This weekend at Village East by Angelika the powerful documentary “Front Row” world premiered at DOC NYC before a sold-out crowd.
A deeply profound reflection on how art can inspire and bring hope and light during a dark time washed over the audience who came to see the film that tells a tale all should hear. Leading ballet dancer Alexis goes into exile to escape the war in which soldier Oleksandr loses both his legs.
They form an unlikely friendship while Oleksandr learns to dance on prosthetic legs and rehearses with Alexis and the other dancers of the United Ukrainian Ballet Company for a performance that will diminish the space between the front row and the front line. Despair turns into enlightenment on the screen and shows the way when art can bring a deep connection and make humanity unite for the greater purpose of peaceful existence. It is not an easy journey, but together these friends and a company of companions shift the deep darkness into a dazzling ray that illuminates for all to see.
The first screening was followed by a Q&A with film subjects Oleksandr Teren Budko and Alexis Tutunnique along with director Miriam Guttmann, executive producer Sarah Jessica Parker, executive producer Alison Benson, and producer Lea Fels.
DOC NYC celebrates documentary filmmaking by connecting artists and audiences through powerful stories and diverse voices. DOC NYC has screened the documentary feature that went on to win the Academy Award and 49 of the last 55 Oscar-nominated documentary features. It is also an Academy-qualifying festival for short films.
The festival is celebrating its 15th edition. Past guests include Daniel Radcliffe, Hillary Clinton, Eric Clapton, Emma Watson, Jim Carrey, Rev. Al Sharpton, Thandie Newton, Susan Sarandon, Martin Scorsese, Itzhak Perlman, Frank Oz, Big Bird, Sarah Polley, Jared Leto, Olympia Dukakis, Chris Rock, Seth Myers, Alia Shawkat, Lucas Hedges, Kevin Kline, Heather Graham, Jean Claude Christo, Wim Wenders, Rashida Jones, Darrel Hammond, Ricki Lake, Michael Moore, Michel Gondry, Omar Epps, Errol Morris, Oliver Stone, Jonathan Franzen, Kathleen Hanna, Spandau Ballet, Greil Marcus, Grace Lee Boggs, Bela Fleck, Nat Hentoff, Chuck Workman, Guy Fieri and The Mekons. Audience attendees have included Harry Belafonte, Rosario Dawson, Fred Armisen, Jim Jarmusch, J.K. Simons, Michael Stipe, Martha Stewart, Katie Couric, Russell Simmons, Darren Aronofsky, Cornel West, Naomi Watts, among others.
