ripples and pools

When life is dark and you feel like you are losing your loving spirit, where do you go? Where do we go when everything hurts? Faced with expensive, debilitating surgery, director Robin Burke sought out aquatherapy in Louisville, Kentucky. Affirming and quiet, sorrowful and joyous, ripples and pools shares intimate portraits and perspectives, dissolving grief, while holding you like your grandmother. A small team filmed this buoyant documentary in just seven days, oftentimes completely submerged in the 92 degree saltwater. The film effortlessly guides us through the pool, into the shared experiences of pain from which you can’t look away, woven with immersive perspectives of kicking feet, cannonballs, and slow, supported movements. Giggles and squeals echo as babies and toddlers learn to swim with their caregivers in the shallow end. The patient and firm voice of swim teacher, BJ, is intersected by an exuberant group of elders, who have become dear friends. They move gracefully alongside each other as we listen to them talk about how they’ve healed physically, how their bodies are changing because of the water, and how happy they are to have found hope and renewed health. Fighting back tears, Abby’s dad Jeff speaks about his daughter’s autism diagnosis, his transformational journey of loving her, and their shared tender moments of play in the pool. Immersive underwater photography captures an elderly man exercising with barbells. We track a young girl walking with assistance and join Darryl, who is blind. Physical therapist, Mickey, is explaining her movements as she guides Darryl through therapeutic exercises to help him heal from a car accident. They both agree his walking has gotten much better. ripples and pools features an original music score by four-time grammy winner Eugene Friesen and performances from Carly Johnson, Elizabeth Cotten, and Elizabeth Rogers. Integrated with environmental sounds and water recordings, the music encourages us to breathe, grieve, and bear witness. ripples and pools embraces the hopeful and refreshed possibilities for healing ourselves, each other, and the world we occupy. 2022, U.S., DCP, 32 minutes. Recommended for all ages.

Only Child

Only Child is a feature documentary about adult adoptee, Dubliner Marise Keane, embarking on a courageous search for her identity. The film chronicles her 20-year journey navigating the hypocrisy of a society that prohibited access to birth control while condemning unwed mothers and their children. The mothers were institutionalized, and the children sold to other countries, largely North America, by the church and state. Records were hushed, kept secret. With only her birth mothers name and place of birth in hand, Marise navigates a series of roadblocks and dead ends. An insider’s view regarding Ireland’s shameful backstory and current political landscape is revealed through Marise’s journey combined with stories and revelations by many others affected by the church-controlled state. Philomena Lee (the inspiration behind the Oscar nominated film Philomena) sets the stage of what it’s like to have a child adopted from you against your will. Politicians, historians, a show-band leader, as well as a little-known woman’s rights movement called The Contraceptive Train illuminate how Ireland’s misogynistic history came to be. Some stories are heartbreaking, some humorous. Eventually, an agency locates Marise’s birth mother, but is denied access. A year goes by as Marise tries to find her father in Canada. No luck. Marise gives up. Ten years later, while on Google, Marise discovers that she has cousins in Dublin. She decides on one last ditch effort. After an emotional connection, she then finds out that her parents married and had five children in Canada. Marise nervously agrees to call. After the initial shock has settled, 3 of her new sisters travel to Ireland to find an exuberant meeting full of unconditional love. Marise's story is one of joy and struggle, good versus evil, and ultimately a story of hope.

Al son de Beno

Beno's Son

Ilan, a fifty-two-year-old visual artist, takes his family on a musical road trip to reconstruct the chaotic, creative life and tragic death of his father, Beno Lieberman, a pioneer of folklore research in Mexico. Confronting the mystery and pain behind Beno’s suicide, Ilan comes to terms with his feelings about his father by opening up to his children and sharing Beno’s enduring musical legacy.

There Goes The Neighborhood

New York City is currently undergoing a period of Hyper-Gentrification. This is a portrait of the communities fighting back. A documentary by Ian Phillips.

The Anxiety of Laughing

When Joey, a young man disabled with Cerebral Palsy, is about to marry his able-bodied fiancee Leah--against the objections of her mother--their lives take a drastic turn when Leah is in a serious car accident.

A Call to Action: The Freedom Budget of 1966

"A Call to Action: The Freedom Budget of 1966" tells the story of a little known grassroots push for guaranteed income during the civil rights movement.

Little Bird

Fionna, a plucky kid in the foster system, fights for a home and an interrupted adoption threatens to break hopeful parents Olivia and Lynn. Foster mom Agnes, and biological mom Madeline battle invisible illnesses and Karen is the caseworker that runs through it.

Anniversary

Anniversary is a short film about a young couple whose way of loving is deeply affected by the circumstances caused by the sudden border closure between their respective countries.

Incorrigible - A film about Velma Demerson

In 1939 Velma Demerson was jailed for falling in love with a Chinese man. Pregnant and without legal counsel, Velma was sentenced to one year in a Toronto prison where she was tortured by a eugenicist doctor who attempted to abort her child. 60 years later she sued the Canadian government for wrongful incarceration, and until her death at age 98 in May 2019, continued to fight for the rights of the thousands of women imprisoned on the grounds of “incorrigibility” until 1964. Gemini Award-winning director Karin Lee has made a documentary film about her life. VOICES OF CANADA Series.

Choices

A single father must venture out of his comfort zone and decide what to do next when his teen daughter gets in trouble.

A Midsummer Night's Dream In Prison

"It's almost like for three hours we weren't in prison," says Zeb, one of the prison inmates in rural Eastern Oregon who arrives at the transformative possibility of re-imagining his life story, past and future, while putting on Shakespeare's comedic tale, A Midsummer Night's Dream. As the journey unfolds, themes of gender identity and the challenges faced by BIPOC prisoners are deftly explored, and the power of the arts to challenge and heal, even under the most difficult circumstances, is affirmed and celebrated.

I AM NOT OK

A mother and son respond to the unending killings of black Americans amidst the backdrop of the protests that followed the death of George Floyd. Dance and archival photographs are woven together to evoke fear, outrage, and anger and the need for communities to come together and find solutions.

HIGHTAIL

After a drunken dispute with her boyfriend, Josie barges into her neighbours apartment. Amidst a time of isolation and fear, Mike learns of the severity of Josie’s situation after sharing an evening of connection. What makes our film special? - A female driven project, with a predominantly female-identifying crew - A timely piece spreading awareness on a societal issue, domestic abuse and gender-based violence - Donated a portion of its funds to a Women's Center, assisting our community and those recovering from domestic violence

Identity

A group of kids question who they are. The film follows a transgender boy who deals with cyber bullying, as straight, gay, non-binary and trans kids explore their gender and pronouns, discovering the true value of friendship and support. This film was made in collaboration with middle and high school aged LGBTQ+ youth, to tell their stories for social change.

Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops

Narrated by Richard Gere and subtitled in 23 languages, Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops is a series of five short films, featuring twelve leading climate scientists, that explores how human-caused emissions are triggering nature’s own warming loops. The film series had its official launch with the Dalai Lama, Greta Thunberg, and world-renowned scientists in a webcast, “The Dalai Lama with Greta Thunberg and Leading Scientists: A Conversation on the Crisis of Climate Feedback Loops.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9GXgOMMeTg While scientists stay up worrying about this most dangerous aspect of climate change, the public has little awareness or understanding of feedback loops. Climate change discussion at all levels of society largely leaves out the most critical dynamic of climate change itself. It is urgent we remedy this. The first film in the series, Introduction (13:09), provides an overview of the feedback loop problem. The four other short films explore important climate feedback mechanisms: Forests (14:10), Permafrost (10:55), Atmosphere (8:45), and Albedo (10:35). Greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, such as carbon dioxide and methane, are warming the planet. This warming is then setting in motion dozens of feedback mechanisms, which then feed upon themselves, as well as interact with each other and spiral further out of control. These processes are rapidly accelerating climate change. An example of a climate feedback loop is the melting of the permafrost. In the Northern Hemisphere, permafrost makes up nearly 25% of the landmass. As heat-trapping emissions warm the Earth, this frozen tundra is melting. As it does, large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane are released, which further warm the planet, melting more permafrost in a self-perpetuating loop. Human activity kicks off these feedback loops, but once set in motion, they become self-sustaining. The danger is that this process reaches a tipping point beyond which it is extremely difficult to recover. This is why it is urgent to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so we can slow, halt and even reverse these feedbacks and cool the planet.

Earthshine

Nura and her family have been relocated multiple times since fleeing Syria. They are now welcomed by a social worker to their newly assigned shelter - an isolated cabin hidden amidst the Austrian alps. When Ali, the father, heads out to run errands in the village, Nura has to face the consequences of her resistance to accept her new reality.

It's Spring...

Aram Amatuni is a retired special forces spy who has devoted his entire life to serving and protecting his country and to creating a lawful government. His son, Gnel, is a successful businessman who to this day hasn’t forgiven his father for putting the needs of his country before the needs of his own family. This conflict between father and son reaches its climax when Amatuni’s grandson, a talented violinist who has the opportunity to study in one of the best European music academies, inspired by his grandfather’s ideology goes against his own father’s wishes and enlists in the mandatory military service. The unexpected war further severs the father-son relationship, leading Amatuni to take a road of no return.

Private View

Two British artists: the lesbian portrait painter Sadie Lee and the non-binary writer Libro Levi Bridgeman happen to have been born on the same day. They meet to collaborate on a portrait of Libro and discuss their lives from the 1980s onwards. Now, after 3 years, Sadie is ready to uncover the painting. This short documentary follows Sadie and Libro's friendship and the collaboration's surprising reveal. The portrait is a first for art, important for queer politics and sensational to see. Showing a queerer side of queer we've never seen before.

I Walked With Heroes

The emotional story of a Navy Corpsman, an army medic, who was stationed with the US Navy in WWII and Korea and the love that saved him from PTSD years after he retired.

Bendix: Site Unseen

Surrounded by highway traffic sits the unassuming Bendix Diner, owned and operated by John Diakakis. As the blind, single father of three young children who also work at the diner, John attempts to address and overcome his obstacles in order to provide a better life for his family.

Kapinalliset

Rebels with a cause

Sanni (21), who engages in Extinction Rebellion (Elokapina) civil disobedience, has given up her job to save the world from a climate catastrophe. Quick-witted Eltti (18) combines queer and environmental activism and uses it as fuel in their performances. Although Sanni and Eltti pursue the common good, the task of the activist is heavy, and neither the authorities nor all citizens seem to understand their good goals. The themes of the film are civil disobedience, the activist's trauma and the role of the authorities as the protector of society in Finland that is said to be the world’s safest country and country that has one of the most trusted police force in the world. What feelings does the activist have to go through in the action and who should the officials eventually protect and from whom? The summer and autumn rebellions in the film were one of the biggest media events of the 2021 in Finland, in the country where the demonstration culture has traditionally been very restrained and authorities used to be deeply respected. The film paints a hopeful and sympathetic picture of awake contemporary youth who are ready to fight the climate crisis, even by resolutely breaking the law.

Asfalt

Asphalt

Lasse is a disillusioned truck driver from Jutland. He lives his life like he drives his truck straight ahead with his hand on the steering wheel and the other hand around the secret bottle. Until the instant, a young woman jumps in front of his truck. Lasse pulls the brakes at the last minute and to his surprise, he realizes that the woman is his daughter, René, who he hasn’t seen in 15 years. A journey begins that afternoon that will turn their lives upside down as they get the chance to restore a family while trying to abandon the hope of starting a new one. ASPHALT is a heartwarming and life-affirming film about great fate in the quiet life.

After Fred

After Fred is the story of a miraculous escape and how it’s never too late to change. Charlotta’s violent marriage was brought to an abrupt end after 40 years when a shop assistant witnessed her being attacked and called it out. Two years on she is free and, aged 82, is blossoming as a warrior advocate, supporting women decades younger than her to face the court system after making their own escapes from domestic violence.

Okefenokee Destiny

A love letter from locals to a deeply mysterious and largely unknown swamp as it comes under pressure from a mining company that could destroy it before it gains its rightful protected place in the world.

Tabla

At 17 years old, Miles Shrewsbury heard the sound of the tabla for the first time. Since then, the rich world of classical Indian drumming shaped the trajectory of both his professional and personal life. After many years studying under his gurus in India, learning Hindi, and immersing himself in the culture, this is the story of how Miles became a guru himself. Connecting Indian American kids to their culture through music, this is Tabla.

Ctrl+Z

D, DA, A and M are between 16 and 28 years old. They are hikikomori, they never leave the house, two of them not even their rooms. I have never met them in person, nor will I ever. We begin to exchange life experiences, words, videos, photos, in a period in which I am constantly wondering and feeling those expectations that everyone, at a certain point in life, feels, because, like M rightly says, “by your 30s, something HAS to happen”. They propose to me to try to live like them, to better understand why they have decided to isolate themselves. We got closer and closer, and I end up becoming almost obsessed with their presence/absence and their life choices. Theirs is a refusal, it is a resounding NO they scream silently from their rooms, where they lock themselves up because they cannot bear the performance anxiety that social standards make us feel, thus demonstrating a sort of “resistance”.

“Say Their Names”

The story of 16 people, killed by the police, is told using images from 27 Black Lives Matter Protests, along with powerful poems, expressing the experience of being Black in America.

N Ap Boule

Through the Barricades

In the midst of the treacherous social protests that have paralyzed Haiti for months, a modest couple must face blocked roads and murderous gangs in the hope of finding a place to give birth safely.

PULLING THE GOALIE

A beer league hockey player and his wife discover that getting pregnant isn’t so easy as they try again and again to get pregnant with no success. Their journey starts with fun and excitement but becomes full of stress, anxiety, and sadness until they both reach their own breaking points. They keep going knowing that whatever happens they'll be in it together and that's okay. In the end we see they have a child but we don't know how, and it doesn't matter.

Still A Revolutionary - Albert Einstein

He was not the remote genius of present day myth. Still A Revolutionary - Albert Einstein, tells the real story of his life long firebrand activism.

The Count

An inside look at the yearly Homeless Count, through the eyes of a leading homeless services organization in South Los Angeles, HOPICS.

Raised/Razed

Raised/Razed is a documentary feature film about the lasting effects of the federally-backed and locally-executed Urban Renewal program, through the lens of Vinegar Hill, a large African American neighborhood in the heart of Charlottesville, Virginia, that for 100 years thrived as the center of business, education, religious, and cultural life, until it — like hundreds of Black communities across America — was destroyed. Raised/Razed was written and directed by filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson and journalist Jordy Yager who, after two years of extensive research, have woven original audio interviews of former Vinegar Hill residents from the early 1980s with modern-day interviews from their descendants, to bring the neighborhood back to life as it existed at its height and to take viewers into the homes, classrooms, and businesses of community members.

The PRATT in the HAT

Beneath the brims of hundreds of colorful hats is a woman who shares her wisdom, humor, and personal experiences about being black in America, then and now. Frances Pratt’s hats make a bold statement as does her southern charm and pithy expressions which she garnered through a lifetime of service to her community fighting for racial equality, voting rights and education.

Finding The Light

The story of Donna Hylton and her social justice non profit "A Little Piece of Light" which uses her experience in the prison system to support reform and reentry of other black women and LGBTQ+

Pills

A desperate man is looking for a meaning for his life and after Encountering a homeless child everything changes.

Black Man Black Masterpiece

Black Man Black Masterpiece is a poetic affirmation and short film by artist Ishé, that pours love and inspiration into Black men and boys of all ages, in order to empower, reinforce and remind them that they have the power to master their peace.

Azúcar

Azúcar (Sugar)

Azúcar is the story of a mother and son searching for a better life. They have traveled more than 1500 miles from Honduras to the US border and tonight they will attempt to cross the Rio Grande. However, nothing goes as planned.

What Flowers They Bloom

An intimate look at Asian Canadian small business owner Andy Sue as he explores the psychological trauma of a first-hand encounter with racism during the pandemic. The film examines the social implications of our digital media reality, where algorithms detect bias and translate fear, blame and outrage into profit. The experience of racism has become a central focus of the COVID-19 global pandemic. From Black Lives Matter to Stop Asian Hate, citizens across the world are mobilizing to condemn active and institutionalized injustices that continue to perpetuate discrimination, blame and violence against people of colour. But while communities raise their voices to dismantle these biased structures, portrayals and policies, there remain systems that continue to benefit if not outright profit from these inequities. While Canada has an often-untold history of anti-Asian racism, and COVID-19 is marked by familiar patterns of blaming marginalized communities, the film reveals that when our common shared humanity is translated in simple acts of kindness, a movement against discrimination will bloom.

A Lake of Ashes

In a not too distant future wracked by ecological devastation, a young boy grows up on an isolated lake. Though not yet destroyed by fire, the land he lives on and the lake at its center are slowly dying. As the boy wanders, drawing pictures of the dead animals and decaying landscape, refugees of all sorts start to pour in. Unable to rouse his despondent and abusive father, the boy takes matters into his own hands helping an old woman who is dying of thirst, and hiding from a strange animal-like man that would do him harm until all boils over and chaotic violence consumes the life he knows and casts him to the wind.

The Metabolic Connection®

Documentary (short) Film addressing the diet industry’s contribution to the obesity epidemic, body image and Americans generational, disordered relationship with food and the TMC solution.

Ever, Rêve, Hélène Cixous

Ever, Rêve, Hélène Cixous is a dream of liberation. With friends like the philosopher Jacques Derrida, the artist Adel Abdessemed, the theatrical legend Ariane Mnouchkine and her cosmopolitan company, this road movie allows us to hear the cry of literature. A poetic and musical film, Ever, Rêve, Hélène Cixous wanders with a genius who shows us the paths to emancipation through creative writing, theatre and activism. Cixous’s artistic endeavors embody untold and unrealized historical possibilities as they give voice to those who conspire with Cixous, saved from the death camps, from the wars of decolonization, from the horrors of oppression endured by women, everywhere. Every dream is the dream of a prisoner who escapes.

Sugar Coated: The Truth About Eating Disorders

Sugar Coated is a collaborative youth-produced social justice documentary film created by high school students across New York City participating in EVC’s flagship program. Eating disorders are a mental health issue and have the second highest mortality rate of any psychiatric diagnosis, outranked only by opioid disorders. Why hasn’t this been said publicly? How does mental health correlate with eating disorders? How can you cope with mental health issues during a pandemic? How has living through the pandemic increased mental health and eating disorders? 97 percent of individuals hospitalized for an eating disorder were also diagnosed with a mood disorder. Many people in New York City are not concerned about living a healthier lifestyle. In this documentary, we will present how mental health correlates with eating disorders. The story first introduces mental health issues by showing its history. Then, we show how it evolved over the pandemic. The segments included are different perspectives from a healthcare professional and a mental health advocate, interviews from individuals with personal experiences with eating disorders and mental health diagnoses. We also feature anonymous stories and how social media has an effect on teen mental health. Within our film we profile our classmate, Dulce as she talks about her struggle with an eating disorder. We also created an anonymous survey so everyone can share their story as this topic is not often wanted to be disclosed. One of our interviewees is therapist Laura Van Wyk who also had a personal experience battling her own mental health issues. We present statistics on mental health for our audience to see how important this topic is. When watching this documentary people will get a deeper understanding about how mental health correlates with eating disorders. People will know that they’re not alone and mental health should be normalized. Our hope is that this documentary helps others seek help for their mental health disorders. Eating disorders are a real life issue, and people can use this documentary as an example to find support. While this documentary is generally for everybody, it is mostly for teenagers who feel like they’ve been ignored, parents whose children have been struggling with eating disorders , and people who haven’t been through mental health issues to understand others who have. People are going to be interested in seeing this documentary because it includes personal stories and is created by students.

Division

A z-list actress connects with a fan who has opposing political views, will they come together or prove we're too far apart? Andi, a minor actress who has moved to Atlanta with her inattentive fiance, Zach, starts vlogging while stuck inside during the pandemic. In doing so, she connects more deeply with her fan, Mason, and is tempted by his attention. It’s a political pandemic film, but it may just be THE political pandemic film.

Donuts

Donuts is a short film set in a coffeeshop in Chicago. Beverly serves up coffee, donuts and empathy to a pair of Chicago police officers who have been thrown together as partners. Frank is a white male with decades of experience, and biases based on anger, fear and guilt. Frank’s previous partner has just shot and killed a black youth, and the shooting is being investigated. Jamala, an earnest young African American woman, endures personal insults from Frank as she strives to be a good cop. The tension builds as Frank's prejudices are unleashed and Jamala reveals that her brother, a bright young student, was shot and killed by a police officer two years ago.

We Are Here Too

During the pandemic, four female-identifying artists of color reflect on how the global health crisis and simultaneous social justice uprisings impact their trajectory and mission as artists in a predominantly white arts community just outside Boston.

Yellowstone 88 - Song of Fire

In the summer of 1988 dry lightning sparked a fire in the parched and drought ridden landscape of Yellowstone Park, igniting a blaze that would scorch over 1.5 million perimeter acres of the park. Song of Fire, a narrative poem, guides the animation of YELLOWSTONE 88 telling the story of this conflagration that raged unabated for months until a snow of such intense severity extinguished the flames. That winter surviving Fauna, exhausted from fire and weakened by hunger, die in greater numbers than those claimed by the fire. The cosmos turns from one season to another and another and life in the park begins anew.

LOVE WITHOUT PAROLE

Michael falls deeply in love and matrimony follows. But married life can be tough when you’re serving a life-without-parole sentence in a notorious Alabama prison. The union soon dies, but the love doesn't. When Michael is miraculously freed after serving 36 years for relatively minor crimes, will the romance be reignited?

Living Years

Gale Williams had a happy, normal childhood in Santa Monica California. Then, in 1956, on the eve of his 18th birthday he crashed his car in a remote area of California and became a quadriplegic. In those days people with such severe injuries were only expected to live 10-15 years. At 82, and most likely the longest living quadriplegic, Gale's life story shows us that there are no limitations to what we can accomplish if we set our minds to it.

Way to Go!

If you’ve ever hiked in the woods, you probably know the rule, “Leave No Trace.” “Way to Go!” tells the story of Mt. Shasta’s sun-powered composting toilet and the local volunteers who maintain it, keeping poop invisible and sweet at 7,900 feet. Shot on location, “Way to Go” brings whimsy to an environmental threat we don’t like to think about: human waste.

Common Thread

Climate and global warming are mental health crises, and our children are among the most vulnerable. The Common Thread project joins global filmmakers speaking with children worldwide about their concerns for the planet and future ... These children and filmmakers are not celebrities or activists, but they have a Common Thread ... They all want a sustainable and livable planet and future for their generation. Thanks to all contributing global filmmakers, their commitment to this film, and for sharing this journey with me. My sincere gratitude, Filmmaker, Director, and Producer Frank Fazzio

Sabor Ártico: Latinos en Alaska (Arctic Flavor: Latinos in Alaska)

Yes! There are Latinos in Alaska, Sabor Ártico: Latinos en Alaska (Arctic Favor: Latinos in Alaska) is a short documentary by Indra Arriaga Delgado. The film provides a unique narrative about the evolving identity of the Latino community in Alaska. As the population of Latinos in Alaska grows, so does their influence. Alaska is remote and isolated; the arctic environment is extreme, not only in temperatures and light but also in access to foods and opportunities to travel out. As new generations of Latinos are born in Alaska, they must forge a new identity shaped by family roots and the arctic challenges. The film features a series of interviews on food and culture.

Maya Land: Listening to the Bees

Maya Land: Listening to the Bees tells the story of the conflict that erupted between Maya beekeepers and the Mexican government in 2011, fomented by the planting of genetically modified soy in the Yucatan peninsula. The film focuses on the role that Mayas’ pre-colonial and ongoing relationship with the bees and the bees themselves had in this conflict and how in the end the struggle has transformed thinking about development in the region.

Sister

Yu-ting, a 16-year-old high school student, came home to find a sister of her age. In fact, the “sister” was her cousin from Vietnam, her mother’s hometown. Her uncle had broken his leg, so her mother promised to get the underage girl to work in Taiwan in the name of her adopted daughter. Was Yu-lan her sister or a migrant worker? At first, Yu-ting didn’t know what to do, but then they became best friends to share what was on their minds. However, her family got so fond of Yu-lan, and even her boyfriend fell in love with her. Yu-ting thought that the fake sister stole her life. She couldn’t help but deny the equality of them and report to the police that Yu-lan was an illegal migrant worker...

Farm to Families

One in four families with children in the United States is struggling to put food on the table. COVID-19 increased this number. Restaurants and other markets for food closed, initially hurting farmers. Farm to Families tells the story of the creative collaboration between Rogue Valley Farm 2School, Fry Family Farm, local schools and community volunteers- joining forces to feed families in Southern Oregon's Rogue Valley.

Q Guy

January 6th. QAnon. How is a common man drawn into a movement considered by half the nation as lunatic fringe, and by the other half an extension of the American ideals of freedom and diligence to protect those freedoms? Duke Riley, a West Texan veteran, returns from his participation in the Capitol riot, questioning whether his is a patriot, a traitor, or a puppet. As he is holed up against the FBI coming to arrest him, he leaves his final manifesto, a reckoning of the price he has paid for his allegiance.

TRIBU

TRIBE

Ruben and Gio have been recently adopted by Evelyn and Memo. The four of them try to create a home where the past, the bad and good memories, and the dreams in common for the future blend all together.

Shopping Cart People

Log Line: Through a series of interviews with the homeless and their advocates, a filmmaker strives to raise awareness about critical issues involving the unhoused, their need of shopping carts, and the injustice surrounding their criminalization. Short Synopsis: Shopping Cart People presents an unflinching exploration of people living in today’s world as homeless and those advocating for them. Stories are told, lives are shared, as a filmmaker delves into a community’s efforts to help those without a voice and protect their belongings. You’ll see interviews with community members and activists as they grapple with this controversial issue.

The Renegade Legacy of Bleecker and MacDougal

Scenes of ground-breaking subversive poetry, radical music and activism that started more than 50 years ago in small cafes in New York City and went on to help change the political and social nature of the US. are interwoven with current - and important - scenes of today's contemporary poets, protest singers, and activists who are using their work for social change. Filled with appearances of iconic legends, this documentary celebrates creativity, protest, and original ways to fight conformity.

This Mortal Plastik

A personal dive into the world’s most impersonal substance: plastics. Amid the lockdown, a bereaved mother unfolds a surprising journey within and across oceans to understand the contemporary landscape of single-use synthetics. From the noble intentions behind its invention to scales of havoc it has wrought, this experimental documentary brings together art, history, science, and the everyday. Playfully crafted with hand-drawn illustrations and poetic interludes, this evocative “pause between deep time and no time” will change how you think about this ordinary “thing without thingness.”

Unlocking the Doors of Opportunity

Unlocking the Doors of Opportunity / The Rosenwald Schools of North Carolina Thanks to Jim Crow, North Carolina ignored its constitutional responsibility and woefully underfunded schools for African American children in the early 20th century. A scheme hatched by Booker T. Washington, the nation's best-known Black educator, and Julius Rosenwald, a Jewish philanthropist and president of Sears, Roebuck, helped break Jim Crow's grip on school funding practices. As a result, nearly 800 schools for Black children were built in the Tar Heel State, mostly in rural areas. Nearly 5,000 Rosenwald Schools were constructed in 15 states, mainly in the South. Rosenwald Schools changed the fortunes of hundreds of thousands of African American youth, including some of North Carolina's most famous Black citizens.

The Fellowship

This is the story of a small group of college students at a small private college who are forced to confront their own privilege when they compete against each other for a college fellowship. Their desire to win the Fellowship and beat out the competition brings out another side of them which forever alters their relationship with one another, and with themselves.

CROSSING THE BLUE

Anoush, an emigrant, who fled post-soviet Armenia from her abusive husband, is facing eventual deportation years later...

Maka

Maka is a documentary about Geneviève Makaping, a Cameroonian-Italian anthropologist, writer and the first Black woman news anchor on Italian television, as well as the first Black woman to be named the director of a newspaper in Italy. The film offers a detailed account of Makaping’s perilous journey of migration from Cameroon across the desert and the ocean, her arrival in Italy in 1982 following the tragic death of her partner, her success as a journalist and television host, and her more recent relocation and current teaching job in Mantua. Maka focuses on questions of national belonging, and it reflects on how the perception of migration and race has changed since Makaping first came to Italy in the 1990s. Questions of identity and national belonging are also addressed by the reflections of the director, a son of Moroccan parents who grew up in Lombardy. The making of the film was also influenced by the anthropological research method defined by Makaping in her landmark text Reversing the Gaze. What if You Were the Other? (2001), Maka interrogates how our perception of Italy today changes when viewed from the perspective of a Black woman.

Ruth & Safiya

Ruth & Safiya is a story about friendships in unlikely places, challenging stereotypes, and the power of community. Ruth, an isolated pensioner, meets Safiya, a teenage Syrian refugee who is haunted by the life she fled from. Filmed on location in Skipton, the story is set in an allotment, showing the power of the earth and nature in creating a bond that transcends age, race and nationality.

Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories

In this short documentary, Gen Z'ers from around the globe talk about how climate change affects their mental health, life choices, & their visions for the future. The Gen Z'ers featured in this documentary are climate ambassadors in their community, fighting against the government for their rights and finding joy through community action. They deal with the duality of feeling young and sometimes powerless, whilst being empowered by community action and the chance for real change. These young people share about their tools for emotional resilience in the face of climate change and the power of stories to deal with climate anxiety.

We Will Not Be Silent

This documentary film follows 8 students as they work toward perfecting a message for the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Youth Rally and March. 5th grade students and their families confront the racist history of the United States and find their voices to share with the world.

WOMEN ON FEBA ( Forward Edge of Battle Area )

Her husband's family are very happy because of their bride's pregnancy after 13 years. But the woman who is a volunteer nurse in the war ( Iran - Iraq war ;1980- 1988)، has been raped during this war.