international

international


The following films from the multiple Media That Matters Film Festival collections explore the issue of international. For even more films on this issue, visit MediaRights.org.

(Hate) Machine


Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

A Girl Named Kai


Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

A Loud Color


Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

A Nomad’s Life


Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Ashray


Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Bread


Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

Day Job

Sara Hopman
Filmmaker Sara Hopman

From the beginning, filmmaking and positive social change have always gone hand-in-hand for me. After working with non-profit organizations such as Environment California, the Human Rights Campaign, and CalPIRG, I was further inspired to use my strengths in filmmaking to help facilitate progress in our communities. In October of 2009, I had the opportunity to create a film that could make such an impact—Day Job.

We’ve all seen day laborers standing and waiting in public places, but most of us pass by without thinking twice. I wanted to discover the story behind these workers—who are they and what are their lives like? This is a current, pressing issue, commonly ignored by the media; this is a group of people with little to no voice in our society; this is happening right now, in my city, and many cities across the country.

During the making of my film, I found Faye, a temporary employer of laborers. She has an extraordinary perspective that I felt I had to share with the world. With the help of four translators, which included two crewmembers, I was able to record the images and voices of a shunned community, for all the world to see.


Official selection of the Tenth Annual Media That Matters

E-Waste


Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Exiled in America


Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Hammoudi


Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Holla Back Dubai!


Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

I Promise Africa


Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

In the Morning


Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

In Transit


Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

iThemba


Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Novela, Novela


Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Power Up


Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Rapping at Fear


Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Apollos


Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Countdown


Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

The Last Town

Yan Chun Su
Filmmaker Yan Chun Su

In order to complete the Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric project in China, a total of sixteen historical towns, some with more than 2000 years of history had to be flooded. Kai Xian was the last of the 16 towns. Filmed in Kai Xian shortly before the final relocation, The Last Town is a portrait of the town and its residents as they ready (or not) themselves for the big move.

Facing widespread land disputes and unfair relocation assignment, many of the unprivileged residents had to deal with the hardship of not only leaving their homeland behind, but also how to make a decent living afterward. Dust-filled streets and crumbled houses provided the backdrop for stories of ordinary residents dealing with the uncertainty ahead.

I felt compelled to see what old Kai Xian looked like after I found out it was the last old town to be flooded for the Three Gorges Dam Project. What I saw was quite surreal. People burning door frames, window frames on the street, metal salvagers picking on piles of rubble, and the almost eerie contrast between ordinary, everyday activities and the fact that people there were going through a historical time—they were the witnesses and also part of a town’s more than one thousand years of history about to be flooded forever.

The residents still struggling to make the move discovered me very quickly on the street and I was able to record this small glimpse of their lives. It is hopeful that by having their voices recorded, their stories and situations could weigh in on future developments with such profound human impacts.
Old Kai Xian town was completely flooded in 2009. Corruption is still widespread.

Many people are struggling in the new city. In order to rake in as much profit as possible, contractors appointed by local government constructed sub-standard housing and immigrants with little financial and political backing were more likely to be assigned to live in those buildings. 


Official selection of the Tenth Annual Media That Matters

The Next Wave


Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Vision Test


Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

We Were Humans


Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

World On Fire


Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

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— Elizabeth Miller, Director of Novela, Novela

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