Rowdy Girl
Date: Friday, August 1
Screening Time: 6 pm
Directed by Jason Goldman
Production: U.S.A.
Production year: 2023
Duration: 73 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Languages: English
Cast: Renee King-Sonnen & Tommy Sonnen
Music: Little Walnut (Lindsay Hicks)
Synopsis
Unable to come to terms with the cruel reality of animal agriculture, a former Texas cattle rancher goes vegan and transforms her husband's beef operation into a farmed animal sanctuary. When their story goes viral, she realizes her true calling: to help farmers transition to plant-based and end their business of animal agriculture. "Rowdy Girl" showcases the inspiring work of an animal activist who has been on both sides and proves that there is a common ground between farmers and vegans - a shared mission of compassion and sustainability.
TRAILER::ROWDY GIRL
Festivals & Awards
Matsalu Nature Film Festival Lihula, Estonia. 2024
Ecofalante Film Festival | São Paulo, Brazil, 2024
Laemmle Monica Film Center | Santa Monica, CA, 2024
DOCUDAYS UA Human Rights Film Festival | Kyiv, Ukraine
Vermont Film & Folklore Festival | Manchester, VT, 2024
San Francisco Veg Fest | San Francisco, CA. 2023A
Seoul Animal Film Festival, Asian Premiere, 2023
New Haven Documentary Film Festival, 2023
Hamptons International Film Festival, 2023
Hot Docs,. 2023, World Premiere, 2023
“While there is clearly a spiritual aspect to Renee’s sobriety and commitment to making life better for animal and humans, Goldman’s film hardly dips its toes into those fertile waters. One sees the former cattle rancher starting her day by listening to positive affirmations and having quiet moments of what appears to be meditation by a tree, but that is as far as it goes.”
-POV Magazine
Press
Forest ( Las)
Date: Saturday, August 2
Screening Time: 6 pm
Directed by •Lidia Duda
Production: •Poland & Czech Republic
Production year: 2024
Duration: 84 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Languages: Polish English subtitles
Cast: Asia & Maerk +their children, Marysia, Franek and Ignacy
Synopsis
After graduating from university, Asia and Marek bought an old house near the eastern border of Poland. The couple created their own paradise – a place where their children can grow up safely. For Marysia, Ignacy and Franek the forest became their second home. Yet one day, things change as strangers show up.
The new reality shows its impact on the children's world: they no longer play knights and princesses, but refugees and border guards. The growing humanitarian crisis on the EU border entered the family's safe place, leaving nothing as it used to be.
TRAILER: Forest
Festivals & Awards
2024 Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival- Official Selection
2025 Polish Film Awards-Nominee: Best Documentary
2024 Shanghai International Film Festival—Official Selection
2024 Munich International Documentary Festival-Official Selection
2024 Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Winner: Silver Alexander
2024 Krakow Film Festival- Official Selection
2025 Cleveland International Film Festival-Official Selection
2024 DOC NYC | Official Selection
2024 ZagrebDox International Documentary Film Festival
Official Selection
"Intimate documentary captures how Europe’s refugee crisis is impacting one Polish family’s quiet forest life.”
-Screendaily
Duda wisely resists sensationalizing this crisis. Instead, her focus remains on the human stories unfolding in its shadow. Through her lens, we see the family struggling to reconcile the laws of their nation with the more immediate laws of compassion. The children, in particular, bring clarity to this moral conundrum with their unfiltered reflection.
-The Movie Buff