Justice Film Festival Returns to the Sheen Center, Paul Schrader's FIRST REFORMED Featured

The seventh annual Justice Film Festival returns to the Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, Loreto Theater, Wednesday, November 13 through Saturday, November 16, 2019. The Justice Film Festival inspires justice seekers by showcasing films of exceptional courage and stories of redemption that are as diverse in the issues they explore as they are in geography. As always, this year's event will include feature documentaries and shorts from both well-known and emerging filmmakers, all of whom are using the medium of film to shine a light on culturally relevant social justice issues. Many of the screenings will be followed by talkbacks with the filmmakers, offering a deeper dive on the wide-ranging topics explored onscreen. Purchase a $40 Festival Pass or $15 individual screenings tickets at SheenCenter.org/Justice, by phone at 212-925-2812, or in-person at The Sheen Center box office Monday to Friday Noon to 5PM.

Among the more than 20 features and shorts selected for the 2019 festival, organizers have announced a special presentation of First Reformed followed by a discussion with the film's Oscar-nominated writer/director, Paul Schrader. Among his many credits, Paul Schrader wrote the scripts for Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and wrote and directed Affliction, Light Sleeper, and American Gigolo.

This year's Justice Film Festival closes with the world premiere of Free Burma Rangers, an inspiring documentary about Dave and Karen Eubank, exploring their extraordinary journey as they venture into war zones, with their three young children, fighting as a family to bring hope to the hopeless.

"We live in a complex world that is increasingly difficult to navigate," says Andy Peterson, creator and Director of the Justice Film Festival. "Films like First Reformed, which ask us to consider our impact on the earth, and Free Burma Rangers, that brings witness to heroic advocates for social justice in midst of war, help us gain a deeper level of understanding and empathy when it comes to these issues."

"As a Catholic arts center committed to promoting the sacred dignity of every human person, we are delighted to be once again hosting the Justice Film Festival this year," says David DiCerto, interim Executive Director of The Sheen Center. "This is our fourth year hosting the festival, and each year the slate gets better, not just in showcasing artistically outstanding, life-affirming works that celebrate the best of humanity, but in demonstrating the power of cinema to help inspire hope, healing, moral courage and community."

This year's Festival schedule**:

Wednesday, November 13

7:00PM

Visit our website for the announcement of our opening night feature!

Thursday, November 14

3:00PM

SKID ROW MARATHON

A criminal court judge starts a running club on L.A.'s notorious Skid Row. The club's members, comprised of homeless drug addicts, a recovering single mom, and a paroled murderer, consider themselves among those least likely to succeed. As they train together to run in international marathons, fighting the pull of homelessness and addiction at every turn, they learn to dream big as they are re-acquainted with their own dignity. Their story is one of hope, friendship, and dignity.

7:00PM

FIRST REFORMED, followed by a discussion with writer/director Paul Schrader

Reverend Ernst Toller (Ethan Hawke) is a solitary, middle-aged parish pastor at a small Dutch Reform church in upstate New York on the cusp of celebrating its 250th anniversary. Once a stop on the Underground Railroad, the church is now a tourist attraction catering to a dwindling congregation, eclipsed by its nearby parent church, Abundant Life, with its state-of-the-art facilities and 5,000-strong flock. When a pregnant parishioner (Amanda Seyfried) asks Reverend Toller to counsel her husband, a radical environmentalist, the clergyman finds himself plunged into his own tormented past, and equally despairing future, until he finds redemption in an act of grandiose violence. A discussion with writer-director Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver; American Gigolo; Affliction) follows the screening of this gripping thriller about a crisis of faith that is at once personal, political, and planetary.

Friday, November 15

1:00PM

THE PURSUIT

In The Pursuit, professional musician turned intrepid economist, Arthur Brooks travels around the globe IN SEARCH OF an answer to the question: How can we lift up the world, starting with those at the margins of society? His journey takes him through the chaotic streets of Mumbai, a town in Kentucky left behind by the global economy, a homeless shelter in New York, a street protest in Barcelona, and a Himalayan Buddhist monastery. Along the way, he discovers the secrets not only to material progress for the least fortunate, but also true and lasting happiness for all.

7:00PM

HESBURGH

Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., longtime president of Notre Dame, was a formidable Catholic leader at a tumultuous time in our nation's history. This documentary explores his role in advancing the causes of peace and equal rights for all people, working alongside 20th Century giants.

Saturday, November 16

1:00PM

JUSTICE SHORTS

Join us for an afternoon of powerful short films that examine timely moral issues and represent diverse cinematic voices related by shared affirmations of the dignity of every human person, through a lens of conscience and compassion, including Lost and Found, Refuge(e), Unforgivable, For While, Turn It Around, Restored: Stories of Encounter, and New York premieres of This Is My Home and Ashes to Ashes.

7:00PM

World Premiere: FREE BURMA RANGERS

Free Burma Rangers is a documentary film about a family who risks everything to bring hope to the front lines of war. It's the incredible 20-year story of David and Karen Eubank and their family to realize their mission to free the oppressed.

** Screening times and films subject to change.

Sponsors of the seventh annual Justice Film Festival include Conscious Magazine, Sister City, Docs/ology, National Geographic, One Hope and Sword & Spoon. 2019 social goods vendors include Plant with Purpose, YOUME Clothing, The Arena and Uncvrd Jewelry

The Sheen Center for Thought & Culture (www.sheencenter.org) is a New York City arts center located in NoHo that presents a vibrant mix of theater, film, music, art and talk events. The arts center of the Archdiocese of New York, The Sheen Center serves all New Yorkers by presenting performances and artists that reflect the true, the good, and the beautiful. Named for the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, best remembered as an inspirational author, radio host and two-time Emmy Award-winning television personality, The Sheen Center reflects his modern-day approach to contemporary topics. The Sheen Center is a state-of-the-art theater complex that includes the 270-seat off-Broadway Loreto Theater, equipped with five-camera high-definition TV and live-stream capability and a multi-track recording studio; the 80-seat off-off-Broadway BLACK BOX Theater; four rehearsal studios; and an art gallery.

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