Videoteca

Manifest Destiny Jesus 2021
Documentary on gentrification, colonialism, and the way that minorities have been repressed through a lack of representation.

Refuge(e) 2019
Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees, Alpha and Zeferino. Each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in a for-profit prison for months on end without having committed any crime. Thousands more like them can't tell their stories.

Waking Dream 2018
DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) has provided nearly 800,000 undocumented young people a chance to work legally, go to college, start businesses, and pursue the “American Dream.” After DACA is rescinded, Waking Dream follows the unfolding fate of six of these young people as they fight for legal status in the U.S., struggle with the deportation of family members, and pursue their dreams in a country that is trying harder and harder to push them out. They know their fate must go one direction and they are fighting for their future in America.

Under the Same Sky 2017
The Chinese government is sponsoring a national campaign on "equal" education. UNDER THE SAME SKY documents school children in the city as well as the country to compare the two educational experiences. UNDER THE SAME SKY had been nominated for best short documentary at the 2017 Asian Pacific Film Festival, 2017 St. Louis International Film Festival, Long beach indie Film Festival and Los Angeles Chinese Film Festival. It's also been shown and won awards at 15 other film festivals around the world, including the Cannes Short Film Corner and The Impact Docs Awards.

America; I Too 2017 star_border 1
Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

Arc of Justice 2016
ARC OF JUSTICE traces the remarkable journey of New Communities, Inc. and the struggle for racial justice and economic empowerment among African Americans in southwest Georgia.

Rebel Citizen 2015
What began as a video master class evolved into a film about the political documentaries of Oscar-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Comprised of footage from his films as well as interviews, the film is an intimate portrait of the genius behind the camera.

El Cacao: The Challenge of Fair Trade 2015
EL CACAO exposes the dark side of chocolate production in Latin America by examining the economics of Fair Trade from the point of view of the indigenous farmers as they attempt to sustain their community through the growth, harvest, and trade of cacao beans in the global market. This 20-minute documentary film highlights the life of an indigenous Ngabe farmer in Panama and his unconditional devotion to this so-called "superfood." The film threads together the themes of neoliberal ideology, human rights, and the economics of the chocolate industry. While the demand for chocolate in developed nations continues to raise, the farmers in developing countries, like Panama, are rarely awarded the economic incentive promised to them. The film utilizes cinema verite techniques with candid interviews. Most of the film hinges on intimate shots in personal working and living space within a small Ngabe community in the Bocas del Toro region of Panama.

I Was Born in Mexico, But... 2013
A poetic short featuring the voice of an undocumented young Latina woman who was brought to the U.S. as a child. The film introduces viewers to a personal voice on the immigration debate: DACA, the Dream Act, and other immigration reform, speaking about what it's like to grow up and face an uncertain future as a young undocumented person in America.

Gaining Ground: Building Community on Dudley Street 2013
In the midst of the economic meltdown, 'Gaining Ground' explores the innovative, grassroots organizing efforts of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI) in Boston. Over the course of two years, we watch a new generation of leaders working to prevent foreclosures and bring jobs and opportunities for young people to one of the city's most diverse and economically challenged neighborhoods. DSNI was created 25 years ago when the community had been devastated by bank redlining, arson-for-profit, and illegal dumping, and has become one of the preeminent models for community-based change.

Sins Invalid: An Unshamed Claim to Beauty 2013
Sins Invalid witnesses a performance project that incubates and celebrates artists with disabilities, centralizing artists of color and queer and gender-variant artists. Since 2006, its performances have explored themes of sexuality, beauty, and the disabled body, impacting thousands through live performance. Sins Invalid is as an entryway into the absurdly taboo topic of sexuality and disability, manifesting a new paradigm of disability justice.

The Lost Bird Project 2012
A sculptor creates memorials to five extinct North American bird species.

That Which Once Was 2011
In 2032 an eight-year old boy, displaced by global warming, fends for himself as an environmental refugee in a hostile northern metropolis. Haunted by memories of flooding that left him homeless and orphaned, the boy forms an unexpected friendship with an Inuk ice carver who helps him confront his past.

With a Stroke of the Chaveta 2007
WITH A STROKE OF CHAVETA takes viewers into the legendary cigar factories of Cuba to witness the survival of the collective reading of literature while “tabaqueros” roll cigars. We learn how through "la lectura de tabaquería" cigar workers have been entertained, educated, and maintained a sense of class solidarity. Current day cigarmakers tell us they can’t imagine a workplace without their beloved “lectores.

The Collector of Bedford Street 2002 star_border 7
The Collector of Bedford Street is a 2002 documentary film about director Alice Elliott's neighbor, Larry Selman, a community activist and fundraiser who had an intellectual disability. When Larry's primary caregiver becomes unable to care for him, his New York City neighborhood community rallies together to protect his independent lifestyle by establishing an adult trust fund in his behalf. The film was nominated for the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject.

No Loitering 2002
An intimate portrait of teenagers trying to understand their world and their possibilities. The film weaves together video shot by teens and by the filmmaker, as they work together to make a film and create expressive outlets for youth in the community. They organize dances and community events and paint a mural. At the same time, with humor and pathos, these young people raise issues around violence, feeling misunderstood by adults and lacking respect in their community. Set in the small town of Sitka, Alaska, home to a large Alaska Native population, the video chronicles their creativity, concerns and dreams.

Dear Lisa: A Letter to My Sister 1991
The filmmaker questions her sister, herself and others about the dreams and hopes they had growing up as girls in contrast to the reality they face as women.

Finding Our Way 1989
The men in FINDING OUR WAY range in age from twenty-seven to seventy-one and come from a variety of backgrounds: a writer, an insurance agent, a clergyman, and the owner of a dry cleaning store. They are heterosexual, gay, and bisexual. FINDING OUR WAY is a first step toward creating new role models and moving beyond the stereotypes surrounding male sexuality. The program helps men feel less afraid of closeness with other men and encourages both men and women to talk more openly about their sexuality.

Hungry for Profit 1985
Is our food bought at the price of famine in the developing world? Is agribusiness more interested in producing profits than producing food? This PBS independent documentary investigates U.S. and European agribusiness in the Third World. Filmed on five continents, it takes a close look at agribusiness, which is turning the world's food supply into a global supermarket, buying food at the lowest prices-regardless of small farmers and local populations-and selling it at the highest price and the greatest profit whenever possible.

Chris and Bernie 1975 star_border 7
The story of two young single mothers who join forces to make a new kind of family unit for themselves and their children.