This week, the world premiere of Isabelle Armand’s documentary GLENDORA will take center stage at Dances With Films: NY, shining a powerful light on a lesser-known corner of the Mississippi Delta.
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At first glance, Glendora appears as a quiet, remote village. Yet, beneath its stillness pulses a vibrant, close-knit African-American community—one whose strength, resilience, and creativity flourish despite chronic scarcity. GLENDORA is the result of five years of close collaboration between Armand and the townspeople. The film offers an intimate, unvarnished portrait of life where economic fragility meets profound cultural wealth. More than simply a place, Glendora becomes a lens through which to view the broader American story—one shaped by racial injustice, economic neglect, and structural inequality. Armand’s documentary underscores the community’s determination to stay connected and shape its future, even amid ongoing challenges.
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Isabelle Armand, a New York–based documentary photographer and filmmaker, is known for weaving together photography, film, and oral testimonies to capture the complex realities of people whose lives and histories have long been overlooked. Her acclaimed book, Levon and Kennedy: Mississippi Innocence Project, documented wrongful convictions and earned national recognition. Armand’s work is held in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Akron Art Museum, and Portland Museum of Art, and has appeared in The New York Times, Art in America, The Economist, and The Daily Beast. With GLENDORA, she delivers her first feature documentary and is currently editing a companion photo book by the same name.
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GLENDORA premieres Friday, January 16 at 4:45 PM at Regal Union Square (850 Broadway, New York, NY 10003).
Image: Doilean Hill, Filmmaker Isabelle Armand, and Bobby Thomas in Glendora
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