UPDATE, SUNDAY JANUARY 19, 2025: Due to inclement weather, all screenings beginning after 5:25 PM have been cancelled!

Left Behind

OCOpen Caption screening
Additional program content
35mm
SFSensory Friendly. Details HERE
  • Monday, Feb 24

Showtimes updated on Tuesday evenings

Left Behind

Q&A with Director Anna Toomey

Left Behind tells the powerful story of a group of passionate mothers who unite to create the first public dyslexic school in New York City, the largest school district in the country.

Approximately 200,000 New York City public school students are dyslexic, yet there is no public initiative that provides the specialized skill and care necessary for these learners. Frustrated that they had to remove their own kids from the public school system, a group of determined moms band together to do something that’s never been done before—open New York City’s first public school for dyslexic students. The journey is not a smooth ride, and they face both institutional and personal hurdles as they try to upend a system.

A new mayoral candidate bolsters their fight after he reveals his own dyslexia. But will they be able to convince a bureaucratic education system to overhaul outdated politics to ensure a brighter future for the city’s dyslexic youth?

"Powerful…Inspiring… Left Behind is an urgent call to action to help dyslexic kids."
Anderson Cooper, CNN
"One of the best truly political documentaries of this or any other year."
Dominic Patten, Deadline

SPECIAL EVENTS

Q&A with Director Anna Toomey

Q&A with Director Anna Toomey

Monday, Feb. 24 2025, 7:00

  • Anna Toomey is an Emmy Award-winning producer with 20 years of experience. She has worked for ABC News, Good Morning America, ABC News’ long-form unit, and Peter Jennings Reporting. She creates compelling, character-driven stories with passion and integrity. Anna won two Daytime Emmy Awards at Good Morning America. She directed multiple camera shoots, including a roundtable discussion with Robin Roberts and Sheryl Sandberg for her book Lean In. She also produced a series of breast cancer awareness segments, including ABC News Correspondent Amy Robach’s emotional journey after her diagnosis. Anna lives in New York with her husband and two children. She owns her own production company, Sandy Dog Productions.

Tickets: $15 (members), $20 (nonmembers)

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This film is part of the Community Matters: Now More Than Ever series.



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Oscar Shorts 2025

Opens 2/14

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