(TEANECK, NJ) -- On Wednesday, January 29, 2025 at 7:30pm, Indie Lens Pop-Up presents a virtual screening of Bike Vessel.  It will be followed by a live talkback where you can ask questions with Donnie Seals Jr. and his filmmaker son, Eric D. Seals, who proposed the ambitious bike journey at the heart of this film.

Bike Vessel serves as a meditation on kinship and connection, centered on a father who reclaims his life against all odds. It also examines health disparities among Black men, who statistically have the lowest life expectancy and highest death rate of all racial and ethnic groups.

Twenty years after Donnie Seals Sr. went through a medical crisis, he discovered a love for bicycling and made a miraculous health recovery. Approaching the age at which his father underwent surgery and facing similar health conditions, Director Eric D. Seals proposed the bike journey that he then documented and made into this film. From St. Louis to Chicago. 350 miles. Four days.

The screening is free, but reservations are required. Click here to reserve a live or virtual seat.

Indie Lens Pop-Up events provide a space to watch and discuss timely issues explored in its award-winning documentaries. Hundreds of these screenings are hosted in-person and virtually by partners across the nation. Since its inception in 2005, more than 7,200 Indie Lens Pop-Up events have brought an estimated 430,000 participants together to discuss issues that impact local communities.

Locally, The Teaneck International Film Festival will be partnering with the Teaneck Public Library and The Puffin Cultural Forum on presenting this five-month series which kicks off with “Bike Vessel” on Wednesday, January 29 at 7:30pm EST and continues monthly through May 21st.  The film screenings will all include a moderated talkback featuring the filmmakers, subjects of the documentaries, producers, community leaders and more to be announced.

Jeremy Lentz, Executive Director of the Teaneck International Film Festival “is proud to launch our fifth season of Indie Lens Pop-Up. These films continue to empower our community to come together and talk about topics that might be otherwise difficult to discuss with one another. With this continued partnership, we’re not only able to share films from the award-winning INDEPENDENT LENS series, but we also create open, safe forums to talk about important issues affecting our neighborhoods today, hopefully providing useful resources for those who need them.”

Indie Lens Pop-Up is a community series that brings people together for film screenings and conversations. Featuring documentaries seen on PBS's INDEPENDENT LENS, Indie Lens Pop-Up draws local residents, leaders, and organizations to discuss what matters most.

INDEPENDENT LENS is an Emmy® Award-winning PBS documentary series. With founding executive producer Lois Vossen, the series has been honored with 10 Academy Award nominations and features documentaries united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement, and unflinching visions of independent filmmakers. Presented by ITVS, INDEPENDENT LENS is funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Acton Family Giving, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Ford Foundation, Park Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, and National Endowment for the Arts. Stream anytime on the PBS app.

Teaneck International Film Festival draws over 4,000 filmgoers each year. Films and talkbacks illustrate what TIFF is about – making untouchable topics part of everyday conversation by addressing racism, oppression, the environment, the LGBTQ+ community, women’s issues, threats to democracy, immigration, and more -- stories of ordinary citizens whose voices are not often heard. With the theme, Activism: Making Change, the festival is an excellent starting point for fostering appreciation of differences, understanding all that we share, and encouraging efforts to help make the world a better place.