A Girl Like Me

Color is more than skin deep for young African-American women struggling to define themselves.

A Loud Color

More About A Loud Color from Producer & Director Brent Joseph I was asked by Tim Ryan…
Official selection of the Eighth 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

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

Bits and Pieces - a short from Jordan

More about Bits and Pieces from filmmakers Jackie Sawiris and Ben Mandell Bits and Pieces is a…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Books Not Bars

More About Books Not Bars from WITNESS Public spending to support increased incarceration is booming while spending…
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

CopWatch

Television audiences have become accustomed to the celebration of ruckus police action via the reality TV show,…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Day Job

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.

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

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

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.

Immersion

More about Immersion from Director Richard Levien Casting was probably the most important part of making Immersion.…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Is My Neighbor Latino?

Is My Neighbor Latino? was produced and directed by Jorge Aguirre and commissioned by Latino Public Broadcasting…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Shades of the Border

Filmmaker Patrick Smith

The racial issues that exist on the island of Hispaniola can hardly be described as “black and white.” Perceptions of race among Haitians and Dominicans have been evolving (or devolving) over several centuries of political, military, and social unrest, and can’t be consolidated into a brief explanation or short documentary. Thus, as a filmmaker from the United States, the intention for the film was not to create all-encompassing viewpoints, both Haitian and Dominican.

The initial idea for the documentary came from the story of an Austin woman who was unable to adopt two abandoned, Dominican-born, black children because their skin color (and lack of documentation) prevented them from getting Dominican citizenship. After some research, it was clear that this wasn’t an isolated incident, but that millions had been denied citizenship (and thus certain human rights), based on how “Haitian” they appeared to be and not based on where they were born.

Faced with the economic burden of providing for an entire population of illegal Haitians crossing the Dominican border, compacted by an already poverty-stricken population of Dominicans, the Dominican Republic strains to find a solution that isn’t “color-based.” Sadly, the peripheral effects of this issue are much more severe, often leading to violence, destruction of homes, inaccessible education, abusive working conditions, and the list goes on.

Shades of the Border explores a commonly-held notion from the Dominican media that race does not lay a role in the conflict, contrasted with an almost completely-inverse working-class opinion that the shade of someone’s skin on the island of Hispaniola speaks volumes about the individual.

Silence Speaks

Silence Speaks provides violence survivors, witnesses, and prevention advocates with the support, skills, and equipment they need…
Official selection of the Third 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

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 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

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

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

Will I Be Next?

More about Will I Be Next? from Director Ralph Rollins Will I Be Next? explores the issue…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival