Nora Lee Mandel
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mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
Nora Lee Mandel
@mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
270 followers 120 following 210 posts
Film & TV Critic - NY Film Critics Online http://MavensNest.net/movies.html
Authentic Jewish mother watching Jewish women on film & TV
#SupportWomenArtistsNow #iSWANs http://ff2media.com/
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mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
TALE OF SILYAN Native Macedonia dir Tamara Kotevska flies w/generations of symbiotic storks & farmers torn by economics finding temp peace in folk tale w/local instruments N Macedon Oscar entry
@natgeodocs.bsky.social 11/28 @ifccenter.bsky.social 12/5+:
films.nationalgeographic.com/the-tale-of-...
films.nationalgeographic.com
November 26, 2025 at 2:25 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND Belgian wr/dir Hélène Cattet 4th collab w/Bruno Forzani is dizzying fast sports car romp of satirizing European James Bond imitations Pan- European cast is all-in the violent fun @shudder.com Showcase @ifccenter.bsky.social Streams 12/5
www.ifccenter.com/films/reflec...
IFC Center - Reflection in a Dead Diamond
When the mysterious woman in the room next door disappears, a debonair 70-year-old ex-spy living in a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur is confronted by the demons and darlings of a lurid past in which ...
www.ifccenter.com
November 25, 2025 at 2:49 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
See Huang Xi’s NYC/Taiwan DAUGHTER'S DAUGHTER for proder/star SYLVIA CHANG’s multi-faceted performance as a reluctant, sandwich-generation matriarch Now @metrographnyc.bsky.social w/Taiwanese “Like Mother/Like Daughter” series thru 12/12 Via @dekanalog.bsky.social
www.dekanalog.com/films/daught...
Daughter's Daughter — Dekanalog
www.dekanalog.com
November 24, 2025 at 10:28 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED Inspired by family history, wr/dir Pierre Saint Martin's debut personalizes generational trauma from gov’t violence in intensity & aged body of Luisa Huertas. Mexico's Oscar entry now @cinemavillage , Houston + 2026 @cinematropical.com
www.cinematropical.com/new-events/u...
U.S. Theatrical Release of WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED — Cinema Tropical
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED / NO NOS MOVERÁN A film by Pierre Saint Martin (Mexico, 2024, 100 min. In Spanish with English subtitles) Winner of four Ariel Awards—for Best First Feature, Original Screenpl...
www.cinematropical.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:13 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
SECRET AGENT Kleber Mendonça Filho @metrographnyc.bsky.social retrospective follows Wagner Moura as widowed dad dodging corruption, murder, urban legends, Carnivale (DP Evgenia Alexandrova) 1977 Recife, Brazil Opens 11/26 @filmlinc.bsky.social 12/5 L.A. then nat’l
www.neonrated.com/film/the-sec...
The Secret Agent
Brazil, 1977. Marcelo, a technology expert in his early 40s, is on the run. Hoping to reunite with his son, he travels to Recife during Carnival but soon realizes that the city is not the safe haven h...
www.neonrated.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:23 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
CUTTING THROUGH ROCKS dirs Sara Khaki & Mohammadreza Eyni embed w/Azers NW Iran village over yrs (w/gov’t harassment) to track unconventional woman leader/organizer vs traditions limits young & old females @filmforumnyc.bsky.social 12/5 SF @roxie LA @laemmle
www.gandomproduction.com/cutting-thro...
Cutting Through Rocks, Documentary Film — Gandom Films Production
Winner of the Sundance Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema Documentary. As the first elected councilwoman of her Iranian village, Sara Shahverdi aims to break long-held patriarchal traditions. Directed ...
www.gandomproduction.com
November 22, 2025 at 7:40 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Kurdish-Iraqi-Norwegian director Zaradasht Ahmed returns to the cradle of civilization Mosul post-ISIS to reveal passionately different views on how THE LIONS BY THE RIVER TIGRIS can be preserved - any post-war heritage Streams now thru 11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/the-lio...
THE LIONS BY THE RIVER TIGRIS - DOC NYC
NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE In the aftermath of Mosul’s destruction by ISIS, Bashar Salih and his family sift through the ruins of their ancestral home,
www.docnyc.net
November 22, 2025 at 3:11 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON Director Ernie Bustamante gets Sonia Manzano frankly talking about her life before, during & after she became the beloved “Maria” on & writing “Sesame Street” w/classic archival moments Streams now -11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/street-...
STREET SMART: LESSONS FROM A TV ICON - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE Sonia Manzano, best known as “Maria” on Sesame Street, shares her inspiring journey from childhood in the Bronx to becoming a trailblazing
www.docnyc.net
November 21, 2025 at 9:54 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social AGE OF WATER Co-Dirs Isabel Alcantara Atalaya & Alfredo Alcántara capture community stresses on 3 mothers in Central Mexico turn grief into activism vs their town Powers That Be re:H2O
11/20 w/Q&A streams 11/21-11/30 @povdocumentary.bsky.social
www.docnyc.net/film/the-age...
THE AGE OF WATER - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE Set in Mexico’s heartland, this urgent investigative documentary follows a group of women who uncover radioactive contamination in their
www.docnyc.net
November 18, 2025 at 3:39 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Y VÂN: LOST SOUNDS OF SAIGON Co-Dir/Narrator Khoa Ha searches her family, cultural & social history of Vietnam to find, document & restore pop music legacy of her composer, arranger, producer, guitarist grandfather 11/18 w/Q&A streams to 11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/y-van-t...
Y VÂN: THE LOST SOUNDS OF SAIGON - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Growing up in the US, filmmaker Khoa Ha always knew her grandfather was a famous musician in her native Vietnam. What she didn’t realize
www.docnyc.net
November 17, 2025 at 10:57 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Georgian debut dir Ketevan Vashagashvili updates her short film abt a devoted homeless mother decade later to health risks she’ll take w/9-MONTH CONTRACT to provide for her pride & joy daughter of independence 11/18 w/Q&A Streams 11/17-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/9-month...
9-MONTH CONTRACT - DOC NYC
US PREMIERE The premise is shattering enough: A mother in Georgia becomes a surrogate to provide for her young daughter. Yet filmmaker Ketevan
www.docnyc.net
November 16, 2025 at 10:58 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Swiss Dir Leigh Iacobucci’s camera there as singer Zere Asylbek turns her online music video for A FREE DAUGHTER OF FREE KYRGYZSTAN into activism by courts and in demonstrations despite thugs, threats & arrests 11/17 w/Q&A Now streaming -11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/a-free-...
A FREE DAUGHTER OF FREE KYRGYZSTAN - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Zere Asylbek was 19 when she released a music video demanding respect for women in the largely conservative Kyrgyzstan. It was
www.docnyc.net
November 16, 2025 at 8:26 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social THE LAST AMBASSADOR is Manizha Bakhtari in Vienna blasting Afghanistan’s gender apartheid to international community that enabled Taliban, followed closely by Austrian dir Natalie Halla to not ignore/forget Afghan Females Streams now to 11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/the-las...
THE LAST AMBASSADOR - DOC NYC
US PREMIERE A poignant and powerful story following Afghanistan’s female ambassador to Austria as she faces a life-altering decision in the wake of the
www.docnyc.net
November 16, 2025 at 4:02 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social PALESTINE COMEDY CLUB In Part 1: Director Alaa Aliabdallah brings together and documents male & female comics from Beit Awaa, Golan Heights, Haifa, Hebron, Jenin & Ramallah on 1st ever tour. Changes in Pt 2: post-10/7/23. Streams now to 11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/palesti...
PALESTINE COMEDY CLUB - DOC NYC
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE A groundbreaking comedy troupe takes the stage in Palestine, where laughter embodies survival and defiance. Following six comedians
www.docnyc.net
November 15, 2025 at 11:32 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social THE PINK PILL: SEX, DRUGS & WHO HAS CONTROL Dir Aisling Chin-Yee & entrepreneur @cindypinkceo Cindy Eckert expose how stubbornly biased FDA/HHS were about women’s health even pre-current administration 11/15 & 11/18 w/Q&As Streams 11/16-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/the-pin...
THE PINK PILL: SEX, DRUGS & WHO HAS CONTROL - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Following advocates pushing for FDA approval of a pill demonstrated to boost female desire, this engaging documentary explores stark
www.docnyc.net
November 15, 2025 at 6:33 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social A PLACE OF ABSENCE Debut director Marialuisa Ernst personally exposes the human side of US policies in Latin American invisible to US public: family heartaches for thousands missing
11/15, 11/17 w/Q&As Streams 11/16-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/a-place...
A PLACE OF ABSENCE - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Shedding light on the familial burden of the migrant crisis, A Place of Absence charts the physical and emotional journey of Central
www.docnyc.net
November 15, 2025 at 1:10 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Directors Jennifer Ash Rudick & Amanda M. Benchely present 3 screenings of PRETTY DIRTY: LIFE & TIMES OF MARILYN MINTER on 11/20 w/Q&As Streams 11/21-11/30 bio, photos, montages 5 decades of female gaze art to “My best work is yet to come”
www.docnyc.net/film/pretty-...
PRETTY DIRTY: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF MARILYN MINTER - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE A vibrant portrait of Marilyn Minter, the trailblazing feminist whose glamorous, provocative, and unapologetically sexual work has redefined
www.docnyc.net
November 15, 2025 at 12:09 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Finnish director Sami van Ingen’s deep dive into his family archive is a revelation of VIP cinema history: how his GGF Robert Flaherty’s legacy hides his GGM Frances’, daughters’ & brother’s work on famous films 11/15 w/Q&A Streams 11/16-1/30
www.docnyc.net/film/cast-of...
CAST OF SHADOWS - DOC NYC
US PREMIERE Director Sami Van Ingen revisits the making of his great-grandfather Robert Flaherty’s famed films, showcasing the overlooked creative force
www.docnyc.net
November 14, 2025 at 4:39 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social I DREAMED HIS NAME (Soñé su nombre) Colombian dir Ángela Carabalí emotionally stirs thru 30 yrs of violence & political strife w/her sister to spiritually connect to their "disappeared" activist father’s farm & indigenous community organizing
www.docnyc.net/film/i-dream...
I DREAMED HIS NAME - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE When her father, a farmer and activist, disappeared in 1992, filmmaker Ángela Carabalí was just 7 years old. Decades later, a dream in which
www.docnyc.net
November 13, 2025 at 11:25 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social REGGAE GIRLZ Directors Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy & Trish Dalton get audience rooting for determined Jamaica women’s football team on/off pitch @cedellamarley Exec Producer @PolygramEnt releasing soundtrack w/Q&A 11/14; 11/17 Streams 11/15-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/reggae-...
REGGAE GIRLZ - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE As the clock counts down to the 2023 Women’s World Cup, the Reggae Girlz, the Jamaican soccer team, face uphill battles for recognition,
www.docnyc.net
November 13, 2025 at 7:24 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social TRUE NORTH Dir Michèle Stephenson matches Canada+ archives w/witnesses: “Took me 35 yrs to reconcile pieces of my life so I could talk to you like this without tearing up” Q&A 11/16 11/19 Streams 11/17-11/30 Independent Lens Firelight Media
www.docnyc.net/film/true-no...
TRUE NORTH - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE The story of a student uprising on a Montreal university campus sheds light on the often-overlooked history of anti-Black racism in Canada.
www.docnyc.net
November 13, 2025 at 1:24 AM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN: JULIAN ASSANGE AND THE PRICE OF TRUTH Director Eugene Jarecki goes day by year by continent by whistleblower for revelations & sense 11/16 & 11/18 w/Q&As Streams 11/17-11/30 Then theaters @watermelon_pics
www.docnyc.net/film/the-six...
THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN - DOC NYC
NYC PREMIERE An unvarnished chronicle of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's yearslong fight for journalistic freedom. Pulling no punches, the film frames
www.docnyc.net
November 12, 2025 at 9:06 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social A THOUSAND COLORS Debut director Nadia Louis-Desmarchais emotionally explores impact of her Haitian-Quebecois heritage, inter-racial adoption, and appearances with siblings and other mixed-race women 11/13 & 11/15 w/Q&As, Streams 11/15-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/a-thous...
A THOUSAND COLORS - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Filmmaker Nadia Louis-Desmarchais tries to untangle the complex knot of race and identity that lies at the center of her life. As the
www.docnyc.net
November 12, 2025 at 5:06 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@docnycfest.bsky.social Debut Brazilian dir Jade Rainho immerses us in THE GARDEN OF MARIA reclaimed Atlantic Forest from Sao Paulo dump by Guarani Mbya matriarch, family to lead shaman rituals of spiritual repair for next gen leaders
11/15 w/Q&A, Streams 11/16-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/the-gar...
THE GARDEN OF MARIA - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE On the margins of Latin America’s largest city, Guarani Mbya elder Maria reclaims a devastated landscape and turns it into a flourishing
www.docnyc.net
November 11, 2025 at 11:56 PM
mandelmavensnest.bsky.social
@DOCNYCfest Directors Dena Fisher & Amy Scott embed w/ charismatic carpenter Shelley Halstead SAVING ETTING STREET 1 house at time, 1 Black woman homeowner a time trained in building & $ skills w/ Black Women Build Baltimore 11/16, 11/18 w/Q&As Streams 11/17-11/30
www.docnyc.net/film/saving-...
SAVING ETTING STREET - DOC NYC
WORLD PREMIERE Shelley, a brash, no-nonsense carpenter, is on a mission to empower Black women to reclaim their futures, one home at a time. Through her
www.docnyc.net
November 11, 2025 at 7:28 PM