A short documentary that exemplifies how America ignores its dying suburbs. These beloved hometowns are the canaries in the coal mine when measuring the true economic and racial health of communities, and of America.
Three decades after the world's most infamous nuclear disaster, illegal hiking adventurers aka "stalkers", extreme sports afficionados, artists and tour companies have begun to explore anew the mysterious, ghostly, post-apocalyptic landscape. They are the underground culture of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
This 15-minute documentary spotlights the efforts of urban farmers Arthur and Nancy Culbert whose mission is to eliminate hunger within their own community by growing organic produce. They partner with a neighborhood school giving students the opportunity to plant and harvest vegetables and fruit for those in need.
The fate of our species is highly dependent on what we do to the earth which feeds us. Our soil is being rapidly depleted by conventional farming practices, which in addition to being harmful to the soil are poisoning us with the chemicals that are used as fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides.
Just about everything we own is delivered by trucks. Truck drivers, once known as the mavericks of the open road, are facing changing working conditions, new privacy regulations, and new forms of monitoring, with the rise of artificial intelligence and the speed of the Amazon economy. The less visible artificial intelligence is built into the cabs of the 1.8 million long haul truck drivers in the US, a clear example of human-machine coalescence.
One the nation’s most critical health laws, the Clean Air Act, with current day stories of environmental injustice and community action, weaves historical milestones. Nearly half of all Americans still live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution, particularly those in poorer communities. Asthma is the number one health issue for children in the U.S today.
Chef Antonio de Benedetto is on a quest to change the world with his delicious Italian food. His apprentices are Mirko Piras, a young man with Down Syndrome who dreams of becoming a great chef, and Jessica Berta, an ambitious waitress. Their tiny kitchen is the beating heart of a revolutionary restaurant staffed by young men and women from across Italy, living with Down Syndrome. The film is a journey through their lives, loves, dreams and dramas. English and Italian with English subtitles.
Saverio discovers that his beloved mother, Rosa, is suffering from Alzheimer's syndrome. He accidentally finds love letters that his father wrote to her. Saverio reads them to his mother, and sees her dormant emotions resurface unexpectedly. Through reminiscences, together they temporarily "defeat" Alzheimer's rediscovering the true meaning of love. Italian with English subtitles.
An endearing short by 16 year old newcomer Julia Ward. As big sister to Spencer, a tween with special needs, she asks Hollywood's elite how to include more characters like her brother in film and why it is important.
Vivi is completely blind, having lost all her sight in her early twenties. Her play is based on the Harlem Renaissance novel Passing by Nella Larsen which tells the dramatic story of a mixed race woman who passes for white, married to a bigoted husband who doesn't know her true identity until he makes the startling discovery - with fatal results. Vivi relates strongly to the novel as she is not only blind but mixed race so "passes" often in life to better cope with her incredible challenges.
A Zanzibari woman, Samira, aspires to have a family like all of her friends, but is also determined to pursue a higher education and a career. Throughout seven years of her life society and the respect of traditions, constantly pressure her to choose one over the other. Swahili with English subtitles.
After years of accepting the status quo Jane Dunlap reaches her tipping point. Set in 1971 Northern California, "Corked" is inspired by the true story of her struggle to break into the male dominated wine industry.
The story of an architect woman, Tsoghik Arabyan, in the Soviet Union, in Armenia, in the 1950s. Armenian with English subtitles.
Two young women in San Cristobal de las Casas, Mexico, struggle to fulfill their dreams of obtaining an education while also serving a vital role in earning a living for their families. The survival of children in indigenous Chiapian Mexico is both fragile and resonant with community. English and Spanish with English subtitles.
Monologues of immigrant women tell the various immigrant experiences of women who find themsleves in a foreign country away from their loved ones. This was a play presented on Zoom with actors from 5 cities and three contients, possible only because it was presented on Zoom due to the pandemic.
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Judith Ehrlich tells the story of a mass movement of war resisters who choose conscience over killing. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. visits Joan Baez in Santa Rita Prison and links the racial justice and peace movements in an impassioned speech. The film chronicles a youth-led movement of draft resisters who ended the draft and helped end the brutal war
Heavy Metal music is simply unique in Latin America. Whether inspiring support for rural schools in Guatemala, engaging in environmental activism in Ecuador, or working for peace in Colombia, heavy metal music has become a form of decolonization activism in Latin America; a force to be reckoned with beyond the stage, taking to the streets and tackling the problems of post-colonialism (poverty, dictatorships, neoliberalism) like no other musical genre. Spanish with English subtitles.
A touching and hopeful film about a medevac helicopter pilot who found peace within himself and with his mortal enemies when he tries to build a peace garden at the Khe Sanh Combat Base where he was stationed during the Viet Nam war.
Jay, an editor at an astronomy magazine, is filming the rare celestial event, the Venus Transit. As the event is about to take place, Jay receives a call from his estranged father, Madhu, telling him that his grandmother is on her deathbed in India. This leads to a meaningful encounter between father and son at an airport restaurant.
Eric, a Mexican journalist, who has stopped writing because he is threatened, decides to return to do a story that may cost him his life.
"Beautiful on every level. A tremendously powerful and moving hymn to a people’s determination to survive” - Terry Gilliam. The beats and lyrics drive us to descend into a world of official violence and a demonstration against the government’s barbaric policy of arming farmers, loggers and miners. We end up at the largest assembly of indigenous people in Brazil. A film about genocide, and one young artist's response to it. English and Portuguese with English subtitles.
Short documentary about life in Artsakh after the 2nd war began in the fall of 2020. Indigenous Armenians returned to their homes which are unrecognizable from the bombardment. They’re now rebuilding with hopes for peace while reliving the intergenerational trauma from the previous wars, talk about how the world sees but ignores their prosecution. Armenian with English subtitle
A filmmaker of Armenian origin revisits his family roots in a Turkish village. Director and actor Serge Avédikian has traveled to Sölöz, the village of his grandparents located 170 km south of Istanbul four times in three decades. This documentary shot during his successive trips between 1987 and 2019, chronicles this experience and highlights the themes of identity, historic truth and reconciliation. French, Turkish, and Armenian with English subtitles.
This film serves as a collective grief ritual. A journey of reckonings and resilience. Experience a celebration of the power of the human heart amid the aftermath of atrocities in the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Both survivors and perpetrators, collectively and individually, source forgiveness and peace from within.
Home movies and fleeting snippets of sound tell the story of Vivian Barrett, a wealthy Swiss woman, whose WWII pilot-turned-entrepreneur husband changes their lives when he creates a pharmaceutical wonder drug. From the 40s through 60s, from the Alps to Le Mans to New York to Hawaïi, vulnerability, loss, truth, and opulence are explored in a way that only cinema allows. "Powerfully hypnotic" – Cineuropa
Ava has to overcome her prejudice with the help of Tarec, a homeless man who is parked in front of her house.
A homeless young man struggles to find his place in the world while trying to make sense of a traumatic childhood.
Gamal is a new immigrant who washes dishes at a diner in suburban New Jersey. Fritzie is a retired teacher and a recent widow. Both are lonely people experiencing uncharted emotional territory. Despite differences in age, race, religion and class, Gamal and Frieda forge an unlikely relationship that explores our universal need for connection and laughter. English and Arabic with English subtitles.
In near-term future America, the word “citizen” has come to define a narrower portion of the population, and elite corruption goes unchecked. A luxury condo in Brooklyn begins the day staged for an open house to lure wealthy buyers, but by night becomes a brief refuge for a family targeted by immigration enforcement.
Two months after the massive explosion that devastated Beirut, Carol Mansour explores the aftermath of the blast, talking to friends and exchanging reflections on what happened and its implications in candid unscripted messages with feelings of helplessness, frustration and overwhelming anger at the political class. Arabic with English subtitles.
A new mother has spent longer than expected with her baby daughter due to the Covid lockdown - but now she must confront the post-pandemic return to work. A docu-drama filmed 100% remotely during the coronavirus lockdown.
As the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the world, we set out to create a film in partnership with 20 producers from around the world. We gathered over 50 incredible positive stories. As they began unforlding, we quickly realized that this film was not just about positivity, but about the humanity in people; the everyday heroes amongst us. Chinese, English, French, Italian, Persian, and Spanish with English subtitles.
Actor Nick Pain is booked on a film and when he shows up for work, he is the only one on set. Hell, he is the only one at the studio. The crew is working from home.
Produced during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic in NYC, "Quaranteens" follows the experiences of a group of highschoolers as they navigate familial relationships, frontline work, racism, healthcare and economic injustice.
After Angie escapes the horrifying world of sex trafficking, she struggles to heal from the atrocities she’s endured as she mourns her stolen innocence. Eventually, she must confront her shame and fear to save the girls she left behind.
This is the story of a young prostitute robbed and thrown out of the car. She is talking on her phone. Her pimp is threatening her, he wants money! The road is desolate. An orange scheduled bus comes from far away. She gets on the bus. It is an inner journey, and the bus represents her inner self. Italian with English subtitles.
Through emotional interviews and visual storytelling, the film offers a look at an often misinterpreted topic. Kristy Childs is a former sex worker and works alongside Lucy, a survivor. Tatyana is a former victim of sex trafficking and helps survivors. Alice and Imogen are both active sex workers, Alice being the highest-paid prostitute in the United States.
A young woman returns home from abroad after several years to confront the trauma of sexual assault from her past.The silent witnesses of her trauma still live with the old lies. Are they brave enough for the truth? .
Unhoused and formerly unhoused Black women and girls speak on Black women's intersectional experiences with homelessness, misogynoir, colorism, foster care, sexual and domestic abuse, trafficking and educational disruption. Featuring Skid Row poet and feminist activist Suzette Shaw.
Native American teen activist Daunnette Moniz-Reyome (age 17) shares her family’s journey to retain the sacred rituals and values of their culture in the wake of centuries of loss from disease, war and government policies.
Using participatory practices in collaboration with mothers whose children have been killed during police operations in Complexo do Alemão, Manguihos, Complexo de Maré, and Salgueira, Janaina Matos, founding member of a group of Brazilian police officers campaigning against militarization, states that in Brazil ‘it has become normal’ for police ‘to enter a territory and treat the population as if it were a war enemy…Brazil’s security policy is not aiming to guarantee security for everyone, but just for an elite while oppressing the other larger number of the population, especially the black people.’
International auditor Alain has arrived to appraise the airport of a small self-proclaimed republic in the Caucasus to greenlight its eventual reopening. Through Edgar, a local boy running a make-shift business in the airport, Alain will risk all to help this isolated territory to open up.Armenian, French, and Russian with English subttles.
In the face of catastrophic climate change Jon Wright, a gay farmer, is faced with a dilemma. His 22-year commitment to transform the genetics of his bull herd are pitted against the attitudes of the beef industry. His journey of loss and survival determines the cost of being true to himself.
Led by Lindsey Deaton, co-founder and first Artistic Director of the Trans Chorus of Los Angeles, choristers, many of whom have no musical training, come together to hone their craft and find their voices. Some have the added challenge of coping with changes in their vocal range brought about by hormones they take for the transition. The stakes are high as they prepare for their concert debut.
Writer-director Sophie Deraspe’s incisive liberal adaptation of the Greek tragedy by Sophocles is the daring story of one young woman’s commitment to her family, even if it means sacrificing herself.
Newcomer Nahéma Ricci gives a stunning, luminous performance as Antigone, an Algerian-born teenager living in Montreal with her immigrant family. Her world is shaken when her oldest brother is wrongfully gunned down by police during the arrest of her other brother who, if convicted, faces deportation. She invents a fearless, dangerous plan to free him, but can it succeed?
As Antigone’s predicament intensifies and the consequences of her actions spiral out of control, the film deftly incorporates urgent and explosive contemporary questions of immigration and belonging, social media and identity, and the power of idealism.
How the friendship between a filmmaker and a refugee is connected to all the major events of the 21st century. An introspection into the topics of human migration, inequality, and climate change, taking place all across the planet.
In early 2016, the Jordanian government announced that it would pursue a unique refugee hosting model in hopes to transform its largest refugee camp, Zaatari, into a self-sufficient and sustainable semi-permanent city. The investigators embed themselves into the Zaatari community to spend time with entrepreneurs who fled crisis and decided to start a new business. English and Arabic with English subtitles.
Under Paris' glittering Eiffel Tower, undocumented Senegalese migrants sell miniature souvenirs of the monument, to support their families back home. Far from their loved ones and hounded by the police, each day is a struggle through darkness in the City of Lights. Wolof with English subtitles.
Three migrants leave home in their teens to embark on a years-long journey to Spain. Crossing the Sahara Desert by foot, spending months to years living in the forests of Morocco, and finally making the dangerous crossing to the Spanish mainland, these three distinct immigration stories have one thing in common: their incredible optimism in the face of inconceivable adversity.
On the US/Mexico border, an undocumented mother’s quest to save her son relies on a troubled American Vet, building a wall out of junk, whose duty is to keep her out.
Rejoice Resist celebrates Black joy and Black pleasure as the ultimate form of resistance. It highlights the importance of allowing yourself to feel joy especially in the face of adversity. The film, surreal and lighthearted despite its powerful themes, depicts a woman on a quest to discover this truth.
The story of one woman’s personal discovery, empowerment, and triumph in a quest to overcome one of the biggest obstacles of her life. Metra Lundy simulates a walk to freedom by re-tracing the steps of the great American heroine, Harriet Tubman and discovers who she really is.
Moza, a 20-year-old South Sudanese migrant wants to sing his rap song to his friends and the African youth undermined by frequent negative news reports which have influenced the wider community and resulted in increased racism, suspicion and lateral violence against African residents. On this day his dreams of finding his voice are sorely tested!
Vimal Kumar is the son of a sweeper, or “untouchable” in India’s cruel caste system. This film profiles his efforts to provide different options and more hope for other children of sweepers through education. We follow him around India as he manages his “Movement for Scavenger Community” and observe his challenges... and his success. English and Hindi with English subtitles.
Forty-year-old Redwan feels rejected just because he looks like "he is not from here". To ease his daily existential pain, he periodically kidnaps someone, who may have shown a sign of contempt towards him, to ruin their evening. Claire, a woman in her thirties, is Redwan's next victim. During the course of the evening, she tries to convince Redwan it is his own imagination that is to blame for his situation. French with English subtitles.
Yesterday, a man was murdered in a street, in Cleveland. According to the initial findings of the investigation, several men have been arrested by the police, and among them, a potential witness whose identity is still unknown. He has been taken into custody, before being heard...
An open and honest discussion about race in America through personal stories and experiences of discrimination.
When will the "last" time be the last time? Four months after its Juneteenth 2020 release, Chris Oledude's single George Floyd has now been re-presented in the video entitled George Floyd: Say Their Names.
Shaw, the oldest black university in the South, rises from the Civil War, segregation, and the Civil Rights Movement to confront the future of education and social justice in America.
Two adults who grew up in the slums of Delhi strive to give new wings to the kids bounded by the shackles of poverty, drugs, and society. Hindi with English subtitles.
New York City is the largest and most ethnically diverse metropolis in the United States yet its public schools remain among the nation’s most racially segregated. Fed up with the status quo, teenage activists and best friends Alex and Marcus lead a movement to integrate the city's high schools demanding social change while interrogating the society that puts them in the position of having to do so.
K. Gene Simmonds, a high school music teacher, started the Southern California Youth Chorale in 1965, at the height of the hippie zeitgeist not only to bring Americana music to other countries but, also, to expose his students to other cultures and languages. The Southern California Youth Chorale traveled to 27 different countries on four continents over a twelve-year period enriching lives, building lifetime friendships and memories.
The stress of war is so severe and prolonged, it can become toxic. Scientists and humanitarians work to provide hope in what can seem like a pretty hopeless world. Syrian families raise their children in the face of unimaginable violence and oppression, their past defined by terror, their future driven by hope. Neurological and behavioral teams from Harvard, Yale and Hashemite University; young researchers and humanitarian volunteers put science to work for the oppressed and vulnerable.
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