Enter Michelle’s world and discover the rich interior life of this indomitable young woman, legally blind and high-functioning on the autism spectrum. Refusing to be held back by her presumed “limitations,” Michelle fearlessly pushes beyond the boundaries society and her family history would impose upon her, emerging as the unique heroine of her own story.

Part scientist, part engineer, and sometime punk provocateur, controversial artist Chris Burden upended expectations throughout his life. This sometimes edgy documentary traces the creative work of the “bad boy” performance artist turned elegant techno-sculptor, and offers insight into what made the man called a “magician,” “daredevil,” “sadomasochist,” and “art martyr” so unique.

Weaving three stories—of a repair business, a collector, and an artist—and including interviews with famous typewriter devotees like Tom Hanks, Sam Shepard, and David McCullough, this documentary celebrates the creative virtues and tactile joys of the typewriter. With a click-clack and ping, it’s a love letter to this humble tool.

Growing up isn’t easy when your father’s a clown. That’s one lesson of Lorenzo Pisoni’s moving documentary, which offers an intimate portrait of San Francisco’s famed Pickle Family Circus—a direct precursor of Cirque du Soleil—and of its driven, mercurial founder, Larry Pisoni. Don’t miss this unique glimpse of clown life. PRECEDED BY New Mo' Cut: David Peoples’ Lost Film of Moe’s Books / Circus Kid US 2015, 14 min Director Siciliana Trevino

Local filmmakers Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow take to the streets of San Francisco to track last year’s supervisor race between incumbent Julie Christensen and former supervisor and lefty firebrand Aaron Peskin. The film's real focus, however, is the way in which every resident is affected by Airbnb and the influx of tech workers. PRECEDED BY CRESCITE US 2016, 14 min Director Will Agee

Do you love your phone? Can’t imagine life without your trusty digital sidekick? After watching Death by Design, we all might pause before our next upgrade. Written, produced, and directed by filmmaker Sue Williams, this intense and illuminating documentary uncovers the nasty global underbelly of electronics manufacturing and disposal. PRECEDED BY I DON'T CARE US 2016, 5 min Director John Sanborn

Many have been alarmed by the recent spectacle of police in full riot gear and armored vehicles moving through peaceful demonstrations. Sure to spark debate, this disquieting documentary puts the viewer on the streets in the middle of the action and seeks to examine our growing culture of militarization in law enforcement. PRECEDED BY DEAN SCREAM US 2016, 10 min Director Bryan Storkel

For centuries in Mongolia, men have hunted with eagles—until 13-year-old Aisholpan decides she wants to become the very first eagle huntress. Part family-friendly documentary and part parable of female empowerment, Otto Bell’s stunning look at one young woman and her bird of prey may be the most inspiring nonfiction girl-power film of the year.

This intimate, sensuous portrait of the great Austrian figurative painter Egon Shiele (1890-1918) captures a passionately individual young man, haunted by tragedy but driven by artistic genius, as well as erogenous attachment to a series of young muses, leading him to the edges of respectable society and the brink of disaster and madness.

FOCUS: CULINARY CINEMA A household name to foodies, Ella Brennan redefined American cuisine through her impeccable palate and unrivaled joie de vivre, ushering in cocktails at breakfast and jazz bands in the dining room. Acolytes from Emeril Lagasse to Paul Prudhomme celebrate the nonagenarian who combined French fine dining with soulful Louisiana creole.

This gripping account of an investigation into the 1982 massacre of a Guatemalan village turns on the search for a young survivor who later fled to the United States, throwing into relief the catastrophic impact of the US-fueled Guatemalan civil war and the resilience of those seeking justice for the many murdered and disappeared.

FOCUS: CULINARY CINEMA This documentary is a feast for the senses as the meteoric rise of this father of California Cuisine and Bay Area culinary legend is chronicled through a wealth of interviews and archival footage. Settle in for multiple courses of history, high drama, incisive character study, and lots and lots of food.

Simple monk and geopolitical rock star, His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has transformed spirituality, neuroscience, and education by adapting ancient Tibetan Buddhist practices for a secular world. Mickey Lemle updates his 1991 Compassion in Exile with this intimate look at the good humor and enduring wisdom of His Holiness.

This sensitive and engaging documentary limns the truncated, intensely lived life of heralded American poet Larry Levis and celebrates the transporting words of his unique voice. With the gorgeous Central California landscape as frequent backdrop and an evocative score by Iron & Wine, Levis’s narrative poems are given room to soar.

This premier documentary unearths rare archival material to illuminate the life of Dr. Maya Angelou, American poet and performer. James Baldwin, Oprah Winfrey, Alfre Woodard, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Cicely Tyson, Angelou’s son Guy Johnson, and others offer deep insights into this phenomenal woman and the power of her liberated voice.

This documentary on Toshirô Mifune by Oscar®-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki examines the charismatic actor's dominance in Japanese cinema's golden age in collaboration with Akira Kurosawa, and his influence on Sergio Leone, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg. The first international, non-white action hero, Mifune remains matchless in cinema history.

Meet Dr. Marian Diamond, one of the founders of modern neuroscience. This energetic documentary profiles an amazing woman and brilliant scientist whose work revealed unimagined brain capabilities that forever changed our understanding of human potential. If her name isn’t yet as familiar as that of Marie Curie, it will be. PRECEDED BY A Love Poem to My Friend Ethel US 2016, 24 min Director Wendy Slick

My Scientology Movie is not an exposé on the controversial religion. Rather, it's a look at what it's like to try and make a movie about the secretive group. (In a word: nuts.) British presenter Louis Theroux makes for a droll host in a film that mixes interviews with church ex-members, on-the-ground reporting, and bizarre reenactments.