Daily Archives: April 20, 2022

Ed Lord

Human perspectives on nature have always been coloured by connotations of recovery and restoration. But in the present century we have been especially busy obsessively busy in teasing out and delineating these connotations (Smyth, 2019)

The intersection of human health and nature has a distinctly zeitgeist feel about it currently. Barely a week seems to pass without a news media piece extolling the health benefits of going outdoors or viewing the coast, gardens, parks and countryside. New terminology has proliferated in this domain: Biophilia, Shinrin-Yoku, forest bathing, ecotherapy, to name a few.

Networks of people focused on specific types of nature based self-care have been formed; for example, Mountains for the Mind and Mental Health Swims in the UK.

In a March 2020 commentary essay published in The Guardian Review the natural history author Patrick Barkham suggested that the nature and health theme is fast becoming its own literary genre as he put it: a rapidly growing forest of new books that examine cures found in nature (Barkham, 2020). Particularly of note in this new genre are a number of mass-market books with high global sales, these include Florence Williams The Nature Fix: why nature makes us happier, healthier, and more creative from 2018, and Richard Louvs Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder from 2005.

Three such works were released by popular publishers in the spring of 2020 alone, with prescient timing given unfolding self-care discourses related to the pandemic; The Natural Health Service: What the Great Outdoors Can Do for Your Mind by the journalist Isabel Hardman, Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild by Lucy Jones, also a journalist, and The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith, a psychiatrist by profession. As familiar social and economic rhythms fell away during those early months of the pandemic, people searched around en masse for every tree, every last socially distanced blade of grass, in their locality, looking for a balm to soothe the burgeoning stress and anxiety. It seemed that after slowly building momentum since the turn of the century the awareness of natures contribution to human health had reached its zenith at the perfectly opportune moment.

Allied to, and frequently cited in support of, the nature and health themes in these more popular media outlets and grass roots networks, there has also been much empirical, in-depth and heavyweight material produced. This includes government departments, quangos, transnational agencies, and third sector organisations publishing multiple reports on the topic, papers in peer reviewed journals accruing at a notably increasing rate (Ives et al., 2017), and a number of ambitious academic textbook projects such as first editions of the Oxford Textbook of Nature and Public Health in 2018, and The International Handbook of Forest Therapy in 2019.

Could this phenomenon, however, really be seen as a period-specific cultural pattern, to use Krauses (2019) definition of a zeitgeist? If it could, then what would be the utility of such a status anyway? This article aims to open up an initial inquiry into these two questions.

If assessed quantitatively, using the crude measure of the amount of academic papers published on the topic, it would seem that there is indeed a growing research interest. In a 2017 multidisciplinary review of what they call Human-Nature Connection (HNC) literature the authors found a dramatic upswing in the numbers of papers published since the turn of the millennium, and this growth was particularly marked after 2010 (Ives et al. 2017). For example, their search parameters found less than 10 HNC papers published in 2001, 20 papers published in 2009 and over 80 published in 2015. A 2014 review also noted this increase in the number of papers published, this time by referencing just the term greenspace and health: Growth in this field of research is shown clearly by the increase in publications. For example, a search in the Web of Knowledge on just one term, greenspace and health, yielded 2 hits for 19901999, 34 for 20002009, and 45 from 2010 to June 2013 (Hartig, Mitchell, de Vries, & Frumkin, 2014, p. 209)

Leaving aside the possibility that the absolute number of all research outputs may have increased in this time period, thereby making these figures less striking, for such a quantitative accounting to inform us of cultural patterns would require delving into the social, cultural and organisational arrangements within which such research practices, their funding, and dissemination, are embedded.

In assessing the claim of any cultural pattern to be a zeitgeist Krause (2019) proposes that certain properties need to be delineated: duration, scope, course, and media and carriers. Many of the factors related to scope, and media and carriers have been introduced above. In looking at the nature and human health domain in terms of duration it can be seen how a zeitgeist is framed by an interplay between newness and continuity: this thing has not sprung forth fully formed from a void, but neither is it simply an indistinguishable continuation of older things.

As suggested by the opening quote there is a long-standing narrative something of a common-sense claim associating nature with physical and mental restoration. The work of Hippocrates in ancient Greece entitled On Airs, Waters, and Places is frequently cited as an illustration of the point that linking health and nature is nothing new. Many healthcare professions Occupational Therapy and Nursing are key examples have long organised and promoted nature based interventions like gardening; indeed a notable assertion by Florence Nightingale describes the foundation of the nursing role being to put the patient in the best condition for nature to act upon him (Nightingale, 2020 [1859]).

In relation to mental health specifically, narratives around an intertwining relationship between nature and madness are a recurring theme stretching back centuries (for example, Shepard, 1982). As a physical manifestation of this intertwining thought there are many examples internationally (particularly in Western countries, settler colonial states and former colonies) of the use of formal tended gardens at mental asylums/hospitals as a therapeutic, calming and taming influence on the wild unreason of the inmates; this can be seen to prefigure the contemporary interest in biophilic design. As Edginton (1997) reports in relation to the famous York Retreat founded in 1796: Design, then, would enable those who lost their sanity to recall their former serenity by being placed in an association with a natural, healthful environment. (p. 91)

These ideas can be argued to be part of a wider orientation characteristic of the European Enlightenment and emergence of modernity, often summarised as romanticism and explicitly associated with certain philosophers, including Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and artists, such as William Blake. In these schools of thought and expression nature is frequently set in binary opposition to human society and culture; in Thomas Hobbes orientation to this binary society and culture transcending nature in the progressive unfolding of the Enlightenment, in the romantic orientation of the binary this progress acting as a debasement of the natural condition. The binary formulation itself setting humans and nature as ontologically separate can, however, be critiqued as simply representing the European Enlightenment as a particular spatially and temporally located culture in no way generalisable to the beliefs of any other human culture.

If contemporary notions of the health-giving benefits of nature are simply about the continuation of these much older orientations, however, then how can a claim to zeitgeist be supported? In other words what are the claims to newness and novelty that can be separated as distinct from this continuity?

First, a potential answer to this is the intensification of interest in this topic across diverse fields (scope); a practice assisted by the increasing acceptance of interdisciplinarity working in some academic disciplines.

Second, there is a receptive audience in policy making arenas, with numerous levels of government seeking novel approaches to meet a convergence of complex population health, environmental, and budget challenges.

Third, the urgency of the climate crisis, and wider knowledge of environmental degradation caused by the economic activities of contemporary society, has taken concern for nature from being a niche single issue concern to a mainstream consideration infusing debate in all sectors.

Developing the first assertion; a wide variety of academic disciplines can be seen to have an interest in investigating the human health and nature intersection, even though definitions, scales, actors, and methodological approaches frequently differ markedly between these disciplines. on a pragmatic level the application and integration of knowledge from different disciplines is essential to navigate many complex contemporary challenges. Numerous attempts have been made to integrate research from different disciplines, these field developments include Ecohealth, One Health, Ecological Public Health, and, most recently, Planetary Health (Buse, et al., 2018; Haines, 2017)

This interdisciplinarity and silo crossing is not the only factor in play, shifts within disciplines are also creating a conducive atmosphere to the nature and health theme. For example, in disciplines directly related to human health there has been a movement collectively summarised as the new public health. This has its genesis in the growing acceptance of the inherent limitations to focusing on the individual alone and the need to include the social and environmental determinants of health. This refocus is also encouraged by a notional shift to preventative healthcare in response to population morbidity becoming dominated by non-communicable diseases, often related to lifestyle; this shift was heralded by the WHO Ottowa Charter in 1986.

Another addition to this new public health nexus of discourses are ideas related to wellbeing, and the maximisation of positive health, sometimes called the salutogenic approach. Concrete outputs from this shift in emphasis include practices like social prescribing, and the activation of community assets in which a social and natural environment is appraised in terms of its strengths and potentials as well as its threats as a container of risks. Implicit,and frequently made explicit,in the preventionand wellbeing focused new public health is that the bounds of health stretch beyond the traditional domain of healthcare. This has led to a call for developing new partnerships most obviously with social care but also beyond the usual suspects. This is where the second claim to newness and novelty in the nature and health zeitgeist can be found: the policy arena.

There are a number of ways in which these ideas of meeting complex challenges through the application of concepts associated with the new public health (like assets activation and non-typical partnerships) can be seen to be playing out in the policy agenda; here using Wales as an illustrative example.Included in areas of jurisdiction devolved to the Welsh Government areboth health and social care, as well asdepartments associated withlandscape and spaceincluding environment, agriculture, forestry, rural development, culture, and town and country planning.

The activation of assets such as particular landscapes in the service of health and wellbeing is well summed up in this quote from a report commissioned by theWelsh Government into the designated landscapes (such as National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty) in its jurisdiction:The designated landscapes are now far more than passive green lungs for the urban populations; they are as we state in our vision, the new, dynamic and productive factories of well-being (Marsden, Lloyd-Jones & Williams,2015, p. 5)

These partnerships are intended to contribute to the aforementioned public health goals of the health and social care sector, while attending to things like the move away froma single focus in the forestry sector on thebottom lineof timber production from plantations to a more complex emphasis on habitat development and protection, and a wider array of social and environmental outputs to be gained from woodland and forests.

Wallace(2019)argues that all of the UK devolved legislatures Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have explicitly tried to operate differently from the central government. Specifically this has been through developing a whole of government approach to public policy, underpinned by a framework that sets a single vision and tracks progress towards it (p. 3). In Wales the whole government approach to a single vision is most recently exemplified by the Wellbeing of Future Generations (Wales) Act of 2015.

The central organising principle of policy making going forward from this is sustainable development through linking environmental, social, economic and cultural wellbeing. It does not take a large leap of the imagination to see how operationalising the field of nature and human health is a pragmatic way to meet these policy aspirations in multiple fields simultaneously without a large budget uplift.

The third contributory factor pointing towards newness emerging from continuity in the nature and human health field at this particular point in time is the mainstreaming of environmental awareness. To be concerned about the catastrophic risks presented by things like climate change, air pollution, and biodiversity loss has gone from being a niche interest to something infusing all areas of life. In this context of awareness society is arguably not only concerned with managing threats from nature (natural disasters and vectors of disease transmission, for example), but now has to acknowledge threats to nature, and in doing so the previously assumed affordances provided by nature gain a new visibility and scarcity value.

The utility of taking an approach like the zeitgeist suggestion in this article is that it puts the excitement and energy that is palpable in much of the nature and health domain in a context. In appraising how this represents a continuity of older trends, in what ways it displays novelty, newness and departure, and what the carriers of all this are, potential future directions of travel for this cultural trend can be identified.

Connecting nature and human health has a pragmatic appeal to policy makers, and an ideological appeal among numerous interest groups, and it is instructive to identify the contested imperatives and objectives in play in these different orientations. Will nature as a resource for human health become as commodified, enclosed, reduced, reified, and damaged, as it has in every other extractive process that keeps modernity running? Looking at many other domains of contemporary culture and society it is possible to see a risk of technological drift in which nature becomes simply a technical solution to a technical problem (Lord & Coffey, 2021).

This reductionist and commodifying trend, if unanalysed and unchallenged, will also likely lead to exclusion along pre-existing lines like race, class and gender, through a mixture of legal, economic, and normative means; both within regions and globally as a continuation of colonialism. Seeing this field as a zeitgeist can uncover the historical processes that have led to the dislocation of human society from a rich intertwined relationship with a healthy, diverse, and thriving natural world; a dislocation that is itself intertwined with so many of the complex challenges facing human health and the environment in the current century.

References

Barkham, P. (2020). Green Prozac.The Guardian Review. 14thMarch 2020, Issue 113, pp 6-11.

Buse, C.G.,Oestreicher, J.S., Ellis, N.R., Patrick, R., Brisbois, B., Jenkins, A.P., McKellar, K., Kingsley, J.,Gislason, M., Galway, L. and McFarlane, R.A (2018). Public health guide to field developments linking ecosystems, environments and health in the Anthropocene.Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 72(5), 420-425. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/jech-2017-210082

Edginton, B. (1997). Moral architecture: the influence of the York Retreat on asylum design.Health & Place, 3(2), 91-99.https://doi.org/10.1016/S1353-8292(97)00003-8

Haines, A. (2017). Addressing challenges to human health in the Anthropocene epoch an overview of the findings of the Rockefeller/Lancet Commission on Planetary Health.International Health, 9(5), 269-271. https://doi.org/10.1093/inthealth/ihx036

Hartig, T., Mitchell, R., de Vries, S., &Frumkin, H. (2014). Nature and health.Annual review of public health, 35, 207-228. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182443

Ives, C. D., Giusti, M., Fischer, J.,Abson, D. J.,Klaniecki, K.,Dorninger, C.,Laudan, J., Barthel, S., Abernethy, P., Martin-Lopez, B., Raymond, C. M., Kendal, D., & vonWehrden, H., (2017). Humannature connection: a multidisciplinary review.Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 26, 106-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cosust.2017.05.005

Krause, M. (2019). What is Zeitgeist? Examining period-specific cultural patterns.Poetics,76, 101352. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2019.02.003

Lord, E. & Coffey, M. (2021). Identifying and resisting the technological drift: green space, blue space and ecotherapy.Social Theory and Health19,110125. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-019-00099-9 (Free read only access: https://rdcu.be/boCEp )

Marsden, T., Lloyd-Jones, J., & Williams, R. (2015).National Landscapes: realising their potential. The review of designated landscapes in Wales: Final Report.

Nightingale, F. (2020 [1859]). Notes on Nursing: what it is & what it is not. Bristol: Read & Co Books.

Shepard, P. (1998 [1982]).Nature and madness. University of Georgia Press.

Smyth, R. (2019). In search of the nature cure. New Humanist Online 23rdDecember 2019.

Wallace, J. (2019).Wellbeing and Devolution: reframing the role of government in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. London: Palgrave Macmillan

Ed Lord is a lecturer in mental health nursing at Swansea University. His research interests are in the intersection of social theory, environmentalism, and mental health. He completed an MSc by research in geography and social theory prior to commencing a PhD in 2016. Eds PhD research was funded by a fellowship from RCBC Wales and used ethnographic methods to explore the experiences of people taking part in ecotherapy as an intervention for mental health in South and West Wales. Before his move into research and education Ed worked as a clinical nurse in National Health Service (NHS) acute inpatient mental health settings in England and Wales for over a decade.

Header Image Credit: Yoga pose on Mount Peg. Marsh-Billing-Rockefeller National Parks

TO CITE THIS ARTICLE:

Lord, Ed 2022. Unpacking the nature and human health zeitgeistDiscover Society: New Series2 (1):https://doi.org/10.51428/dsoc.2022.01.0003

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Unpacking the nature and human health zeitgeist Discover Society

Yeom Jae-ho The author is professor emeritus and former president of Korea University.

The government of Yoon Suk-yeol will be inaugurated on May 10. The relocation of the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan could be a symbolic end to the past age and beginning of a new era for Korean politics. On what should the Yoon administration base the design of a future Korea?

On the economic front, the incoming administration will have to taper the ballooning fiscal deficit from record spending during the pandemic and combat strong inflation. It also must realign foreign and security policy, including the alliance with the United States. It must settle conflicts with the super-majority opposition party over its unilateral railroading of a special bill stripping the prosecution of its investigation authority and over the nomination of Han Dong-hoon as justice minister and must fix the confusion over the change in the judiciary system as a part of the prosecutorial reform.

Still, Yoon as president should not be too preoccupied with immediate issues and overlook historical tasks. Yoon was elected president partly thanks to the limits of the Korean political system established after the 1987 democratization movement. He could become the presidential candidate of the opposition party just six months after resigning as prosecutor general and win the election largely because public skepticism with politics had been that big.

Korea had been under a lengthy military regime. But the democratic regime has been in place longer 35 years since the constitutional reform in 1987 to elect the president through direct voting. For another leap forward, politics needs another zeitgeist. We hope Korea can move beyond the 1987 regime to a new order in 2027 when Yoon finishes his term in office.

Korea can join developed democracies on smooth transitions left and right since single-term five-year presidency came into place in 1987. But the political structure created winner-take-all and other damaging by-products. A ruling power often monopolized political power and ignored opinions of the opposition or the people. Whether it be liberal or conservative, the government distributed top seats in the government and public enterprises as winning trophies and often governed the country with arrogance. It is why Korean voters could not put up with a government running the country for two consecutive terms. Regular or frequent power transitions cannot reflect maturity in Korean democracy.

A new government always promises cooperation with the opposition. But action was hard to follow due to political polarization. Korea long lost the art of compromise. Hardliners lead disputes and extremity has left little room for negotiation. Politics lose cooperation when each party regards the other as the enemy and place priority on winning an election over national interests.

Politics of ideology must change to politics of livelihood. Two parties replacing one another every five or 10 years after winning a presidential election by a narrow margin must stop. More diverse parties like the Justice Party and Peoples Party must play a leveraging role among mainstream players.

In Japan, an opposition party won the election after overcoming ideology-based politics. In 1989, the Japan Socialist Party (JSP) snatched a victory in the election of the House of Representatives by fielding female candidates who offered promises to improve livelihoods instead of presenting ideological slogans. The stunning victory of the JSP through female power had been a refreshing shock to the Japanese people. Takako Doi, whose party became first to defeat the mighty Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), exclaimed, The mountain has moved.

Politics seeking self-interest must change. Civilian organizations that have prospered since democratization in 1987 must break their ideological preoccupation. My joint research for more than a decade with Yutaka Tsujinaka a political science professor at the University of Tsukuba on NGOs of Korea and Japan found that Japanese entities were grassroots and bottom-up, while Korean ones were centralized and top-down organizations. NGOs like the Citizens Coalition for Economic Justice and Peoples Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, whose influence has increased through political participation, should devote more to common interests.

The time has come for Koreans to deliberate options the multi-party system, parliamentary cabinet system, large constituency system, runoff system and German-style proportional representation system. Yoon must heed the call of the times and grab an opportunity to pave the way for 2027.Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

Link:

Catching the zeitgeist - The Korea JoongAng Daily

Addressing place names in national parks could be a starting point for reckoning with the countrys history of dispossessing Indigenous nations from their lands.

The new paper in the journalPeople and Naturereveals that derogatory names are only the tip of the icebergviolence in place names can take many forms. The study quantifies the scale of the problem in US national parks and puts the movement to change place names in context.

Around the world,statuesof historic figures who symbolize colonialism and oppression are being critically examined, and often removed. Across the United States,Confederate figures and statueswith clear racist symbolism have been uninstalled or actively torn down. These removals reflect a shifting zeitgeist that seeks to include the history of Indigenous and racialized peoples. But some symbols of oppression are less tangible than a statue.

US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland recently initiated a task force to address derogatory place names on federal lands, including names using a derogatory term for an American Indian woman. But is everyone on board? Why are place names important?

As highly visible cultural symbols, place names help us collectively navigate and give meaning to our world, says coauthor Grace Wu, an assistant professor in the University of California, Santa Barbaras environmental studies program. When those names are violent, derogatory, racist, or colonialist, they perpetuate the harms of those violent acts and ideas.

National parks have been called the countrys best idea, but many may not realize how park names can help cover up their violent histories. The authors reviewed more than 2,000 place names in 16 national parks, including Acadia, Yosemite, and the Great Smoky Mountains. Their analysis revealed a striking trend of names that commemorate violence and colonialism while erasing Indigenous cultures.

The researchers identified 52 places named for settlers who committed acts of violence, often against Indigenous peoples. For instance, Mt. Doane, in Yellowstone, and Harney River, in the Everglades, commemorate individuals who led massacres against the areas Indigenous peoples, often including women and children.

There were 107 natural features that retained traditional Indigenous names, compared with 205 names given by settlers that replaced traditional names found on record. Most egregious were 10 names using racial slurs.

The authors were astounded by the sheer number of problematic names but were even more surprised by how widespread the issue was. Every single park we examined had place names that in some way reflect anti-Indigenous ideas, Wu says.

The study illustrates that place names in the parks contribute to the erasure of indigenous sovereignty at a systemwide scale and require a systemwide response, says lead author Bonnie McGill, a conservation research fellow at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

The study supports Secretary Haalands task force and future task forces seeking to address more than just derogatory names. Part of the motivation for this work was to help white settlers and scientists like me better understand some of the changes involved in reckoning with our history of settler colonialism in the US, McGill says. She stresses the importance of placing settler history in conversation with Indigenous histories, rather than just choosing one or the other.

The research team places their work in service to local and national name-changing campaigns. For over a century Native American groups, like the Blackfeet and Lakota, have called for changing place names at national parks and monuments. The work by Bonnie McGill and her team has shed important light on the true spirit and facts pertaining to national park place names which were in place since time immemorial by our ancestors, says Oki Nistoo Kiaayo Tamisoowo (Bear Returning over the Hill), also known as Stanley Grier, chief of the Piikani Nation and president of the Blackfoot Confederacy.

Chief Grier supports renaming Hayden Valley as Buffalo Nations Valley and changing Mount Doane to First Peoples Mountain; both are located in Yellowstone National Park. To give place names to persons who authorized and who carried out the massacre of approximately 173 of my ancestors in 1870 on the Marias River, Montana is an atrocity that only perpetuates the illegitimate honor of persons that would be classified as war criminals, he says.

Even seemingly benign place names can also be problematic. Places like Clear Creek or Sharp Peak might seem harmless or neutral, but at the minimum they are erasing and replacing traditional Indigenous place names, explains coauthor Natchee Barnd, a professor of ethnic studies at Oregon State University.

A national campaign inspired by the teams research,WordsAreMonuments.org, was launched by social justice pop-up museum The Natural History Museum, a program of the organization Not An Alternative. The Wilderness Society and National Association of Tribal Historic Preservation Officers has also published anew guideon how individuals can change place names.

The systemic nature of problematic places names requires systemic, rather than piecemeal, solutions, Wu says.

Source:UC Santa Barbara

Original StudyDOI: 10.1002/pan3.10302

Continued here:

To Reckon with Theft of Indigenous Land, Change Place Names - GovExec.com

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Theres a phrase that has floated around the social media zeitgeist in the past few years, steadily becoming more and more common. Intriguingly, while the phenomenon has been widely reported by social media users, its actual existence is hard to confirm.

Its shadow banning.

It most recently popped when Palestinian-American supermodel Bella Hadid accused Instagram of shadow banning her, after she shared footage at the weekend of the Israeli-Palestine conflict to her feed. But its also something that Republicans have reported occurring on Twitter, and Black creators have called out TikTok for the same thing.

All around the world, on all sides of the political spectrum, shadow banning is getting a bad rap. What is it?

Credit:Artwork: Kathleen Adele, Getty

Shadow banning is a moderation technique allegedly used by social media platforms to censor content. That content could be anything from an individual post, a users account, a hashtag or an entire community.

If a user is shadow banned, their posts are shown to none, or very few, of their followers or potential new audiences. And theyre never told its going on, hence the shadow.

Social media companies do readily censor content if they dont follow standard guidelines such as praising terrorist groups, impersonating others, sharing sexual content involving minors, or abuse and harassment.

But its the secrecy that is the difference between typical moderation like that and shadow banning. Its when social media platforms hide, censor or moderate content without making it clear why theyre doing it that makes it a shadow ban. (Social media companies say they do not shadow ban; more on that later.)

Users who say they have been shadow banned which they will typically notice through a decline in viewership or engagement will not be told by the platform or be given a reason why.

On TikTok, the #shadowbanned hashtag has been viewed more than 17.9 billion times. Users claim that after posting particular content, their videos no longer come up on TikToks For You Page, the sites discovery feed, which is vital for growing audiences on the app.

A Vice article reported in 2018 that Twitter had limited the visibility of certain Republicans in search results. The article found that when typing particular Republicans names into the search bar, the account would not show up.

Caitlyn Jenner, the Olympic medallist who appeared on Australias Big Brother VIP celebrity series, said that she was shadow banned by Twitter after signing up as a contributor for Fox News in March. My engagements went down dramatically, and I was absolutely shocked.

Comedian Ari Shaffir claimed he was shadow banned from Instagram in 2019. Dear @instagram, I know youve said shadow banning is not a real thing but I have clearly been shadow banned, Shaffir wrote in a caption beneath this post, below, which shows him searching for and not finding his account on the platform.

In 2021, a research article reported Instagrams history of censoring women.

Throughout 2019 and 2020, Instagram used shadowbans to hide pictures and videos they deemed inappropriate without deleting them, preventing freelancers, artists, sex workers, activists, and largely, women, from reaching new audiences and potentially growing their pages, the article reported.

Despite the wide reporting of shadow banning from users, most social media companies deny using the practice.

When Donald Trump accused Twitter of shadow banning Republicans in 2018 after Vices article, Twitter published a blog post. Titled Setting the record straight on shadow banning, Twitter said that they outright do not shadow ban.

You are always able to see the tweets from accounts you follow (although you may have to do more work to find them, like go directly to their profile). And we certainly dont shadow ban based on political viewpoints or ideology, the blog post wrote.

That same year, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri followed suit and said that shadow banning was not a real thing.

The closest admission to using shadow banning was in 2020, when TikTok apologised to its Black users, after it was reported that content surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement was being under-prioritised by its algorithm (the complicated automated process that ranks and organises content).

A technical glitch made it temporarily appear as if posts uploaded using #BlackLivesMatter and #GeorgeFloyd would receive 0 views, they said.

We acknowledge and [apologise] to our Black creators and community who have felt unsafe, unsupported, or suppressed, TikTok wrote in a blog post.

But glitches aside, social media platforms say that its their algorithms that make particular content perform poorly.

Lets go back to Bella Hadid. Because Instagram is algorithm-based, users feeds are ordered by how likely they are to interact with that post. So, by this line of argument, the reason that Hadids posts had a one million drop-off in engagement was because the algorithm decided that users were unlikely to engage with these recent posts she was sharing, rather than Instagram blocking the content.

Before AI and algorithms, content moderation relied on users reporting posts that were inappropriate. It made moderation passive in nature the assumption was that unless users reported the content, it was acceptable.

But now with algorithmic censorship, social media platforms can intervene and suppress any content that their algorithm deems as inappropriate before its reported by users.

Jennifer Cobbe, a senior research associate at the University of Cambridges Department of Computer Science and Technology, says in a research article that because of social media platforms increasing responsibility to act as intermediaries between users and the content published, they are increasingly adopting automated approaches to suppressing communications that they deem undesirable.

So, whether or not shadow banning is a real practice used by social media platforms, the answer to the problem is best answered by Instagram CEO himself: We need to be more transparent about why we take things down when we do, work to make fewer mistakes and fix them quickly when we do and better explain how our systems work.

Until then, the social media folklore of shadow banning will only continue to grow.

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What is shadow banning? And what do social platforms say about it? - Sydney Morning Herald

The Tribeca Festival has unveiled its 2022 lineup of 109 feature films from 40 countries and 88 world premieres including Joachim Backs Corner Office starring Jon Hamm and Somewhere in Queens, directed by Ray Romano starring Romano and Laurie Metcalf.

The fest, June 8-19, also features American Dreamer with Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Matt Dillon and Danny Glover; The Cave of Adullam, produced by Laurence Fishburne; Beauty, written by Lena Waithe; Jerry & Marge Go Large by David Frankel and starring Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening and Rainn Wilson; Aisha with Letitia Wright; Alone Together, directed, written and starring Katie Holmes alongside Jim Sturgess, Zosia Mamet and Melissa Leo; My Name Is Andrea with Ashley Judd; Space Oddity, directed by Kyra Sedgwick; Acidman with Thomas Haden Church and Dianna Agron; and The Integrity of Joseph Chambers with Clayne Crawford, Jordana Brewster and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

See full lineup below.

This 2022 feature film program leaves us proud and humbled by the boundless ingenuity and passion of our indefatigable filmmaking community, festival director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano said. This years official selections again remind us of the vitality and urgency of independent film in a world that needs it more than ever.

Features span 10 categories with 32 directors returning and 50 first-time helmers. More than 64% (81) features are directed by female, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ filmmakers.

Performances, speakers and Q&As the fest is known for to bookend films include rapper Lil Baby; Colson Baker (aka Machine Gun Kelly); Of Monsters and Men; the WNBAs New York Liberty; LeVar Burton; and John McEnroe. The in-person, indoor-outdoor edition of the festival, which spills into NYCs five boroughs, was one of the first big group gatherings for the industry and for the city last summer.

Tribeca previously announced Halftime as its opening night film. The Netflix documentary by Amanda Micheli follows global superstar Jennifer Lopez as she reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist, and navigates the second half of her career. Documentary Loudmouth, written and directed by Josh Alexander, followed by a conversation with its subject Rev. Al Sharpton, will close the festival.

Other documentaries include the world premieres of After Selma, directed by Sam Pollard, and Geeta Gandbhir; All Man: The International Male Story narrated by Matt Bomer; Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex, a musical documentary celebrating the life and work of glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan featuring U2, Joan Jett with Ringo Starr, Nick Cave, Hal Willner, and David Bowie; Body Parts featuring Jane Fonda and Rose McGowan; It Aint Over, about the life and times of Yankee Yogi Berra with Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, and Billy Crystal; The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks; Rudy! A Documusical, the definitive Rudy Giuliani documentary; Turn Every Page The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, directed by Lizzie Gottlieb with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro, Robert Gottlieb, Ethan Hawke, Conan OBrien, David Remnick, Bill Clinton, and Majora Carter; The Wild One narrated by Willem Dafoe; The YouTube Effect directed and written by Alex Winter.

There are 43 shorts in competition out of a record 7,200+ submissions.

U.S. audiences can watch a number of films online at the Tribeca at Home platform from June 9-26

The Tribeca Festival is curated by Festival Director and VP of Programming Cara Cusumano, Artistic Director Frdric Boyer; VP of Filmmaker Relations & Shorts Programming Sharon Badal and Head Shorts Programmer Ben Thompson; Senior Programmers Liza Domnitz and Lucy Mukerjee; Programmers Jos F. Rodriguez and Karen McMullen; VP of Games and Immersive Casey Baltes and Immersive Curator Ana Brzezinska; Curator of Audio Storytelling Davy Gardner; Music Programmer Vincent Cassous; and program advisor Paula Weinstein.

2022 FEATURE FILM SELECTIONS

OPENING NIGHT

Halftime (United States) World Premiere. A new Netflix documentary film that follows global superstar Jennifer Lopez, as she reflects on her milestones and evolution as an artist, and navigates the second half of her career continuing to entertain, empower, and inspire. HALFTIME offers an intimate peek behind the curtain revealing the grit and determination that makes Jennifer Lopez the icon she is, from her performances onscreen and on stages around the world, to her Super Bowl Halftime show, to the recent Presidential inauguration. The documentary focuses on an international superstar who has inspired people for decades with her perseverance, creative brilliance, and cultural contributions. And its only the beginning. HALFTIME serves as the kickoff to the second half of Lopezs life, as she lays bare her evolution as a Latina, a mother, and an artist, taking agency in her career and using her voice for a greater purpose. Directed by Amanda Micheli.

CLOSING NIGHT

Loudmouth (United States) World Premiere. Since bursting into the headlines in New York City in the late 1980s, preacher and activist Reverend Al Sharpton has been at the center of the national conversation around race. In the aftermath of George Floyds horrific murder in 2020, the veteran civil rights leader has further expanded the reach of his powerful bullhorn against Americas deafening complacency in the fight against racial injustice amplifying the ugly truths about the ongoing impact of structural racism on this nation many would prefer to ignore. Rabble-rouser or activist? Opportunist or trailblazer? With never-before-seen archival footage and unprecedented access, Loudmouth puts a disruptive spotlight on the pastoral prodigy turned political firebrand turned media establishment figure. Written, directed, and produced by Josh Alexander. Produced by Daniel J. Chalfen, Mike Jackson, and Kedar Massenburg.

U.S. NARRATIVE COMPETITION

Allswell (United States) World Premiere. Three Nuyorican sisters navigate the daunting life challenges of single motherhood, career, and family, all while finding humor and solace within the bonds of sisterhood in this absorbing dramedy. Directed and written by Ben Snyder, and written by Elizabeth Rodriguez. Produced by Gia Walsh, Elizabeth Rodriguez, Vince Jolivette, Ben Snyder, Ari Issler, Paul Jarrett, Kara Baker. With Elizabeth Rodriguez, Liza Colon-Zayas, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Felix Solis, Max Cassella, Michael Rispoli, Shirley Rodriguez, MacKenzie Lansing, and J. Cameron Barnett.

The Drop (United States, Mexico) World Premiere. In this clever cringe comedy, a seemingly happy married couple confronts a test of their marriage when one of them drops a baby while at a destination wedding at a tropical island. Directed by Sarah Adina Smith. Written by Sarah Adina Smith, Joshua Leonard. Produced by Jonako Donley, Mel Eslyn, Sarah Adina Smith, Joshua Leonard, Shuli Harel, Tim Headington, Lia Buman. With Anna Konkle, Jermaine Fowler, Jillian Bell.

Four Samosas (United States) World Premiere. Determined to disrupt the wedding of his ex-girlfriend by bankrupting her family, underachieving, wanna-be rapper Vinny and his neighborhood pals concoct a plan to steal her familys jewels from a supermarket safe. Directed and written by Ravi Kapoor. Produced by Ravi Kapoor, Venk Potula, Rajiv Maikhuri, Craig Stovel.

Gods Time (United States) World Premiere. A heart-racing, NYC-set dark comedy that sees two best bros in recovery for addiction trying to prevent the potential murder of their mutual crushs ex-boyfriend. Directed and written by Daniel Antebi. Produced by Emily Korteweg, Andrew Hutcheson, Reid Hannaford. With Ben Groh, Dion Costelloe, Liz Caribel Sierra, Jared Abrahamson, Christiane Seidel.

Good Girl Jane (United States) World Premiere. Bullied out of private school and at odds with her divorced parents, lonely high schooler Jane spirals out of control after falling in with a hard-partying crowd and becoming smitten with a dangerously charismatic bad boy. Directed and written by Sarah Elizabeth Mintz. Produced by Fred Bernstein, Dominique Telson, Lauren Pratt, Sarah Elizabeth Mintz, Simone Williams. With Rain Spencer, Patrick Gibson, Andie MacDowell, Odessa AZion, Olan Prenatt, Eloisa Huggins.

The Integrity of Joseph Chambers (United States) World Premiere. In this stark and brooding psychological drama, a family man hoping to prove his survivalist capabilities and manliness to his family decides to irresponsibly head off into the woods and go deer hunting by himself. Directed and written by Robert Machoian. Produced by Clayne Crawford, Kiki Crawford, Robert Machoian. With Clayne Crawford, Jordana Brewster, Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Next Exit (United States) World Premiere. In a world where ghosts are real and front-page news, a controversial new medical procedure allows people to peacefully kill themselves. In the midst of this breakthrough, two strangers travel cross country together to end their lives, only to unexpectedly find what theyve been missing along the way. Directed and written by Mali Elfman. Produced by Derek Bish, Narineh Hacopian. With Katie Parker, Rahul Kohli, Rose McIver, Karen Gillan, Tongayi Chirisa, Diva Zappa.

Three Headed Beast (United States) World Premiere. In this poetic exploration of love and suppressed communication, the foundation of a bisexual couples healthy open relationship starts to show its cracks. Directed and written by Fernando Andres, Tyler Rugh. Produced by Fernando Andrs, Lisa Freberg, Tyler Rugh. With Cody Shook, Jacob Schatz, Dani Hurtado, Daniel Abramson, Paul Grant, Sarah Bartholomew.

Wes Schlagenhauf Is Dying (United States) World Premiere. An irreverent and eccentric road trip comedy that celebrates DIY filmmaking and bromances, Wes Schlagenhauf Is Dying follows two filmmakers who set out to make their masterpiece while on a journey toward an estranged, purportedly languishing friend. Directed by Parker Seaman, written by Devin Das, Parker Seaman, produced by Devin Das, Trent Anderson, Adam Maffei, Parker Seaman. With Devin Das, Parker Seaman, Wes Schlagenhauf, Aparna Nancherla, DArcy Carden, Mark Duplass.

The Year Between (United States) World Premiere. Forced to return home from college after her erratic behavior alienates everyone around her, Clemence begrudgingly begins a new chapter in the suburbs, hell-bent on defying her mom, dad, younger siblings, therapistand a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Directed and written by Alex Heller. Produced by Eugene Sun Park, Amanda P. Phillips, Sonya Lunsford, Rachel Gould, Caterin Camargo-Alvarez.

INTERNATIONAL NARRATIVE COMPETITION

Blaze (Australia) World Premiere. After a young girl witnesses a violent crime, she summons an imaginary dragon to help process her anger and protect her on her journey into womanhood. Directed by Del Kathryn Barton. Written by Del Kathryn Barton, Huna Amweero. Produced by Samantha Jennings. With Julia Savage, Simon Baker, Yael Stone, Josh Lawson, Sofia Hampson.

January (Janvaris) (Latvia, Lithuania, Poland) World Premiere. An aspiring filmmaker tries to search for who he is against the backdrop of Latvian independence in this dark but dreamy coming-of-age story. Directed by Viesturs Kairiss. Written by Viesturs Kairiss, Andris Feldmanis, Livia Ulman. Produced by Inese Boka-Grbe, Gints Grbe. With Krlis Arnolds Avots, Alise Danovska, Sandis Runge, Baiba Broka, Aleksas Kazanaviius, Juhan Ulfsak. In Latvian, Lithuanian, Russian, with English subtitles.

Karaoke (Israel) World Premiere. A comedy about a married middle-class suburban couple in their 60s who are drawn to their new neighbor, a charismatic bachelor who has karaoke evenings at his apartment. Directed and written by Moshe Rosenthal. Produced by Efrat Cohen. With Sasson Gabay, Rita Shukrun, Lior Ashkenazi. In Hebrew with English subtitles.

A Matter Of Trust (Ingen Kender Dagen) (Denmark) World Premiere. Five stories on interpersonal trust and unspoken truths intertwine in Annette K. Olesens artful, elliptical, and bittersweet relationship drama. Directed and written by Anette K Olesen. Produced by Jonas Frederiksen. With Trine Dyrholm, Jakob Cedergreen, Lisbet Dahl, Morten Hee Andersen. In Danish with English subtitles.

My Love Affair with Marriage (United States, Latvia, Luxembourg) World Premiere. Some people spend their lives wondering why a marriage didnt last. Signe Baumane set out to get some answers. The result is this animated film, which combines ancient mythology and contemporary neuroscience. Directed and written by Signe Baumane. Produced by Sturgis Warner, Signe Baumane. With Dagmara Dominczyk, Michele Pawk, Matthew Modine, Cameron Monaghan, Ieva Katkovska, Kristine Pastare, Iluta Alsberga.

Pink Moon (Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia) World Premiere. An adult daughter kidnaps her father, whisking him away to a cabin in the snow, hoping to alter his unexpected announcement that he has had enough of life and will end it by his next birthday. Directed by Floor van der Meulen. Written by Bastiaan Kroeger. Produced by Derk-Jan Warrink and Koji Nelissen. With Julia Akkermans, Johan Leysen, Eelco Smits, Anniek Pheifer, Sinem Kavus.

Two Sisters and a Husband (India) World Premiere. Tara and Amrita are sisters. One is married to hotel manager Rajat, while the other is expecting his child. Set in the beautiful Himalayan foothills, this is a compelling drama about a thorny domestic arrangement. Directed by Shlok Sharma. Written by Shilpa Srivastava, Shlok Sharmaand. Produced by Navin Shetty, Shlok Sharma, Anurag Kashyap. With Avani Rai, Dinker Sharma, Manya Grover, Himanshu Kohli, Ashutosh Pathak. In Hindi with English subtitles.

The Visitor (Bolivia, Uruguay) World Premiere. In the atmospheric and visually-compelling drama The Visitor, an ex-convict returns home in search of a new life and a chance to reconnect with his estranged young daughter, only to be met with resistance from his father-in-law an influential pastor in the Evangelical community in town. Directed by Martn Boulocq. Written by Martn Boulocq, Rodrigo Hasbn. Produced by Andrea Camponovo, Alvaro Olmos. With Enrique Aroz, Csar Troncoso, Mirella Pascual, Svet Ailyn Mena, Romel Vargas, Teresa Gutirrez. In Spanish with English subtitles.

We Might As Well Be Dead (Wir knnten genauso gut tot sein) (Germany, Romania) International Premiere. The disappearance of a dog and the sudden isolation of a security guards daughter start a bizarre chain of events in an apartment complex obsessed with keeping up appearances. Directed by Natalia Sinelnikova. Written by Natalia Sinelnikova, Viktor Gallandi. Produced by Julia Wagner. With Ioana Iacob, Pola Geiger, Jrg Schttauf, iir Elolu, Moritz Jahn, Susanne Wuest, Knut Berger, Mina zlem Sad. In German, Polish with English subtitles.

Woman on the Roof (Poland, France, Sweden) World Premiere. One morning a 60-year-old midwife does something extremely unexpected, which breaks her family and life apart. Inspired by a true story, this is a complex character portrayal told with outstanding cinematic realism. Directed and written by Anna Jadowska. Produced by Maria Blicharska. With Dorota Pomykala, Bogdan Koca, Adam Bobik. In Polish with English subtitles.

DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION

An Act of Worship (United States) World Premiere. An Act of Worship is Pakistani-American filmmaker Nausheen Dadabhoys lyrical portrait of the last 20 years of Muslim Life in America as told through the lens of Muslims living in the United States. In Arabic and English with English subtitles. Directed and written by Nausheen Dadabhoy. Produced by Sofian Khan, Kristi Jacobson, Heba Elorbany.

Battleground (United States) World Premiere. Heading distinctly different anti-choice organizations, three women lead the charge in their single-minded quest to overturn Roe v. Wade, as they face down forces equally determined to safeguard womens access to safe and legal abortions. Directed by Cynthia Lowen. Written by Cynthia Lowen, Nancy Novack. Produced by Rebecca Stern, Cynthia Lowen. With Alexis McGill Johnson, Jenna King, Nancy Northup.

The Cave of Adullam (United States) World Premiere. Living by the mantra its easier to raise boys than to repair broken men, martial arts sensei Jason Wilson tenderly guides his often-troubled young Detroit students with a beautifully effective blend of compassion and tough love. Directed by Laura Checkoway. Produced by Laurence Fishburne, Helen Sugland, Roy Bank, Joe Plummer, Laura Checkoway. With Jason Wilson, Kevin L. Collins Jr., Gabriel Davenport, Daniel White, Tamarkus Williams.

Hidden Letters (China, Germany, Norway, United States) World Premiere. In modern-day China, two women strive to preserve Nushu, an ancient secret language that bonded generations of Chinese women together through centuries of oppression in a clandestine support system of sisterhood and survival. Directed by Violet Du Feng. Written by Violet Du Feng, John Farbrother. Produced by Violet Du Feng, Mette Cheng Munthe-Kaas, Jean Tsien, Su Kim. With Xin Hu, Simu Wu, He Yanxin. In Chinese and Mandarin with English subtitles.

Katrina Babies (United States) World Premiere. Katrina Babies is a first-person account of the short-term and long-term devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina, as told by young people who were between the ages of 3 and 19 when the levees broke. Directed by Edward Buckles Jr. Written by Edward Buckles Jr., Luther Clement Lam, Audrey Rosenberg. Produced by Edward Buckles Jr., Audrey Rosenberg, Rebecca Teitel. With Miesha Williams, Cierra Chenier, Arnold Burks, Damaris Calliet, Calvin Baxter, Quintina Thomas Green. An HBO Documentary Films release.

Lakota Nation vs. United States (United States) World Premiere. Poet Layli Long Soldier crafts a searing portrait of her Oyates connection to the Black Hills, through first contact and broken treaties to the promise of the Land Back movement, in this lyrical testament to the resilience of a nation. Directed by Jesse Short Bull, Laura Tomaselli. Written by Layli Long Soldier. Produced by Benjamin Hedin. With Nick Tilsen, Phyllis Young, Candi Brings Plenty, Krystal Two Bulls, Nick Estes, Henry Red Cloud.

My Name Is Andrea (United States) World Premiere. A rousing portrait of feminist writer Andrea Dworkin, one of the most controversial and misunderstood figures of the 20th century, who fought passionately for justice and equality for women. Directed and written by Pratibha Parmar. Produced by Shaheen Haq. With Ashley Judd, Soko, Amandla Stenberg, Andrea Riseborough, Allen Leech, Christine Lahti.

Naked Gardens (United States, France) World Premiere. With a cheekily contemplative tone and an empathetic lens, Naked Gardens takes us inside an isolated nudist community in Florida where residents find a place to feel accepted, deal with their past traumas and jointly pursue forming a utopian society. Directed by Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan. Written by Ivete Lucas. Produced by Patrick Bresnan, Ivete Lucas, Tabs Breese, Julia Nottingham, Roberto Minervini, Denise Ping Lee. With Jeremy, McKayla, Jamie, Gretchen, Deedee, Serenity, Morley.

Sophia (United States) World Premiere. This stirring and visually-immersive documentary brings us inside the spirited pursuits of David Hanson a restless inventor aiming to perfect the worlds most life-like A.I. With freewheeling energy and storytelling gusto, Kasbes & Moselles probing film masterfully ponders the future of artificial intelligence and humanitys shared need for connectedness. Directed by Jon Kasbe, Crystal Moselle. Written by Daniel Koehler. Produced by Bits Sola. With David Hanson. In Chinese, English with English subtitles. A Showtime Documentary Films release.

A Story Of Bones (UK) World Premiere. A Story of Bones chronicles Annina van Neels tireless work to reclaim and honor the neglected history of St. Helena after the remains of thousands of formerly enslaved Africans are uncovered on the remote island. Directed by Joseph Curran, Dominic Aubrey de Vere. Produced by Yvonne Ibazebo. With Annina Van Neel, Peggy King Jorde.

Subject (United States) World Premiere. Subject unpacks the ethics and responsibility inherent in documentary filmmaking by examining well-known documentaries of the past decade and revealing the impact their commercial success has had on the lives of the onscreen subjects. Directed by Jennifer Tiexiera, Camilla Hall. Produced by Camilla Hall, Jennifer Tiexiera, Joe Caterini. With Arthur Agee, Ahmed Hassan, Margie Ratliff, Michael Peterson, Mukunda Angulo, Jesse Friedman, Elaine Friedman, Lisa Walsh, Susanne Reisenbichler.

The Wild One (France) World Premiere. Jack Garfein Holocaust survivor, theater and film director, key figure in the formation of the Actors Studio vividly, animatedly, passionately recalls a life where historical tragedy and personal art formed a unique, driving, uncompromising vision. Directed, written, and produced by Tessa Louise-Salom. With Jack Garfein, Willem Dafoe, Peter Bogdanovich, Irne Jacob, Boby Sotto, Dick Guttman, Blanche Baker, Patricia Bosworth, Foster Hirsch, Geoffrey Horne, Kate Rennebohm.

SPOTLIGHT NARRATIVE

Acidman (United States) World Premiere. After a decade apart, Maggie tracks down her elusive father. His fixation with UFOs has intensified over the years, which frustrates her attempts to communicate some big news. Directed by Alex Lehmann. Written by Alex Lehmann, Chris Dowling. Produced by Liz Cardenas, Alex Lehmann, Dianna Agron, Christian Agypt. With Thomas Haden Church, Dianna Agron, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris.

Aisha (Ireland) World Premiere. Aisha, a young Nigerian woman seeking asylum in Ireland, is floundering in a maze of social services and bureaucracy. As her situation becomes increasingly dire, Aisha struggles to maintain hope and dignity against the looming threat of deportation. Directed and written by Frank Berry. Produced by Tristan Orpen Lynch, Donna Eperon, Aoife OSullivan, Sam Bisbee. With Letitia Wright, Josh OConnor.

Alone Together (United States) World Premiere. Strangers June and Charlie have to learn to coexist when they accidentally book the same AirBnb to get away from the pandemic. Alone Together is the ultimate New York lockdown love story. Directed and written by Katie Holmes. Produced by Yale Productions, Lafayette Pictures. With Katie Holmes, Jim Sturgess, Derek Luke, Becky Ann Baker, Zosia Mamet, Melissa Leo.

American Dreamer (United States) World Premiere. In this winsome comedy, an entitled Economics professor pursues a tactic to buy an ailing widows mansion for nothing but he quickly realizes that his seemingly foolproof strategy wont be as easy as he thought. Directed by Paul Dektor. Written by Theodore Melfi. Produced by Toyo Shimano, Emily Shimano, Theodore Melfi, Kimberly Quinn, Peter Dinklage, David Ginsberg, Paul Dektor. With Peter Dinklage, Shirley MacLaine, Matt Dillon, Danny Glover, Kimberly Quinn, Danny Pudi.

Beauty (United States) World Premiere. A gifted young Black woman struggles to maintain her voice and identity after shes offered a lucrative recording contract. Directed by Andrew Dosunmu. Written by Lena Waithe. Produced by Lena Waithe, Michael Ellenberg, Rishi Rajani. With Niecy Nash, Aleyse Shannon,Giancarlo Esposito, Gracie Marie Bradley, Kyle Bary, Michael Ward, Sharon Stone. A Netflix release.

Cha Cha Real Smooth (United States) New York Premiere. Fresh out of college and stuck at his New Jersey home without a clear path forward, 22-year-old Andrew begins working as a party starter on the local bar/bat mitzvah circuit, where he strikes up a unique friendship with a young mom and her teenage daughter. Directed and written by Cooper Raiff. Produced by Dakota Johnson, Ro Donnelly, Erik Feig, Jessica Switch, Cooper Raiff. With Dakota Johnson, Cooper Raiff, Vanessa Burghardt, Evan Assante, Brad Garrett, Leslie Mann. An Apple Original Films release.

Corner Office (Canada) World Premiere. In this office satire, Jon Hamm plays Orson, a straight-laced employee who retreats to a blissfully empty corner office to get away from his lackluster colleagues. But why does this seem to upset them so much? Directed by Joachim Back. Written by Ted Kupper. Produced by David Milchard. With Jon Hamm, Danny Pudi, Christopher Heyerdahl, Sarah Gadon.

Dont Make Me Go (United States) World Premiere. This stirring drama stars a charming John Cho as a single father who takes his teenage daughter on a road trip to find her estranged mother. Directed by Hannah Marks. Written by Vera Herbert. Produced by Donald De Line, Leah Holzer, Peter Saraf. With John Cho, Mia Isaac, Mitchell Hope, Jemaine Clement, Stefania LaVie Owen, Kaya Scodelario. An Amazon Studios release.

The Forgiven (UK) US Premiere. A getaway for a couple visiting Morocco turns deadly after they accidentally kill a local boy, resulting in a volatile chain reaction of events throughout the villa theyre visiting. Directed and written by John Michael McDonagh. Produced by John Michael McDonagh, Elizabeth Eves, Trevor Matthews, Nick Gordon. With Ralph Fiennes, Jessica Chastain, Matt Smith, Sad Taghmaoui, Caleb Landry Jones, Christopher Abbott. A Roadside Attractions release.

Good Luck to You, Leo Grande (UK) New York Premiere. Emma Thompson shines in this British comedy about the connection between Nancy, a conservative retired teacher, and Leo, a younger man she hires to help her experience an orgasm for the first time. Directed by Sophie Hyde. Written by Katy Brand. Produced by Debbie Gray, Adrian Politowski. With Emma Thompson, Daryl McCormack. A Searchlight Pictures release.

Jerry & Marge Go Large (United States) World Premiere. In this charming, feel-great comedy inspired by a true story, recent retirees Jerry and Marge discover a new sense of drive (and a whole bunch of money) when they find a legal loophole in the lottery system. Directed by David Frankel. With Bryan Cranston, Annette Bening, Rainn Wilson, Larry Wilmore. A Paramount+ Release.

Land of Dreams (United States) North American Premiere. A census taker acquires information about the dreams of Americans in this grounded science-fiction drama turned political satire. Directed by Shirin Neshat. Written by Jean-Claude Carrire, Shoja Azari. Produced by Sol Tryon, Amir Hamz, Christian Springer. With Sheila Vand, Matt Dillon, William Moseley, Isabella Rosselini, Joaquim De Almeida, Christopher McDonald, Anna Gunn. In English and Farsi with English subtitles.

Official Competition (Spain, Argentina) US Premiere. When a billionaire entrepreneur decides to get into the movie business, he commissions international auteur director Lola Cuevas, Hollywood heartthrob Felix Rivero, and titan of the stage Ivan Torres to collaborate on a cinematic masterpiece. But when these larger-than-life egos arrive for the shoot, they encounter an unexpected series of rehearsals set by Lola in this sharp showbiz satire. Directed by Mariano Cohn, Gastn Duprat. Written by Andrs Duprat, Mariano Cohn, Gastn Duprat. Produced by Jaume Roures. With Penlope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Oscar Martnez. In Spanish with English subtitles. An IFC Films release.

Somewhere in Queens (United States) World Premiere. An Italian-American dad from Queens gets increasingly involved in ensuring his sons high school basketball success in Ray Romanos directorial debut. Directed by Ray Romano. Written by Ray Romano, Mark Stegemann. Produced by Albert Berger, Ron Yerxa, Ray Romano, Mark Stegemann. With Ray Romano, Laurie Metcalf, Tony Lo Bianco, Sebastian Maniscalco, Jennifer Esposito.

Space Oddity(United States) World Premiere. A space-obsessed man gets the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to a Mars colonization program but finds his plans compromised by his feelings for a woman who brings him down to Earth. Directed by Kyra Sedgwick. Written by Rebecca Banner. Produced by Valerie Stadler, Kyra Sedgwick, Meredith Bagby, Richard Arlook, Jack Greenbaum, Mark Maxey. With Kyle Allen, Alexandra Shipp, Madeline Brewer, Carrie Preston, Simon Helberg, Kevin Bacon.

There There (United States) World Premiere. Andrew Bujalski is back with a warped series of short scenes featuring two characters at a time that toy with our perceptions and expectations in an unhinged reality not far from our own. directed and written by Andrew Bujalski. Produced by Houston King, Dia Sokol Savage, Sam Bisbee. With Jason Schwartzman, Lili Taylor, Molly Gordon, Lennie James, Avi Nash, Annie LaGanga.

SPOTLIGHT DOCUMENTARY

After Selma: The Lowndes County Freedom Party (United States) World Premiere. Told by those who were on the frontlines in 1960s Georgia, After Selma recounts the courageous campaign of citizens and activists who faced violence and oppression in the struggle for the right to vote. Directed by Sam Pollard, Geeta Gandbhir. Produced by Jessica Devaney, Anya Rous, Dema Paxton Fofang.

All Man: The International Male Story (United States) World Premiere. A nostalgic and colorful peek behind the pages and personalities of International Male, one of the most ubiquitous and sought-after mail-order catalogs of the 80s and 90s. Directed by Bryan Darling, Jesse Finley Reed, written by Peter Jones, produced by Peter Jones, Bryan Darling, Jesse Finley Reed, Taylor Vracin-Harrell. With Carson Kressley, Matt Bomer.

American Pain (United States) World Premiere. American Pain tells the jaw-dropping story of twin brothers Chris and Jeff George who open up a chain of pain clinics in Florida where they hand out pain pills like candy. Directed by Darren Foster. Produced by Darren Foster, Julie Goldman, Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn, Diane Becker. A CNN Films Release.

Angelheaded Hipster: The Songs of Marc Bolan & T. Rex (United States) World Premiere. A musical documentary celebrating the life and work of glam rock pioneer Marc Bolan, combined with a behind-the-scenes look at the tribute album of the same name. Directed and written by Ethan Silverman. Produced by Bill Curbishley. With Marc Bolan, Gloria Jones, Rolan Bolan, Ringo Starr, Nick Cave, Hal Willner, Joan Jett, David Bowie.

The Big Payback (United States) World Premiere. Funded by a tax on cannabis, Evanston, IL, earmarked $10 million to compensate descendants of enslaved Africans for 400 years of unpaid labor. Alderwoman Simmons leads her constituents through this historic campaign for reparations for the Black community. Directed by Erika Alexander, Whitney Dow. Produced by Ben Arnon, Xan Parker.

Body Parts (United States) World Premiere. An eye-opening investigation into the making of Hollywood sex scenes, shedding light on the real-life experiences behind classic scenes of cinema and tracing the legacy of exploitation of women in the entertainment industry. Directed by Kristy Guevara-Flanagan. Produced by Helen Hood Scheer. With Jane Fonda, Joey Soloway, Angela Robinson, Karyn Kusama, Rose McGowan, David Simon.

CIVIL (United States) World Premiere. An intimate yet expansive profile of Ben Crump, the lawyer dubbed Black Americas attorney general. Directed by Nadia Hallgren. Produced by Lauren Cioffi. A Netflix release.

Endangered (Brazil, Mexico, United States) World Premiere. With riveting access and kinetic visual flair, Endangered is a sobering look at the erosion of democracy & freedom of the press in the United States and abroad. Directed by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady. Produced by Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Alex Takats. With Patrcia Campos Mello, Carl Juste, Sshenka Gutirrez, Oliver Laughland. In English, Portuguese, Spanish with English subtitles. An HBO Documentary Films release.

Fashion Reimagined (United Kingdom, United States) World Premiere. Fashion designer Amy Powney is at the peak of her career, but shes troubled by her industrys wasteful practices. Fashion Reimagined follows her transformative global journey to create a collection thats sustainable on every level. Directed by Becky Hutner. Produced by Becky Hutner, Linsday Lowe, Andrea van Beuren. With Amy Powney, Chloe Marks.

It Aint Over (United States) World Premiere. The life and times of Yankee Yogi Berra, whose unique personality and unforgettable Yogi-isms sometimes got in the way of his being recognized as one of baseballs very greatest catchers. Directed and written by Sean Mullin. Produced by Peter Sobiloff, Mike Sobiloff, Natalie Metzger, Matt Miller. With Joe Torre, Derek Jeter, Don Mattingly, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal.

Leave No Trace (United States) World Premiere. In February 2022, The Boy Scouts Of America reached a $2.7 billion agreement over sex abuse claims, the largest such settlement in history. Leave No Trace explores how this all-American institution went so horrifyingly wrong. Directed by Irene Taylor. Produced by Nigel Jaquiss, Sara Bernstein, Justin Wilkes, Emily Singer Chapman.

Lynch / Oz (United States) World Premiere. Victor Flemings 1939 film The Wizard of Oz is one of David Lynchs most enduring obsessions. This new documentary goes over the rainbow to explore this Technicolor through-line in Lynchs work. Directed and written by Alexandre O. Philippe. Produced by Kerry Deignan Roy. With Amy Nicholson, Rodney Ascher, John Waters, Karyn Kusama, Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, David Lowery.

Nothing Compares (Ireland, UK) New York Premiere. Over the course of just six years, Sinead OConnor went from an international superstar to a pariah. Nothing Compares tells the story of OConnors life as a musician, mother, and iconoclast in her own words. Directed by Kathryn Ferguson. Produced by Eleanor Emptage, Michael Mallie. A Showtime Documentary Films release.

Of Medicine and Miracles (United States) World Premiere. This riveting documentary chronicles the monumental task of curing cancer, as seen through the harrowing experiences of one young girl, her family, and a doctor on a mission. Directed by Ross Kauffman. Produced by Robin Honan, Nicole Galovski.

On the Line: The Richard Williams Story (United States) World Premiere. Through exclusive interviews and home movies, this film follows the outspoken patriarch of the Williams family who beat impossible odds to help daughters Venus and Serena become two of the greatest athletes of our time. Directed by Stuart McClave. Produced by Chavoita LeSane, Brit Marling, Brenda Robinson, Duncan Montgomery, Gary Ousdahl, Jack Selby.

The Rebellious Life of Mrs. Rosa Parks (United States) World Premiere. Beyond her historic role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, this comprehensive dive into Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks sheds light on her extensive organizing, radical politics, and lifelong dedication to activism. Directed by Johanna Hamilton, Yoruba Richen. Produced by Christalyn Hampton. A Peacock release.

Rudy! A Documusical (United States) World Premiere. The definitive Rudy Giuliani documentary, charting his fall from the cover of Time Magazine to the parking lot of Four Seasons Total Landscaping. Directed and written by Jed Rothstein. Produced by Ross M. Dinerstein, Sarit G. Work.

Turn Every Page The Adventures of Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb (United States) World Premiere. Delight in the fascinating, intersecting stories of the iconic Pulitzer Prize-winning author Robert Caro and his editor, the literary giant Robert Gottlieb, in this chronicle of a unique 50-year professional relationship. Directed by Lizzie Gottlieb. Produced by Joanne Nerenberg, Jen Small, Lizzie Gottlieb. With Robert Caro, Robert Gottlieb, Ethan Hawke, Conan OBrien, David Remnick, Bill Clinton, Majora Carter.

The YouTube Effect (United States, Brazil, Germany, India, Taiwan R.O.C., Chile) World Premiere. YouTube has garnered over 2.3 billion users and is worth up to $300 billion dollars. At its center is its algorithm, something that threatens to destroy not only the platform, but the entire Internet. Directed and written by Alex Winter. Produced by Alex Winter, Gale Anne Hurd, Glen Zipper. With Caleb Cain, Steve Chen, Carrie Goldberg Loann, Ryan and Shion Kaji, Anthony Padilla, Andy Parker, Susan Wojcicki, Brianna Wu, Natalie Wynn.

VIEWPOINTS

88 (United States) Feature Narrative, World Premiere. The Financial Director for a democratic super PAC behind a frontrunner presidential candidate investigates donations uncovering a conspiracy. Eromose returns to Tribeca after his acclaimed Legacy (2010) capturing the zeitgeist of government mistrust and institutional racism in a timely political thriller. Directed and written by Eromose. Produced by Hunter Arnold, Linda Rubin, Eromose, Brandon Victor Dixon, Warren Adams. With Brandon Victor Dixon, Naturi Naughton, Orlando Jones, Thomas Sadoski, William Fichtner, Amy Sloan.

Breaking the Ice (Austria) Feature Narrative, World Premiere. An Austrian woman escapes from the pressure of running her familys vineyard by playing ice hockey. Then a new player arrives to challenge her rigid worldview, leading to a life-changing night on the streets of Vienna. Directed and written by Clara Stern. Produced by Michael Kitzberger, Wolfgang Widerhofer, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Markus Glaser. With Alina Schaller, Judith Altenberger, Tobias Resch. In German with English subtitles.

Carajita (Argentina, Dominican Republic) Feature Narrative, New York Premiere. The relationship between a spoiled white Argentinian teenager and the Black Dominican nanny who raised her is pushed to its limit when a night of partying leads to a troubling disappearance. Directed and written by Silvina Schnicer, Ulises Porra. Produced by Ulla Prida, Alexandra Guerrero, Federico Eibuszyc, Brbara Sarasola-Day. With Cecile Van Welie, Magnolia Muez, Adelanny Padilla, Genesis Buret, Javier Hermida, Richard Douglas. In Spanish with English subtitles.

Carol & Johnny (United States) Feature Documentary, World Premiere. Two of the most infamous bank robbers in American history, Carol Marie Williams & Johnny Madison Williams Jr., tell their love story in their own words. Directed and written by Colin Barnicle. Produced by Barnicle Brothers with Words and Pictures. With Johnny Madison Williams, Carol Hawkins Williams.

Dreaming Walls: Inside the Chelsea Hotel (France, Belgium, United States, Netherlands, Sweden) Feature Documentary, North American Premiere. Manhattans Chelsea Hotel is a counterculture legend as well as a brick-and-mortar structure. Dreaming Walls documents a critical juncture in Chelseas history, as it prepares to evict longtime residents and transform into a luxury hotel. Directed by Amlie van Elmbt, Maya Duverdier. Produced by Hanne Phlypo, Quentin Laurent. A Magnolia Release.

Hommage () (South Korea) Feature Narrative, North American Premiere. A struggling filmmaker finds unexpected solidarity and validation when she takes on the job of restoring a classic 1960s film directed by the first known female South Korean director. Directed and written by Shin Su-won. Produced by Francis C.K. Lim, Shin Su-won. With Lee Jung-eun, Kwon Hae-hyo, Tang Jun-sang. In Korean with English subtitles.

Land of Gold (United States) Feature Narrative, World Premiere. When truck driver Kiran hears pounding on a shipping container and finds a young Mexican-American girl inside, his already tumultuous life takes a drastic turn as he seeks to reunite her family. Directed and written by Nardeep Khurmi. Produced by Keertana Sastry, Pallavi Sastry, Simon TaufiQue. With Nardeep Khurmi, Caroline Valencia, Pallavi Sastry, Riti Sachdeva, Iqbal Theba, Dhruv Uday Singh, Karen David. In English, Punjabi, Spanish with English subtitles.

Lift (United States) Feature Documentary, World Premiere. The New York Theatre Ballets LIFT program offers scholarships to children experiencing homelessness, helping them develop untapped skills as classical dancers. Spanning 10 years, this moving film follows their turbulent journeys from shelter to stage. Directed by David Petersen. Produced by Mary Recine. With Steven Melendez, Victor Abreu, Yolanssie Cardona, Sharia Blockwood. In English, Spanish with English subtitles.

Liquor Store Dreams (United States) Feature Documentary, World Premiere. So Yun Ums debut feature is a moving portrait of two Korean American children of liquor store owners reconciling their dreams with those of their immigrant parents, against the backdrop of struggles for racial equity in Los Angeles. Directed by So Yun Um. Written by So Yun Um, Christina Sun Kim. Produced by So Yun Um, Eddie Kim. With So Yun Um, Hae Sup Um, Danny Park, May Park, Mark Burton. In English and Korean with English subtitles.

Our Father, The Devil (Mon Pre, le Diabe) (United States) Feature Narrative, North American Premiere. Caretaker Marie finds her peaceful life in France upended by the arrival of a new priest who reminds her of her traumatic past. Directed and written by Ellie Foumbi. Produced by Ellie Foumbi, Joseph Mastantuono. With Babetida Sadjo, Souleymane Sy Savan, Jennifer Tchiakpe, Franck Saurel, Martine Amisse. In French with English subtitles.

Peace in the Valley (United States) Feature Narrative, World Premiere. In the aftermath of a senseless act of violence, a young mother must learn to manage her overwhelming griefnot only for her own peace of mind but for the sake of her young son. Directed and written by Tyler Riggs. Produced by Andrew Carlberg, Brit Shaw. With Brit Shaw, Michael Abbott Jr., Dendrie Taylor, William Samiri.

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Tribeca Festival Lineup Includes Corner Office With Jon Hamm, Ray Romanos Somewhere In Queens, More - Deadline

Nurturing the horror genre through the early noughties, American filmmaker Eli Roth is a crucial part of the cinematic makeup of Hollywood at the turn of the new century. An actor, producer and director, Roth is a multi-talented creative, helping to bring multiple successful projects to life, from Quentin Tarantinos frenetic war drama Inglourious Basterds to his own, grimey 2002 horror Cabin Fever.

As a crucial part of the torture-porn movement that flourished during this time, sparked by the success of James Wans Saw in 2004, Roth contributed with his own vision in the Hostel series, telling the story of three backpackers who fall victim to torturous businessmen in a Slovakian city. Whilst such films were popularly denounced in the mainstream for their graphic violence, they undoubtedly remain a crucial part of the evolution of horror throughout the 21st century, speaking to an innate fear of the contemporary zeitgeist.

Roths career certainly peaked throughout this period of time, with his later efforts Knock Knock starring Keanu Reeves and cannibal movie The Green Inferno failing to drum up the same excitement from horror fans. Despite this, Roth remains a key figure in the genre thanks to his work as a producer and pioneer, having worked with the likes of Ti West, Daniel Stamm, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino.

As a key voice in the cinema community, Roths opinion still holds considerable weight, so when he told Larry King his top five favourite horror movies of all time, fans sat up and listened.

His first pick went to the classic video nasty Cannibal Holocaust directed by Ruggero Deodato, a film that Roth directly attempted to recreate in his disappointing 2013 effort The Green Inferno. Known for its surprisingly incredible soundtrack, the original 1980 movie follows a rescue mission to find a missing documentary crew in the Amazon rainforest that goes violently wrong.

Sam Raimis iconic horror movie The Evil Dead takes his second spot, with the strange zombie hybrid movie going on to influence much of his own work, not least Cabin Fever. Starring Bruce Campbell and Ellen Sandweiss, the film spawned sequels, remakes, spin-offs and more, remaining one of the most beloved horror properties of all time.

Sticking to the classic, the William Friedkin horror movie The Exorcist takes Roths third position, a movie often called the scariest of all time. Influencing the future of filmmaking in general, the power of The Exorcist would change how the horror genre was perceived by general audiences, largely thanks to some incredible performances from Linda Blair, Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow and Jason Miller.

Cinematic master Stanley Kubrick claims the fourth position with the Stephen King adaptation, The Shining, starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, an eerie, atmospheric journey into the insanity of one mans mind. Still considered a classic of horror cinema, The Shining is considered among Kubricks best, sitting alongside 2001: A Space Odyssey and Dr. Strangelove.

Topping off the list, Roth goes for (arguably) the best horror movie of all time with The Texas Chain Saw Massacre directed by Tobe Hooper, a film that would help kick off the slasher craze of the 1980s alongside such classics as Psycho by Alfred Hitchcock and Halloween by John Carpenter. With intense DIY filmmaking and a grubby overall aesthetic, you can see Hoopers influence quite clearly on the filmography of Eli Roth.

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Eli Roth names his five favourite horror movies of all time - Far Out Magazine