...And This Is My Garden
Documentary. Directed by Katharina Stieffenhofer.
Canada; 58 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
Food insecurity, climate change, and fuel risk are serious threats to
communities around the world. In the small town of Wabowden, Northern
Manitoba, Canada, a teacher is empowering her students with the
knowledge, discipline and skills to grow their own food sustainably in backyard gardens, developing a sense of responsibility, pride and accomplishment within the students and addressing issues of Community Food Security, Chronic Disease Prevention and Environmental Improvement.
WEBSITE; FACEBOOK
Coming Off The DL
Documentary. Directed by Dan Hunt.
USA; 26 minutes.
(FAMILY- FRIENDLY though discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to VERY small amount of language.) When athletes are 'on the DL,' or disabled list, they cannot play due to
injury. In the film 'Coming Off The DL,' the meaning of 'disabled list'
changes, but the feeling of exclusion remains. For Frank Kineavy and Nick
Gaynor, two students with cerebral palsy who work as managers of the
Villanova University men's and women's basketball teams, the DL
represents the limitations and challenges they face every day because of
society's misguided assumptions about their disability. 'Coming Off The
DL' shows hows Frank and Nick are overcoming the physical, academic, and social challenges of cerebral palsy and changing the way people see ability.WEBSITE; FACEBOOK
Cultures of Resistance
Documentary. Directed by Lara Lee.
USA; 73 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) Worldwide, people from all walks of life are finding creative ways to oppose war and promote peace, justice, and sustainability. Culture, including film, music and food, is fertile terrain for this struggle. Education that nourishes a critical mind and fortifies the soul is just as essential.
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God's Square Mile
Documentary. Directed by Rachel Julkowski.
USA; 35 minutes
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) Set amidst the largest collection of authentic Victorian architecture in the
United States, the short documentary God's Square Mile tells the story of
how outspoken members of the LGBT community can coexist with those
who ardently believe homosexuality to be a sin. From the undeveloped
sand dunes, scrub oak, and sea of the 1869 Jersey Shore to present day
Ocean Grove's billowing American flags and prohibition against the sale of
alcohol, God's Square Mile tells the inspiring and candid story of a town
unwilling to compromise its beliefs in love, faith, or community. The film is
a tribute to Ocean Grove and its work in cultivating a precarious balance
between preserving its Christian heritage and embracing diversity.
WEBSITE; TRAILER; FACEBOOK
Goldstar, Ohio
Narrative. Directed by Michael Tisdale.
USA; 16 minutes
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) Four families and a chief of police recount the day marine casualty officers
came to their respective small towns in Ohio.
WEBSITE
Hand to Hand
Experimental. Directed by Tamás Wormser.
Canada; 3 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
A baby s grasp, a dancer s gesture, an athlete s grip, a craftsman s touch:
hands shape our world. A visual odyssey following our ever-moving
hands, the film focuses on action rather than beliefs, on unity as opposed
to separation.
WEBSITE
Healing Neen
Documentary. Directed by Laura Cain.
USA; 55 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) One woman's journey back to a childhood of abuse and forward to healing
as she spreads her message of hope for other victims still grappling with
the consequences of untreated trauma, including homelessness, drug
addiction and incarceration.
WEBSITE; FACEBOOK
Hidden Battles
Documentary. Directed by Victoria Mills.
USA; 66 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) HIDDEN BATTLES, a one-hour documentary, is a dramatic and deeply
personal film about the psychological impact of killing on the lives of
soldiers. The soldiers represent a cross section of nationalities, gender,
class and race. Consciously apolitical but deeply psychological,
HIDDEN BATTLES examines the strength and struggles of men and
women who kill and how they create lives for themselves afterwards.
Spanish, Arabic, Hebrew, English with subtitles.
WEBSITE; TRAILER; FACEBOOK
Jr. Posse
Documentary. Directed by Michele Ervin.
USA; 12 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
Jr. Posse is a documentary about Mayisha Akbar owner and operator of
the Jr. Posse Equestrian Training Program- keeping kids on horses and
off the streets.
TRAILER
Michael
Youth-produced Documentary. Directed by Luke Broyles.
USA; 10 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
Eleven year old director, Luke Broyles, and Michael became friends in
second grade. Luke wanted to make this documentary to show other kids
that Michael, despite his unique challenges, is a kid just like them. It's a
personal glimpse of Michael ...a special needs kiddo who is bubbling with
hope and joy. Michael loves life. Especially singing and his dream of
Broadway. This touching view of Michael, from another child's perspective, opens all our eyes.
Mozambique
Youth-produced Documentary. Directed by Alcides Soares.
USA; 14 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) Alcides Soares is a sixteen-year-old AIDS orphan, one of half a million
living in Mozambique today. An American television writer (Neal Baer)
and movie director (Chris Zalla) gave Alcides a movie camera and taught
him how to shoot. The result is a moving chronicle directed by Alcides
himself. His journey to find a family and make a new life in a country that
has been ravaged by AIDS is a story repeated millions of times everyday throughout Africa. Portuguese with subtitles.
Off the Streets: A Build for Humanity
Documentary. Directed by Lindsey Munce.
Ireland, USA; 25 minutes.FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
In October 2009, Habitat for Humanity Northern Ireland and Habitat for
Humanity Romania joined forces to build a community for a group of adult
orphans who never had a place to call home. For one week, 250
volunteers from Northern Ireland and Romania worked side by side with
the future homeowners to turn a long waited dream into a reality. It is a
journey into the struggles of growing up in orphanages, surviving on the
street and finding a way to change the future.This inspirational story opens
a window into the love, dedication, and hard work of all the volunteers and
homeowners. Their spirit is contagious and their moral commitment
reminds us of what humanity can achieve by simple acts of kindness and responsibility. English, some Romanian with subtitles.
WEBSITE
Pray for Eric
Documentary. Directed by Ken Wyatt.
USA; 27 minutes. (Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) A formerly NY-based filmmaker relocates to eastern North Carolina and
decides to visit his rural neighbors in the mountainous western part of his
new home state who 'allegedly' supported or sympathized with antigovernment, abortion clinic, Olympic Park, serial bomber Eric Rudolph during the FBI's 5-year manhunt, despite a $1 million reward.
TRAILER; WEBSITE
Prayers for Peace
Animation. Directed by Dustin Grella.
USA; 8 minutes. (Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) Prayers for Peace is a narrative stop-motion animation confronting the memory of the artist's younger brother killed in the current conflict in Iraq. Drawn entirely with pastels on a slate chalkboard, the materials used to create the animation become a metaphor for the impermanence of life.
WEBSITE
Reverse The Wave
Satirical narrative. Directed by Deena DeNaro-Bickerstaffe.
United Kingdom; 3 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) A subvertisement where the medium itself is the chilling message.
Transforming mass media to produce commentary, this film mimics the
look and feel of an advert, but what is it, really?
WEBSITE
The Scarf
Puppet animation. Directed by Carla Veldman.
Canada; 4 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
A young boy's world is forever changed when his aging grandmother
comes to stay.
WEBSITE
Urva
Documentary. Directed by Emre Ozdemir.
USA; 13 minutes.
Urva is a short documentary, which takes place in a remote village called
Urva in Kastamonu, Turkey. The premise of the movie lies within filming a
dematerializing setting, vanishing aesthetic of a certain space, a soon to
be lost culture that has no room in the reality of Turkey and the world at large. Turkish with subtitles.
When Cotton Blossoms
Documentary. Directed by Scott Magie.
USA; 30 minutes. FAMILY-FRIENDLY.
Exactly 100 years ago... in the piney woods of rural Mississippi... a dream
was planted... and Hope sprang forth. The touching story of a man
determined through his faith to bring education to his fellow man, and the
lives he changed forever.TRAILER
Where Do I Stand?
Documentary. Directed by Molly Blank.
South Africa; 38 minutes.
(Discretion advised for youth 12 and under due to language and/or themes.) When xenophobic attacks broke out across South Africa in 2008, many
were shocked by a violence that felt like a violation of the principles of
their democratic nation. Where Do I Stand? is a window into the lives of
seven young people grappling with their actions during and after this
violence. They include a Rwandan refugee, a girl wrestling with the reality
of foreigners in her township, a boy facing calls of cowardice, a girl whose
family sheltered their Malawian gardener. This violence was another
challenge to a country still struggling with the legacy of apartheid --
poverty, unemployment, racial divisions. WHERE DO I STAND? captures the
optimistic voices of youth struggling with their experiences and carving
out their own places in this complex nation.
WEBSITE; FACEBOOK
