The biggest secret in politics is the smallest office you could possibly run for. “County” is a documentary about County Committee—the fundamental building blocks of our democracy that our political Parties don’t want you to know about—and the activists in New York City fighting to unveil and reform a corrupt system within it.
County Committee is your party representation in the very county you live in. Republican or Democrat, they decide your party's platform. They can replace vacated legislative offices and nominate local judges. Representing just a few blocks in your neighborhood, County Committee members are the most local officeholders in politics. But most people have never heard of them. There may be a reason for that. The “Party Machines” that run County Committee don’t like to talk about it. People like Vigie Ramos, AOC’s former campaign manager, and Theo Chino, a former Green candidate for Mayor, have taken on these machines and have been working to change that. As an investigative and advocacy piece, this film follows the efforts of Vigie, Theo, and other organizers in New York as they push to educate the public and drive ordinary citizens to engage with the system and run for County Committee themselves.
Through interviews with activists and experts, animated visuals breaking down these local political systems, and revelatory guerrilla footage of Party Machines in action, “County” tells a story of political intrigue, suppression in American democracy and a grassroots movement to take the power back to the people.
Art, money and sanity collide - often ungracefully - within the walls of a reputable Manhattan gallery, transforming the high-end space into an unsuspecting stage offering an inside look at the peculiar world of fine art. The series stars Jim Kempner as gallery owner Jim, who finds himself mixed in with a tapestry of oddballs and eccentrics who make their way through his showroom each day.
After a confrontation leaves a police officer dead, charismatic out-of-work actor Jean-Michel tries to convince Audrey, a hip street photographer, to flee the city with him. Set at the height of the George Floyd protests against the surreal backdrop of the early pandemic, Out of Breath confronts the ambiguous relationship between individual responsibility and structural oppression today.
A true story about a man with cancer. His 1 lb. newborn. And their fight for life.
In June of 2009 Chris Hennessy was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer. On August 3, 2009 he endured radical prostatectomy cancer surgery at Stanford Hospital.
Still battling surgery side-effects, including life-threatening DVT blood clots, Chris’ daughter Hannah was born September 1, 2009, in San Jose CA. Hannah's due date was December 7, 2009. She weighed 1 lb. 9 oz. with only a 50% chance of survival.
The doctors initially said they got all Chris’ cancer, the pathology report was clear. However, subsequent blood tests revealed the cancer was still there.
For months Hannah and Chris simultaneously fought for their lives. Chris, nauseous and ill from daily radiation treatments, was still there at Hannah’s incubator late into every night, long after the other parents had left.
Chris and his wife Betsy wondered if they'd ever be able to bring Hannah home. Even if they did, the doctors said the odds were very much against Hannah having a normal, healthy life….
‘Miracles,’ a promotional film for Hennessy’s upcoming memoir book, ’Touched by Hannah,’ has been featured on NBC TV, KGO-810 San Francisco, and is slated for release late 2023.
‘Miracles’ was a finalist (runner-up) at the 2022 ACM Western Region WAVE Cable TV Awards, and is currently a finalist at the Manhattan Film Festival.
Having lost his mother when he was a boy, Eli goes on aimlessly through life with just his passion for movies to keep him company--that is, until he meets Anne. Anne is an aging, former actress whose career was derailed before its prime by the loss of her infant son. She too lives a life devoid of purpose--that is, until she meets Eli. In each other, one finds a mother and the other a son.
Tessa Wren is a struggling New York actor in a Method acting class. When her sense memory exercise gets derailed with an appointment from her agent, Tessa’s training is put to the test as her audition for Chekhov’s THE SEAGULL goes very, very wrong. Now Tessa must act as if her life depends on it... literally.