The Dreamer

Struggling but unapologetically living on her own terms, Inez is moving from shelter to shelter in mid-1990s New York City. With her 6-year-old son Terry in foster care and unable to leave him again, she kidnaps him so they can build their life together. As the years go by, their family grows and Terry becomes a smart yet quiet teenager, but the secret that has defined their lives threatens to destroy the home they have so improbably built.

Facing the inevitable wrath of his enemies, a Harlem youth decides to take matters of fate into his own hands. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.

Elizier, an emotionally-dejected new enrollee at The Edward R. Mill School for Boys, must overcome memories of a tragic past and the present hazing by his peers in order to tackle larger issues dominating his young life.

Second "track" from the Open City Mixtape series.

Two East New York siblings find a new game to play – mimicking the family business. Based On A True Story. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.

Spend a dreamy day traveling through New York City with one of its most infamous, yet beloved, local characters. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.

A music-driven short film presented as a visual prelude to Alicia Keys' sixth studio album, Here. Keys pays tribute to the communities that raised her in four slice-of-life segments depicting the coming of age experience in New York City.

During a ride on the Staten Island ferry, nineteen-year-old Trey opens up about his life and the dreams he hopes to realize in New York City. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.

A.V. Rockwell captures life on the streets of New York City in this collection of ten short films—a mix of documentaries and narratives—depicting a cross section of some of the eight million lives whose stories are often overlooked. Shot in luscious monochrome and set to evocatively eclectic soundscapes, they are by turns gritty and transcendent snapshots of the dreamers, schemers, hustlers, and youths who give the cultural capital its singular rhythm.

Often left alone due to his struggling mother's work schedule, Jahlil, a precocious young boy from the Bronx, spends most of his time roaming New York City's transit system. Using the perks of life underground to his advantage, he soon discovers that the subway is no place for bad little boys. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.

During a late night underground, we meet Indigo, an optimistic Sudanese immigrant who opens up about her dreams of prospering in a new world. Part of the Open City Mixtape series.