Catherine Gund

Ivy Young (1947-2023), a black lesbian journalist and organizer, knows that mainstream society will not preserve her story after she's gone, so she rallies friends and her niece Jade – a history teacher whom she inspired with her vision and her grit – to defy the past for the sake of a shared future of resilience, compassion, and love. Together with history student Mariah, and lifelong friend Catherine, they explore Ivy’s archive of experience, illuminating her life across queer generations, forging a bridge between memory, activism, and identity.

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A groundbreaking, immersive, nonlinear cinematic journey where artists' expressions blend with historical and real-life footage, unveils the profound impact of white supremacy on our human connections. Led by a dynamic team including Jacqueline Woodson, Catherine Gund, Erika Dilday, Meshell Ndegeocello, and M. Trevino, this collaborative masterpiece weaves together diverse visions, poignantly revealing how race, racism, and resistance shape our shared breath, not just in moments of crisis, but in the enduring, pervasive legacy of that risk.

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In 1971, underestimated artist Faith Ringgold made a monumental painting for the women incarcerated at Rikers Island jail called “For the Women’s House.” Fifty years later, artist Mary Baxter, who at the age of twenty-five gave birth in prison, finds herself banding together with an eccentric bunch of activists, politicians, artists, corrections officers, and Faith Ringgold to free the painting with the ultimate goal of freeing the women.

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An exploration of the nexus of art, race, and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund who sold Roy Lichtenstein’s painting “Masterpiece” in 2017 for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund to end mass incarceration.

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Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

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Dispatches from Cleveland is a focused on ordinary Clevelanders who have been long shaken by police misconduct, social discrimination, and poverty. Depicting intersecting movements in Cleveland, the series examines how residents' love for their hometown pushes them to work together to bring about real change in one of the most racially divided cities in America.

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Born to Fly pushes the boundaries between action and art, daring us to join choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her dancers in pursuit of human flight.

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WHAT'S ON YOUR PLATE is a witty and provocative documentary about kids and food politics. Filmed over the course of one year, the film follows two eleven-year-old African-American city kids as they explore their place in the food chain. Sadie and Safiyah take a close look at food systems in New York City and its surrounding areas. They formulate sophisticated and compassionate opinions about urban sustainability, and by doing so inspire hope and active engagement in others.

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Documentary that examines lesbian motherhood through the eyes of longtime partners Ann Krsul and Leslie Sullivan, who desperately want to have a child.

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Documentary exploring Ron Athey’s life and career as a queer HIV-positive body modification and performance artist, including several of Athey’s internationally staged works from the late 1990s.

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The first educational media project to examine the related policy initiatives of the radical right wing and illustrate how their hatred and bias hurts ordinary people. It presents three case studies of the democratic right: racist David Duke's electoral bids in Louisiana; the struggle over homophobic Amendment 2 in Colorado, which was ruled unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in May 1996; and the scapegoating of immigrants, people of color, and women through Proposition 187 and Proposition 209 in California. In each case, When Democracy Works highlights the work of progressive grassroots organizers to thwart the radical right and uphold democratic values.

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A documentary about lesbians preserving their history, with a focus on the work of the Lesbian Herstory Archives. Includes interviews with Joan Nestle, Jewelle Gomez, and Mariana Romo-Carmona, among others. Profiled are Mabel Hampton, Marge McDonald, theater group 5 Lesbian Brothers, and Asian Lesbians of the East Coast.

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Catherine Gund interviews butch lesbians about the murder of Brandon Teena.

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A few tips on how to pick up girls at The Clit Club in New York City.

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Amid a galloping onslaught of misinformation and violence, lesbians and gay men in the U.S. are struggling harder than ever to claim their civil and human rights. While the insurgent Religious Right mobilizes to implement anti-gay measures state by state, the lesbian and gay community is activating to turn the tide of discrimination and keep its eyes on federal gay rights at the same time. The film is a document of the religious right's blatant and hateful attacks against the lesbian and gay community and it reveals the real agenda of the Christian Right to gain power and impose a "Biblical rule".'

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The film explores some of the historical, emotional and social interpretations of Jacqueline Woodson's personal essay "Growing Up Black and Gay Among Good Christian Peoples." The video combines Woodson reading her own compelling essay with footage shot in Pixel Vision imagining childhood memories through interviews, and adults play-acting by reading a children's Bible and having slumber parties.

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A powerful profile of women prisoners in New York dealing with HIV/AIDS.

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This film portrays a jealous triangle. Simone and Kaye are lovers trying desperately to escape New York City and the reality of their friend Ayo's abusive relationship.

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Simply stated, Arroe is a black fashion model, a lesbian, who deals with issues of racism in an industry that is intolerant of variation from either the passive Anglo ideal, or that of the exoticized, primitivized woman of color. There is nothing simple about Catherine Saalfield’s Infidel, however, as the film uncovers and repositions layers of myth about female beauty, the function of racism in standardizing our ideals, and the necessity of female self-consciousness in a scheme that demands both conformity and uniqueness. Partly autobiographical, and partly extracted from collective experience, this jumpy, tightly crafted narrative reconstructs the process behind the formulation of self-image.

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Intimate scenes of gentle sexuality and domesticity set to the mechanical cadence of a projector (evoking a feeling somewhere between the repetitive labour of a sewing machine and violence of a machine gun) are juxtaposed with images of police and sirens to highlight the alarming intrusion of America’s laws on queer people and women’s bodies in healthcare, sexual expression, and desire.

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A groundbreaking, immersive, nonlinear cinematic journey where artists' expressions blend with historical and real-life footage, unveils the profound impact of white supremacy on our human connections. Led by a dynamic team including Jacqueline Woodson, Catherine Gund, Erika Dilday, Meshell Ndegeocello, and M. Trevino, this collaborative masterpiece weaves together diverse visions, poignantly revealing how race, racism, and resistance shape our shared breath, not just in moments of crisis, but in the enduring, pervasive legacy of that risk.

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On October 18 2019, a student uprising was triggered in Santiago over the Chilean government’s increase in metro fare. As the country awakens to the unrelenting abuse of power enacted by a neoliberalist government, and a mistrust in the political class intensifies, we follow Angy and Felipe—two parents who embrace their new roles as activists and enlist in the expanding movement that is fighting for a new Constitution and a just society.

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An exploration of the nexus of art, race, and justice through the story of art collector and philanthropist Agnes Gund who sold Roy Lichtenstein’s painting “Masterpiece” in 2017 for $165 million to start the Art for Justice Fund to end mass incarceration.

Open details →

A cinematic omnibus rooted in New Orleans, challenging the idea of black cinema as a "wave" or "movement in time," proposing instead a continuous thread of achievement.

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Inspired by an exclusive interview and performance footage of Chavela Vargas shot in 1991 and guided by her unique voice, the film weaves an arresting portrait of a woman who dared to dress, speak, sing, and dream her unique life into being.

Open details →