POV

How to Have an American Baby is a kaleidoscopic voyage into the shadow economy that caters to Chinese tourists who travel to the US to give birth in order to obtain citizenship for their babies. Told through a series of intimately observed vignettes, the story of a hidden global economy emerges–depicting the fortunes and tragedies that befall the ordinary people caught in its web.

A vibrant tender cine-poem, a filmmaker collaborates with her Nisei mother as they confront the painful curious reality of wisdom ‘gone wild’ in the shadows of dementia. Made over 16 years, the film blends humor and sadness in an encounter between mother and daughter that blooms into an affectionate portrait of love, care, and a relationship transformed.

Two stories from California and Texas excavating distinct portraits of place, politics, and economy. In When the LAPD Blows Up Your Neighborhood, locals and news organizations witness a volatile situation turn into a literal powder keg. In When It’s Good It’s Good, a filmmaker returns to West Texas and documents the local oil industry's boom and bust.

Wearing snapback caps and Air Jordans, the Reality Poets don’t look like typical nursing home residents. In Fire Through Dry Grass, these young, Black and brown disabled artists document their lives on lockdown during Covid, using their poetry and art to underscore the danger and imprisonment they feel. In the face of institutional neglect, they refuse to be abused, confined, and erased.

At 14, Aurora Madriganian survived the horrors of the Armenian Genocide and escaped to New York, where her story became a media sensation. Her newfound fame led to her starring as herself in Auction of Souls, one of Hollywood's earliest blockbusters. Blending storybook animation, video testimony, and rediscovered footage from her lost silent epic, Aurora's Sunrise revives her forgotten story.

How would you handle the trauma of losing a loved one? Set in Philadelphia, Murders That Matter documents African American, Muslim mother Movita Johnson-Harrell over five years as she transforms from victim of violent trauma into a fierce advocate against gun violence in Black communities. Her relentless activism exposes the emotional and psychological toll the killings take on those left behind.

While traveling through the Amazon, Uýra shares ancestral knowledge with Indigenous youth to promote the significance of identity and place, threatened by Brazil's oppressive political regime. Through dance, poetry, and stunning characterization, Uýra boldly confronts historical racism, transphobia, and environmental destruction, while emphasizing the interdependence of humans and the environment.

After 20 years living in the United States, an undocumented family decides to return home. Little do they know it will be the most difficult journey of their lives and reawaken an intense desire for a place to belong. Set between the rodeo arenas of North Carolina and the spellbinding Mexican town they yearn for, Bulls and Saints is a love story about reverse migration, rebellion, and redemption.

A timely depiction of a newsroom in crisis, While We Watched follows tormented journalist Ravish Kumar for two years as he battles a barrage of fake news, falling ratings and the resulting cutbacks. Are there viewers for fact-based analyses anymore? Will his show survive or become a swan song of reason – drowning out in sensationalism, misinformation, and ratings-driven editorial decisions?

Children of the Mist traces the story of Di, a 13-year-old girl coming of age in an indigenous Hmong community in the mountains of Northwest Vietnam. As part of the first generation in her village with access to formal education, Di navigates the cultural and social challenges faced by young girls in her community while balancing inherited tradition with change.

In a mountainous but extremely green landscape, goats jump over the rocks and laughing children run after them. In this paradise on earth, nomadic families have found their temporary home. From one of these families comes a teenage girl, Shahnaz. She’s been told she should be getting married soon, but her thoughts are focused on the world of literature.

Two stories exploring themes of memory, devastation, and resiliency through Detroit and Canarsie’s unique relationships to water.