(Hate) Machine

More About (Hate) Machine from Director Phil Caron The concept for (Hate) Machine came out of the…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal

More About African Underground: Hip Hop in Senegal from Director Ben Herson I was inspired to make…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

All That I Can Be

William, like many young Americans, feels that joining the military is his only way out of a dead-end job and a rough life.

America for Dummies

More About America for Dummies from Director Niaz Mosharraf Witnessing and experiencing the apathy and ignorance of…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Aquafinito

Filmmaker
Annalise Littman

In high school, I was a member and co-president of WaterAid International, a club dedicated to educating people about the world water crisis and fundraising for water infrastructure projects in developing countries.

I attended a talk given by Deborah Lapidus of Corporate Accountability International (CAI) with my club and learned about the environmental and human rights problems associated with bottled water. I was in a teen film program at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the time. I was so blown away by Deborah’s talk that I decided to make a documentary about bottled water for my class project in the hopes that I could educate other people about what I had learned.

Deborah agreed to my filming her at a workshop she was giving, where I met Tina Clarke, Campaign Director for Massachusetts Clean Water Action. Tina agreed to be interviewed about corporation efforts to extract water for bottling purposes in Massachusetts.

I was invited by CAI to film a “Think Outside the Bottle” action at a Coke shareholders’ meeting in Wilmington, Delaware. I also interviewed someone from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, who spoke about the high quality of Massachusetts tap water.

My film addresses the prevalence of bottled water, reasons people buy it and the environmental and social costs associated with it. Many people told me that they plan to stop drinking bottled water after seeing the film. Other people have either continued to drink bottled water or only stopped temporarily.

Argentina Turning Around

More About Argentina Turning Around from Director Melissa Young In the 1990s, Argentina embraced globalization. Instead of…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Ashray

More About Ashray from Director Ambika Samartha Ashray, one of the project organizations that makes up the…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Battleground Minnesota

More About Battleground Minnesota from Director Gabriel Cheifetz Chris, Glenn, and I had worked together before on…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

Bush for Peace

More About Bush for Peace One night when co-directors Sarah Christman and Jen Simmons were sitting around…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

By-Standing: The Beginning of an American Lifetime

More About By-Standing: The Beginning of an American Lifetime from Director Karen Lin By-Standing is the collision…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Day of Remembrance

More About Day of Remembrance from Director Cynthia Fujikawa Day of Remembrance is a short documentary that…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Denied

Filmmaker
Julie Winokur

When I met Sheila Wessenberg, she was living the American nightmare.

She had a potentially fatal illness, but because she was uninsured her life seemed expendable.

She said to me, “There is no reason why anyone should be shoved into homelessness and helplessness just to live.” She was referring to the fact that she could only get publicly funded health care if she gave up her home and her car. In the meantime, her doctor had abandoned her and she had already gone seven months with no chemotherapy.

I was so horrified by the real-life cost of poor public policy that I became obsessed with all the ‘Sheilas’ whose lives were on the line. I realized Sheila could be any one of us—could even be me. I wanted to shout from the highest rafter that she was being dealt one of the greatest injustices I had witnessed in the 20 years I’d been a journalist. 

We first published Shelia’s story in The New York Times Magazine. Readers were so shocked by her suffering that they donated over $50,000 in order to help the family stay afloat. Next, we published Sheila’s story in a book and exhibition called Denied, which was shared on Capitol Hill and toured to state capitols across the country.

But our work wasn’t done because U.S. health care policy hadn’t budged an inch. We decided we had to tell Sheila’s story in film so even more people could see the shocking truth. Considering the raging debate on health care reform in Washington now, inclusion in the Media That Matters Film Festival couldn’t be more relevant or more urgent.

Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty

Esmeraldas: Petroleum and Poverty was directed by Joshua Holst, a life-long student of the environment and human…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Exiled in America

More about Exiled in America from Director Angela Torres Camarena Exiled in America explores immigration United States,…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Eyes on the Fair Use of the Prize

More About Eyes On The Fair Use Of The Prize from Director/Producer Jacob Caggiano Eyes On The…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

Face to Face: Stories from the Aftermath of Infamy

Face to Face, produced by Rob Mikuriya, connects the experiences of Japanese-Americans in the early 1940s with…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Hammoudi

More About Hammoudi from Producer Tima Khalil I first read an article on Mohammad’s story in a…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Holla Back Dubai!

Founded in 1991, Global Action Project empowers youth to become agents of change by making powerful, thought-provoking…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

How Wal-Mart Came to Haslett

More About How Wal-Mart Came To Haslett from Director and Producer Meerkat Media Collective In the fall…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

I Am Sean Bell

Filmmaker Stacey Muhammad

I’ve loved film for as long as I can remember. Initially, screenwriting was my interest; however, I wanted to see my ideas come to life beyond the writing. This led to a desire to acquire the skills needed to actually produce my own projects. So, I embarked upon the journey of studying and learning as much about the filmmaking process as I possibly could by attending film school, workshops, and anything else I could find.

First and foremost, I consider myself an activist, so I’m drawn to human issues and subjects that enlighten and uplift humanity while challenging us to examine our ideals and issues on this planet. I’ve always been drawn to documentary filmmaking, particularly as an activist. It’s a powerful way to communicate with an audience.
When I chose to do the Sean Bell film, I was extremely disturbed by the verdict and wanted to hear from the children, particularly young black boys, about their thoughts, fears and concerns regarding violence against black men. Most of the topics that interest me are those that give a voice to those often unheard populations of people, who indeed have stories to tell and victories to celebrate.

One thing that I’ve learned is that life is what it is—meaning, everything we do and experience is connected. Often, we try to compartmentalize our lives and deal with different aspects of our experience (be it our personal lives, our career, etc.). Filmmaking, for me, is a spiritual process and journey. I’ve been prepared through life experiences, for each and every topic I choose to explore.

So, my advice to any aspiring filmmaker would be to live your life with integrity, take care of yourself, learn as much about your craft as possible, commit to creating the life you desire and expect the universe to grant you everything you ask.

In Transit

More About In Transit from Directors and Producers Bent Jorgen Perlmutt, Nelson Walker III and Louis Abelman…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

Isa’s Final Draft

Global Action Project

The Youth Breaking Borders producers chose to focus on this issue because it directly impacts the majority of the group as well as many youth in the Immigrant community. By choosing to focus on the personal journey of a young undocumented woman, the youth producers highlighted both the interpersonal (an immigrant parent who doesn’t understand the institutional challenges that their child face) and institutional (the young person’s struggles with a system that blocks her from rights to an education) challenges that disempower their community. The filmmakers wanted to portray these struggles but also shed light on how the road to organizing starts with personal empowerment.

Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo

Filmmaker Joel Engardio

The American Civil Liberties Union wanted to use audio recordings to preserve the testimonials of five former Guantánamo detainees who had been held and released by the Bush administration without charge. I suggested that it would be more powerful to interview the men on video and produce a short film that wove their stories together into one narrative arch. This was a more accessible and compelling way to share the experiences with a wide audience.

Former Guantánamo detainees are usually painted as one-dimensional caricatures and we rarely get to know them as people. What were their lives like before Guantánamo? What are they doing now to start over? What are their hopes, dreams and fears? What kinds of personalities do they have? By using video and the art of story telling, I hope viewers might have more reason to care about the important issues that surround indefinite detention once they realize what they have in common with the subjects of the film as fellow human beings.

I used sparse narration and avoided talking head commentary by lawyers and advocates. I felt it would be more effective to simply let the men speak for themselves. The purpose of the video was to provide an emotional connection to the issues by focusing only on the personal stories of the men involved. A web link appears at the end of the film for inspired audiences who want to investigate and learn more about things like rule of law and how to stay both safe and free in a troubled world.

La Hoja

More about La Hoja from Director Gabrielle Weiss I was approached by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Laptop

More About Laptop from Producer Public Interest In Spring 2000, President Clinton announced a new televised campaign…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

Locusts

More about Locusts from Producer and Performer Invincible Finale and I spent several years developing the song…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Lone Wolf

More about Lone Wolf from Jason Sussberg On July 8, 2005, blogger and activist Josh Wolf filmed…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Looking Back

More about Looking Back from Director Emile Bokaer I learned about Albert Lewis while reading a newspaper…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Massacre at Murambi

More About Massacre at Murambi from Director & Producer Sam Kauffmann During the genocide in Rwanda in…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Night Visions

More About Night Visions from Director Kathy Huang Since September 11, 2001, over a million Americans have…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

No Child

More About No Child from Director Gabe Cheifetz No Child was a difficult piece to make.  We…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

No Escape, Prison Rape

The first federal bill to stop prison rape, the Prison Rape Reduction Act of 2002, was introduced…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Permission

More About Permission from Producer Public Interest In 2004, MTV invited Public Interest to create 6 spots…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

Perversion of Justice

More About Perversion of Justice from Director Melissa Mummert I worked as a chaplain intern at a…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Pizza Surveillance Feature

More About Pizza Surveillance Feature from the American Civil Liberties Union Based loosely on an Internet joke,…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

Power Up

More About Power Up from Director & Producer Sverre Fredriksen Power Up is an animated short film…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Rapping at Fear

More About Rapping At Fear from Producer Listen Up! Beyond Borders: Personal Stories from a Small Planet…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Recycle

More About Recycle from Directors and Producers Vasco Lucas Nunes and Ondi Timoner Recycle is a portrait…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border

More About Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border from Producer WITNESS Rights on the Line:…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Something Other Than Other

More About Something Other Than Other from Director Jerry A. Henry Andrea and I started to film…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

Something’s Moving

More About Something’s Moving from Director Randy Vasquez Imagine being taken from your family before the age…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

Sonic Memorial Project

Shortly after September 11, 2001, NPR’s Lost & Found Sound brought together radio producers, artists, historians, archivists,…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Sovereign Nation / Sovereign Neighbor

More About Sovereign Nation/Sovereign Neighbor from Director and Producer Kendall Moore Sovereign Nation/Sovereign Neighbor explores the word…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Spring in Awe

More About Spring in Awe from Director Martina Radwan My story behind the film is very simple…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Still Standing

More About Still Standing from Producer EVC Youth Organizers Television (YO-TV) In December 2005, the EVC Youth…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

System Failure

More About System Failure from Producer WITNESS Juvenile justice in California is a national embarrassment, a statewide…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

The Apollos

More About The Apollos from Director Nick Parker My role in the making of The Apollos was…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Children of Birmingham

More About The Children of Birmingham from Kids on the Hill The Children of Birmingham is an…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

The Countdown

More About The Countdown from Director Rene Dongo The Countdown is a collaboration that had been in…
Official selection of the Eighth Annual Festival

The Farm Sanctuary

More About The Farm Sanctuary from Producer Fly Up Media The Farm Sanctuary is the nation’s leading…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Final Frontier: Explorers or Warriors?

More About The Final Frontier: Explorers or Warriors? from Filmmakers Stephen Sotor & Trace Gaynor On January…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Last Town

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. 

The Luckiest Nut In The World

More About The Luckiest Nut in the World from Director Emily James I had been reading a…
Official selection of the Media That Matters: Good Food

The News Is What We Make It

More About The News Is What We Make It from Director Nickey Robare As a second-year student…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival

The Rules of the Game

More About The Rules of the Game from Directors and Producers Garance Burke and Monica Lam Garance…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

The Secret Life of Paper

More about The Secret Life of Paper from Inform Inc. Americans consume more paper than anyone else…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

The Sixth Section

More About The Sixth Section from Director Alex Rivera I grew up in a strange immigrant household.…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Uninsured in the Mississippi Delta

Filmmaker
Katie Falkenberg

At a time when the health care debate is at the forefront of the political agenda, Uninsured in the Mississippi Delta puts a human face on the struggles of the 46 million Americans surviving without health care.

The Mississippi Delta is one of the most impoverished and uninsured regions of the United States. The area also has soaring rates for diabetes, hypertension and stroke, and some of the highest mortality rates and lowest birth rates in the nation. The town of Greenville, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta, has, on a per-capita basis, the highest number of uninsured households in the country. Contributing factors to this statistic include high unemployment rates, poverty,  business owners who cannot afford health insurance for their workers, and agricultural jobs that are often only seasonal. Those who have jobs that pay minimum wage cannot afford health insurance on their own.

Howard Moncrief and Edward Smith are among those living in the Delta struggling without health insurance. Both of these men, putting the needs of their children and families before their own, have gone without vital health care and medicines. They simply could not afford them.

Inspiration
I had been following the debate on the health care bill in Congress, and was moved by the stories I had heard from those who were struggling without insurance while working on a photo and video project about a Remote Area Medical (RAM) free health care clinic in Appalachia the year before. I knew that this year, with the health care issue being at the forefront of this administration’s agenda, I wanted to tell another story to put a human face with the statistics being talked about so frequently in the Capitol and on the news.

When I heard that 34% of the households in the impoverished Delta town of Greenville, Mississippi were living without health insurance, I knew that this was a story that needed to be told. As I began researching the story, I learned that the problem wasn’t just concentrated in Greenville; it extended throughout the entire Mississippi Delta region into the rural areas where poverty was rampant and there were few jobs.

Many of the folks who are patients at the two health care clinics I spent time in for this film—the Good Samaritan Health Clinic in Greenville, and the Tutwiler Clinic in Tutwiler—would go without the most basic and vital care if these clinics did not exist. This was a driving force behind my inspiration for this film: that, because of the cost of health care and insurance, people would have to go without the care they desperately need, were it not for these clinics.

Furthermore, it is not only the people in the Delta; it is the 46 million other Americans throughout the country.

Vision Test

Wes Kim is the writer/director of Vision Test as well as co-director of the Seattle-based AIVF Salon,…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Water Warriors

More About Water Warriors from Director and Producer Liz Miller Water is quickly becoming the liquid gold…
Official selection of the Media That Matters: Good Food

Why Do White People Have Black Spots?

More about More about Why Do White People Have Black Spots? from Anya Kandel This film is…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

World On Fire

A Message from Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan wrote us this message about her music video and participation…
Official selection of the Fifth Annual Festival