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New Zealand | 2024 | 124
When grief-stricken Mareta (Anapela Polataivao) takes a substitute teaching role at an elite prep school, she forms a choir to unite the privileged yet disconnected students. As they prepare for an all-school competition, her passion for life is reignited, transforming her students forever in this rousing crowd-pleaser.
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USA | 2024 | 108
Patricia Clarkson shines in this rousing profile of courage as Lilly Ledbetter, the Alabama Goodyear factory worker whose tireless fight for women’s equal pay went all the way to the Supreme Court. Like <i>Norma Rae</i> and <i>Erin Brockovich</i>, Lilly packs a sweet punch for justice.
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Italy/Israel | 2024 | 108
In this gripping adaptation of Azar Nafisi’s memoir, a fearless professor secretly gathers seven of her most dedicated female students to discuss forbidden Western classics after fundamentalists seize control of their country. Their solidarity helps them navigate life-altering choices in a repressive society. Winner of the Audience Award and the Special Jury Award for the Female Cast at the 2024 Rome Film Festival.
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Brazil | 2024 | 136
From director Walter Salles (<i>The Motorcycle Diaries</i>, PSIFF 2005) comes his most personal and powerful film, telling the true story of a mother of five who reinvents herself as an activist after her family endures an unspeakable act of violence during Brazil's dictatorship.
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Congratulations to the <i>I'm Still Here</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
USA/Ukraine | 2024 | 109
The heroic efforts of zookeepers and volunteers to rescue 5,000 animals under Russian bombardment from the Feldman Ecopark in Ukraine during the early days of the war are recounted in this edge-of-your-seat document. It is both a harrowing and uplifting testament to courage under fire.
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Congratulations to the <i>Checkpoint Zoo</i> team on receiving the Desert Views Award at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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USA | 2024 | 123
Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome) who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams.
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Iceland | 2024 | 121
As COVID-19 shuts down international travel, an older widower, Kristoffer, embarks on a journey from Iceland to England and Japan to find Miko, the one who got away, in this achingly poignant romantic drama.
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Congratulations to the <i>Touch</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Canada | 2024 | 103
Inspired by a true story, this 1970s-set dramedy follows a gruff New Brunswick plumber (Charlie Creed-Miles) as he reluctantly drives to Toronto to bail his estranged, gay brother (Alan Cumming) out of jail. Forced together, the brothers face their differences on an unforgettable journey home.
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USA | 2024 | 92
Hollywood’s most coveted songwriter – with Beyoncé, Cher, Lady Gaga, Celine Dion, and Toni Braxton among her many devotees – writes heart-rending love songs but prefers animals to people. She’s worth billions but isn’t interested in spending it. Meet the prickly, fascinating musical poet who’s been nominated for 15 Oscars® – and never won.
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Australia | 2024 | 98
Stubborn and cantankerous Australian director Bill Bennett adapts his own bestselling memoir chronicling his experience walking the 800-kilometer Camino de Santiago pilgrimage trail across northern Spain just months before his 60th birthday.
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USA | 2024 | 114
The tumultuous journey of beloved singer-songwriter Janis Ian – who found fame as a teenager with her boundary-breaking song “Society’s Child” – unfolds in this saga of an artist who triumphed over homophobia, a misogynistic music industry, debilitating health issues, and a gun-toting lover.
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Thailand | 2024 | 125
A lazy college dropout quits his job to care for his grandmother, hoping to inherit her fortune. This deeply affecting portrait offers an honest look at a family grappling with clashing values and dynamics as they face the impending loss of their matriarch.
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Congratulations to the <i>How to Make Millions Before Grandma Dies</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Mexico | 2024 | 126
Sujo's childhood is marked by devastating events that test his morals. When he becomes a teenager, he faces a choice between repeating his family's history or breaking free from an unwanted heritage. This hopeful tale explores alternative paths to violence – challenging, uncertain, and, even if only slightly, possibly achievable.
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France | 2024 | 92
Exhausted by the grueling Parisian gig economy, undocumented Guinean immigrant and bicycle courier Souleymane (2024 Cannes Un Certain Regard Best Actor winner Abou Sangaré) races against time to prepare for his asylum interview in this gripping social thriller.
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Congratulations to the <i>Souleymane's Story</i> team on receiving the Bridging the Borders Award at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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USA | 2024 | 98
With a career spanning eight decades, Ottawa-born singer-songwriter Paul Anka has left a lasting mark on the music industry. In this all-encompassing tribute, brimming with archival footage and candid moments, Anka – still going strong – offers in his own words a vivid glimpse into his remarkable life and enduring legacy.
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USA | 2024 | 96
Texas-born Sally Gearhart was a fiery, charismatic lesbian feminist, teacher, and fantasy writer. She fought alongside Harvey Milk, founded a radical, free-loving women’s commune in Northern California, and comes to vibrant life in this funny, revelatory celebration of her high-octane life.
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USA | 2024 | 86
A small, determined group of Blackfoot people strive to restore their land's ecology, cultural roots, and spiritual connection by reintroducing buffalo to Blackfeet territory, a century after the species' near-extinction. Narrated by Oscar®-nominee Lily Gladstone, this evocative and moving film captures a powerful, community-led journey toward renewal and healing.
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Ireland/United Kingdom | 2024 | 99
Condemned by the Catholic Church, the taboo-shattering Irish novelist Edna O'Brien, who passed away in 2024 at 93, is the subject of this fascinating portrait. Her feminism, liberated lifestyle, famous London parties, and brutally honest writing changed the landscape of Irish literature.
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India/USA | 2024 | 127
Based on the life of aspiring filmmaker Nasir Shaik, who, short on funds but driven by his love of movies, sets out to remake a classic, enlisting his pals as cast and crew while transforming his small town of Malegaon into an unlikely dream factory.
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Congratulations to the <i>Superboys of Malegaon</i> team on receiving the Young Cineastes Special Mention at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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Germany | 2024 | 135
Driven by a quest for perfection, John Cranko (Sam Riley) is the toast of 1950s London until he's prosecuted for homosexuality. Recruited by the Stuttgart Ballet, the manic workaholic revitalizes the company and builds a world-renowned ensemble while grappling with destructive urges in this dance-infused tribute to the virtuoso choreographer.
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Finland/Austria/Estonia/Germany/Sweden | 2025 | 85
This powerful film reveals a little-known chapter of history: the deportation of eight Austrian-Jewish refugees from Finland by the Gestapo during World War II. Abraham Stiller (Ville Virtanen), a pillar of Helsinki's Jewish community, fights to save them in director Klaus Härö’s resonant, moving drama.
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USA/Canada | 2023 | 99
In this hilarious rom-com, Naveen (Karan Soni) introduces his white fiancé Jay (Tony Award winner Jonathan Groff) to his conservative Indian parents, who must reconcile their traditional values with their son’s love while planning the perfect traditional Indian wedding to honor two gay men.
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Czech Republic | 2024 | 131
Set in 1968, a pivotal moment in modern Czech history, this dynamic and suspenseful drama follows the international office at Czechoslovak Radio led by editor Milan Weiner, whose commitment to honest journalism and the truth puts the organization in the crosshairs of the secret police.
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Congratulations to the <i>Waves</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Latvia | 2024 | 84
After a flood destroys their homes, a courageous, resilient cat finds itself on a boat with various species in this profound animated meditation on the fragility of the environment and the importance of friendship and community. Rated PG.
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Congratulations to the <i>Flow</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Romania | 2024 | 138
This slyly funny tragicomedy explores the 1989 fall of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu through the interconnected stories of six ordinary citizens. The feature debut of 2019 Palm Springs ShortFest Best of the Festival winner Bogdan Mureşanu is a thrillingly confident work full of wit, irony, and empathy.
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USA | 2024 | 104
This mesmerizing, music-rich documentary charts the dazzling rise and tormented fall of keyboard genius and conflicted gay artist Billy Preston. Follow his journey from gospel roots in the 1950s to inspired collaborations with the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, to the 1970s in Topanga Canyon.
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United Kingdom/Spain | 2024 | 110
A deliciously wry Steve Coogan teams up with the director of <i>The Full Monty</i> in this irresistible dramedy about a disaffected English schoolteacher in militaristic Argentina, whose life – and those of his spoiled pupils – is transformed when he rescues and adopts an adorable penguin.
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USA | 2024 | 99
Prepare to be outraged and moved by this impassioned film about the fight for reproductive rights in Texas, featuring extraordinary women and a brave lawyer who wage an uphill battle against the state's draconian laws, which have put the lives of so many women in peril.
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Palestine | 2024 | 96
This award-winning documentary, filmed over five years by a collective of Palestinians and Israelis, captures the systematic destruction of the villages of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank by the Israeli military. It's both a shattering exposé and a nuanced story of cross-cultural friendship.
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USA | 2024 | 102
When Lily (Barbie Ferreira) turns to Facebook to track down her estranged father, she instead forms a surprising connection with a compassionate, childless stranger (John Leguizamo) who shares his name. Winner of the 2024 SXSW Grand Jury and Audience awards, writer/director Tracie Laymon's witty, touching debut is inspired by her own extraordinary experiences.
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India | 2023 | 123
This delightful adventure follows two young brides from arranged marriages who are mistakenly swapped during a chaotic train ride, and find their lives flipped upside down when, upon arrival, they lift their veils, revealing that each husband is now with the wrong wife.
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Palestine/Germany/France/Italy/Qatar | 2024 | 123
Told in four chapters, this lively, naturalistic, award-winning drama follows a family of Palestinian citizens of Israel in Haifa. Through his characters, Oscar®-nominated director Scandar Copti (<i>Ajami</i>) explores deep divides between genders and ethnicities while exposing the traditions and values that shape their lives. Best Film, Thessaloniki.
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Congratulations to the <i>Happy Holidays</i> team on receiving the Bridging the Borders Award Special Mention at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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USA | 2024 | 101
What would you do if you had six months to live? At 22, Peace Corps volunteer and USC graduate Shalin Shah (Kapil Talwalkar) chooses to make a difference. Based on a true story, Shah's viral manifesto urges people to cherish every moment, transforming his passion for life into a lasting movement.
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Ireland | 2024 | 105
Based on a politically charged true story, two young Irish men join forces with a local teacher to form the hip-hop group Kneecap, sparking a movement around the Irish language. Featuring the real-life Kneecap members playing themselves, this riotous anthem crackles with ripped-from-the-headlines energy and rebellious spirit.
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Congratulations to the <i>Kneecap</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Sweden | 2024 | 91
In a heartfelt effort to rekindle his 80-year-old father’s zest for life, filmmaker Filip Hammar surprises him with a road trip to the French coastal town where they spent family holidays to revisit cherished memories in this touching and humorous first-person documentary. Audience Award, Newport Beach.
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Norway | 2024 | 141
Both a bold historical drama and a penetrating psychological study of a delusional authoritarian, the latest from director Erik Poppe (<i>The King’s Choice</i>, PSIFF 2016) revisits Germany’s occupation of Norway and its aftermath through the story of wartime puppet leader and Nazi collaborator Vidkun Quisling.
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Italy | 2024 | 119
The arrival of a young army deserter from the South during the final year of World War II sends ripples through a remote mountain community, profoundly impacting the extended family of a local school teacher in this intimate drama that garnered multiple awards at the 2024 Venice Film Festival.
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Congratulations to the <i>Vermiglio</i> team on making the shortlist for Best International Feature Film for the 97th Academy Awards!
Georgia/Israel/Iran | 2023 | 103
Co-directed by the Iran-born Cannes Best Actress winner from <i>Holy Spider</i> (PSIFF 2023) and the Israel-born filmmaker behind <i>Golda</i> (PSIFF 2024), this tension-filled sports drama follows an Iranian judo champion who defies her country’s orders to forfeit a match, leading to dire consequences for her and her coach.
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Congratulations to the <i>Tatami</i> team on receiving the Young Cineastes Award at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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Spain/Italy | 2024 | 112
Based on a true story, this riveting drama follows council member Nevenka Fernández as she is relentlessly pursued by the town mayor, a man used to getting what he wants. Her decision to report him transforms her courageous fight into Spain's first #MeToo case.
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USA | 2024 | 87
In the unforgiving Sonoran Desert, Rafael Larraenza leads a volunteer organization dedicated to searching for migrants risking their lives to cross into the United States. When a Salvadoran woman reports her son is missing, Rafael sets off to find him in the sweltering borderlands.
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Congratulations to the <i>Desert Angel</i> team on receiving the Desert Views Award Special Mention at the 2025 Palm Springs International Film Festival!
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USA | 2024 | 90
For over 20 years, Dick Perez was the official artist of the Baseball Hall of Fame, painting the game's history and every Hall of Famer – a project he continues into his 80s. Director Marq Evans (<i>Claydream</i>, PSIFF 2022) tells the fascinating story of this childhood immigrant whose portraits transformed the commemoration of America's most iconic pastime.
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