Social Justice Film Festival opened tonight at Seattle and will run until October 15th.
Justice in Immigration – Undeterred
October 5 @ 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm
If hope is a discipline and democracy our foundation, we must face the inhumanity of separating families and dehumanizing communities. Join us for discussion and films documenting the changing lines that demarcate identity, immigration, and institutions. Centered around feature film Undeterred, this evening is about how Hope and Democracy transcend borders.
Undeterred is a documentary about community resistance in the rural border town of Arivaca, Arizona. Since the creation of NAFTA, 9/11 and through the Obama and Trump administrations, border residents have been on the front-lines of the humanitarian crisis caused by increased border enforcement. Undeterred is an intimate and unique portrait of how residents in a small rural community, caught in the cross-hairs of global geo-political forces, have mobilized to demand our rights and to provide aid to injured, often-times dying migrants funneled across a wilderness desert.
Sponsored by the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project.
(Eva Lewis, USA, 79 min)
General Admission: $15 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $10 | BUY TICKETS
Screens With:
Mi Migración
Nature neither sees nor creates borders — only man does; and just as butterflies journey from area to area — so does man. An animation based on a true story.
(Aileen Candelerio, USA, 5 min)
Little Rebel
Little Rebel is a humanizing response to the Muslim travel ban. From Isatou’s Gambian origins to pursuing asylum, education and advocacy work — witness the resilience of an immigrant’s story.
(Aimie Vallat and Guido Ronge, USA, 9 min)
Irregular Borders
Each day, people flee the U.S. to seek asylum in Canada. Janet and Wendy make sure these individuals have all that they will need for their journey: hats, gloves, and compassion.
(Michael C. Hansen, USA, 7 min)
Circle Up/Mayor of Graterford
October 6 @ 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm
After the brutal slaying of her teenage son, Janet Connors reaches out to her son’s killer to offer a chance at forgiveness. They team up with a group of mothers of murdered children to help young people in their community break the chain of violence and revenge. Circle Up is a call to action for reframing approaches to crime and punishment through the lens of restorative justice, forgiveness, and accountability. (Julie Mallozzi, USA, 69 min)
Stay after the screenings for a special post-film discussion about restorative justice with Rais Bhuiyan of World Without Hate.
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens With:
A Boy from Yemen
Asem, a 10-year-old refugee who escaped the brutal violence in Yemen, reminisces about witnessing the horrors of daily bombings, recounts his journey to America, and shares his hopes for the future.
(Dustin Connors, USA, 3 min)
The Mayor of Graterford
In Pennsylvania, a life sentence comes without the option of parole. Follow the story of one prior ‘lifer’ who is bringing to light the plight of elderly inmates and revealing the injustice of a system that doesn’t give transformed individuals a second chance.
(Jack McCarthy, USA, 40 min)
Truth to Power: Unapologetically Black Voices in Civic Leadership
October 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm
Witness local and nationwide history being made through the story of one man—Seattle Black Panther captain, Aaron Dixon—and the enduring legacy of Black Power.
Join us for the documentary My People Are Rising and short film Sincerely, The Black Kids. Stay to discuss the impact of Seattle’s Black Panther Party on its 50th anniversary and the institutional challenges that black student leaders face on mostly white college campuses today. Speakers include Aaron Dixon, founder of Seattle’s Black Panther party at age 19; community leader and educator Omari Amili; and Tony Benton, Station Manager for RainierAvenueRadio.World.
(Rafael Flores, USA, 60 min)
Sponsored by the Northwest African American Museum
General Admission: $15 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $10 | BUY TICKETS
Screens with:
Sincerely, the Black Kids
Follow the stories of black student leaders from colleges around the country that are becoming battlegrounds for racial politics and agendas. Sometimes, they say, it IS because you’re black.
(Miles Iton, USA, 35 min)
The Guardians
October 7 @ 4:00 pm – 6:15 pm
When Rudy and Rennie North retired in Las Vegas, the couple looked forward to their golden years in their own home. They didn’t expect a state-appointed guardian to control their life savings and separate them from their daughter. Kidnapped from their home and drugged, they immediately lost their freedom to a stranger.
Director Billie Mintz exposes a shockingly corrupt system, fueled by greed, that has targeted Baby Boomer wealth. His relentless investigation makes him an advocate and ally, following numerous families who are fighting to free their parents and bring justice to those who have abused a vulnerable population. Untangling a web of deceit, it becomes clear there are many more whose voices have been silenced. As an unprecedented portion of the population are about to become senior citizens, the perils of government programs meant to care for the elderly are brought into sharp focus in this unsettling cautionary tale.
(Billie Mintz, Canada, 104 min)
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens With:
We Are the Mass Shooting Generation
Eight teens discuss what it’s like to be part of the “Mass Shooting Generation” and share their thoughts on Parkland, the March for Our Lives, and where to go from here.
(Maggie Budzyna, USA, 4 min)
Dignity of Risk
Prof Joe, a geriatrician, is faced with a difficult decision when he finds that his elderly patient, Mr Jones, can no longer live safely at home.
(Prateek Bandopadhayay, Jeremy Ley, and Joseph Ibrahim, Australia, 15 min)
The Providers
October 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Set against the backdrop of the physician shortage and opioid epidemic in rural America, The Providers follows three healthcare providers in northern New Mexico. They work at El Centro, a group of safety-net clinics that offer care to all who walk through the doors, regardless of ability to pay. Amidst personal struggles that reflect those of their patients, the journeys of the providers unfold as they work to reach rural Americans who would otherwise be left out of the healthcare system. With intimate access, the documentary shows the transformative power of providers’ relationships with marginalized patients.
(Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin, USA, 85 min)
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens with:
Timbo
Construction of dams in the Amazon would severely affect the community of indigenous people. If built, the flood would cause life-threatening toxic plants to dissolve in the water.
(Peiman Zekavat, Brazil/UK, 9 min)
A Ferry Tale
A father and his two autistic children board a ferry one wintry day. Their short journey is filled with disappointments, beauty, and maybe, hope? Based on a true story.
(Mehmet Tığlı, Turkey, 10 min)
Change in the Family
October 11 @ 7:00 pm – 9:15 pm
Director Sam Hampton brings heart to this transgender-transition film with a story of celebration, health, and unconditional love. A much-needed portrayal of biracial trans and gender-nonconforming lives in America, this documentary chronicles the transition of Zo Thorpe and the sympathetic response of his family. But Change in the Family is about so much more than the transition experience; it speaks to the complexity of young adulthood, being a person of color, having a biracial identity, and coming out as trans and gender-nonconforming. Zo’s story provides hope for a time when portraying this type of experience is no longer so unusual.
Presented by TWIST: Seattle Queer Film Festival.
(Sam Hampton, USA 62 min)
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens With:
Outcognito
Fear meets gay desire against a background of sitcom homophobia and jarring personal testimonies. Textured layers of figures move in and out of difficult scenarios, resolving into knowing acceptance.
(Wrik Mead, Canada, 5 min)
Lambeth Lights
Shot in the same London streets where Charlie Chaplin grew up, this homage to his film City Lights finds hope, justice, and community in the least expected places.
(Luca Bertoluzzi, UK, 24 min)
An Act of Terror
The true story of Virginia Christian, a 16-year-old African American girl accused of murder in the Jim Crow South.
(Ashley Paige Brim, USA, 16 min)
My Black Is…
Young women of color set out to redefine what black is to them and, in doing so, reveal the microaggressions and injustice that young women of color face.
(Miguel Valdez & Eunice Beato, USA, 6 min)
Shorts Program: Light in Dark Places
October 12 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
In challenging times, how do we persevere and rekindle hope? Five short films tackle these questions, and more.
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Nevertheless, She Persisted
In this visual poem, a powerful girl shows what she can do when she does not let the world hold her back.
(Ella Warner, USA, 3 min)
Side by Side: Out of a South Korean Orphanage and into the World
In a series of intensely intimate, first-person narratives filmed around the world, Side by Side explores the South Korean adoptee experience through stories of abandonment, relinquishment, and reunification.
(Glenn Morey and Julie Morey, USA, 39 min)
#WeMatter
A television blares the latest stories of police violence against people of color. What is the impact of this growing epidemic?
(Sherrie Quannea, USA, 4 min)
Mexico: Looking for Lost Migrants
Previously undocumented immigrant Ruben Figueroa has a new life goal: to find the missing migrants who have disappeared while fleeing Central America for the USA.
(Leo Mattei and Alex Gohari, France/Mexico, 25 min)
Take Good Care of My Baby
Captivating and poignant, this narrative explores life in poverty — its struggles, triumphs, and friendships — through the story of Eva, an unemployed and in-debt mother of three.
(Nicolas Daenens, Belgium, 33 min)
Food Fighter
October 13 @ 4:00 pm – 6:15 pm
Ronni Kahn used to be a contributor to Australia’s annual $20 billion food waste bill when she ran a successful corporate events company producing million-dollar dinners. Then she realised the absurdity of throwing away perfectly edible food, trading capitalism for social activism by founding OzHarvest, a food rescue charity, in 2004.
Filmed over two years and across four continents, Food Fighter follows Ronni’s crusade against the global food waste scandal as she partners with the United Nations in Bangkok, rubs shoulders with British royalty and crosses swords with Jamie Oliver’s juggernaut in London, and holds big business and the government to account in Australia.
(Dan Goldberg, Australia, 86 min)
Sponsored by Meaningful Movies Project.
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens with:
Same Drum
Young migrants and refugees deliver a musical message about embracing life in a new country while never forgetting your homeland. Made in Australia but for the whole world.
(Poppy van Oorde-Grainger, Australia, 4 min)
Making Waves: Rebirth of the Golden Rule
In 1958, a little boat set sail on a big mission: stop nuclear testing. When the crew was arrested, public outcry sparked a movement. Sixty years later, the Golden Rule sails for peace once again.
(James A. Knight, USA, 24 min)
waałšiʔaƛin (Coming Home)
October 13 @ 7:00 pm – 9:15 pm
Seattle’s Duwamish tribe welcomes you to the Duwamish Longhouse & Cultural Center to view three short films and feature film waałšiʔaƛin (Coming Home), followed by a post-film Q&A. In these films, native voices and film tell the stories of reclaiming identity, land, and dignity. Watch Hope and Democracy in action as native peoples stand together in search of healing and a way home.
waałšiʔaƛin explores the modern story of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, a self-governing nation on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Throughout history, the Huu-ay-aht have survived natural disasters, famine, war and colonial oppression. Told from the perspectives of several generations, this story is about overcoming the devastating effects of colonization, healing and rebuilding their homelands, restoring the connection to their traditional culture, and bringing their people home.
General Admission: $15 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $10 | BUY TICKETS
(Brandon Thompson, Canada, 42 min)
Learn More about the Evening in this Promo:
Screens with:
Honor Riders
The story of the Navajo-Hopi Honor Riders, a Native American motorcycle group, originally founded in 2003 to honor the first Native American women killed in Iraq and helped bring a community and America’s indigenous nations together.
This “broadcast cut” of last year’s feature is a project of the Social Justice Film Institute.
(Ralphina Hernandez, USA, 26 min)
Protect Our Future Daughters
Over the past thirty years, more than one-thousand Indigenous women went missing or were murdered in North America. The Red Dress Project is saying “no more.”
(Maryanne Junta and Helena Lewis, Canada, 6 min)
Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock
For the first time in 150 years, 300 Native Nations unite at Standing Rock to protect Mother Earth against the unlawful pipeline. They lead a peaceful movement of resistance which awakens the world.
(Michele Noble, USA, 23 min)
Go Penguins!
October 14 @ 4:00 pm – 6:15 pm
Go Penguins! is a documentary that follows a theatre troupe’s inspiring journey to produce a Broadway-style musical featuring children and young adults with developmental disabilities in lead and ensemble roles.
The film follows these artists, their peer mentors, parents and theatre professionals as they journey through the intense process of preparing for their big show at the local high school. Artists with disabilities, such as autism, cerebral palsy, and visual impairment, are showcased as they navigate their challenges, gain social confidence, blossom as performers and form lasting friendships with their mentors.
Go Penguins! showcases the importance of the performing arts in creating self-confidence, empowering families, mobilizing a supportive community, and inspiring audiences to see the abilities that shine in everyone.
(Randy Caspersen, USA, 84 min)
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens with:
Alpha Mom
Maggie Winston fights for equal custody of her sons in the face of systemic discrimination against her disability.
(Jordan Melograna, USA, 6 min)
Seeking Shelter: Faith, Place, and Resistance
Seeking Shelter evokes the sanctity of land and the relationship between community and peace-making in this celebration of the lives of Father Daniel Berrigan and William Stringfellow.
(Susan Hagedom, USA, 29 min)
The Turn Out
October 14 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
In a small town in Southern Appalachia, a trucker must decide if he will stand up and take action against sex trafficking at his truckstop. The Turn Out melds the testimony and talents of sex trafficking survivors, anti-trafficking activists, and truckers with the work of film professionals to create a tapestry of moral dilemma and personal connection in the local landscape of Glouster, Ohio, Athens County, and Mineral Wells, West Virginia.
(Pearl Gluck, USA, 77 min)
General Admission: $10 | Senior/Student/Low-Income: $7 | BUY TICKETS
Screens with:
The Sandman
A Georgia doctor and leader of the state’s lethal injection team offers a rare reflection on the contradictory world of medicalized executions.
(Lauren Knapp, USA, 19 min)