UPDATE: the Museum’s film screening scheduled for Friday, October 28 has had to move to online-viewing only. 

The full program:

Generation 328 – Documentary. 18 min. by Veranika Nikanava, Belarus and NY, NY, US

A group of mothers defy Europe’s last dictatorship, fighting to free their children from draconian sentences in brutal Belarusian prisons. The filmmaker, Veranika Nikanava, was born in Belarus – she was an actress, filmmaker, and activist. She died on 25 July 2019 in an attempt to cross the Teklanika River in Alaska at the age of 24. Nika was deeply concerned about human rights and liberties in her homeland, and she was an active member of a Belarusian community in New York, where she lived since 2017. “Generation 328” was her last film project.

Hello Sunshine – Documentary. 13 min. by Joe Quint, Brooklyn, NY, US

Roz Pichardo is more than a domestic violence and gun violence survivor, she’s a warrior. Despite being thrown off a bridge by an abusive ex-boyfriend, the unsolved murder of her brother, and the suicide of her identical twin sister, she channels her trauma into service by helping the often-forgotten people of North Philadelphia. Roz gives comfort to families of murder victims and has saved the lives of over 500 men and women in active opioid addiction. Roz knows that her healing and her survival depends upon healing others.

The Pigeon Lady – Documentary 4 min. by Giulia Brazzale, Rome, Italy

Every day an elderly lady – a true philosopher – wanders the streets of the historic center of Rome feeding pigeons. Her mission, however, goes far beyond simply feeding the birds.

The Pratt in the Hat – Documentary 15 min. by Susan Hillary, Goshen, NY, US

Beneath the brims of hundreds of colorful hats is a woman who shares her wisdom, humor, and personal experiences about being black in America. Frances Pratt’s hats make a bold statement as does her southern charm and pithy expressions which she garnered through a lifetime of service to her community fighting for racial equality, voting rights and education.

Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color – Documentary 20 min. by Cheri Gaulke, Washington, DC, US

Alma W. Thomas lived a life of firsts: the first Fine Arts graduate of Howard University (1924), the first Black woman to mount a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art (1972), and the first Black woman to have her paintings exhibited in the White House (2009). Yet she did not receive national attention until she was 80. The film explores Thomas’ incredible life through the lens of curators, art specialists, scholars, and her family, with award-winning actress Alfre Woodard as the voice of Miss Thomas. 

About the Thomas Edison Film Festival and the Hoboken Historical Museum:

For 41 years, the Thomas Edison Film Festival has been advancing the unique creativity and power of the short form. The festival is an international juried competition open to all genres and filmmakers across the globe. The festival’s touring program reaches out to diverse audiences in diverse settings with screenings of cutting-edge, cross-genre films including narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary.

The Thomas Edison Film Festival and the Hoboken Historical Museum work together to enrich the community. This program is made possible in part through the generous support of the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs and Tourism. To learn more about the Thomas Edison Film Festival visit www.tefilmfest.org, to learn more about the Hoboken Historical Museum visit https://www.hobokenmuseum.org.