The Five Demands is a riveting story about the student strike that changed the face of higher education. In April 1969, a small group of Black and Puerto Rican students shut down the City College of New York, an elite public university located right in the heart of Harlem. Through archival footage and modern-day interviews, we follow the students’ struggle against the institutional racism that, for over a century, had shut out people of color from this and other public universities. The Five Demands uncovers the untold story of this explosive student takeover and proves that a handful of ordinary citizens can band together to take action and affect meaningful change.

The Cost of Inheritance explores the complex issue of reparations in the United States and takes a personal approach to understanding our history, systemic injustices, and racial inequities.  We follow descendants of enslavers and the enslaved as they are reckoning with their past and trying to find a just way forward.  Opposing views and challenges to the concept of reparations are also heard in the exposition of our complicated history. The film introduces viewers to those who are working toward common ground, despite their differing perspectives. The protagonists launch conversations,  attempt to reconcile, and take specific actions that aspire to close the racial wealth gap in America. The disparate trajectory of lives, families and communities impacted by structural racism unfolds through archival images of land, labor exploitation and racial violence, set against a backdrop that depicts the pursuit of justice for Japanese internment survivors and survivors of the Holocaust.

Bad Press, Directed by Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, Run time: 98 minutes (An excerpt from the film will be shown during the conference along with info about how to watch the full film)

Imagine you lived in a world where your only reliable news source became government

propaganda overnight. That’s exactly what happened to the citizens of the Muscogee Nation, the fourth largest Native American tribe, in 2018. Out of 574 federally-recognized tribes, the

Muscogee Nation was one of only five to establish a free and independent press – until the tribe’s legislative branch abruptly repealed the landmark Free Press Act in advance of an election. The tribe’s hard-hitting news outlet, Mvskoke Media, would now be subject to direct editorial oversight by the tribal government. One defiant journalist refuses to accept this flagrant act of oppression. As brave as she is blunt, veracious muckraker Angel Ellis charges headfirst into battle against the corrupt faction of the Muscogee National Council. Angel and her allies rally for press freedoms by inciting a voter-supported constitutional amendment, just in time for the start of a new election cycle.

Birth from the Earth, Directed by Katy Walker Mejia; Produced by Katy Walker Mejia, Natasha Scully, and Betty Bastidas, Run time: 16 minutes

Up against a broken for-profit medical system, home birth midwife and educator Nubia Earth Martin is a visionary leader in the Birth Justice movement working tirelessly to create more opportunities and empower BIPOC mothers and families to safely give birth at home and support the midwives and birth workers who guide them along their sacred journey. We hear so many negative stories and news coverage of how black mothers are dying, and that birth is dangerous and scary. The mothers and families who contributed to the film all had a desire to share a different perspective – one of our fore mothers and great-grandmothers who all successfully brought forth life in a beautiful way, so that we – their descendants, would be able to uplift these stories into the present day.

Smile4Kime, Directed by Elena Guzman, Produced by Cybee Bloss, Run time: 26 minutes

Smile4Kime is an experimental documentary that explores the friendship between two women: Kime–a vibrant, unapologetic Black woman who lived with mental illness, and Elena–an Afro Puerto Rican woman and devoted friend coping with grief in the wake of Kime’s death. This story begins as a conversation between Kime and Elena unfolding across time and space. They ask each other about who they are, what they need, and what their future holds. As Kime’s mental health begins to spiral, the film urgently weaves together the past, present, and future in search of answers.

Directed by Maya Cueva; Produced by Mayra Amaya and Melissa Bueno-Woerner; Featuring Alejandra Pablos

Run time: 17 minutes

Alejandra is a criminalized organizer and unapologetic immigrant. While she prepares for one of the biggest moments of her life — her deportation case — Alejandra is forced to reckon with a past mistake and a system that could tear her apart from her family and the only home she has ever known.

Directed by Christian Rozier; Executive Produced by Douglas Miles Jr. and Glen Lineberry; Produced by Selina Curley, Carrie Curley, and Douglas Miles Sr.

Run time: 84 minutes

Apache artist Keane is forced into a desperate mission to get a job before the deadline passes and his dreams evaporate, all while confronting family stresses, enemies from his past, and an unpredictable old car. Produced on location in the San Carlos Apache Reservation and the neighboring city of Globe, Arizona, this independent feature explores the extraordinary beauty and the unique challenges of these two communities, and the scorching ribbon of highway that connects them together.

Directed & Produced by Chelsea Hernandez; Executive Produced by Marcy Garriott; Produced by Marisol Medrano Montoya; Co-Produced by Mario Troncoso and Iliana Sosa

Run time: 56 minutes

Across Texas an unstoppable construction boom drives urban sprawl and luxury high-rises. Its dirty secret: abuse of immigrant labor. Building the American Dream captures a turning point as a movement forms to fight widespread construction industry injustices. Grieving their son, a Mexican family campaigns for a life-and-death safety ordinance. A Salvadorian electrician couple owed thousands in back pay fights for their children’s future. A bereaved son battles to protect others from his family’s preventable tragedy. A story of courage, resilience and community, the film reveals shocking truths about the hardworking immigrants who build the American Dream, of which they are excluded.

Directed by Princeton James; Assistant Directors: Sequoia Gray and Angel Clark; Produced by Princeton James and the Memphis Music Initiative; Screenplay Written by Amber Hamilton

Run time: 9 minutes

In this commentary on the nonprofit fundraising process, Memphis Music Initiative’s (MMI) Executive Director Amber Hamilton explains (with help from Harriet Tubman) why current philanthropic practices are inequitable, unhelpful, and nonsensical. But these practices can be changed. Through its Call & Response initiative, MMI is modeling a new way of thinking about grantmaking, funding, and equity in the arts. Black Pay Matters. Black Legacy Matters. Black Rest Matters.

Directed by Adetoro Makinde; Featuring Tyrese Alleyne-Davis

Run time: 6 minutes

In the middle of the pandemic and protests for racial justice, Tyrese Allyene-Davis a disabled Black youth, celebrated his 21st birthday isolated in his NYU dorm room. Following a screening of I Am Not Your Negro, his introduction to James Baldwin pushes him into a visceral call for help in a Facebook post. Shot on Super 8mm film, this experimental documentary short expands on his audio to capture the mental exploration of his thoughts with hauntingly poetic moments of intimacy, pain and celebration.

Directed by Paris Hatcher; Executive Produced by Black Feminist Future; Produced by Chisom Chieke; Co-Produced by Crystal Des-Ogugua

Run time: 95 minutes

Jubilee: A Black Feminist Homecoming celebrates the legacy, power, and possibilities of Black feminisms, following the August 28, 2021, event that  uplifted a colorful and expansive production of performers, liberators, and guiding stars that told the story of Black feminist activism, unveiled the Black Feminist Platform, with concrete actions to take toward liberation.

Directed by Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso; Produced by Jordan Flaherty, Emily Faye Ratner, and Ewa JasiewiczRun time: 75 mins.

A young Navajo filmmaker, Ivey Camille Manybeads Tso, investigates displacement of Indigenous people and devastation of the environment around the globe caused by the same chemical companies that have exploited the land where she was born. On this personal and political journey she learns from Indigenous activists across three continents.

Directed by Fearless Video; Produced by Echoing Green and Fearless Video with support from Comcast NBCUniversal

Run time: 25 minutes

Featuring interviews with Dr. Cory Greene (also featured in Ava DuVernay’s 13th), architect and activist Deanna Van Buren, gaming and tech educator Damon Packwood, and award-winning social entrepreneur and nonprofit leader Dr. Cheryl Dorsey, Unwavering explores chronic underfunding of Black-led organizations, all the while celebrating the optimism and perseverance of Black innovators from across the United States.

Directed and Produced by Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi; Produced by Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, Michael Shawn Cordero, Frances Medina, and Mensajeros De Palomas

Run time: 54 minutes

We Still Here introduces the incredible youth of Comerío, Puerto Rico navigating the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, a disaster that brought an unprecedented level of devastation to an island already in economic and political crisis. In the lush mountains in the center of Puerto Rico, 24-year-old Mariangelie Ortiz leads a group of young residents who never thought they would become the leaders of their community, nonetheless find themselves traveling to Washington D.C. to protest in the halls of Congress. Follow them in this coming of age story as they find their power and begin creating a sustainable future for themselves and their community.

Directed and Produced by Pita Juarez and Matty SteinkampRun time: 60 minutes

Featuring first-voice stories of discrimination and hope, ‘You Racist, Sexist, Bigot’ was conceived and filmed in Arizona but tells truly – and sadly – American stories. From the story of a young black male raised in Ferguson, MO, to the account of an undocumented transgender woman living and working in a state where immigrant rights is more than just a headline, each writer shares an intimate, powerful message of their understanding of the bigotry they face daily. With an original soundtrack which speaks of love, justice, and the need for family and community, You Racist, Sexist, Bigot follows the struggles that occur every day not just in Arizona but in neighborhoods and cities all across the United States.

Directed by Angela Tucker, Produced by Jolene Pinder (25 mins.)

After a contentious race, the 2017 runoff for mayor of New Orleans came down to two candidates: Desirée Charbonnet and LaToya Cantrell, two very different black women. The winner of this election would take office as the first female mayor of New Orleans and the city’s fourth black mayor. Through news footage, campaign advertisements and archival audio and video, All Skinfolk Ain’t Kinfolk is the unprecedented story of this mayoral runoff told through the eyes of black women living in this city.

Directed/Produced by Erika Cohn; Produced by Angela Tucker, Christen Marquez, and Nicole Docta (82 mins.)

When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes – from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilizations – primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over 7-years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States.

Directed/Produced by Jalena Keane-Lee, Produced by Amber Espinosa-Jones and Pua Case (15 mins.)

Standing Above the Clouds is the story of inter-generational women activists on the Big Island of Hawaii, who call themselves Kū Kiaʻi Mauna, or protectors of Mauna Kea. The film follows three sets of mothers, daughters, and grandmothers, who are at the forefront of the indigenous movement to safeguard their sacred mountain, Mauna Kea, when a construction permit was granted for an eighteen story, Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) to be built on pristine land. Mauna Kea is the tallest peak in the world from seashore, standing at 14,000 feet, and is believed in Hawaiian culture to be the portal to the gods. The film explores the relationships between native Hawaiian mothers and daughters as they go from standing in ceremony to standing on the mountain and in the courtroom.

Directed/Produced by Michèle Stephenson, Produced by Lea Marin and Jennifer Holness (95 mins.)

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, based on anti-black hatred fomented by the Dominican government. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929. The ruling rendered more than 200,000 people stateless, without nationality, identity or a homeland. In this dangerous climate, a young attorney named Rosa Iris mounts a grassroots campaign, challenging electoral corruption and advocating for social justice. Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary Stateless traces the complex tributaries of history and present-day politics, as state-sanctioned racism seeps into mundane offices, living room meetings, and street protests.

Directed by Nathan Clarke, Produced by Lana Garland and Tyler Trumbo (71 mins.)

Three professions ushered Black former slaves from poverty to the American dream: preacher, teacher, and undertaker. Lewis Funeral Home has functioned within this tradition, having been a pillar of the Black community in San Antonio, Texas since 1909. While Black funeral homes close across America as a result of the loss of Black neighborhoods and gentrification, Lewis’ current chief embalmer James Bryant cares deeply about this institution after a career of preparing over 10,000 bodies. And he’s damn good at it, having been named the National Embalmer of the Year in 2016. Now, James puts his faith in a new generation to continue this vanishing legacy. He’s met with resistance from his young intern, Clarence Pierre, who himself is conflicted about his commitment due to the judgment he feels from the Black community as a queer, Christian man.

Directed/Produced by Loira Limbal, Produced by Jameka Autry and Nicole Docta (67 mins.)

To make ends meet, Americans are working longer hours across multiple jobs. This modern reality of non-stop work has resulted in an unexpected phenomenon: the flourishing of 24-hour daycare centers.

Through the Night is a verité documentary that explores the personal cost of our modern economy through the stories of two working mothers and a child care provider – whose lives intersect at a 24-hour daycare center.”

Directed/Produced by Emily Harrold; Produced by Xuan Vu, Lauren Franklin, and Diane Robertson (72 mins.)

What does it mean to be young, black, and a Democrat in the American South? While I Breathe, I Hope follows South Carolina politician Bakari Sellers as he runs to become the first African American candidate electedstatewide in over a century. The film begins by following Sellers as he makes his 2014 bid for Lieutenant Governor, through the Charleston Shootings, and during the removal of the Confederate flag in 2015. Through his experiences, this timely film offers audiences a window into the legacy of race in politics in the United States today.

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.