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Social Justice Cinema

World Cinema Documentary competition at Sundance

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 01/22/2019 CinéEqual

A look at the docs competing in the World Cinema selection at Sundance 2019, with topics including the impeachment of former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, and a family fleeing the Taliban. Advocate (Isr-Can-Switz) Dirs. Rachel Leah Jones, Philippe Bellaiche Advocate profiles veteran Israeli human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she defends a minor accused of attempted murder, and reflects on a past case in which she defended her activist husband from a charge of treason against the state. Co-director Jones previously played in Sundance’s World Cinema Documentary competition with her 2012 film Gypsy Davy, on which Bellaiche — here making his…

BIRDS OF PASSAGE (2018) – Oscars Shortlist – Review

By Hamidreza Nassiri on 01/21/2019 CinéEqual, Videos

Two women of different generations are involved in a traditional ceremony, preparing the younger woman for something. This is how Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano) starts—Colombia’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film in Oscar that has made it to the shortlist. Soon, we find out that the young woman (Zaida) has officially become a woman and her mother (Úrsula) is making her ready for the announcement and taking a man. Rapayet, from another family, asks for her hand, but two issues work as barriers for him: one, his family, that is considered lower than Zaida’s, and second, money, to…

If Beale Street Could Talk composer on diversity in Hollywood

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 01/10/2019 CinéEqual

The Bafta-nominated composer of If Beale Street Could Talk said the growing diversity in Hollywood “is one of the most powerful and exciting things that’s happening in film today”. Nicholas Britell wrote the score for Barry Jenkins’s drama, which tells the story of a young African American mother-to-be desperately trying to clear her partner’s name after he is wrongly charged. On Tuesday, Britell was nominated for a Bafta for best original music for his work on the film, in a category also containing Spike Lee’s white supremacist tale BlacKkKlansman. If Beale Street Could Talk director Barry Jenkins has been nominated for…

Poignant ethnic and social justice movies made by UCLA alumni

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 01/08/2019 CinéEqual

This year, the UCLA Institute of American Cultures and its four ethnic studies centers — American Indian Studies Center, Asian American Studies Center, Ralph J. Bunche Center for African American Studies, and Chicano Studies Research Center — are celebrating five decades of increasing understanding of the changing social and cultural realities in America. The yearlong celebration will open with a film festival on Feb. 1, featuring thought-provoking and entertaining films made by UCLA alumni that tackle cultural and social justice issues from unique perspectives. Q&A sessions with the films’ writers, directors and producers will follow, and participants are welcome to enjoy ethnic food, entertainment…

The 14th Annual Better-Than List

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 01/08/2019 CinéEqual, Videos

It was the most politicized movie year since World War II. Hollywood confused propaganda with entertainment, and film goers were offered little choice between indoctrination and discovery. The only great films were the re-releases of Visconti’s 1973 Ludwig and Cocteau’s 1949 Les Parents Terribles, beacons from a more stable past. The Visconti was visually lavish and psychologically penetrating, an empathic look at the Bavarian King whose personal aspirations contrasted the political dictates of his social position — a surprisingly timely epic about private ethics. The Cocteau, an ingenious domestic farce, traced the young generation’s foundering to the selfish folly of its immediate forebears…

Mikko Makela talks about A MOMENT IN THE REEDS

By Bijan Tehrani on 12/10/2018 CinéEqual, Videos

In A MOMENT IN THE REEDS, having moved to Paris for university, Leevi returns to his native Finland for the summer to help his estranged father renovate the family lake house so it can be sold. Tareq, a recent asylum seeker from Syria, has been hired to help with the work, and when Leevi’s father must return to town on business, the two young men fall in love and spend a few days discovering one another during the Finnish midsummer. The following is Cinema Without Borders interview with Mikko Makela, director of A MOMENT IN THE REEDS. Mikko Makela is…

Daniel Sawka talks about the ICEBOX (Dec 7th on HBO)

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 12/06/2018 CinéEqual, Videos

ICEBOX, a HBO film, written and directed by Daniel Sawka will be aired on Friday December 7th at HBO. ICEBOX tells the story of Óscar, played by Anthony Gonzalez (“Coco”), a 12-year-old Honduran boy who is forced to flee his home and seek asylum in the United States, only to find himself trapped in the U.S. immigration system. At Cinema Without Borders, we had the opportunity of interviewing Daniel Sawka on camera about making of the ICEBOX. https://vimeo.com/304885244 “I have seldom seen a movie so of the moment – it’s almost reportage,” said Amato. “ICEBOX gives viewers not only an opportunity…

Four films offering four different approaches to #BlackLivesMatter

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 12/03/2018 CinéEqual, Videos

Give or take, it’s been about five to six years since #BlackLivesMatter became a thing on social media. By most accounts, the use of that hashtag began after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the shooting death of African-American teenager Trayvon Martin. The deaths of Michael Brown (which led to protests and unrest in Ferguson) and Eric Garner in New York City and the street demonstrations that followed made the movement known all over the US and of course around the globe as well. Surely it’s an extension or a new mutation/update of the Civil Rights movement, with a little bit…

Can Sci-fi Movies Help Us Avoid Technological Disaster?

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 11/17/2018 CinéEqual, Videos

Science fiction (sci-fi) has served as both an ethical and moral gauge of human scientific endeavors since at least Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein in literature and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in film. A number of books have looked at how science is portrayed in the movies with all of them bringing a unique perspective to the issue (in fact, IEEE Spectrum’s own Stephen Cass coauthored such a book just last year). Now, a new book written by one of the preeminent experts on how to recognize and prevent risks in emerging technologies brings a new perspective to the topic, and asks: Can we use sci-fi films as a road…

Angelena Bonet Wins Two Awards for Angelena: Heart Of The Matter

By World Cinema Reports' Editors on 11/16/2018 CinéEqual, Videos

Angelena Bonet, founder and CEO of her companies Crystal Heart Productions and Crystal Heart Records, has won another two prestigious Awards of Recognition from the IndieFEST Film Awards. One award was given for Bonet’s biopic sequel documentary feature film “Angelena: Heart Of The Matter” in the Liberation/Social Justice/Protest category and Best Music Video for “Break The Chain.” “Angelena: Heart Of The Matter” (“A Time Of A Revolution”) is the second documentary feature film in her trilogy series. Continuing on from where “Angelena: Change The World” (A True Story) left off, Australian-born Bonet interviews high profile women’s rights leaders around the world such as President Obama’s Women’s Equality…

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Latest Stories
- 01/22/2019 0
  World Cinema Documentary competition at Sundance
- 01/21/2019 0
  BIRDS OF PASSAGE (2018) – Oscars Shortlist – Review
- 01/18/2019 0
  Scandinavian Film Festival L.A on January 19th & 20th
- 01/16/2019 0
  MUBI’s Tribute to Winter’s Premiere Film Festivals
Bridging The Border Award

At a time when physical, religious, racial, cultural, and economic borders divide the population of our planet, efforts to bridge those borders should be appreciated. In that spirit, Cinema Without Borders presents Bridging the Borders Award to the films that are most successful in bridging and connecting the people of
CineEqual

CinéEqual represents filmmakers, institutions, and community members with a focus on social justice cinema. As an integrated unit of CWB, it promotes a diverse, inclusive, and equitable democratic society that values the worth of all humans. The purpose is to educate our audience about concepts, theories, and methods related to social justice and to integrate ethical practices for solving social inequities through our online networks and resources.