Görünür Görünmez: Bir (Oto)Sansür Antolojisi (Seen Unseen: An Anthology of (Auto)Censorship). 2024. Netherlands/Turkey. Directed by Seen Unseen Collective. Directed by Fırat Yücel, Erhan Örs, Hakan Bozyurt, Can Memiş, Sibil Çekmen, Serra Akcan, Nadir Sönmez, belit sağ. North American premiere. In Turkish, English, Kurdish; English subtitles. 66 min.
It’s a dangerous time to be a journalist, activist, historian, or artist in Turkey. In this politically courageous anthology film, an eight member collective formed by Altyazı Fasikül from Turkey recounts stories of journalistic and artistic repression in contemporary Turkey, questioning the limits of free expression and the risks of (self-)censorship, lawsuits, violence, and imprisonment. Using an arsenal of material—clandestine footage, encrypted communications, eyewitness testimonials, reenactments, and long-suppresed documentation—the filmmakers bear witness to the Gezi protests of 2013, the Armenian genocide, the violation of the rights of political prisoners, and the secret cruising spots of Istanbul where the gay scene is still mostly underground.
Jericho Walk. 2025. USA. Directed by Jim McKay, Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman. World premiere. In English, Spanish, Arabic, Kreyòl, Tamil, Nahuatl, and Kiswahili; no subtitles. 47 min.
Following a tradition of protest and silent prayer that goes back some 3,000 years, the religious and secular volunteers of the New Sanctuary Coalition make seven revolutions around the New York Immigration Court at 26 Federal Plaza, expressing their solidarity with migrants whose fates hang in the balance. Subjected to myriad indignities and the trauma of knowing they can be separated from their families or deported at any time, these are the victims of an increasingly cruel and unjust immigration system in the United States. Award-winning filmmakers Jim McKay, Jeff Reichert, and Farihah Zaman, working with the brilliant sound designer Ernst Karel, document a political action that took place in December 2019.