Sanctuary
In Ohio’s first city to ban abortion, a lifelong resident grapples with the transformation of her hometown. Directed by John Haley and Julia Szromba. Screenings: World Premiere, Palm Springs International ShortFest, 2023 DOC NYC, 2023 Nashville Film Festival, 2023 Sidewalk Film Festival, 2023 Tacoma Film Festival, 2023 Tallgrass Film Festival, 2023 New Hampshire Film Festival, 2023 Santa Fe International Film Festival, 2023 Virginia Film Festival, 2023 St. Louis International Film Festival, 2023 DocuWest Documentary Film Festival, 2023 Lone Star Film Festival, 2023 Vail Film Festival, 2023 Frozen River Film Festival, 2024 Sedona International Film Festival, 2024 Fargo Film Festival, 2024 Capital City Film Festival, 2024 Docutime Film Festival, 2024 Salute Your Shorts Film Festival, 2024 Hellenic American Union; Athens, Greece; 2024 John Haley is a documentary filmmaker, artist, and educator whose stories reflect fissures and seams in the American social fabric. Focused on individuals and communities navigating a fractured national landscape, his films juxtapose these narratives against institutional structures through observational cinematography, personal testimonies, symbolic imagery, and vivid, recurring soundscapes. His films have screened at DOC NYC, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Nashville Film Festival, Virginia Film Festival, St. Louis International Film Festival, New Hampshire Film Festival, Santa Fe International Film Festival, Tallgrass, and Sidewalk, among others, and been supported by the Verdant Fund, the McCanna House Artist-in-Residence Program, the Southern Exposure Fellowship, the Anderson Center Residency, and more. Julia Szromba is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in Chicago. While her documentary work has spanned a wide range of topics from sports history to death penalty advocacy to meme stock trading, her projects all aim to find the small human moments within an otherwise overwhelming story. She approaches filmmaking from a writer’s perspective, guiding the audience through complex issues and emotions with clarity and balance. Films she has worked on have gone on to screen at SXSW, Cleveland International Film Festival, and Slamdance, among others, and have streamed on Hulu, Paramount+, and HBO. Copyright 2024 Needlepoint Films, LLC
