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7 documentaries selected to screen at Facing Race 2016

  Race Forward has teamed up with Working Films to present Race Flicks, the film track of Facing Race: A National Conference being held in Atlanta, GA from November 10-12, 2016. This year’s Race Flicks program will focus on creating impact with film. And the selected films were choosen in large part because of the way they have been or could be used strategically by activists, organizers, and nonprofits to advance their work for racial justice. Dozens of filmmakers applied for the opportunity to screen their film at Facing Race. Seven were selected. These include: America Divided: The Class Divide by Richard Rowley, Rebecca Teitel and Jesse Williams Actor and former teacher Jesse Williams journeys to St. Petersburg, Florida, notorious for being the unlikely epicenter of the student achievement gap and school-to-prison pipeline. Williams investigates how resegregation has led to a massive educational and criminal justice divide for the students — and witnesses the community’s efforts to confront the school system and close the gap. “The Class Divide” is a segment of the new EPIX original docs-series America Divided, created by Solly Granatstein, Lucian Read and Richard Rowley and executive produced by Norman Lear, Shonda Rhimes and Common, which follows actors and activists as they explore stories of inequality in education, housing, the environment, immigration, health, labor, criminal justice, and the political system.   Breathin': the Eddy Zheng Story by Ben Whang Arrested at 16 and tried as an adult for kidnapping and robbery, Eddy Zheng served over 20 years in California prisons and jails. Ben Wang’s BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY paints an intimate portrait of Eddy—the prisoner, the immigrant, the son, the activist—on his journey to freedom, rehabilitation and redemption. BREATHIN' won the 2016 CAAMFest Audience Award for Documentary Feature.   The Conversation: A series of short films about race in America by Michèle Stephenson, Joe Brewster, Blair Foster, Geeta Gandbhir, Perri Peltz When it comes to race relations in America, there has been no shortage of rhetoric, rage and accusations, but too few attempts have been made to elevate the conversation beyond superficial remarks. Comprised of seven shorts, The Conversation Series avoids a single narrative, with each piece exploring a different facet of societal perceptions that provide honest and surprising insight into the reality of our social systems.   First Light by Adam Mazo & Ben Pender-Cudlip First Light documents the Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the first such task force in US history to investigate issues important to Native Americans. The Commission was dedicated to uncovering and acknowledging the truth about what happened to Wabanaki children and families involved with the state's child welfare system. The commission is one of the first in the world to examine issues of Native child welfare.   Last Day of Freedom by Dee Hibbert-Jones & Nomi Talisman When Bill Babbitt realizes his brother Manny has committed a crime he agonizes over his decision- should he call the police? Last Day of Freedom, a richly animated personal narrative, tells the story of Bill’s decision to stand by his brother in the face of war, crime and capital punishment. The film is a portrait of a man at the nexus of the most pressing social issues of our day – veterans’ care, mental health access and criminal justice   Olympic Pride, American Prejudice by Deborah Riley Draper Olympic Pride, American Prejudice explores the experiences of 18 African American Olympians who defied Jim Crow and Adolf Hitler to win hearts and medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The althetes represented a country that considered them second class citizens and competed in a country that rolled out the red carpet in spite of an undercurrent of Aryan superiority and anti-Semitism. Utilizing the wealth of newsreel material, newspaper articles, photographs, personal interviews and never-before-seen footage the film story shares a vital part of history and is as relevant today as it was almost 80 years ago.   Ovarian Psycos by Joanna Sokolowski and Kate Trumbull-LaValle Riding at night through streets deemed dangerous in Eastside Los Angeles, the Ovarian Psycos use their bicycles to confront the violence in their lives. At the helm of the crew is founder Xela de la X, a single mother and poet M.C. dedicated to recruiting an unapologetic, misfit crew of women of color. The film intimately chronicles Xela as she struggles to strike a balance between her activism and nine year old daughter Yoli; street artist Andi who is estranged from her family and journeys to become a leader within the crew; and bright eyed recruit Evie, who despite poverty, and the concerns of her protective Salvadoran mother, discovers a newfound confidence.    The Facing Race and Working Films team will work with selected filmmakers to create dynamic programming for each film. This will include participation by select filmmakers and characters featured in the documentaries, curated post screening conversations with activists and organizations, and opportunities for audiences to learn how take films back to their communities and use them to incite change.   See the program: https://facingrace.raceforward.org/program/race-flicks

  Community-based organizations across the United States are working to build sustainable local economies, eliminate dependence on dirty energy, and create resilient communities in the face of climate change and economic inequality. The Beloved Community Center is one of them. Based in Greensboro, NC since 1991, the Beloved Community Center is working for a social and economic system that realizes the dignity, worth and potential of every person. This Saturday, we’ll join them at the Peoples Power Party. The gathering will showcase bottom-up solutions to the challenges of environmental racism and pollution. Energized with music and local food, the event will feature workshops, skill shares, and information tables addressing clean energy, coal ash activism, voting rights and registration, DIY energy efficiency, green jobs and economic justice. We'll be hosting a film series at the Peoples Power Party featuring Faith In Solar, Coal Ash Chronicles, Life in The Sacrifice Zone, and The Cooperative Solution. Come watch and talk with the filmmakers and movement makers featured in the stories!  [embed]https://vimeo.com/180222484[/embed] The short video above was produced by Working Films' Campaign Coordinator, Andy Myers. The music is by Cakalak Thunder, a drump corps based in Greensboro.

  The good news: fracking was banned in New York State! The reality: more than 137 natural gas pipelines, compressor stations, frack waste, and storage facilities are proposed, under construction or in operation there. The Sane Energy Project had been keeping tabs on it all. The YOU ARE HERE map let’s residents see the gas and oil network across the state, zoom in on each facility, and find out who’s organizing to stop it. They’ve also recently teamed up with the FracTracker Alliance to begin uploading personal stories about residents’ experiences while living and working near these sites. To get the word out about the map, and raise public awareness of the dirty infrastructure and organizations resisting it, we’re launching the YOU ARE HERE New York film tour. The series features five short documentaries that explain the public health concerns, policies and regulations in play, and community-based solutions. After each screening, audiences can share their own stories which will populate the map. Our partners include Coalition to Protect NY, Fossil Free Tompkins, FracTracker Alliance, Hudson Green Valley, Mothers Out Front, People for a Healthy Environment, Protect Orange County, The Sane Energy Project, Steuben County League of Women Voters, Sustainable Warwick, TriStates Unite for Safe Energy, and We are Seneca Lake. The first screenings will be happening in Elmira, The Finger Lakes, and Orange County: Monday September 19th, 6pm The Steele Memorial Library 101 E Church St. Elmira, NY 14901 Hosted by: Mothers Out Front, People for a Healthy Environment, and Steuben County League of Women Voters. RSVP Here Wednesday, September 21st, 7:00pm The Space at Greenstar 700 W Buffalo St. Ithaca, NY 14850 Hosted by: Coalition to Protect NY, Fossil Free Tompkins, FracTracker Alliance, and We are Seneca Lake. RSVP Here. Thursday, September 29th, 7:00pm Suny Orange (Orange County Community College), Rowley Center Forum Room #010 115 South St. Middletown, NY 10940 Hosted by: Hudson Green Valley, TriStates Unite for Safe Energy, Protect Orange County, and Sustainable Warwick. RSVP Here. FEATURED FILMS: Complete it Cuomo is a gut-wrenching and beautiful tribute to one community in "fracking-banned" Upstate New York that is doing everything it can to stop Fracking Infrastructure from ruining its air, water, land, wildlife, people, and history. By Jill Malouf and Christine MacPherson   Erie Rising, a section from Groundswell Rising follows mothers protecting their families against a health dilemma perpetrated by unregulated industrialization from the fracking boom in Colorado. By Dave Walczak   Bomb Trains on The Hudson showcases the threat of long trains, made up of one hundred-plus black, cylindrical cars, rolling slowly through cities and towns across North America – often within yards of office buildings, hospitals and schools. Few who see them know what these sinister-looking cars carry: A highly flammable mixture of gas and oil from the shale fields of North Dakota. At thirty thousand gallons per car, each of these trains carries more than three million gallons of highly flammable and toxic fuel. By Jon Bowermaster   Ft. Worth, Texas a section from Dear President Obama follows Kyev Tatum of the Harmony Missionary Baptist Church as he discusses how the arrival of the natural gas industry has divided members of his community. By Jon Bowermaster   A Pipeline Runs Through It is a shocking look at the proposed AIM and Pilgrim Pipelines. There are countless unknowns about the safety and future of both projects but one thing is certain: Neither helps provide New Yorkers with gas or oil. Both pipeline projects bring to New York exorbitant risks and deliver absolutely no benefits. By Jon Bowermaster  

Working Films is seeking submissions for a new film and organizing initiative that will showcase stories of just transition and climate resilience.

Individuals and community-based organizations across the United States are working to build sustainable local economies, eliminate dependence on dirty energy, and create resilient communities in the face of climate change and economic inequality. Powerful stories are needed to amplify successes within the just transition and climate resilience movements, demonstrate a clear vision for a sustainable future, and unite people from various backgrounds and geographies to learn from each other's efforts and increase their collective impact.

Just Transition is the long term work of eliminating fossil fuel dependence and building sustainable communities in which economic and social systems are transformed to be equitable and humane. We are seeking documentary media projects that illustrate the principles of just transition and/or that highlight community based efforts that put these principles into action. We are particularly interested in success stories that can serve as example for organizers who are in the beginning stages of this kind of work who may not identify as part of the larger movement. This means that participating projects may touch on a wide range of topics - from food sovereignty, to cooperative economics, to democratizing clean energy, just to name a few. Apply here to be considered for the Just Transition Media Project. We will be compiling a cohort of media projects that will be used in locations around the country. We will consider short, feature length, virtual reality and multi-platform film projects. Screening rights fees will be paid. An emphasis will be placed films that feature personal stories, as well as media made by and about people of color. We will consider works-in-progress if it’s at a strong stage, is reasonably audience-ready, and is short. If you have a work-in- progress, we suggest offering one selection, rather than a full rough cut. Our team and partner organizations will participate in the review process to assess the quality of the filmmaking and storytelling, relevance of issues highlighted, and the extent to which the story presents a catalyst and vision for organizing. We will also pay an honorarium to participating media makers and report out on the use and impact of the media within the project. We anticipate selecting media in early 2017.  

Robeson County, NC is home to the Lumbee Tribe, the largest non-reservation tribe in the country. It’s also the proposed endpoint of a new natural gas pipeline, a dangerous coal ash impoundment, and a proposed chicken processing plant slated to be built at the intersection of three important wetland areas. A new organization, EcoRobeson, was established after an Environmental Summit was held in Pembroke in late 2015. The group, comprised of Lumbee tribal members and concerned residents in the area, is working to resist these destructive plans and re-imagine a future for the region that is both economically just and ecologically sustainable. Working Films and Storyline partnered with EcoRobeson to bring the Water Warriors photo exhibit to the Lumbee Powwow, the Dance of the Spring Moon. Water Warriors documents the native Mi'kmaq Nation in New Brunswick Canada, who resisted attempts by a Texas energy company to drill for natural gas on their land. Our partners at EcoRobeson were eager to use Water Warriors to demonstrate that resistance is possible, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable opposition. The Lumbee Spring Powwow is a gathering where people from Robeson County and other tribes from around the country gather for a traditional native dancing competition. The powwow included traditional Native American food, arts, crafts, singing, music and dance, along with the centerpiece dance and drum competitions.  Over 100 youth, young families, and elders viewed the photos and listened to audio recordings of the captions, learning more about the dangers of fracking and the organizing tactics that can be used to resist it. A few visitors mentioned hearing about the struggle in New Brunswick and said that the Water Warriors’ exhibit better illustrated what they’d seen in the news. Our partners at EcoRobeson, who presented the exhibit, wanted to educate their neighbors about environmental issues in their community and increase their base of active supporters. We encouraged participants to join EcoRobeson and sign a petition opposing the construction of the natural gas pipeline. The pipeline is slated to be built on an elders land that could be taken by eminent domain. The group’s next step will be to hold a public hearing on the proposed plan. All of those who signed up will be invited to participate in the hearing and other upcoming events. EcoRobeson organizers were impressed by the impact Water Warriors had, and are eager to bring bring it back to the Lumbee Homecoming in Summer 2016. We are in conversation about starting an ongoing film series in Robeson County featuring environmental justice themed films.

Just before the second anniversary of the Dan River coal ash spill, the NC Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) held public hearings on basin closures across the state. At the center of the public comment period, and a series of hearings across the state, was determining the priority for closure among the 14 Duke Energy owned coal ash sites. The final rankings will determine both the closure clean-up process and a closure deadline. To inform residents and involve them in the DEQ public comment period, Working Films organized six Coal Ash Stories events in towns and cities where the hearings will be held: Shelby, Goldsboro, Salisbury, Charlotte, Winston Salem, and Walnut Cove. We teamed up with Appalachian Voices, Clean Water for North Carolina and NC Warn to plan the tour. We also partnered with community based partners in each location, including Broad Riverkeeper, French Broad Riverkeeper, Down East Coal Ash Coalition, Yadkin Riverkeeper, Central Piedmont Sierra Club, Catawba Riverkeeper, Temple Emanuel Environmental Movement, and Residents for Coal Ash Cleanup. [caption id="attachment_4253" align="alignnone" width="723"] Katie Hicks, with Clean Water For North Carolina introduces the films in Shelby. Photo credit: Casey White.[/caption] The events provided a catalyst for audiences to write comments and receive information about the upcoming hearings. The screenings were also an opportunity to talk with neighbors, issue experts, and advocates about how to get involved in ongoing efforts to protect their communities. The tour happened at a critical time for citizens to speak out for a transparent, swift, and protective plan to safely store coal ash and ensure safe drinking water for neighbors of coal ash sites. This was the first and only opportunity for direct public input on the fate of Duke’s NC coal ash basins. [caption id="attachment_4254" align="alignnone" width="691"] Packed house for the Charlotte screening! Photo credit: Britten Cleveland.[/caption] Britten Cleveland, organizer with Central Piedmont Sierra Club, one of the local hosts of the Charlotte screenings, said, "The event was great! It was such an amazing show of teamwork. We had dozens of people take action, or commit to taking action (attend hearings and phone bank).” For more info on the tour, check out this great coverage from the Shelby screening, which features quotes from concerned community members.