IN CINEMA
September 8-14, 2025
Screenings at 2:30PM / 5PM / 7:30PM daily on all 7 days
UNBANKED
David Kuhn, Lauren Sieckmann, 2025, 86 min.
Bitcoin has been controversial since its mysterious release by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008. Some say Bitcoin is only comprised of a small minority of anarchist computer nerds, or that it supports criminal activity as just another Ponzi scheme. Others herald the arrival of Bitcoin as financial freedom for the masses after years of abuse by a centralized banking cartel. Passionate views surround this ethereal yet hard-to-ignore beacon-or-bust proposition. Is Bitcoin a myth or a pathway to massmonetary self-determination?
UNBANKED dispels the misinformation. We explore the history of currency, traditional monetary systems of control and what decentralization could mean for the lower classes. Is a peer-to-peer money system practical? Sustainable? We’ll follow the money, literally, [from Harlem], Argentina, London, Portugal, Central America, Nigeria and Ghana.
We are living in a day and age where Bitcoin promises what more people claim they want: disintermediation, decentralization, freedom from transactional parasites, restoration of trust in peer-to-peer interaction and commerce, and a possible exit from the financial cartels who hold all the coins. There’s never been a viable alternative. Until now. Is Bitcoin a house of cards waiting to collapse? Or is it exactly what is needed as governments and central bankers siphon fees and funds from savers and debase fiat currency?
DAVID KUHN
David has extensive experience in documentary film production, television, journalism, photography and law. He recently completed UNBANKED on the power of Bitcoin to be your own bank (2025 release). He directed and produced California Story on the discriminatory practice of gang documentation in California (2025 release). He produced Devil Put The Coal In The Ground on struggles in West Virginia based on coal abuse and drug addiction (2024 release), Life After Hate: Battle for the Soul of a Nation which examines the root causes that foster xenophobia among the radicalized Alt Right (2022), and Give or Take a feature on one man’s journey to accept his father and change his life (2020). Other films include the acclaimed feature doc The King (2018) on the life of Elvis Presley as a metaphor for the rise and fall of the American empire, and a short film in Cuba The Cyclist (Una Cyclista) for “The New Yorker Presents...” series on Amazon (2016).
Previously, David has served as legal counsel and/or producer for documentaries such as: Denial (2016), (T)error (2015), Requiem for the American Dream (2015), The House I Live In (2012), Beyond the Boardroom (2006), and Capturing the Friedmans (2003, Academy Award nominated). In prior work, he was a public defender litigating in Manhattan criminal courts for nearly a decade, embedded with US troops in northern Afghanistan, and was published in Vogue, The New York Times, The Huffington Post and other publications for writing and photography. His films have appeared at Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and many others. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2019 for his work in film and music and is a voting member of the Recording Academy. David recently served as a judge for the 42nd – 46th Annual News and Documentary Emmy® Awards for The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. He lives in Brooklyn with his son Bodhi.
LAUREN SIECKMANN
Lauren Sieckmann is a director, writer, and producer. Alongside David Kuhn, she created and directed UNBANKED, a global Bitcoin documentary and her debut feature film, set for release in 2025. In 2019, her father's introduction to Satoshi Nakamoto's story ignited her fascination with Bitcoin, inspiring her to merge her storytelling craft with her advocacy for financial literacy. An early adopter of AI, Lauren collaborates with top AI companies as a creative partner, leveraging cutting-edge tools to enhance storytelling and streamline production. She is passionate about AI's potential to empower creatives and revolutionize the filmmaking process.
Post-screening discussion with director David Kuhn at 7:30PM screenings on September 8, 9, and 13 and at 5PM and 7:30PM screening on September 14
Tickets $7 Reduced / $15 General Admission
