Selections Screened in NAME's Annual Multicultural Film Festivals/ 2020 – 2018
2020 NAME Multicultural Film Festival:
Screened at NAME's Virtual Conference
ACTIVIZED. Producer: Franziska Blome. Director and Producer: Eric Strange. Sky Pond Productions. www.activizedfilm.org. 2020. 36 minutes.
Activized (2019, USA, 36 min.) follows the stories of seven ordinary Americans who, for the first time in their lives, have left their comfort zones and become involved in gun violence prevention, voting rights and immigrants’ rights. Interweaving their personal stories against the backdrop of the causes they fight for, we experience their motivations, successes and failures, their sacrifices, and victories. Above all, we celebrate these inspiring, courageous citizens for embracing one of the most basic of American traditions – dissent. To inquire about educational licensing for ACTIVIZED and/or bring the film to your school, please contact Marga Varea, Impact Producer, at twinseasmedia@gmail.com or visit https://www.twinseasmedia.com/new-films.
ALWAYS IN SEASON. Producers: Jacquiline Olive and Jessica Devaney. Director: Jacquiline Olive. Good Docs. 2019. www.gooddocs.net. 89 minutes.
Always In Season explores the lingering impact of more than a century of lynching African Americans and connects this form of historic racial terrorism to racial violence today. The film centers on the case of Lennon Lacy, an African American teen who was found hanging from a swing set in Bladenboro, North Carolina, on August 29, 2014. Despite inconsistencies in the case, local officials quickly ruled Lennon’s death a suicide, but his mother, Claudia, believes Lennon was lynched. Determined to find answers about what happened to her son, Claudia moves from paralyzing grief to leading the fight for justice.
AMERICAN MUSLIM. Produced and Directed by Adam Zucker. The Video Project. 2019. www.videoproject.com. 82 minutes.
Five Muslim Americans, each once an immigrant and now a naturalized citizen, are forced to contend with a changing world in the Age of Trump. American Muslim chronicles five diverse Muslims in New York City, telling the stories of an Indonesian Imam in Jamaica, a Bengali small business owner in Ozone Park, a Yemeni activist in Ditmas Park, a Palestinian community organizer in Bay Ridge, and an Algerian mosque director in Sunset Park. Together they create a composite portrait of Muslim life today.
Firmly committed to the U.S., they find their presence here questioned in ways never imagined, and each fights back against the Muslim Ban while continuing to explore a Muslim identity. Across the year and a half period from the President's Inauguration to the Supreme Court's decision on the Ban, Shamsi, Kobir, Debbie, Aber, and Mohamed navigate the constantly evolving reality of being an American Muslim.
CONSIDER ME, INCLUDE ME. Producers: Dr. Bre Evans Santiago and Kimberly Zepeda. Director: Kimberly Zepeda. 2019. 29 minutes. https://youtu.be/iplRA26V3DQ
This film guides educators to address bullying in schools. This film demonstrates some background on bullying, as well as some public documentation. Consider Me, Include Me documents the real-life stories from real-life students who have experienced bullying. The documentary gives insight as to why it happens and what educators can do about it. The individuals in this film have provided their consent. The students, parents, and teachers interviewed, provide their stories and voices to other educators, so that there may be change.
CRIME + PUNISHMENT. Producers: Stephen Maing, Ross Tuttle, Eric Daniel Metzger. Director: Stephen Maing. Good Docs. 2018. www.gooddocs.net. 112 minutes.
Crime + Punishment chronicles the real lives and struggles of a group of black and Latino whistleblower cops and the young minorities they are pressured to arrest and summons in New York City. A highly intimate and cinematic experience with unprecedented access, Crime + Punishment examines the United States' most powerful police department through the brave efforts of a group of active-duty officers and one unforgettable private investigator who risk their careers and safety to bring light to harmful policing practices which have plagued the precincts and streets of New York City for decades.
FIRST VOTE. Producer and Director: Yi Chen. Good Docs. 2020. www.gooddocs.net. 59 minutes.
Following the stories of four politically engaged voters during the 2018 midterm elections, First Vote crafts an insightful look at Asian Americans' diverse experiences at the polls. Taking her camera on the road, Filmmaker Yi Chen introduces us to a diverse cross section of politically engaged Chinese Americans: an avid Trump supporter in Ohio; a Democratic podcaster whose views have alienated his wife’s conservative friends; a gun-toting, Tea Party-favorite in North Carolina; and a progressive University of North Carolina professor. Speaking with distinct political voices, they share the common goal of seeing Asian Americans take their rightful place in American political life.
PROFILED. Directed and produced by Kathleen Foster. Women Make Moves. United States. orders@wmm.com. 2016. 52 minutes.
Profiled knots the stories of mothers of Black and Latin youth murdered by the NYPD into a powerful indictment of racial profiling and police brutality, and places them within a historical context of the roots of racism in the U.S, Some of the victims, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, are now familiar the world over. Others, like Shantel Davis and Kimani Gray, are remembered mostly by family and friends in their New York neighborhoods. Profiled bears witness to the racist violence that remains an everyday reality for Black and Latin people in this country.
PUSHOUT. Produced and directed by Monique W. Morris and Jacoba Atlas. The Video Project. 2019. www.videoproject.com. 79 minutes.
Inspired by the groundbreaking book of the same name by Monique W. Morris, Ed.D, Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools, takes a deep dive into the lives of Black girls and the practices, cultural beliefs and policies that disrupts one of the most important factors in their lives – education.
REFRAMING FAMILY ENGAGEMENT USING BLACK EPISTEMOLOGY: PERSPECTIVES FROM BLACK FAMILIES. Producers Natalie McKinney and Beverly Cross. Director and Co-Producer Lakethen Mason. 60 minutes.
All across America, schools and school districts almost universally believe that family engagement is a priority. In fact, they often cite the lack of family engagement as reasons for their educational failures. Some struggle with how to assure their approaches are racially and culturally responsive, particularly in communities that serve Black families and children. This film depicts a documentary-in-progress on designing a new paradigm on family engagement based on the perspectives of Black families and on Black epistemology. The story starts with a team—non-profit organization executive director, CDC executive director, scholars, school board member, charter school founder, faith leader, and school district family and community engagement manager--listening to the community’s perspectives on what family engagement should be like. These voices led to a framework that centers Black values, knowledge, and family practices to inform creative engagement approaches. The result is family engagement redefined as Family Centered Schools with the theme of Boa Me Na Me Mmoa Wo, which translates to “Help Me and Let me Help You.” The new components of family engagement evolved are: Akoma--The Heart; Eban--Love, Safety, and Security; Aya--Endurance and resourcefulness; Nkonsonkonson-- Unity and human relations and Sankofa--Learn from the Past. Each of these components of the framework for family engagement move far beyond the old performance expectations to show up when asked, participate in parent-teacher conferences, and follow homework guides. Hear actual implementation experiences from several schools as they bring these new ideas to life with their families. (This film is a documentary in process. This is not the final version)
SUPPRESSED: THE FIGHT TO VOTE. Produced and Directed by Robert Greenwald. 2018. Brave New Films. www.bravenewfilms.org. 35 minutes.
Suppressed: The Fight to Vote, weaves together personal stories from voters across the state of Georgia to paint an undeniable picture of voter suppression in the 2018 midterm election where Stacey Abrams fought to become the first Black female governor in the U.S. The issues Georgians faced included polling place closures, voter purges, missing absentee ballots, extreme wait times and a host of voter ID issues – all of which disproportionately prevented many students and people of color from casting their ballots.
THEY SAY I’M YOUR TEACHER. Directors Lucy Massie Phenix and Catherine Murphy. 9 minutes. 2020. Documentary
Bernice Robinson, a Black beautician from South Carolina, was the first teacher in the Citizenship Education Schools that taught literacy in order to pass voter registration requirements in the South during the mid-1950s and 1960s. She taught adults to read and write as part of Citizenship, understanding that registering to vote and engaging people in the issues that affect their lives was a key step toward changing the system. This helped to set the stage for the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
UNSETTLED. Producer: Jen Giloman. Director and Producer: Tom Shepard. Good Doc. 2019. www.gooddocs.net. 81 minutes.
Unsettled is a feature documentary that traces the untold stories of LGBTQ+ refugees and asylum seekers who have fled intense persecution in Africa and the Middle East and are trying to resettle in the United States. Having escaped Islamic terrorist death threats in Syria, beatings by a homophobic father, and a nation devastated by war, Subhi finds his voice as a leader for refugee rights in the U.S. Lesbian couple Cheyenne and Mari flee brutal harassment in their native Angola to face uncertain asylum through the American immigration courts while pursuing their dreams of becoming musicians. Junior, a gender non-conforming gay man from the Congo, struggles to create a livelihood and secure basic housing while exploring a more fluid gender identity.
VOTE BY MAIL. Brave New Films. 2020. www.bravenewfilms.org.
The military, NASA, elected officials and ordinary citizens have been voting by mail for decades. Voting should be safe and secure for everyone during a pandemic. No one should have to choose between their health and their right to vote.
VOTE LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Brave New Films. 2020. www.bravenewfilms.org.
These are two short films dealing with the current political situation.
Police Riots: Protests over the murder of George Floyd are sweeping the country. These protests are peaceful. These protests are what makes America great. But what are they met with? Tear gas, rubber bullets, press freedom violations, and bibles used as props. Trump has declared war on the people. Trump has incited violence.
Indivisible - The 2020 election is around the corner. Let's remember this: REAL leaders take responsibility. Trump has failed our country and his failures have led to the deaths of thousands. Trump has lied about the coronavirus. He's spread disinformation about the coronavirus and he's tried to slow down coronavirus testing to protect his fragile ego. With the 2020 election coming up, let's remember that our votes are a matter of life and death.
WHAT ARE YOU? Produced and Directed by Richard B. Pierre. The Video Project. 2019. www.videoproject.com. 20 minutes.
In this revealing documentary, eleven people with a range of backgrounds discuss what it is like being of mixed racial heritage within the context of North America. Each of the participants presents their unique outlook on growing up mixed and the challenges they've faced in their lives.
WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE NOW? Producers: Sarah Feinbloom and Alex Regalado. Director: Sarah Feinbloom. Good Docs. 2019. www.gooddocs.net. 68 minutes.
What happens to your spiritual and religious beliefs over time? Seventeen years after the 2002 documentary What Do You Believe? in which six diverse American teenagers shared their spiritual struggles and aspirations, we revisit them to reveal how their beliefs have changed. In this new “before and after” film What Do You Believe Now? a Catholic, Pagan, Jew, Muslim, Lakota, and Buddhist offer their deeply personal faith journeys, life challenges, and evolving ideas about higher powers, life purpose, the nature of suffering, religious intolerance and death.
WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE. Producers: Lauren Franklin, Diane Robertson, Xuan Yu. Director and Producer: Emily Harrold. Good Docs. 2018. www.gooddocs.net. 53 minutes and 72 minutes.
What does it mean to be young, Black, and a Democrat in the American South? While I Breathe, I Hope follows South Carolina politician Bakari Sellers as he runs to become the first African American candidate elected statewide in over a century. The film begins by following Sellers as he makes his 2014 bid for Lieutenant Governor, through the Charleston Shootings, and during the removal of the Confederate flag in 2015. Through his experiences, this timely film offers audiences a window into the legacy of race in politics in the United States today.
WITHOUT A WHISPER. Producers: Katja Esson and Katsitsionni Fox. Director: Katsitsionni Fox. Women Make Movies. 2020. www.wmm.com. 27 minutes.
Without A Whisper - Konnon:Kwe uncovers the hidden history of the profound influence Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Before the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, European colonial women lacked even the most basic rights, while Haudenosaunee women had a potent political and spiritual voice and authority in all aspects of their lives. The contact that the early suffragists had with Haudenosaunee women in New York state shaped their thinking and had a vital impact on their struggle for equality that is taken for granted today.
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NAME 2019 MC Film Festival Selections
Screened at the Tucson Conference
ALIEN CITIZEN. Written and produced by Elizabeth Liang. Directed by Sofie Calderon. 2017. Aliencitizensoloshow.com. 50 minutes. This filmmaker will be available for a talk-back following the film.
Who are you when you’re from everywhere and nowhere? Alien Citizen is a funny and poignant one-woman show about growing up in the intersections of identity as a dual citizen of mixed heritage in Central America, North Africa, the Middle East, and New England. Elizabeth Liang, like President Obama, is a Third Culture Kid or a TCK. Third Culture Kids are the children of international business people, global educators, diplomats, missionaries, and the military -- anyone whose family has relocated overseas because of a job placement. Liang weaves humorous stories about growing up as an Alien Citizen abroad with American commercial jingles providing her soundtrack through language confusion, first love, culture shock, Clark Gable, and sandstorms. She deals with the decisions every global nomad has to make repeatedly: to adapt or to simply cope; to build a bridge or to just tolerate. From being a Guatemalan-American teen in North Africa to attending a women’s college in the USA, Alien Citizen reflects her experience that neither one was necessarily easier than the other. She realizes that girls across the world are growing into womanhood in environments that can be hostile to females (including the USA). How does a young girl cope as a border/culture/language/religion straddler in country after country that feels "other" to her when she is the “other?” Where is the line between respecting others and betraying yourself?
AMERICA, I TOO. Director: Anike Tourse. Producers: Angelica Salas, Daniel Solinger. 2017. New Day Films. www.newday.com. 20 minutes.
Young muralist Manny Santiago is arrested after being wrongfully accused of tagging his very own mural. After being unduly locked up in a holding cell overnight he learns that he was ordered removed back in 2008 due to his undocumented immigration status and that his name came up in the “gang database.” Manny insists that he was nine years old in 2008, unaware of any pending deportation, and certainly not a part of any gang. When he refuses to sign a voluntary departure form, Manny is sent into detention. Meanwhile Korean elder, Myeong Kim, is just starting her shift at the garment factory, the same factory where young pizza delivery guy, Ahmed Omar, has arrived to deliver a pizza. Both discover in horror, however, that they have walked into a setup for an immigration raid. The two bewildered and undocumented immigrants are sent to the same detention center as Manny. Manny, Myeong and Ahmed each go on to make three distinctly different journeys to stave off deportation and stay in the country. While wrestling with criminalization, humiliation and limited resources, Manny, Myeong and Ahmed each dig for their unique option for legal relief, and for the courage to fight for it. “America; I Too” is based on actual testimonies and true experiences.
AND THEN THEY CAME FOR US. Directors Abby Ginzberg and Ken Schneider. Producer Abby Ginzberg. 2017. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net 50 Minutes. Discount code for NAME members: NAME-TCFU-20%
This film is a cautionary and inspiring tale for all societies. Seventy-six years ago President Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, paving the way for the forced incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans. And Then They Came For Us educates audiences about the constitutional damage done in the name of national security. Thousands of American citizens lost their homes, their businesses and their families due to war hysteria and racism. Yet the validity of these actions was upheld by the US Supreme Court in 1944, based on governmental lies which were later uncovered. Featuring Japanese Americans who were incarcerated, rediscovered photos of Dorothea Lange and the story of Fred Korematsu’s long journey to justice, the film brings history into the present, as it follows Japanese Americans speaking out against the current Muslim travel ban and other regressive immigration policies.
BIRTH ON THE BORDER. Director: Ellie Lobovits. 2018. Women Make Movies. www.wmm.com. 28 minutes.
This intimate and personal documentary follows two women from Ciudad Juárez as they cross the U.S.-Mexico border legally to give birth in Texas, putting their hearts and bodies on the line as they confront harassment at the hands of U.S. border officials. One million people legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border every day in both directions. Among them are women who cross for the purposes of childbirth. With the threat of obstetrical violence in Mexican hospitals and the desire for natural birth with midwives, Gaby and Luisa make the difficult decision to cross the border to El Paso, seeking a safer future for their children. Even with papers, their journeys are uncertain.
THE CORRIDOR. Director & Producer Richard O’Connell and Annelise Wunderlich. Producer Linda Peckham. 2017. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net. 55 Minutes. Special discount code for NAME members: NAME-COR-20%
This film shows the inner-workings and challenges of San Francisco’s Five Keys Charter School − the first high school of its kind in the United States that provides incarcerated adults the opportunity to earn a high school diploma to prepare them for successful reintegration into their communities. Designed upon the premise that the key to reintegration is education, Five Keys Charter School strives to create alternatives to the revolving door of incarceration. Enrollment is mandatory for all incarcerated adults who never received a high school diploma. In addition to classes that range from algebra to civics, the school also offers lessons in art and meditation. For many of the students, the experience validates their humanity. As these adults begin to think about turning their lives around, The Corridor invites viewers to ask: is education the first step along the pathway to restorative justice?
COUNCIL WOMAN. Director: Margo Guernsey. 2018. Women Make Movies. www.wmm.com. 57 minutes.
This film is the inspiring story of Carmen Castillo, an immigrant Dominican housekeeper in a Providence hotel who wins a seat in City Council, taking her advocacy for low-income workers from the margins to city politics. The film follows Castillo’s first term as she balances her full-time day job as a housekeeper with her family life and the demands of public office. She faces skeptics who say she doesn’t have the education to govern, the power of corporate interests who take a stand against her fight for a $15 hourly wage, and a tough re-election against two contenders. As Castillo battles personal setbacks and deep-rooted notions of who is qualified to run for political office, she fiercely defends her vision of a society in which all people can earn enough to support themselves and their families.
DECADE OF FIRE. Directors & Producers Vivian Vázquez Irizarry & Gretchen Hildebran. Producers Julia Steele Allen & Neyda Martinez. 2018. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net 75 minutes. Special discount for NAME members: NAME-DOF-20%
In the 1970s, the Bronx was on fire. Abandoned by city government, nearly a half-million people were displaced as their close-knit, multi-ethnic neighborhood burned, reducing the community to rubble. While insidious government policies caused the devastation, Black and Puerto Rican residents bore the blame. In this story of hope and resistance, Bronx-born Vivian Vázquez Irizarry exposes the truth about the borough’s untold history and reveals how her embattled and maligned community chose to resist, remain and rebuild. Decade of Fire tells the story of the South Bronx that you’ve never heard before.
EXILED. Director, Producer & Cinematographer Mike Seely. Editor & Co-producer John Kane. Associate Producer Diya Guha. 2017. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net. 30 minutes. Discount code for NAME members: NAME-EX-20%
This film tells the emotional and complicated stories of two deported U.S. military veterans living in Tijuana, Mexico. Although these soldiers had “lawful permanent resident” status in the U.S. and performed honorable military service, they have been sent back to their birth countries because of criminal convictions. Mauricio Hernandez struggles with severe PTSD as a result of his time as a U.S. combat soldier in Afghanistan, but in Mexico, he has no access to the mental healthcare that he is entitled to as a veteran. With sweat, tears and grassroots organizing, deported paratrooper Hector Barajas is on a mission to raise awareness about the deported veteran issue, and reunite with his 11-year-old daughter in Compton, California.
FOLLOWING THEIR LEAD: YOUTH IN ACTION. A series of short films. 2018. Brave New Films. www.bravenewfilms.org. 40 minutes.
Youth leaders have been instrumental in leading progressive movements throughout American history. During the Civil Rights Movement, young people played a pivotal role in ending segregation through nonviolent sit-ins and walk-outs. Youth organizers in the late sixties were responsible for lowering the voting age to 18. And more recently, Parkland students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School organized one of the largest youth-led protests to date, mobilizing over 1.2 million people for the March for Our Lives protest. Young people are still using their collective power to lead change-making movements. The series spotlights youth-led advocacy groups across the country who are creating positive change on critical social and political issues. Young people are experts on their lives and the change they want to see in the world; they also bear the consequences of today’s decision-making. Their voices are powerful and should be heard. The youth voice needs to be at the decision-making table for all issues. Their help is essential for an inclusive and responsive democracy.
NAILED IT. Director: Adele Free Pham. Co-Producer: Kelvin Saint Pham. 2018. Third World Newsreel. www.twn.org. 59 minutes.
Visit any strip mall in the United States, and there’s bound to be a Vietnamese nail salon. While ubiquitous in cities across the country, few Americans know the history behind the salons and the 20 Vietnamese refugee women, who in 1975, sparked a multibillion-dollar industry that supports their community to this day. Weaving powerful personal stories with insightful interviews, Nailed It captures an unforgettable and often hilarious saga born of tragedy, charting the rise, struggle, stereotypes, and steady hold Vietnamese Americans have on today’s multiethnic $8 billion dollar nail economy.
PERSONAL STATEMENT. Producer: Beth Levison. Director: Juliane Dresser and Edwin Martinez. 2018. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net. 57 minutes. Special discount code for NAME members: NAME-PS-20%
Three seniors at Brooklyn high schools are determined to get their entire classes to college, even though they aren't even sure they are going to make it there themselves. They are working as college counselors in their three schools because many of their friends have nowhere else to turn for support.
THE PUSHOUTS. Director Katie Galloway. Co-Director Dawn Valadez. Producers Katie Galloway, Dawn Valadez and Daniella Brower Sueuga. 2018. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net. 56 Minutes. Discount code for NAME members: NAME-TPO-20%
"I was in prison before I was even born.” So begins the story of Victor Rios - a high school dropout, gang member, and three time felon by 15. But when a teacher’s quiet persistence, a mentor’s moral conviction, and his best friend’s murder converge, Rios’ path takes an unlikely turn. Two decades later Rios - by then a 36 year-old tenured UC professor, author and national thought leader on the school-to-prison pipeline - gets a call. “Hey Hotshot.” It’s Martín Flores, Rios’ high school mentor, who he hasn’t heard from in 15 years. “I know you’re busy, but I need you to come down to Watts this summer and work with my kids.” Its a make-it-or-break-it moment for these youth, warns Flores - who directs a program serving 16 to 24 year-olds who haven’t finished high school. “We get them on the right path now, or we lose them to the system.” Woven with archival material stretching back 25 years to Rios’ own troubled adolescence and including the contemporary story of this fateful summer in Watts.
SOMEWHERE BETWEEN. Director Linda Goldstein Knowlton. 2012. Good Docs. www.gooddocs.net. 45 minutes *Recommended only for audiences 14 and up due to mature emotional content. Discount code for NAME members: NAME-SB-25%
While many adoption-focused documentaries give voice to adoptive parents, Somewhere Between explores the emotional and cultural impact of adoption from the point of view of four teenage girls, all adopted from China. This award-winning film shares their personal journeys as these adoptees convey the experiences of a generation of young people attempting to reconcile their multiple identities. A recent adoptive parent of her own Chinese baby, filmmaker Linda Goldstein Knowlton opens the film expressing her concerns for her daughter. How will she build a strong sense of identity as she grows older? Will she feel like an “outsider” living in a family with two Caucasian parents? How will she supplement the missing pieces of her early life? Goldstein Knowlton seeks these answers by chronicling the experiences over two years of Haley, Jenna, Ann, and Fang, all struggling to find their place in the world. Shedding stereotypes and a one-size-fits-all identity.
NAME 2018 Multicultural Film Festival Selections:
Screened at the NAME Memphis Conference
8 Borders, 8 Days. Produced and directed by Amanda Bailey. TUGG Edu. www.tuggedu.com. 2017. 60 minutes.
A single mother shows us the consequences of closing America’s doors to families fleeing war. With no answer to her application for resettlement in the US, and every other path to safety closed off, a smuggler’s raft to Europe was the only way out. 8 Borders, 8 Days is her story; the intimate details of why a fiercely-determined mother is willing to risk her children’s lives for a better future and an immersive experience of their eight-day journey to safety.
’63 Boycott. Directed by Gordon Quinn. Produced by Rachel Dickson and Tracye Matthews. Kartemquin Films. 63boycott.kartemquin.com. 2017. 30 minutes
On October 22, 1963, more than 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. Many marched through the city calling for the resignation of School Superintendent Benjamin Willis, who placed trailers, dubbed ‘Willis Wagons,’ on playgrounds and parking lots of overcrowded black schools rather than let them enroll in nearby white schools. Combining unseen archival 16mm footage of the march shot by Kartemquin founder Gordon Quinn with the participants’ reflections today, ’63 Boycottconnects the forgotten story of one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, school closings, and youth activism.
Agents of Change. Produced and Directed by Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg. California Newsreel. www.newsreel.org. 2016. 66 minutes.
During the late 1960s, as Civil Rights and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations made national headlines, movements erupted for racial equity and meaningful education on college campuses throughout the United States. Agents of Change examines the conditions at these institutions that led to tumultuous protests at San Francisco State and Cornell University. Demands for Black and Ethnic studies programs became a clarion call across the country. The events come to life through extraordinary archival footage and the untold stories of the young men and women who were at the forefront of those transformative efforts.
At the River I Stand. Directors: David Appleby, Allison Graham, Steven Ross. California Newsreel. www.newsreel.org. 1993. 56 minutes.
At the River I Stand reconstructs the two eventful months in Memphis in 1968 leading to the tragic death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the climax of the Civil rights Movement. It demonstrates the integral connection between the struggle for civic and economic rights. At the River I Stand shows how Memphis’ Black community rallied behind a strike by grossly underpaid sanitation workers. Dr. King saw an opportunity to link this struggle to his growing, nationwide Poor People’s Campaign and challenge the economic power structure of the South. His non-violent strategy was sorely tested during the bitter 65 day strike and on April 4th, he was murdered.
Being Muslim in America: Acts of Courage and Healing. Produced by Mary Ann Watson and Christine Sheikh. Directed by Scott Houck. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, New York. www.films.com 2018. 34 minutes
Eight Muslim Americans living in Colorado with family histories from eight separate Muslim-majority countries, share their personal stories. They describe incidents of Islamophobia, as well as the healing processes they have experienced in their workplaces, in their neighborhoods, and through supportive organizations.
Being Muslim in America: An Afghan Family Story. Produced by Mary Ann Watson and Christine Sheikh. Directed by Scott Houck. Films for the Humanities and Sciences, New York. www.films.com. 2018. 24 minutes.
Jamshid and Huma Ebadi both came to the United States as young children with their families from Afghanistan under harrowing circumstances. As adults, with a young family of their own, they now live in a suburb of Denver, CO. Hear their stories of love, compassion and of hope.
Dawnland. Directed by Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip. Produced by Adam Mazo and N.Bruce Duthu. Upstander Films Inc. www.dawnland.org. 2018. 55 minutes.
For decades, child welfare authorities have been removing Native American children from their homes to save them from being Indian. In Maine, the first official “truth and reconciliation commission” in the United States begins a historic investigation. DAWNLAND goes behind-the-scenes as this historic body grapples with difficult truths, redefines reconciliation, and charts a new course for state and tribal relations.
Defiant Lives. Produced and Directed by Sarah Barton. Women Make Movies, New York. www.wmm.com. 2017. 85 minutes.
Defiant Lives is a triumphant film that traces the origins of the world-wide disability rights movement. It tells the stories of the individuals who bravely put their lives on the line to create a better world where everyone is valued and can participate. Featuring interviews and rarely seen archival footage, the film reveals how these activists fought to live outside of institutions, challenged the stigmas and negative image of disability portrayed by the media, demanded access to public transportation and battled to reframe disability rights as a social responsibility relevant to us all.
Don’t Tell Anyone. Produced and directed by Mikaela Shwer. Women Make Movies, New York. www.wmm.com. 2015. 74 minutes.
Since the age of 4, Angy Rivera has lived in the U.S. with a secret that threatens to upend her life. She is undocumented. Angy arrived with her mother, fleeing violence, poverty, and civil war in their native Colombia. For 20 years they lived in the shadows, struggling to stay afloat financially, and avoid deportation while battling a complex and inequitable immigration system. Now 24, unable to pay tuition for college and facing an uncertain future, Angy joins the youth-led New York State Youth Leadership Council with whom she dons a bullhorn at pro-immigration rallies, telling all who will listen that she is undocumented and proud.
En El Septimo Dia (On the Seventh Day). Directed and produced by Jim McKay. Cinema Guild, New York. www.cinemaguild.com. 2016. 92 minutes.
En el Séptimo Día (On the Seventh Day) is a narrative feature about a group of undocumented immigrants from Puebla, Mexico who live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Bicycle delivery guys, construction workers, dishwashers, deli workers, and cotton candy vendors, they work long hours six days a week and then savor their day of rest on Sundays on the soccer fields of Sunset Park.
Faces of Harassment. Produced and directed by Paula Sacchetta. Women Make Movies, New York. www.wmm.com. 2016. 82 minutes.
FACES OF HARASSMENT is an experiment in storytelling about trauma. When the hashtag #MyFirstHarassment swept across Brazil, it showed not only the widespread experience of sexual harassment and assault, but a widespread hunger to bring it out of the shadows. FACES OF HARASSMENT amplifies this movement, by opening space for women to speak their own truth. The film was shot in a mobile storytelling van, parked in rich and poor neighborhoods alike across São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro and open to any woman. The van was a free, autonomous space, where women spoke to the camera directly, no interviewer or other influence present.
Home is a Human Right. Brave New Films. www.bravenewfilms.com. 2018. Total run time: 40 minutes.
These six short films—Pursuing the Dream: What You Need to Know About DACA, Immigration, and Beyond; We Can’t Turn Our Backs Again on Refugees; The Call to Sanctuary: How to Create Safety in Our Community; Divided by Deportation; Immigrant Stories: Doctors and Nurses; and Immigrant Stories: Teachers—examine issues related to immigration in the U.S. that impact undocumented and refugee communities.Pursuing the Dream looks at the protections provided to undocumented immigrants through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and the threats they face from intensified deportation actions. We Can’t Turn Our Backs Again on Refugees tells the stories of everyday Syrians living amid a violent civil war and what has driven millions to flee their homeland. The Call to Sanctuary breaks down the ways that communities and individuals can support their undocumented neighbors through a how-to video guide. In Divided by Deportation, we hear directly from children whose lives are shadowed by constant fear and uncertainty due to our increasingly harsh immigration policies. Immigrant Stories: Doctors and Nurses exposes the inhumanity of our immigration policies which force people to choose between medical care or deportation, and Immigrant Stories: Teachers reveals how these policies are disrupting students' lives across the nation.
Immigrant Prison Series. Brave New Films. www.bravenewfilms.com. 2018. Total run time: 52 minutes.
The United States has the biggest immigrant prison system in the world, yet most Americans are unaware of the conditions found in immigrant prisons, and the mistreatment many detained immigrants endure. Brave New Films has created this series —Immigrant Prisons—to change that.
With the current surge of anti-immigrant rhetoric, stock in the immigrant prison industry is skyrocketing and more ICE agents are being hired to patrol communities and lock up immigrants. This means more people are being detained every day and forced to live for days, weeks, and even months at a time in unsustainable conditions, all while giant corporations turn a profit.
Watch our videos Immigrant Prisons, Immigrants for Sale, and No More Detention: Free Pastor Noe to learn more about the immigrant prison industry and how it profits off the detention and suffering of people.
The Issue of Mr. O’Dell. Produced and Directed by Rami Katz. Cinema Guild. www.cinemaguild.com. 2018. 35 minutes.
The Issue of Mr. O’Dell examines the lifelong work of a pioneering civil rights organizer Jack O’Dell, who was a close colleague and advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the years before the March on Washington. But after President John F. Kennedy named him the number five Communist in America, O’Dell was eventually forced out of King’s organization.
In soft-spoken interviews, O’Dell discusses systemic racism, past and present, and dissects America's troubled history with racial discrimination. The wisdom of the 94-year-old activist speaks to the present as his experiences fighting alongside Dr. King resonate strongly with the Black Lives Matter movement.
Love the Sinner. Produced and directed by Jessica Devaney and Geeta Gandbhir. Women Make Movies. www.wmm.com. 2016. 17 minutes.
LOVE THE SINNER is a personal documentary exploring the connection between Christianity and homophobia in the wake of the 2016 shooting at Pulse nightclub in Orlando. Queer filmmaker Jessica Devaney grew up deeply immersed in Evangelical Christianity in Florida. After breaking with her youth as a nationally recognized activist and leader among conservative Evangelicals, Jessica left Florida and didn’t look back. She built a life that took her as far away from home as possible. Over time, her daily life became a progressive echo chamber.
The mass shooting at Pulse was a wakeup call. By avoiding hard conversations with church leadership, had she missed opportunities to challenge homophobia?
Man On Fire. Produced and directed by Joel Fendelman. New Day Films. www.newday.com. 2017. 54 minutes.
Man on Fire investigates Charles Moore’s self-immolation in protest of racism in his hometown of Grand Saline, Texas and explores three major themes: the life and death of Charles Moore, the vestiges of racism in rural America, and the impact of Moore’s death on people in Grand Saline and surrounding areas. The film captures the authenticity of rural East Texas with engrossing interviews from members of Grand Saline, including a former mayor, a city administrator, business owners, elders, and young adults, to better understand their perspective on racism in their community. Outside of these interviews, the film explores communities of color near Grand Saline and investigates how these people fear the racism of their neighbors.
Lastly, the film explores how Grand Saline and communities nearby dealt with Moore’s death through grappling with the complexity of self-immolation as an effective protest act. Many of the interviews in the film express their raw emotions regarding Moore’s death and Grand Saline’s racism, demonstrating their anger, pain, fear, and resolve. They also express the shortcomings of Moore’s protest, questioning what it means for a preacher to kill himself as dissent. Overall, Man on Fire encapsulates the racial climate in Grand Saline and chronicles Moore’s life and death, presenting Grand Saline and Moore as two pillars of the film’s narrative: one a disjointed man seeking truth and communal repentance and the other a community whose present is inextricably tied to their past.
Racial Injustice Series. Brave New Films. www.bravenewfilms.com. 2018. Total run time: 8 minutes.
A three-part series that explores the many ways black Americans face racial bias. These short films—Racism is Real, Black Protests vs. White Riots, and Prison System by the Numbers—explore the effects of racial bias on the lives of black Americans and the ways in which racism impacts American society as a whole.
Racism is Real uses recent academic studies to juxtapose the life of an average black person with an average white person—demonstrating the unique discriminations that black Americans face on a daily basis. Black Protests vs. White Riots takes a hard look at how television news programs distort our perceptions of race in their coverage and analysis of protests and riots. Prison System by the Numbers exposes the racial disparities in America's prison system in a compelling dissection of drug-related incarceration rates.
By examining the pervasiveness of racial bias in black American life, this series seeks to highlight the lingering grip of racism on all Americans.
White Right: Meeting the Enemy. Produced and Directed by Deeyah Khan. Women Make Movies. www.wmm.com. 2018. 55 minutes.
In this Emmy-winning documentary, acclaimed Muslim filmmaker Deeyah Khan meets U.S. neo-Nazis and white nationalists including Richard Spencer face to face and attends the now-infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville as she seeks to understand the personal and political motivations behind the resurgence of far-right extremism in the U.S.
Speaking with fascists, racists and proponents of alt-right ideologies, Deeyah, attempts to discover new possibilities for connection and solutions. As she tries to see beyond the headlines to the human beings, her own prejudices are challenged and her tolerance tested. When she finds herself in the middle of America's biggest and most violent far right rally in recent years, Deeyah's safety is jeopardized. Can she find it within herself to try and befriend the fascists she meets?
With a U.S. president propagating anti-Muslim propaganda, the far-right gaining ground in German elections, hate crime rising in the UK, and divisive populist rhetoric infecting political and public discourse across western democracies, WHITE RIGHT: MEETING THE ENEMY asks why. The film is an urgent, resonant and personal look at race wars in America.