Abundant Acreage Available
2017 | USA | 80 minutes
Director: Angus MacLachlan
Screenwriter: Angus MacLachlan
Producers: Kate Churchill, Angus MacLachlan
Executive Producer: Martin Scorsese
Cinematographer: Andrew Reed
Editor: Michael R. Miller
Principal Cast: Amy Ryan, Terry Kinney, Max Gail, Francis Guinan, Steve Coulter
Awarded Best Screenplay at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival for a U.S. Narrative Feature film, Abundant Acreage Available deals with the question of legacy and ownership of land rights. A middle-aged brother and sister Jesse (Terry Kinney) and Tracy (Amy Ryan) are coping with their father’s recent death on their North Carolina tobacco farm when three mysterious strangers pay an unexpected visit. Claiming a right to the land that had been in their family for generations before, the three brothers camp out on the farm with no intention of leaving. Torn between their own grief and empathy for the three strangers, Jesse and Tracy try to resolve the underlying tension that continues to build in a stand-off between the two sets of siblings.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films
2017 | Canada | 11 minutes
Director: Evan DeRushie
Birdlime is the name for a sticky substance spread on branches in order to trap wild birds intended for export or trade. This film observes one bird that barely manages to escape this industry, yet remains trapped in a cage and surrounded by unfamiliar sounds and un-birdlike creatures.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
’63 Boycott
2017 | USA | 30 minutes
Directors: Gordon Quinn, Rachel Dickson, Tracye A. Matthews
In 1963, 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. This documentary combines unseen 16mm footage of the boycott with insights from both the original participants, as well as present-day protesters against school closings. ‘63 Boycott connects the forgotten story of one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, and youth activism.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Short Films
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
2017 | USA | 88 minutes
Director: Steve James
Producers: Mark Mitten and Julie Goldman
Cinematographer: Tom Bergmann
Editors: John Farbrother, David E. Simpson
From acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters, Life Itself), Abacus: Small Enough to Jail tells the incredible saga of the Chinese immigrant Sung family, owners of Abacus Federal Savings of Chinatown, New York. Accused of mortgage fraud by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., Abacus becomes the only U.S. bank to face criminal charges in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. The indictment and subsequent trial forces the Sung family to defend themselves – and their bank’s legacy in the Chinatown community – over the course of a five-year legal battle.
- Published in 2018, Colonial Theatre, Feature Films