Utopia Film Festival

Greenbelt, Maryland • October 19-21, 2024


2022 Films: Documentaries & Narrative​s

View our 2022 Animations & Films by Youth Selections →

Documentaries

Be Water - Andes to Amazonia 
Director: Julia Blagny / France
52 min. | Documentary Feature

Water is the essence of life, but water can turn dangerous. The rivers of Bolivia, veins of the heart of South America, are turning black and red, and may disappear if nothing is done to turn things around.
Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops
Director: Susan Gray / USA
13 min. | Documentary Short 

Narrated by actor Richard Gere, this series of five short films features twelve leading climate scientists who explore how human-caused emissions are triggering nature’s “warming loops.”
ELEMENTAL, reimagining our relationship with wildfire
Director: Trip Jennings / USA  
79 min. | Documentary Feature

As fire seasons grow longer and more deadly, approaches to reducing fire risk are failing. But through exploring both scientific and indigenous knowledge about fire, we can find new ways to deal with it.
Forest Her: The Next Wave of Conservation
Director: Cheryle Franceschi / USA
26 min. | Documentary Short

A look at the historic roles women have played in protecting their communities through scientific forest management.
Her Name was Hester
Director: Brian C. Campbell / USA 
73 min. | Documentary Feature

After inheriting her family farm in Georgia, Stacie Marshall returns to rehabilitate it. But she can’t shake the reality that her ancestors enslaved other human beings on the property, and it haunts her. To make amends, she works with African-American friends and neighbors to create something new, while hoping to solve the mystery of a long-ago woman named Hester.
Huni
Director: Dani / Brazil
30 min. | Documentary Short

The Huni are an indigenous tribe living in the Amazon rainforest. Ayahuasca, a psychedelic substance traditionally used by the tribe, is a key part of their spirituality. Each Saturday night, they gather as a tribe, share Ayahuasca and take a night-long inner vision quest. This film documents traditional Huni beliefs and features an Ayahuasca gathering focused on climate change.
Kaotic Drumline: Drumming with a Difference
Director: Aaron Steinberg / USA
12 min. | Documentary Short 

On Chicago’s South Side, drumming brings people together through creativity, energy and hope.
Kharkiv, Ukraine
​My Beautiful, Suffering City
Director: Frank Gervasi, USA
12 min. | Documentary Short 

Through videos and photos, Ukrainian Mariya Tsybulnyk shows us the beauty of Ukraine and the devastation brought by the war there. She also describes her warm welcome to safety and solidarity here in the US.
Mighty Oak  
Directors: Pamela Hoge, Christine Anderson / USA
54 min. | Documentary Feature

A portrait of Dr. Oakleigh Thorne, II: environmental pioneer, transformative educator, joyful musician, and an inspirational leader.
Morning Without Evening
Director: Beate Petersen / Norway
39 min. | Documentary Short

Russian philosopher Nikolai Federov said no social or philosophical problem can be solved until the problem of death is solved. This film explores Fedorov's view, in a society facing Tsarist brutality and revolutionary rumblings.
Mr. Emancipation: The Walter Perry Story 
Director: Preston Chase / Canada
62 min. | Documentary Feature

In 1936, Canadian Walter Perry launched an event that transcended race and class. From 1936 to 1967, his annual Emancipation Day festivals in Windsor, Canada drew celebrities like Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King Jr, and athlete Jesse Owens to parades, soul food, carnival rides, and even a Miss Sepia beauty pageant. But by 1967, racial tensions in Detroit - just across the bridge from Windsor - spurred the event’s demise. This doc explores Perry’s idealistic vision, and the racial harmony his Emancipation Days promoted.
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Restoring Balance: Autism Redefined
Director: Ryan Hetrick / USA
58 min. | Documentary Feature

As autism rates rise, hopeful families look to possible new therapies for their autistic loved ones.
State of the Unity
Directors: Nathaniel Paul Hoff, Jillian Ann Speece / USA
88 min. | Documentary Feature

Is unity possible? Brooklyn’s Bergamot Band hit the road to all 50 states, exploring how music might help unify a diverse nation.
The Sun Rises in the East
Director: Tayo Giwa / USA 
58 min. | Documentary Feature

A look at the birth and legacy of “The East,” a pan-African cultural organization founded by teenagers and young adults in 1969 Brooklyn.
The Wandering Jew: A Historic Tale
Director: Pierre-Henry Salfaii / France
52 min. | Documentary Feature

A provocative examination of the “Wandering Jew” myth, from the late Middle Ages to the early 20th Century. According to this legend, Jesus - in retribution for his crucifixion - ordained that Jews would wander, homeless, until his return. 
Third Base to Faith 
Director: Amina Chaudary / USA      
11 min. | Documentary Short

Nabeel, a thirteen year old boy, struggles to navigate his identity as a young American Muslim. He works hard to memorize the Quran and plays hard to help take his baseball team to championship games. But his challenging quest ultimately helps create a bond with his immigrant father.
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Train to Budapest
Director: Noemi La Barbera / Italy
30 min. | Documentary Short

For Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion, Budapest, Hungary is a critical destination point. It’s also the start of an unknown journey for those crowding the Zahony station to get across the Hungarian border.
Trees: The Lungs of Our Community
Director: Matt Carl / USA
13 min. | Documentary Short

Thanks to development and climate change, Hyattsville, Maryland has suffered a notable loss of its tree canopy in recent years, This film aims to raise awareness of the importance trees have in our everyday lives, and the risks we take by neglecting them.
Watching the Wilds
Director: Nick Natalicchio / USA
21 min. | Documentary Short

A look at the lookout towers used to spot and report wildfires in the Moshannon Forest District of Pennsylvania.
WILD in the Garden State
Director: Sarah I Galloway / USA
30 min. | Documentary Short 

After Sarah and Dave moved from a New York City apartment to a New Jersey house, they set out to transform its 130-foot span of suburban lawn into a unique personal park dominated by native plants. They both wanted a beautiful, eco-friendly garden but had little gardening experience. Fortunately for us, over a 10-year period they learned a lot - and recorded themselves making gardening mis-steps, learning lessons and creating their dream garden by going WILD in the Garden State.

Narrative Features & Shorts

One Yes the Other No
Director: Juanita Umana / USA
10 min. | Narrative Short

In the Bogota mountains, a woman ages before our eyes, experiencing moments in her life that shape her understanding of sisterhood, beauty, and death.
Piecing Together the Portraits of You
Directors: Dominique Holliday, Javier Castillo / USA
34 min. | Narrative Short

A story about grief and conventional gender roles within a Latino household after the death of family members.
Sandstone
Director: Nicholas Rapuano / USA
71 min. | Narrative Feature

In light of a disturbing social media post, a respected auto mechanic faces community disgrace.
The Misanthrope.
Director: Andy Kastelic / USA
14 min. | Narrative Short

When a deadly sickness descends, a heartbroken gravedigger imposes a grievous new law.
The Voice
Director: Ali Abdollahi / Iran
14 min. | Narrative Short

Based on the filmmaker’s personal experiences, the story of a taxi driver who lost a romantic relationship during 2009 Iranian student protests.
View our 2022 Animations & Films by Youth Selections →

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