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New Acquisitions
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Born in Brazil
Cara Biasucci
2002, 52 min., Color, Brazil
The World Health Organization suggests a maximum cesarean rate of 15%. Although research shows the majority of Brazilian women prefer natural birth, statistics provide a different story --- 65% - 85% of all births in private Brazilian hospitals are by cesarean section. Many obstetricians attribute this to patient demand, when in fact the unnecessary surgery is more convenient and lucrative for doc... More
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Los Cartoneros
Michael McLean
2006, 26 min., Color, US/Argentina
Juanchi, a 21-year-old from a small town outside Buenos Aires, supports himself and his family by digging through trash. Six days a week, he roams the street of the Argentine capital in search of cardboard and other recyclables, hoping to sell his findings to a recycling depository.
Like thousands of Argentines, he is "un cartonero", a cardboard collection. "Cartoneros" comprise part ... More
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El Charango
Jim Virga & Tula Goenka
2006, 22 min., Color, Bolivia
This short documentary is about a little instrument, a large silver mine and the highest city in the world. Cerro Rico in Potosi, Bolivia, was discovered by Spanish conquistadors in 1545, who enslaved the local indigenous people. It is said that 8 million people, including African slaves, died in the mines of this mountain while providing Spain with immense wealth. The Spanish culture spread into ... More
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Epilogue: The Palpable Invisibility of Life
Tran T. Kim-Trang
How can we make visible the invisible? How can we "see" our lost loved ones? In EPILOGUE, Tran looks for answers to these questions in the audio recordings of her dead mother, the handwritinng of the late French philosopher Jacques Derrida and the ultrasound photos of her newborn baby. Finding no ready-made answers, Tran invites us to reflect about life and death in this moving video essay about... More
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Japan Across the Seas
Mabel Maio
1998, 48 min., Color, Argentina
The Japanese who have settled in Argentina since the end of the 19th century came for many reasons: wanderlust, good farming, and even a love for tango. Japan Across The Seas weaves together the tales of the old and the young, the Japanese-born and the second-generation, to tell the history of the migrations that led to the establishment of Japanese-Argentine communities in Misiones, Buenos Aires,... More
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Land, Rain & Fire: Report from Oaxaca
Tami Gold & Gerardo Renique
Producer: Tami Gold & Gerardo Renique
What began as a teachers' strike for better wages and more resources for students has erupted into a massive movement for profound social change in the state of Oaxaca. With the largest indigenous population in Mexico, the state of Oaxaca is also one of the poorest and has the highest rate of school dropouts. On June 14, at 4:20 AM, the police made a surprise attack. The more than fifty thousand t... More
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Living the Hiplife
Jesse W Shipley
2007, 61 min., Color, US/Ghana
This film is a musical portrait of street life in urban West Africa. It follows the birth of Hiplife music in Accra, Ghana, a mix of various African musical forms and American hip hop. Archival footage and hip hop music videos are remixed with interviews and the daily lives of rap artists. We follow Reggie Rockstone, the Godfather of Hiplife in the founding of the musical movement, as well as the ... More
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The Mseyas
Gustavo Vizoso
2007, 72 min., Color, Tanzania/Spain
AIDS kills more than two million people every year in Africa. As a result of this epidemic, there are more than 11 million orphans. This documentary is the story of the Mseyas, AIDS orphans from Iringa, Tanzania. Alberina, Maria, Amos and Orsolina live on their own and face a life of struggle without resources.
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On the Downlow
Abigail Child
2006, 54 min., Color, US
"On the Downlow" presents an intimate portrait of four men negotiating their bisexual desire within the African-American community of Cleveland, Ohio. These men selfdescribe as "dipping on both sides of the fence". The film showcases their secret lives and aspirations as it reveals the complex intersections of sexuality, race, class and family in contemporary middle America. We enter barely-unders... More
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The Quilmes According to Miguel Mamani
Mabel Maio
2007, 22 min., Color, Argentina
Decimated during the Spanish colonization and vilified by Argentina's official history, the Quilmes remain alive in the ruins of their ancient city and in the passionate voice of Miguel Mamani, a proud descendant of this indigenous tribe. Drawing on oral tradition and the writings of Jesuit scholars, Miguel tells the unofficial story of the Quilmes: their origins, their way of life, their religiou... More
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Raised by Our Own Authority
Mauricio Acosta
Producer: Association of Indigenous Councils of the North of Cauca
2006, 24 min., Color, Colombia
In May 2006, more than 300,000 Colombians, including indigenous communities and social justice organizations came together at the National Traveling Summit to demand a national referendum on the Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the fulfillment of the agreements signed with the national government 20 years ago to return land to indigenous groups in Cauca, Colombia. This documentary, ... More
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Refuseniks
Sonja de Vries
2005, 55 min., Color, US/Israel
REFUSENIKS uses stunning archival footage, still photos and interviews to document the stories of Israeli men and women who refuse to serve in the military occupation of the West Bank and Gaza.
In REFUSENIKS, we meet several Israeli men and women including 18-year-old Shani, an original signer of a letter condemning the occupation written by high school students to Israeli Prime Minis... More
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Ritual Rhythms: Candombe
Mabel Maio
1999, 48 min., Color, Uruguay
This documentary explores the history and modern reality of candombe, the drum music of Uruguay's black parade bands. It is a way of life that was born in the musical gatherings of slaves in urban marketplaces and plazas. Despite persistent racism, past and present, the 200,000 Uruguayans of African descent experience candombe as a way of life, as part of the cast of characters that inhabit the te... More
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Sipakapa Is Not for Sale
Alvaro Revenga
2005, 55 min., Guatemala
Montana Exploradora, subsidiary of the Canadian/US transnational company Glamis Gold, received 45 million US dollars in financing from the World Bank to exploit an open-pit gold mine in Sipakapa, Guatemala. In accordance with ILO Convention 169, a Community Consultation was held in this Maya region to establish whether the population would accept or reject mining exploitation in its territory. The... More
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Two Dollar Dance
Yolanda Pividal
2006, 17 min., Color, US
Every weekend, hundreds of Latino immigrants pack the dance clubs of Jackson Heights, in Queens, New York City. There, they meet the "two-dollars ballerinas", women who will be their dance floor partners for two dollars a song. Two Dollar Dance unveils the soul of these clubs through Victor, a patron, and Liz, one of the ballerinas. Through their eyes, this film dives into the stories of men and w... More
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Who's Afraid of Ngugi?
Manthia Diawara
2006, 83 min., Color, US/Kenya
This documentary follows acclaimed author Ngugi wa Thiong'o as he and his political activist wife Njeri journey back to Kenya after years of exile. As they are welcomed home by joyous and hopeful crowds, they also must cope with those who still find their revolutionary words and deeds threatening.
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