go unaddressed as people move through medical care and rehabilitation by demonstrating the complex life worlds that brain injury survivors hope others around them will honor and come to understand.” —Video Librarian

Thursday, July 24

With a Stroke of the Chaveta 
Directed by Pam Sporn
New Day Films | Documentary | Cuba | 2020 | 28 min

The untold story of cigarmakers and literature in Cuba. 

“A revealing contemporary view of a thriving cultural institution, created by and for workers long before the Cuban revolution.” —Robert Ingalls, Professor Emeritus, University of South Florida, Co-author of Tampa Cigar Workers: A Pictorial History

Silvio Rodriguez: My First Calling
Directed by Catherine Murphy
New Day Films | Documentary | Cuba | 2022 | 25 min

The little-known story of global music giant and Cuban troubador Silvio Rodriguez, who recounts his experience as a 1961 Literacy Campaign brigadista, where at only 14-years of age he taught a rural campesino family how to read and write.

“Murphy manages to reconstruct an intimate vision of the campaign through the memories that the musician shares.” —María Isabel Alfonso, NACLA Review

“Mr. Rodríguez was a pioneer of Cuban nueva trova, which was part of the folky, literary, socially conscious songwriting movement that spread from South America (where it was called nueva canción, or new song) through the Caribbean in the 1960s… His songs are full of seekers, trying to find inspiration, answers, love and causes worth fighting for.” —Jon Pareles, The New York Times

Friday, July 25

Streetwise 
Directed by Na Jiazuo
With Li Jiuxiao, Huang Miyi, Sha Baoliang, Yao Lu
Dekanalog | Feature | China | 2021 | 93 min

This nocturnal neo-noir is set in Zhenwu, one of the many small towns in the Sichuan province where the young people who remain are those who could not afford to leave. With his father requiring costly and continual hospital treatment due to complications brought on by alcoholism, aimless youth Dongzi ends up working as a debt collector for the local mafia. Further complicating things, Dongzi is in love with the boss’s wife, a troubled tattoo parlor owner who dreams of divorcing her husband and fleeing. A gritty portrait of a group of outcasts in a fading riverside town as they come to terms with life’s uneasy lot. 

Critic’s Pick! “This consistently striking and deeply sad picture is the directorial feature debut of Na Jiazuo, who executes it with an assurance that makes him more than merely promising… The perspectives here put this picture in a different dimension from the average coming-of-age-in-crime movie.”  —Glenn Kenny, The New York Times

“Na’s sincerity and facility with moody atmosphere make for more than simple pastiche… an invigorating, auspicious debut.” —Daniel Gorman, In Review Online

Wednesday, July 30

An Act of Conscience
Directed by Robbie Leppzer
New Day Films | Documentary | 1997 | USA | 90 min

Filmed in a cinema-verité style over five-years, this feature-length documentary, narrated by Martin Sheen, chronicles the story of a family in western Massachusetts whose home was seized by federal marshals and IRS agents after they publicly refused to pay federal taxes as a protest against war and military spending. Digitally remastered 4K version.

Leona’s Sister Gerri
Directed by Jane Gillooly
New Day Films | Documentary | 1995 | USA | 57 min

Tells the story of Gerri Santoro, a working-class mother of two and the “real person” in the now famous photo of an anonymous woman on a motel floor dead from an illegal abortion. Powerfully addressing issues of reproductive rights and domestic violence, Leona’s Sister Gerri is a moving portrait of Gerri Santoro’s life and society’s response to her death.

“Forceful, intimate, unpretentious and devastating.” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Truly remarkable” —John Leonard, New York Magazine

Time Passages
Directed by Kyle Henry
New Day Films | Documentary | 2024 | USA | 87 min

A gay filmmaker “time travels” during a global pandemic as his mother’s health declines from late-stage dementia in a race against the clock to resolve their fraught relationship before it’s too late. A playful journey through matters of life and grief.

“A disarmingly devastating and sweet documentary that celebrates life in its multifaceted complexity.” —Zachary Lee, RogerEbert.com

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

Alcestis, Lewis Klahr (2021)
An Act of Conscience, Robbie Leppzer (1997)
Benevolence, A Journey, Joanne Hershfield (2018)
Deej, Robert Rooy (2017)
Elephant Path / Njaia Njo, Todd McGrain (2018)
English Hustle, Charles Abelmann (2023)
Expanding Sanctuary, Kristal Sotomayor (2023)
Green White Green, Abba T. Makama (2016)
How to Power a City, Melanie La Rosa (2024)
Leona’s Sister Gerri, Jane Gillooly (1995)
Monogram, Lewis Klahr (2019)
My Brooklyn, Kelly Anderson (2012)
My Dear Children, LeeAnn Dance (2018)
My Motherland, Benoit Cohen (2023)
Nobody Wants Us, Laura Seltzer-Duny (2020)
Red Soil, Farid Bentoumi (2020)
Rollout, Trevor Zimmer (2024)
Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and Into the World, Glenn Morey (2018)
Silvio Rodriguez: My First Calling, Catherine Murphy (2022)
Sin País, Theo Rigby (2010)
Streetwise, Na Jiazuo (2020) 
Tanna, Bentley Dean & Martin Butler (2016)
The Art of Nothing, Stefan Liberski (2024)
The Interpreters, Andres Caballero & Sofian Khan (2019)
The Three Friends of the Cold Season, Lewis Klahr (2024)
Thin Rain, Lewis Klahr (2023)
This is Not a Movie: Robert Fisk and The Politics of Truth, Yung Chang (2019)
Thunder, Carmen Jaquier (2022)
Time Passages, Kyle Henry (2024)
Turn It Back, Lewis Klahr (2012)
Well Then There Now, Lewis Klahr (2011)
What These Walls Won’t Hold, Adamu Chan (2023)
Who Am I To Stop It, Cheryl Green & Cynthia Lopez (2016)
With a Stroke of the Chaveta, Pam Sporn (2020)