A look at all the films of 2019's Cinetopia Film Festival

One Child Nation
China’s One Child Policy, the extreme population control measure that made it illegal for couples to have more than one child, may have ended in 2015, but the process of dealing with the trauma of its brutal enforcement is only just beginning. From award-winning documentarian Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow, I Am Another You) and Jialing Zhang, the sweeping One Child Nation explores the ripple effect of this devastating social experiment, uncovering one shocking human rights violation after another - from abandoned newborns, to forced sterilizations and abortions, and government abductions. Wang digs fearlessly into her own personal life, weaving her experience as a new mother and the firsthand accounts of her family members into archival propaganda material and testimony from victims and perpetrators alike, yielding a revelatory and essential record of this chilling, unprecedented moment in human civilization. Sun, May 12 1:15 p.m.; Fri, May 17 7:15 p.m.

Framing John DeLorean
Money, power, politics, drugs, scandal, and fast cars. The incredible story of John DeLorean is the stuff of a Hollywood screenwriter’s dreams. But who was the real John DeLorean? To some, he was a renegade visionary who revolutionized the automobile industry. To others, he was the ultimate con man. For the first time, Framing John DeLorean recounts the extraordinary life and legend of the controversial automaker, tracing his meteoric rise through the ranks of General Motors, his obsessive quest to build a sports car that would conquer the world, and his shocking fall from grace on charges of cocaine trafficking. Interweaving a treasure trove of archival footage with dramatic vignettes starring ALEC BALDWIN, Framing John DeLorean is a gripping look at a man who gambled everything in his pursuit of the American Dream. Both screenings featuring a special guest appearance by producer Tamir Ardon. Sat, May 11 7:00 p.m.; Tue, May 14 7:00 p.m.

Funan
Cambodia, April 1975. Chou is a young woman whose everyday world is suddenly upended by the arrival of the Khmer Rouge regime. During the chaos of the forced exile from their home, Chou and her husband are separated from their 4-year-old son, who has been sent to an unknown location. As she navigates her new reality, working in the fields day and night under the careful watch of soldiers, and surviving the small indignities and harrowing realities of the increasingly grim work camps, Chou remains steadfast in her determination to reunite her family – even if it means risking everything. Winner of the top prizes at the Annecy Animation Festival and the Animation is Film Festival, Funan is a searing and remarkable debut from filmmaker Denis Do, who uses his own family history as inspiration for a thrilling story of love, loss and enduring hope in the most trying of times. Featuring the voices of BÉRÉNICE BEJO (The Artist) and LOUIS GARREL (The Dreamers). Sat, May 11 8:30 p.m.; Sun, May 19 1:30 p.m.

Budapest Noir
Part of the Jewish Film Festival!A beautiful girl is found dead in Budapest 1936 and no one wants to investigate — except Zsigmond Gordon, a world-weary reporter who asks unwanted questions about the seemingly unimportant murder of a young prostitute found beaten to death and dumped in a courtyard. While supposedly covering the funeral of Fascist-leaning Hungarian Prime Minister, Gyula Gombos, Gordon’s investigation leads him deep into the city’s dark underbelly, a shady world of pornographers, fixers, boxing rings, seedy brothels and powerful crime syndicates. Along the way, everyone’s motives are suspect from the lowlifes in the street, to the political activists, to the highest echelons of business and power. Sun, May 12 8:00 p.m.

Health Undocumented (Salud Sin Papeles)
Sparked by backlash to a neo-Nazi rally and a stream of strict anti-immigrant laws passing in Arizona, a group of activists organize to build Phoenix Allies for Community Health, a unique free clinic serving undocumented immigrants. The film follows their journey, delves into the heart and history of the clinic, and chronicles the poignant stories of undocumented patients as well as their courage and resilience. Health Undocumented captures the inspirational birth of a local grassroots movement, full of beautiful human portraits including those of doctors, nurses, and activists who would stop at nothing to make a difference. With special guest appearances from director Juan Freitez and executive producer Chelsea Soyring. Tue, May 14 9:00 p.m.

Dalya’s Other Country
In 2012 Dalya and her mother Rudayna fled Aleppo for Los Angeles as war took over. Months before, Rudayna learns a secret that destroys her marriage, leaving her single at midlife. Arriving in LA, Dalya enrolls as the only Muslim at Holy Family Catholic High School. Can mother and daughter remake themselves while holding on to their Islamic traditions? Immediately following the film, we will be joined by Muslim Americans from the community to discuss being Muslim American in today's world and navigating identities in today's political and social climate. Sat, May 11 6:45 p.m.

Wild Rose
Rose-Lynn Harlan, played by BAFTA Rising Star nominee JESSIE BUCKLEY (Beast), is bursting with raw talent, charisma and cheek. Fresh out of jail and with two young kids, all she wants is to get out of Glasgow and make it as a country singer in Nashville. Her mum Marion (JULIE WALTERS) has had a bellyful of Rose-Lynn’s Nashville nonsense. Forced to take responsibility, Rose-Lynn gets a cleaning job, only to find an unlikely champion in the middle-class lady of the house (SOPHIE OKONEDO). Directed by TOM HARPER, Wild Rose is an uplifting story with an original soundtrack about family, dreams and reality, and three chords and the truth. Sat, May 11 6:30 p.m.; Sat, May 18 2:45 p.m.

After So Many Days
After a decade of making music together, Jim and Sam, a recently married singer/songwriter duo from Los Angeles, were not the successful band they hoped they’d be. Feeling stuck and anxious about their future, the duo made a spontaneous decision to go “all in,” making a pact to play one show every day for a year. With suitcases and a guitar, the troubadours ventured out for a 365-day tour down unexplored roads, and onto unexpected stages, bringing their music to new audiences throughout 14 different countries. After So Many Days, is an intimate front row seat to the highs and lows of what it’s like for two people to pursue a dream, together. Thu, May 16 6:45 p.m.; Fri, May 17 8:00 p.m.; Sat, May 18 12:45 p.m.

Well Groomed
WELL GROOMED travels a year in the humorous and visually stunning world of competitive creative dog grooming alongside the women transforming their beloved poodles into living sculptures.Competitive creative dog grooming is the most colorful competition in America. WELL GROOMED poignantly captures the creative process and traveling with four women at the center of the competition as they enrich their lives through this fascinating intersection of art and animals. Following champion groomers and their gorgeous, vibrant dogs through a year in the life on the technicolor competition circuit, WELL GROOMED effervescently explores an American not often portrayed in cinema. From South Carolina to California, New York to Arkansas, the film follows dog groomers from their homes to large-scale dog grooming competitions and showrooms where their communities meet, discuss, and compete with technicolor exuberance. With special guest appearance by producer Justin Levy on May 18. Sat, May 11 1:30 p.m.; Tue, May 14 7:00 p.m.; Sat, May 18 3:15 p.m.

The Farewell
After learning their beloved matriarch has terminal lung cancer, a family opts not to tell her about the diagnosis, instead scheduling an impromptu wedding-reunion back in China. Headstrong and emotional writer Billi (AWKWAFINA) rebels against her parents’ directive to stay in New York and joins the family as they awkwardly attempt to rekindle old bonds, throw together a wedding that only grandma is actually looking forward to, and surreptitiously say their goodbyes.A heartfelt celebration of both the way we perform family and the way we live it, The Farewell masterfully interweaves a gently humorous depiction of the good lie in action with a thoughtful exploration of how our cultural heritage does and does not travel with us when we leave our homes. Featuring a post-film Q&A with Executive Director Eddie Rubin at both screenings! Sat, May 11 3:30 p.m.; Thu, May 16 6:30 p.m.

Bite Me
A subversive romantic comedy about a real-life vampire and the IRS agent who audits her. Set in modern-day New York City, the film follows two, seemingly incompatible misfits as they struggle to break free from their identity crises and discover who they really are. The central tension and heart-warming joy of the film comes from watching these two outsiders surrender to the terrifying act of falling in love. Bite Me is a love song to the unsung weirdos of our generation. Both screenings with special guest appearance by director Meredith Edwards! Fri, May 17 9:30 p.m.; Sat, May 18 6:00 p.m.

Gaza
It’s hard to imagine anybody living a normal life in the Gaza Strip. Frequently labeled as the world’s largest open-air prison, it makes an appearance on news reports every time a confrontation erupts between Israel and Hamas. From TV sets thousands of miles away, this tiny piece of land has been reduced to an image of violence, chaos and destruction. So what do the people do when they’re not under siege? Gaza will introduce the audience to the surprising and the unexpected, the unfamiliar stories that portray its true face. It takes an atypical approach to finding out what makes this remarkable place tick as it introduces to the world extraordinary stories of everyday characters leading ordinary lives. Fri, May 17 6:45 p.m.; Sat, May 18 12:01 p.m.

Kinshasa Makambo
In January 2015, the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila, sought a constitutional amendment that would allow him to be elected president for a third time. This film documents the resulting demonstrations and follows three protagonists of the resistance. Ben, who lives in exile in New York, takes the advice of his fellow countrymen in exile and decides to join the struggle in the Congo. Jean Marie, who has just been released from prison, continues his public campaign for his country's freedom and is persecuted by the secret service. Christian fights unperturbed in the streets of Kinshasa, even after former Prime Minister Etienne Tshisekedi, on whom the opposition had pinned their hopes, dies and the movement against Kabila's extension of his time in office seems paralysed. Should one resist in exile, or fight on the ground in the Congo? Should resistance be non-violent or should force be used if required? Mon, May 13 8:15 p.m.; Sat, May 18 12:30 p.m.

The Last Suit (El último traje)
Part of the Jewish Film Festival!At 88, Abraham Bursztein (Miguel Ángel Solá) is seeing his place in the world rapidly disappear. His kids have sold his Buenos Aires residence, set him up to move to a retirement home, and disagree on how to handle his fading health. But Abraham survived the Holocaust, made a successful life in a foreign land, and isn’t about to quietly fade away. Instead, he plots a secret one-way trip to Poland, where he plans to find the Christian friend who saved him from certain death at the end of World War II, and to keep his promise to return one day. Comedic and poignant in equal measure, from Argentina to Spain, across Germany and finally to Poland, Abraham is on his own but also accompanied by the characters he meets along the way, who both help him and need his help. Thu, May 16 8:00 p.m.

Artifishal
A film about wild rivers and wild fish that explores the high cost — ecological, financial and cultural — of our mistaken belief that engineered solutions can make up for habitat destruction. The film traces the impact of fish hatcheries, and the extraordinary amount of public money wasted on an industry that hinders wild fish recovery, pollutes our rivers and contributes to the problem it claims to solve. Artifishal also dives beneath the surface of the open-water fish farm controversy, as citizens work to stop the damage done to public waters and our remaining wild salmon. Thu, May 16 4:00 p.m.; Fri, May 17 7:00 p.m.

Mapplethorpe
No photographer of the twentieth century was as renowned for his ability to capture such great beauty—and court such great controversy—as Robert Mapplethorpe. Though he died nearly thirty years ago, Mapplethorpe’s name remains synonymous today with boundary-pushing and bold artistic contrasts, owing to both his gorgeous black-and-white prints of voluptuous flowers and his stunning, provocative nude studies of the BDSM subculture. The first-ever biopic of the artist, MAPPLETHORPE stars a revelatory Matt Smith (Doctor Who, The Crown) in the title role. The award-winning British actor portrays Mapplethorpe from his early days in New York City, chronicling his relationships with musician Patti Smith (Marianne Rendón) and curator Sam Wagstaff (John Benjamin Hickey), to his death in 1989 from HIV/AIDS at age 42. Wed, May 15 5:45 p.m.; Sat, May 18 3:00 p.m.