OVID’s June Lineup: Penélope Cruz in Rome, Upstate with Peter Bradley, Serge Gainsbourg Cameo, Paraguay’s 35-year dictatorship & much more!

OVID’s June lineup includes the Juneteenth premiere of With Peter Bradley, a charming portrait about the until now overlooked artist and former art dealer that captures his experience as an outsider, in filmmaker Charles Burnett’s words, “with eloquent understatement and warmth.”

Other exclusives include Juanjo Pereira‘s Under the Flags, the Sun, a fascinating archival trip into Alfredo Stroessner’s 35-year dictatorship in Paraguay—one of the world’s longest authoritarian regimes: “At a time when right-wing movements are gaining around the world, this film shows us what to look for as such regimes try to dominate their countries and eliminate dissent.” (Matt Carey, Deadline)

What else, you ask? Penélope Cruz stars in L’Immensita as the mother of a child with gender dysphoria in conservative 1970s Rome. Plus, a Serge Gainsbourg cameo in a wild 60s Euro spy thriller The Unknown Man of Shandigor, likened to Dr. Strangelove and Alphaville… As always, there’s too much to get into here, so let’s get into it film by film below!

Full details on June’s complete lineup are below.

Image above from Alex Rappoport's WITH PETER BRADLEY, premiering on OVID on June 19th in celebration of Juneteenth.

Tuesday, June 2

Running for the Mountains
Directed by Julie Eisenberg & Babette Hogan
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 76 min

This compelling documentary exposes the cautionary tale of the rough and tumble politics and reckless policies that dominate West Virginia, now being exported to the rest of the nation. The filmmakers’ 15 year investigation unveils the ties between extractive industries and West Virginia’s politicians who place their personal profit over the health and well being of their constituents by subjecting their state to deadly toxic air, water and land.

“This sterling film could obviously breed cynicism about our corrupt politics; I hope, instead, it will push people toward activism, understanding that it’s the only way to stand up to Big Money.” —Bill McKibben, Founder, 350.org

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, June 4

Aida’s Secrets
Directed by Alon Schwarz, Shaul Schwarz
Music Box Films | Documentary | USA | 2016 | 90 min

In this moving documentary, the discovery of records from WWII sparks a family’s quest for answers as two brothers separated as babies reunite with each other and their elderly mother, who hid more from them than just each other. Filmmakers Alon and Shaul Schwarz uncover questions of identity, resilience, and the plight of displaced persons.

NYT Critic’s Pick! “Remarkable. A fascinating mystery.” —The New York Times

“Gripping, Intimate…” —Los Angeles Times

“Haunting. A fascinating portrait of a family that finds love after trauma. An unusual and moving story.” —Jerusalem Post

Friday, June 5

L’Immensita
Directed by Emanuele Crialese
With Penélope Cruz, Luana Giuliani, Vincenzo Amato, Patrizio Francioni
Music Box Films | Drama | Italy, France | 2022 | 90 min

Set in 1970s Rome, the fiction tracks the plight of a nuclear family, consisting of an unhappy married couple: Clara (a deeply dissatisfied expatriate Spaniard) and Felice (an abusive businessman cheating on Clara with his secretary) and their children Adriana, Gino, and Diana. Their eldest child, 12-year-old Adriana, experiences gender dysphoria, rejecting girlhood and instead goes by the name of Andrea. Andrea develops a crush for Sara, a Roma girl who knows him as a boy. An effortlessly moving film about growing up, fitting in, and breaking the mold, L’immensita is as freewheeling and creative as its central characters, mixing genres and staging musical numbers out of thin air.

** Official Selection, Venice Film Festival, 2022

“Everything in L’Immensità is beautiful even when everything wasn’t: Crialese’s odd, affecting memory piece layers the world as it was, is and could be in the same gilded frame.” —Variety

“A story of quiet desperation and secret yearning in the hearts of teens and the middle-aged alike.” —The Guardian

Wednesday, June 10

E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea
Directed by Beatrice Minger & Christoph Schaub
First Run Features | Docufiction | Switzerland | 2024 | 90 min

In 1929, Irish designer Eileen Gray created E.1027 on the sun-soaked Côte d’Azur – a bold and hidden gem of avant-garde architecture. This striking house was meant to be a personal refuge. But when the legendary architect Le Corbusier stumbled upon it, fascination turned to obsession. E.1027 – Eileen Gray and the House By the Sea is an unusual hybrid docufiction film that tells a story about the power of one woman’s creative expression and a man’s desire to control it.

“Superb… beautiful in a subtle, never-seen-before way. It will make you adore Eileen Gray (if you did not before) for her thorough reflections of her work…this film is also a sign of hope that what earlier generations of women only imagined nowadays is gradually becoming real.” —Modern Times Review

“The directors put architecture in dialogue with cinema in order to bring to life the sensibility of a woman who was a visionary yet is too rarely celebrated. Elegant and well thought-out, the film uses the cinematic medium to enrich a discourse.” —Cineuropa

“Beautiful… a great summer watch.” —Film Threat

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, June 11

The Making of a Japanese
Directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki
First Run Features | Documentary | Japan, USA | 2024 | 99 min

From the Oscar-nominated short comes the full-length feature The Making of a Japanese, an intimate portrait of childhood inside a Tokyo public school. Over the course of a year, 1st and 6th graders navigate daily routines and small dramas while learning discipline, empathy, and community, finding the balance between individualism and being respectful toward others.

“A warm and engaging portrait of Japanese schoolchildren. Yamazaki’s empathy for her subjects makes you feel every minor triumph or setback.” —Japan Times

“A moving, heartfelt exploration of Japanese identity.” —Tokyo Weekender

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Friday, June 12

Dhuin
Directed by Achal Mishra
With Bijay Kumar Sah, Prashant Rana, Ankush Prasad
Deaf Crocodile / MVD | Feature | India | 2022 | 50 min

A thick, misty fog appears to be perpetually enveloping Darbhanga, a provincial town in Bihar, where a 25-year-old aspiring actor can’t seem to see what lies beyond it. While yearning to leave for Mumbai to pursue a serious career, the young man spends time with his fellow creative friends, who are all simultaneously seeking and offering professional advice. A tender and bittersweet portrait of restless youth (Achal Mishra’s follow-up to his debut, The Village House), is a passionate, minimalist essay on the hopes and dreams of the next generation.

“An immersive and beautiful journey… The cinematic realism of Dhuin is deeply informed by the current sociopolitical climate in India.” —Far Out Magazine

“Achal Mishra’s portrait of artistic pursuit is a compact gem; intimate and expansive at the same time.” —Hindustan Times

The Village House
Directed by Achal Mishra
With Abhina Jha, Mira Jha, Satyam Jha
Deaf Crocodile / MVD | Feature | India | 2019 | 91 min

The astonishing debut feature from 23-year old writer/director Achal Mishra, The Village House is a lovely, luminous and gentle portrait of a large extended Indian family over several decades as they gather at the matriarch’s rural home, following the inevitable rhythms of change, children moving away to the city, and the inexorable decay of traditional village life.

“A visual masterpiece.” —Film Daze

“Quietly beautiful… Like master filmmakers Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-hsien, Mishra understands how cinematic aesthetics can beautifully mirror the invisible momentum of time.” —The Film Stage

Tuesday, June 16

The Cinema Within
Directed by Chad Freidrichs
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2025 | 93 min

How does the cinematic language of film editing work? In real life we don’t instantly jump from one viewpoint to another. And yet, film viewers effortlessly understand, and don’t even notice, most edits. This has led to the suspicion that film editing exploits some universal features of human perception. Film editor Walter Murch, scholar David Bordwell, and a handful of eminent psychologists present this compelling portrait of the profound naturalness of film editing.

“Thought-provoking… The truly remarkable aspect of The Cinema Within is that it shows us how the way we watch movies is intrinsically connected to how we see and interpret the world.” —Film Threat

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, June 17

Under the Flags, the Sun
Directed by Juanjo Pereira
Icarus Films | Documentary | Paraguay, Argentina, US, France, Germany | 2025 | 92 min

In 1989, the fall of Alfredo Stroessner’s 35-year dictatorship in Paraguay brought an end to one of the world’s longest authoritarian regimes – and left behind a vast audiovisual archive once used to shape national identity and glorify power. Moving across formats and histories, this striking debut feature by Juanjo Pereira becomes an excavation of memory and media, exposing how images were used to construct ideology, sustain international alliances, and normalize repression, while reflecting on a present still marked by the legacy of dictatorship.

“Riveting. Under the Flags, the Sun links the nation’s past to larger geopolitical dynamics and dispels unfounded assumptions about Paraguay’s invisibility.” —Americas Quarterly

“At a time when right-wing movements are gaining around the world, this film shows us what to look for as such regimes try to dominate their countries and eliminate dissent.” —Deadline

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, June 19 – Juneteenth!

With Peter Bradley
Directed by Alex Rappoport
Icarus Films | Documentary | USA | 2024 | 86 min

Largely overlooked since the 1970s, abstract painter and sculptor Peter Bradley reflects on his life and shares his artistic process on the cusp of his rediscovery. Unfolding over changing seasons against the backdrop of his shipping container art studio, Bradley expresses himself frankly in a series of tender, revealing, and funny monologues. The effect is a moving portrait of an artist devoted to his work, despite decades of disappointment in an industry historically stacked against Black artists.

“An engaging, inspiring chronicle of the life and career of Peter Bradley… It is riveting.” —Film Threat

“A timely and poignant narrative. It is shamelessly untamed, compassionate, and moving.”  —Occhi Magazine

“Reveals that being an outsider is also the foundation of the artist’s vision and discipline, reflected in his love of nature and solitude. The film’s serene cinematography and editorial pacing capture all of this with eloquent understatement and warmth.” —Charles Burnett, filmmaker

OVID EXCLUSIVE — SVOD PREMIERE

Quiet Voices in a Noisy World
Directed by Alan Govenar
First Run Features | Documentary | USA | 2025 | 73 min

Quiet Voices in a Noisy World follows African American volunteers in Jasper, Texas working to reclaim their community’s dignity through grassroots projects centered on history, memory, and justice. In a town marked by the legacy of racial violence, including the 1998 lynching of James Byrd Jr., residents preserve African American history through museums, monuments, and memorials while confronting the past and building a more just future.

“Johnson-Spinos and Govenar take audiences on an emotional rollercoaster, but find that moving forward and hope are within grasp.” —Film Threat

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, June 23

The Children of Camp Ashraf
Directed by Sara Moein
First Hand Films | Documentary | Sweden | 2024 | 84 min

Parwin and Amir grew up in a military camp. As toddlers they were sent away by their parents who wanted to focus on fighting the Mulla-regime of Iran. 30 years later, they are still hoping to reunite with their mothers. Will they ever succeed? An untold scandal involving around a thousand children worldwide, addressing the most urgent issues of our time: exile, identity, radicalization and our inability to see the needs of vulnerable children. 

** Göteborg, Tempo Documentary Film Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Wednesday, June 24

The 1957 Transcripts
Directed by Ayelet Heller
First Hand Films | Documentary | Israel | 2024 | 74 min

Recently exposed classified trial transcripts of the 1956 massacre by Israeli soldiers in the Palestinian village of Kafr Qasim, interwoven with survivors’ testimonies, shed new light on unknown facts and troubling truths on the societal relations in Israel and Palestine. A cinematic montage allows a glimpse into a history of divided narratives. 

** IDFA (Frontlight)
** DocAviv (World Premiere, Special Jury Award)

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Thursday, June 25

In the Dust of the Stars  
Directed by Gottfried Kolditz
With Jana Brejchová, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall, Milan Beli
Deaf Crocodile / MVD | Sci-fi | East Germany, Romania | 1976 | 95 min

Who can resist a groovy mid-1970s East German space opera with an Ennio Morricone-like theme song? This delirious gem of Socialist eye-candy is set in the future where a team of cosmonauts on Spaceship Cynro 19/4 crash land on planet Tem and are forced to have a really good time against their Communist principles.

“A visually-rich tapestry of metaphors and symbols, densely imagined and vibrantly presented.” —The Skiffy and Fanty Show

Friday, June 26 – Pride Weekend! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️

Life is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning
Directed by Julia Fuhr Mann
First Hand Films | Documentary | Germany | 2023 | 79 min

If history is written by the victors, where does that leave those who were never allowed to be part of the game? A collective of queer athletes enters the Olympic Stadium in Athens and sets out to honour those who were excluded from standing on the winners’ podium.

“Intelligent, impressive. The philosopher of sexuality Michel Foucault, who wrote so perceptively about the medical control of bodies, would have loved this film.” —The Guardian

** International premiere, Venice Critics Week Competition 

OVID EXCLUSIVE

Tuesday, June 30

The Unknown Man of Shandigor    
Directed by Jean-Louis Roy
With Marie-France Boyer, Ben Carruthers, Jacques Dufilho, Daniel Emilfork
Deaf Crocodile / MVD | Switzerland | 1967 | 96 min

The 60s Euro spy thriller follows a crazed, wheelchair-bound scientist, Herbert Von Krantz, who has invented a device to neutralize nuclear weapons. Various spy factions (Russians, Americans, and others) scramble to obtain the device, leading to a “hall of mirrors” surrealist thriller with strong aesthetic similarities to Dr. Strangelove and Alphaville.

“An adroit and astute film that takes the conventions of a spy thriller – turns them on their head as they lean heavily into the troupes.  The resulting film is one that’s as sharp a spy thriller as one has seen with the cleverest of MacGuffins in its center but so strangely oblique in its allegiances and care for its characters…  It should not surprise anyone that Serge Gainsbourg shows up and even performs a song in the wildest of circumstances.  It’s the kind of film where anything can happen – and usually does. HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATIONS!!!” —The Movie Isle

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

Aida’s Secrets, Alon Schwarz, Shaul Schwarz (2016)
Dhuin, Achal Mishra (2022)
E.1027: Eileen Gray and the House by the Sea, Beatrice Minger & Christoph Schaub (2024)
In the Dust of the Stars, Gottfried Kolditz (1976)
L’Immensita, Emanuele Crialese (2022)
Life is Not a Competition, But I’m Winning, Julia Fuhr Mann (2023) 
Quiet Voices in a Noisy World, Alan Govenar (2025)
Running for the Mountains, Julie Eisenberg & Babette Hogan (2024)
The 1957 Transcripts, Ayelet Heller (2024)
The Children of Camp Ashraf, Sara Moein (2024)
The Cinema Within, Chad Freidrichs (2025)
The Making of a Japanese, Ema Ryan Yamazaki (2024)
The Unknown Man of Shandigor, Jean-Louis Roy (1967) 
The Village House, Achal Mishra (2019)
Under the Flags, the Sun, Juanjo Pereira (2025)
With Peter Bradley, Alex Rappoport (2024)