Schedule :

October 11, 2023

6:00 PM : Opening Night - Beyond Walls Shorts Program - Northwest Film Forum

The Social Justice Film Festival opens at Northwest Film Forum, a nonprofit film and arts center that incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences.

Our featured event is Beyond Walls, a series of documentary films and panel discussion presentation that defines and amplifies what prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition means, while inspiring people to imagine and take action toward a world without policing. Beyond the goal of simply changing hearts and minds, these five short films show actions that can be taken to help create a world without police and prisons.

Discussion Participants

John Trafton, PhD
Professor, Film and Media Studies, Seattle University

Sam Hampton, PhD
Executive Director, Social Justice Film Festival

Christian Lee Collins
Filmmaker, What These Walls Won't Hold

Benjamin Abrams
Filmmaker, Calls From Home

Mara Henderson
Impact Coordinator, Working Films

Representatives from Restorative Community Pathways

RCP works to actively challenge how the legal system understands safety in our community. Rather than focusing on punishment, RCP recognizes that all individuals deserve healing and restoration.

What These Walls Won't Hold

The COVID-19 crisis inside California prisons has claimed the lives of over 200 incarcerated people and infected tens of thousands more. This film tracks the origins of COVID-19 inside the California state prison system and a newly formed coalition, led by currently and formerly incarcerated people, that brought forward an abolitionist framework to a life-or-death situation. What These Walls Won’t Hold explores how relationships, built on trust, shared liberatory struggle, and connections across broader abolitionist organizing work, can unfold into sites of resistance and radical change.

Director: Adamu Chan

Runtime: 27 minutes

Defund the Police

Our ideas about policing are shaped by our race, gender, class, and parents. The dominant culture, and mass media, sell us the image of “Officer Friendly.” But whose lived experience is that based on?

Runtime: 4 minutes

I'm Free Now You Are Free

A short documentary about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr. and his mother Debbie—a formerly incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE. In 1978, Debbie, then 8 months pregnant, and many other MOVE family members were arrested after an attack by the Philadelphia Police Department; born in a prison cell, Mike Africa Jr. spent just three days with his mother before guards wrenched him away, and they spent the next 40 years struggling for freedom and each other. In 2018, Mike Africa Jr. successfully organized to have his parents released on parole. “I realized that I had never seen her feet before,” was a remark he made when he reflected on Debbie’s homecoming. This film meditates on Black family preservation as resistance against the brutal legacies of state-sanctioned family separation.

Director: Ash Goh Hua

Runtime: 15 minutes

Practical Abolition

Sending people armed with guns to respond to mental health crises and public nuisance complaints is dangerous. It is often counterproductive and sometimes fatal. But what could take the place of policing? And in response to an epidemic of homicide, what are ways that we can keep our communities safer? In collaboration with artist Erik Ruin, Amistad Law Project staked out a creative path in lifting alternatives to policing. This video highlights the need to mobilize emergency resources for communities hardest hit by gun violence. We need to harness our creative energies to imagine the policies and programs that can replace policing and make us safer. We need to harness our creativity to communicate those ideas too.

Director: Erik Ruin

Runtime: 2 minutes

Calls From Home

In an intimate portrait of rural prison expansion, Calls from Home, documents WMMT-FM’s longstanding radio show that sends messages over the public airwaves to reach those incarcerated in Central Appalachia. For many, the show provides a lifeline to the world outside. Sharing the stories of the family and friends who call in, and those who listen in from prison, the film portrays the many forms of distance that rural prison building creates—and the ceaseless search to end this system of mass incarceration and family separation.

Director: Sylvia Ryerson

Runtime: 26 minutes

October 12, 2023

3:00 PM : Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence & I am Kanaka - Northwest Film Forum

Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence

Beyond Extinction traces Indigenous matriarchs who revive traditions and fight to save an ancient burial ground in Slocan Valley, British Columbia. Declared “extinct” by the Indian Act, the film documents their intimate living histories and their decades-long struggle for recognition.

Director: Ali Kazimi

Runtime: 102 minutes

I am K?naka

Eight million American tourists visit Hawaii every year and from the outside, it may look like paradise, but few know it’s dark history. Today, only 5% speak the native Hawaiian language and 10% live in poverty. There is a real danger of losing customs and traditions forever. “I am Kanaka” gives a glimpse into ex-teacher Kaina Makua and his after-school education program on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. Originally trained as a Teacher, Kaina became disillusioned with the conventional public education system, so he set up his non-profit organization “Kumano I Ke Ala” to support and teach Hawaiian language, sustainability, and life skills to disadvantaged local kids aged 5-20. Does Hawaii have a future? It will depend on people like Kaina.

Runtime: 15 minutes

Director: Genevieve Sulway

Restoration Nation

The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe keeps the health of natural resources in mind when approaching sustainable development projects that benefit both the tribe and the surrounding community.

Director: Charles Atkinson, Jeff Ostenson

Runtime: 7 minutes

6:00 PM : On These Grounds & Case Notes - Northwest Film Forum

On These Grounds

A video goes viral, showing a white police officer in South Carolina pulling a Black teenager from her school desk and throwing her across the floor. Healer-Activist Vivian Anderson uproots her life to support the girl and dismantle the system behind the assault at Spring Valley, including facing the police officer. Adding context, geographer Janae Davis treks the surrounding swamps and encounters the homes of formerly enslaved people of African descent, connecting the past to the present. Against the backdrop of a racial reckoning and its deep historical roots, one incident illuminates how Black girls, with the support of organizers, are creating a more just and equitable future for themselves and our entire education system.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Director: Garrett Zevgetis

Case Notes

Labeled at a young age by a system quick to write off people of color, Tony hopes to spare others the unnecessary obstacles he faced. An animated short about the power that narrative holds to oppress or liberate.

8:30 PM : Sew to Say & Atomic Bamboozle - Northwest Film Forum

Sew to Say

Thalia is an artist and banner maker who, in the early 80s, joined Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp to stand against nuclear weapons through non-violent action. 42 years ago, in the summer of 1981, a group of 36 women left their homes and marched from Cardiff, the capital of Wales, to Greenham Common near London to protest the American Cruise missiles that were going to be deployed in the UK as part of the Cold War response. In fear of nuclear war, the group decided to stay and started a peace camp to protest the storage of nuclear weapons at the base.

The peace camp became women-only and soon transformed into a public space for women’s voices attracting thousands of women over two decades. Thalia, one of the original marchers and activists at the camp, shares the untold story of the longest feminist protest in British history and reflects on how collective action changed the lives of women and inspired several generations.

Atomic Bamboozle

As political pressure mounts in the US to meet net zero carbon goals, the nuclear power industry makes its case for a nuclear “renaissance.” In place of the highly costly nuclear towers that have been shut down across many regions of the country, investors began in the early 21st century to promote small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).

ATOMIC BAMBOOZLE follows anti-nuclear activists and attorneys from the Columbia River region as they draw lessons from the decades-long fight to shut down the Trojan Nuclear Power plant in Oregon and reflect on current promotional campaigns by the nuclear industry and the US Department of Energy. The film includes commentary by physicist and professor M. V. Ramana, a global leader and recognized scholar on nuclear power. He traces the history of nuclear power generation from the 1950s to the present and takes up the four main areas of concern and controversy: costs, accidents, waste, and proliferation.

Sunflower Field

A young girl in Ukraine awaits a call from her father. The day turns into night, and she sinks into various dreamscapes from which she must find her way home.

Runtime: 5 minutes

Director: Polina Buchak

October 13, 2023

11:00 AM : Addicted to Life & Rosenwald: Toward a More Perfect Union - Social Justice Film Institute

Addicted to Life

Strong-willed, funny, and charismatic, Belgian triathlon champion Marieke Vervoort’s time is running out. At 37, a debilitating, chronic illness she has had for more than 20 years has begun to take its toll. As Marieke’s strength falters and her body begins to fail, she decides to take control by signing papers to die by euthanasia, the controversial procedure of medically assisted death.

Liberated and empowered by now having the legal permission to die, Marieke again discovers the freedom and thrill of living and competition. Recovering her sense of self-determination, over the next decade, Marieke postpones her decision to die. Through sheer willpower and strength of character, she qualifies for the Paralympics and wins Gold in wheelchair racing in the Paralympic Games and World Championships. Even as her health deteriorates, her spirit soars. While managing the struggle and emotions of friends and family as they try to accept her decision, Marieke continues to live life to the max, addicted to the adrenaline and adventure of international travel, intense competition, media attention, and a wildly physical bucket list, including indoor-skydiving and bungee-jumping.

Throughout, Marieke draws people to her: fans, girlfriends, celebrities, and other people with disabilities. With virtually unlimited access, Addicted to Life intimately documents this determined, vulnerable, and astonishing athlete through the dramatic events of her final inspirational three years, during which Marieke’s acceptance of death becomes an affirmation of life. In this timely film, Marieke’s story demystifies one of the most controversial issues of our time. Winner, "Best of Women's Voices", Portland Film Festival; International Premiere, Jan 2023, Ostende Film Festival, Belgium; Best Author, Millennium Film Festival, Brussels; Best Docs, DOK.FEST Munich; “Best Feature Documentary”, International Sports Film Festival Slovenia.

Runtime: 86 minutes

Director: Pola Rapaport

Rosenwald: Toward a More Perfect Union

Rosenwald: Toward A More Perfect Union tells the inspiring story of the partnerships Julius Rosenwald formed with Booker T. Washington and with African-American communities. These powerful connections led to the building of nearly 5,000 schools in 15 southern states. These schools educated one-third of the African-American children in the South during the era of “separate but equal” education. The film also presents the Julius Rosenwald Fund fellowship program that provided awards to nearly 900 talented individuals, two-thirds of whom were African Americans. Their accomplishments across a wide variety of artistic, scholarly, and scientific fields, made lasting contributions to our country.

Runtime: 10 minutes

Director: Charles Poe

Common as Red Hair

The aftermath of an emotional funeral causes a grieving father and mother to reexamine their early life decision to have gender normalization surgery performed on their intersex infant.

Runtime: 15 minutes

Director: Robbie Robertson

2:00 PM : Ellos Gritan Libertad - Social Justice Film Institute

Ellos Gritan Libertad (They Scream Freedom)

Through the voices of courageous individuals living in Cuba, ELLOS GRITAN LIBERTAD will awaken the world to the island’s disturbing realities. This isn’t just a film, it’s a PLEA FOR HELP!

Director: Melinda Raebyne

Runtime: 79 minutes

Overtown's Living Legacy

When developers and city planners say they are "revitalizing" the historic black neighborhood of Overtown, in Miami, Florida, they ignore its rich history and the community that has been living there for decades. Three local activist historians speak to what is lost when market forces and hyper-capitalism dominate.

Director: Gina Margillo

Runtime: 7 minutes

4:00 PM : Live Performance - Speak with Purpose - Social Justice Film Institute

Listen and learn through spoken word performances by local young scholars as they deconstruct dominant narratives to uplift their culture, self-identities, and communities.

6:00 PM : Ithaka & The World's Most Miserable Priest - Social Justice Film Institute

Ithaka

Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe, and the US, Ithaka follows the tireless campaign of 76-year-old retired builder, John Shipton, to save his son, Julian Assange. One of the world's most famous political prisoners, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has become the scapegoat for an international struggle pitting freedom of the press against government secrecy, corruption, and unpunished war crimes. Now with Julian facing a 175-year sentence if extradited to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system. This David-and-Goliath struggle is personal—and, with Julian's health declining in a British maximum-security prison and American government prosecutors attempting to extradite him to face trial in the US, the clock is ticking. Now it's up to Julian's father, John Shipton, and wife, Stella Moris, to join forces to advocate for Julian on this international odyssey. As they rally a worldwide network of supporters and politicians, they cautiously step into the media's glare—and are forced to confront the events that made Julian a global flashpoint.

Director: Ben Lawrence

Runtime: 106 minutes

The World's Most Miserable Priest

A film about a tattooed, cigar-smoking, non-conforming monk, who is well-loved, and does all he can to face the challenges of supporting his community in the heart of Queens, NY.

8:30 PM : Keys Bags Names Words & Panic Attack - Social Justice Film Institute

Keys Bags Names Words

Dementia is one of the greatest fears of people today. This documentary aims to shift that narrative of fear and hopelessness to one of hope and action. There are things we can do as individuals to reduce our risk of developing dementia. There are ways to connect meaningfully with our loved ones, even if they no longer recognize us. We can live a high quality of life after diagnosis. Keys Bags Names Words show intimate profiles of people living with dementia and their care partners. You’ll meet doctors discussing what you can do in your life to support brain health and prevent cognitive decline. You’ll meet musicians and artists, scientists, and policy experts from around the world engaged in a bold approach to tackle a leading global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century, dementia and brain health. This film is not a lament to loss, but an inspiring celebration of the human spirit.

Runtime: 85 minutes

Director: Cynthia Stone

Panic Attack

Alex is transitioning from female to male and desperate to assert his identity, but is it fight or flight when he decides to confront his fiercest anxiety alone?

October 14, 2023

11:00 AM : Ultimate Sacrifices - Social Justice Film Institute

Ultimate Sacrifices: CPT Jennifer Moreno

After a stellar high school career as a top marksman and leader in the JROTC program at San Diego High School, Jennifer Moreno, a warrior, nurse, and US Army captain, became a core member of the Cultural Support Team in Afghanistan. The joint, elite female squad took part in the most dangerous combat operations in war-torn Afghanistan while providing allied forces a means to communicate with the women of that country. Her mentor battled buddy sister remembers her life and legacy from an underprivileged background, her career in the military, to her sacrifice in the line of duty.

Runtime: 60 minutes

Director: Daniel Leonard Bernardi

Diga Sus Nombres - Say Their Names

Diga Sus Nombres (Say Their Names) is the compelling story of 16 people, killed by the police in the United States. This powerful video polemic is part of the story that must be told, of Racism in America today. It uses poems and stories to describe the Black experience in the United States, as told by the visual narrator, Toya “Cookie” Philips along with images, in the “mollage” style, photographed during 25 Black Lives Matter protests, that are a visual expression of protesters, who were crying out to end violence by the police and an end to systemic racism.

Director: David Reibman

Runtime: 10 minutes

Woyane

Woyane is an intimate and harrowing glimpse into this decade's greatest humanitarian crisis and one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century, the hidden genocide of Tigray, Ethiopia. This 30-minute expository film follows a coalition of journalists who will stop at nothing to report the atrocities that have been inflicted upon their land and people, even if it means facing imprisonment or execution. With a powerful combination of first-hand testimonials and on-the-ground warzone footage, Woyane uncovers the brutal reality of the Tigray genocide and brings to light the lived experiences of millions of civilians who have been caught in the crossfires and, in many cases, systematically targeted.

Runtime: 33 minutes

Director: Jonathan Stern

2:00 PM : At Your Cervix - Social Justice Film Institute

At Your Cervix

At Your Cervix is the first documentary to expose the little-known practice of the non-consensual use of patients as practice dummies by the American medical education system. In an era when conversations about both consent and reproductive justice are paramount, it shines a light on the use of anesthetized or unconscious patients by medical students to practice pelvic examinations without the knowledge or consent of those patients. The film goes inside medical schools and hospitals, following students as they try to reconcile their personal ethics with the abusive learning methods they encounter, allowing the audience to hear the stories of students and practitioners who, to learn, conducted non-consensual pelvic examinations on unconscious patients.

It traces this abusive practice back to the genesis of modern gynecology and the modern American healthcare system - both of which were built on a foundation of racism, misogyny, and violence. The film also introduces the audience to patients who have been victims of this practice - having entrusted their well-being to physicians who swore an oath to do no harm, they awoke after surgery or sedatives only to find they had been assaulted by the people and the system that were supposed to take care of them. Finally, the film introduces the audience to an alternative - the Gynecological Teaching Associate (GTA). An ethical and effective way of teaching that has existed for over 40 years, At Your Cervix shines a hopeful light on GTAs as the best way forward, empowering medical students to become holistic, compassionate, skilled physicians by making the “patients” themselves the teachers.

Director: A’magine

Runtime: 71 minutes

Miss Betty's Calling

In the mid-1990s, Betty Thompson retired from her job in state government and started a second career working at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. By 2004, it was the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, and in 2022, it was forced to close because of the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. At StoryCorps, Betty reflects on how her own experiences as a teenager in the 1960s led her to her calling.

Runtime: 3 minutes

Director: Richard O’Connor

4:00 PM : Double Feature - Crosses in the Dust & Town Destroyer - Social Justice Film Institute

Crosses in the Dust

A law professor and her students assist organizations fighting the ongoing immigration crisis along the Arizona-Mexico border while honoring those who have perished on their journey into America.

Director: Christine Kane

Runtime: 51 minutes

Town Destroyer

Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called "Town Destroyer" after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War. The murals, at San Francisco's George Washington High School, were painted in 1936 by leftwing artist Victor Arnautoff, a student of Diego Rivera. The murals both praise Washington and—rare for the time—critically depict him overseeing his slaves and directing the bloody seizure of Native lands. Most controversial is a provocative image of a dead Indian—life-size, eye-level, and at the center of the school.

The film addresses current debates over trauma, student safety, and cancel culture: Do images trigger trauma in students? How should a changing society deal with controversial works of art? Do the intentions of the artist matter? Or just the impact on viewers? Is it censorship to destroy murals that show painful histories? What does our country owe people who have been historically wronged?

Director: Deborah Kaufman, Alan Snitow

Runtime: 53 minutes

4:00 PM : Reproductive Justice Panel Discussion - Social Justice Film Institute

Join us at 4 PM for a panel discussion about the emerging birth justice movement

6:00 PM : Birthing Justice & Iron Sharpens Iron - Social Justice Film Institute

Birthing Justice

America’s medical establishment has turned giving birth into a battleground for Black women and their babies. Going behind the statistics and beyond the grief, Birthing Justice places Black women at the center of the fight to fix a broken system transforming the birth experience to one of resilience and joy one birth at a time.

Director: Monique N. Matthews

Runtime: 86 minutes

Iron Sharpens Iron

Iron Sharpens Iron chronicles the Ironton LA, fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) land that includes the community’s ancestral burial grounds, as well as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida. The people of Ironton have felt the effects of racial segregation and economic injustice acutely—the community was denied running water into the 1980s, and it has been left outside the levee system that protects so many in southeast Louisiana. In August 2021, Hurricane Ida sent 12 to 15 feet of water into Ironton. Confronted with the storm’s aftermath on top of local resistance, the PLT project was scrapped.

"Iron Sharpens Iron" travels to Ironton before and after Ida’s onslaught, recording local takes on the community’s history, the plans for the PLT, and the storm’s devastation. These residents, speaking for themselves, form the core of the project. “Iron Sharpens Iron” captures a Louisiana community at a pivotal moment in its history, one that nonetheless looks like much of its past: discounted and unaided, it endures.

Runtime: 28 minutes

Director: John Richie

8:30 PM : The Klabona Keepers & Listed - Social Justice Film Institute

The Klabona Keepers is an intimate portrait of the dynamic Indigenous community that succeeded in protecting the Sacred Headwaters, known as the Klabona, from industrial activities. Spanning 15 years of matriarch-led resistance, a small group of determined elders in the village of Iskut heal from the wounds of colonization to push back against law enforcement, government, and some of the world’s largest multinational companies. Nestled between scenes of stand-offs and blockades, land defenders reflect on how their history of forced displacement, residential schools, and trauma strengthened their resolve to protect the very land that was so essential to their healing journey.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Director: Tamo Campos, Jasper Snow Rosen

Listed

Listed is a 13-minute documentary film that shares the story of Faizal Karim, a Canadian man falsely flagged on the Canadian No Fly List, a terrorist watch list under the Passenger Protect Program. Through Faizal’s account of racial profiling and detainment due to being falsely flagged, the film exposes the systemic issues underlying the No-Fly List and its impact on marginalized communities. By examining the potential and historical consequences of relying on a flawed listing regime like the No-Fly List to identify potential threats to national security, the film highlights the dangerous erosion of rights Canadians face at the expense of their civil liberties and freedoms.

Director: Leila Almawy

Runtime: 14 minutes

Waiting for Buffalo

“Waiting For Buffalo” is an extremely affecting glimpse into life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The film follows two Oglala Sioux men who are transporting buffalo into a pen on the reservation, with historical clips and information slides providing a greater context on the destruction of buffalo and the condition of the Sioux people. The two, we learn, are inextricably bound. The buffalo were intentionally eliminated as they were a crucial food source for Native Americans.

The buffalo themselves are shown as both powerful and peaceful, racing by the camera as ferocious beasts and loitering in the pen as simple animals. It is hard to ignore tragedy when we see them, and the same is true of the Sioux people. The moment when the two men discuss selling buffalo calves to supplement the tribe’s income is devastating. As they stand alone in desolation, beside a skeletal pen, the suffering is impossible to evade. It’s unspeakable. “Waiting For Buffalo” is an exceptional confrontation with one of this country’s greatest ongoing tragedies. – Ayden Kowalski, Scene Writer

Runtime: 10 minutes

Director: Grace Beutter, Aidan O’Malley

October 15, 2023

11:00 AM : Closing Day - Shorts Program - Pacific Tower

Join us for two programming blocks in the beautiful Panoramic Center at Pacific Tower, whose view overlooks the Olympic & Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound. The event begins with a series of short films from Seattle filmmakers, followed by the feature film We Dare to Dream.

The Fourth

The Fourth is based on the countless footage we see on the news of young men of color who experience police stops, for those who don't make it home after a police or traffic stop. I can see it even in some parts, and it's a story based on my own experiences of being a man of color. And what it can feel like when you don't feel free to express your voice. Writing it required truth and vulnerability that was, quite frankly, frightening to expose.
Though it's common to see another police shooting an armed black man, people, and when I mean people who aren't black or considered the other in the United States, don't know what's it like to experience being stopped. The anxiety of not knowing if this minor stop will escalate into something severe. We always if you only knew how it feels to be in a situation.

Director: Johnny Kirk

Runtime: 12 minutes

By My Side

By My Side is an intimate portrait of three veterans suffering from the invisible wound of PTSD. It is the most prevalent and unhealed wound experienced by veterans. Approximately 20% of those who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are still haunted by visions, chased by enemies they can never outrun, and tortured by the fear that they are now the enemy. These debilitating psychic scars have proven very difficult to heal. Twenty veterans commit suicide every day. It is very rare for veterans to admit they feel pain or need help. Even worse is accepting the pain they’ve brought back into their families. Set in northern California, three veterans opened their homes and hearts to filmmakers Vicki Topaz and Wynn Padula, with their continued spirit of service. These families bravely share their pain, fear, and the difficult realization they’ve lost time and love that they may never get back again. Their lack of faith in themselves and others, left these veterans isolated.

Standard treatments failed, filling them with despair. All three found hope where no one had looked—in the heart of a faithful service dog. The families of these veterans, eloquently and poignantly share how frightened and confused they were by loved ones that looked the same but were unrecognizable. They were battling demons they couldn’t see or love away. They were being ****** into the deadly undertow of secondary PTSD. And then came the service dogs. Once the veterans were partnered with service dogs, their smiles returned. Their fear subsided. They could navigate the world again because of service dogs at their side. The dogs, effortlessly, became a joyful bridge to their children and their spouses. The dogs were the key to everyone’s heart. The healing could begin.

Director: Vicki Topaz, Wynn Padula

Runtime: 30 minutes

The Outlanders - From HKG to SEA

After the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill in Hong Kong, a young Hongkonger left her hometown and made her way to Seattle. The decision to relocate marked a pivotal turning point in her life.

Director: Azure Kwok

Runtime: 12 minutes

Impegnarsi perché si avveri - La CISL, il Sindacato (Engage to make it happen – CISL, the union)

The short film tells, through the testimonies of CISL operators and delegates from all over the Veneto region, the value of social commitment, the meaning of daily commitment in favor of others, and more particularly, the added value of the personal choice to commit oneself in favor of Workers and the community by contributing, through their daily commitment to the union, to build a better world.

Runtime: 7 minutes

Director: Giovanni Panozzo

HEART: Serving Our Neighbors in Crisis

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and a historic summer of unprecedented unrest, leaders across the country were confronted with public pressure to defund police and contend with a history of police violence and community fear. This moment in time was underscored by the declaration of racism as a threat to public health and the acknowledgment of the relationship between public safety and health equity. In response, a coalition of multiple cities in North Carolina began researching solutions grounded in the reality that police alone cannot meet every crisis response need. After an RTI study revealed that many of the 9-1-1 calls coming into Durham’s emergency dispatch system were for nonviolent incidents, the City of Durham decided to pilot the Durham Community Safety Department (DCSD), an alternative crisis response program. Better known locally as HEART - the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team is the city's first public safety unit to be staffed with mental health clinicians, peer support specialists, and EMTs. HEART: Serving Our Neighbors in Crisis, is a documentary that details the pilot process and explores the deep collaboration needed for police officers, mental health clinicians, and peer specialists to work together in responding to community needs with care.

Runtime: 34 minutes

Director: Dilsey Davis, Hannah Hamza

Where Do They Go? The Painful Reality of Seattle's RV Homeless Sweeps

Lux has been homeless since she was 16. Growing up, her mother was critically ill, so Lux lived with her stepdad. He would kick her out randomly when he was drinking. "I wouldn't know where to go," she said. "Eventually, it got to the point where I didn't want to go back." Lux is now 19. She has lived in her RV for three years and has been forced to move about 20 times. Seattle's controversial RV homeless sweeps have been a source of contention among advocates, residents, and city officials alike. By forcibly removing vehicle residents from their makeshift mobile homes, these sweeps not only displace vulnerable individuals but also often leave them with no alternative shelter. This policy, aimed at addressing the visible impact of homelessness in the city, has been criticized for exacerbating the issue by further marginalizing those who already face significant challenges. Lux receives help from Vehicle Residency Outreach in Seattle. "Joe and Jonah have been visiting me quite often," she said, bringing her food and to Goodwill for clothes. They also let her know when sweeps will happen, so she doesn't lose her van. "I really appreciate them."

Runtime: 14 minutes

Director: Mark Horvath, Alex Gasaway

Mustang Moments

When wild souls from different worlds come together, they give each other a chance at a better life. Inmates rebuild their lives by participating in a rehabilitation program training wild horses for adoption.

Runtime: 6 minutes

Director: Jamie Williams

Beyond Black & White

Race is one of the burning issues of the day, but does your family talk about it? The topic is uncomfortable and complicated. Yet the conversations need to happen. Young people are entering an increasingly diverse world. To thrive, they must be prepared to work with people who look different or come from different backgrounds. The film Roosevelt High School: Beyond Black & White is a production of Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE), a Seattle non-profit formed to promote racial equity, with a focus on schools and their communities. RARE offers scholarships, this film, and monthly Open Discussions. Its newest initiative is Connections, a program to bring together students of different backgrounds for fun, meaningful experiences outside of school.

Runtime: 30 minutes

Director: Simon Fox

2:00 PM : Closing Day - We Dare To Dream - Pacific Tower

Join us for Closing Day in the beautiful Panoramic Center at Pacific Tower, whose view overlooks the Olympic & Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound.
Directed by Academy Award®-nominated Waad al-Kateab (For Sama), We Dare to Dream was executive produced by Angelina Jolie and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, Virunga, The Edge of Democracy).

We Dare to Dream

We Dare to Dream is the story of refugee athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan, and Cameroon who swim, run, and fight their way to opportunity and safety in host nations across the world. Spanning a breadth of backgrounds, personal stories, and Olympic sports, the film reveals the lives and hopes of refugee athletes training to compete on the world stage, showing the fire and the drive of young people forced to leave their families, homes, and countries of birth to build new lives out of nothing.

Directed by Academy Award®-nominated Waad al-Kateab (For Sama), executive produced by Angelina Jolie, and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, Virunga, The Edge of Democracy) and Emmy-winning producer Abigail Anketell-Jones (The Edge of Democracy, The Nightcrawlers) of Violet Films, two time Academy Award®-nominated producer, Bryn Mooser (Body Team 12, Lifeboat) and Kathryn Everett of XTR Studios and Joe Gebbia of Gebbia Productions, We Dare to Dream tells the amazing stories of young refugee athletes aiming to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. This is their story of resilience and inspiration, hardship and loss, hope, and home. Culminating in their competition at the summer Olympics, their compatriots back home and their new communities in refugee camps watch as these determined young athletes fight for their place in the world. This is their story of heart in the face of adversity, and most of all, hope for a better life.

Director: Waad al-Kateab

Runtime: 93 minutes

El Ojo Comienza En La Mano (The Eye Begins in the Hand)

El Ojo Comienza En La Mano is a tribute to Campesino histories in rural CA through the artwork of an artist largely absent from critical conversations on Chicanx art, Ruben A. Sanchez, as well as an unsentimental reckoning with the fate of many cultural workers that struggle between paying rent and/or creative endeavors.

Director: Yehuda Sharim

Runtime: 16 minutes

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October 16, 2023 - October 22, 2023

6:00 PM : Opening Night - Beyond Walls Shorts Program - Northwest Film Forum

The Social Justice Film Festival opens at Northwest Film Forum, a nonprofit film and arts center that incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences.

Our featured event is Beyond Walls, a series of documentary films and panel discussion presentation that defines and amplifies what prison industrial complex (PIC) abolition means, while inspiring people to imagine and take action toward a world without policing. Beyond the goal of simply changing hearts and minds, these five short films show actions that can be taken to help create a world without police and prisons.

Discussion Participants

John Trafton, PhD
Professor, Film and Media Studies, Seattle University

Sam Hampton, PhD
Executive Director, Social Justice Film Festival

Christian Lee Collins
Filmmaker, What These Walls Won't Hold

Benjamin Abrams
Filmmaker, Calls From Home

Mara Henderson
Impact Coordinator, Working Films

Representatives from Restorative Community Pathways

RCP works to actively challenge how the legal system understands safety in our community. Rather than focusing on punishment, RCP recognizes that all individuals deserve healing and restoration.

What These Walls Won't Hold

The COVID-19 crisis inside California prisons has claimed the lives of over 200 incarcerated people and infected tens of thousands more. This film tracks the origins of COVID-19 inside the California state prison system and a newly formed coalition, led by currently and formerly incarcerated people, that brought forward an abolitionist framework to a life-or-death situation. What These Walls Won’t Hold explores how relationships, built on trust, shared liberatory struggle, and connections across broader abolitionist organizing work, can unfold into sites of resistance and radical change.

Director: Adamu Chan

Runtime: 27 minutes

Defund the Police

Our ideas about policing are shaped by our race, gender, class, and parents. The dominant culture, and mass media, sell us the image of “Officer Friendly.” But whose lived experience is that based on?

Runtime: 4 minutes

I'm Free Now You Are Free

A short documentary about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr. and his mother Debbie—a formerly incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE. In 1978, Debbie, then 8 months pregnant, and many other MOVE family members were arrested after an attack by the Philadelphia Police Department; born in a prison cell, Mike Africa Jr. spent just three days with his mother before guards wrenched him away, and they spent the next 40 years struggling for freedom and each other. In 2018, Mike Africa Jr. successfully organized to have his parents released on parole. “I realized that I had never seen her feet before,” was a remark he made when he reflected on Debbie’s homecoming. This film meditates on Black family preservation as resistance against the brutal legacies of state-sanctioned family separation.

Director: Ash Goh Hua

Runtime: 15 minutes

Practical Abolition

Sending people armed with guns to respond to mental health crises and public nuisance complaints is dangerous. It is often counterproductive and sometimes fatal. But what could take the place of policing? And in response to an epidemic of homicide, what are ways that we can keep our communities safer? In collaboration with artist Erik Ruin, Amistad Law Project staked out a creative path in lifting alternatives to policing. This video highlights the need to mobilize emergency resources for communities hardest hit by gun violence. We need to harness our creative energies to imagine the policies and programs that can replace policing and make us safer. We need to harness our creativity to communicate those ideas too.

Director: Erik Ruin

Runtime: 2 minutes

Calls From Home

In an intimate portrait of rural prison expansion, Calls from Home, documents WMMT-FM’s longstanding radio show that sends messages over the public airwaves to reach those incarcerated in Central Appalachia. For many, the show provides a lifeline to the world outside. Sharing the stories of the family and friends who call in, and those who listen in from prison, the film portrays the many forms of distance that rural prison building creates—and the ceaseless search to end this system of mass incarceration and family separation.

Director: Sylvia Ryerson

Runtime: 26 minutes

3:00 PM : Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence & I am Kanaka - Northwest Film Forum

Beyond Extinction: Sinixt Resurgence

Beyond Extinction traces Indigenous matriarchs who revive traditions and fight to save an ancient burial ground in Slocan Valley, British Columbia. Declared “extinct” by the Indian Act, the film documents their intimate living histories and their decades-long struggle for recognition.

Director: Ali Kazimi

Runtime: 102 minutes

I am K?naka

Eight million American tourists visit Hawaii every year and from the outside, it may look like paradise, but few know it’s dark history. Today, only 5% speak the native Hawaiian language and 10% live in poverty. There is a real danger of losing customs and traditions forever. “I am Kanaka” gives a glimpse into ex-teacher Kaina Makua and his after-school education program on the island of Kauai in Hawai’i. Originally trained as a Teacher, Kaina became disillusioned with the conventional public education system, so he set up his non-profit organization “Kumano I Ke Ala” to support and teach Hawaiian language, sustainability, and life skills to disadvantaged local kids aged 5-20. Does Hawaii have a future? It will depend on people like Kaina.

Runtime: 15 minutes

Director: Genevieve Sulway

Restoration Nation

The Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe keeps the health of natural resources in mind when approaching sustainable development projects that benefit both the tribe and the surrounding community.

Director: Charles Atkinson, Jeff Ostenson

Runtime: 7 minutes

6:00 PM : On These Grounds & Case Notes - Northwest Film Forum

On These Grounds

A video goes viral, showing a white police officer in South Carolina pulling a Black teenager from her school desk and throwing her across the floor. Healer-Activist Vivian Anderson uproots her life to support the girl and dismantle the system behind the assault at Spring Valley, including facing the police officer. Adding context, geographer Janae Davis treks the surrounding swamps and encounters the homes of formerly enslaved people of African descent, connecting the past to the present. Against the backdrop of a racial reckoning and its deep historical roots, one incident illuminates how Black girls, with the support of organizers, are creating a more just and equitable future for themselves and our entire education system.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Director: Garrett Zevgetis

Case Notes

Labeled at a young age by a system quick to write off people of color, Tony hopes to spare others the unnecessary obstacles he faced. An animated short about the power that narrative holds to oppress or liberate.

8:30 PM : Sew to Say & Atomic Bamboozle - Northwest Film Forum

Sew to Say

Thalia is an artist and banner maker who, in the early 80s, joined Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp to stand against nuclear weapons through non-violent action. 42 years ago, in the summer of 1981, a group of 36 women left their homes and marched from Cardiff, the capital of Wales, to Greenham Common near London to protest the American Cruise missiles that were going to be deployed in the UK as part of the Cold War response. In fear of nuclear war, the group decided to stay and started a peace camp to protest the storage of nuclear weapons at the base.

The peace camp became women-only and soon transformed into a public space for women’s voices attracting thousands of women over two decades. Thalia, one of the original marchers and activists at the camp, shares the untold story of the longest feminist protest in British history and reflects on how collective action changed the lives of women and inspired several generations.

Atomic Bamboozle

As political pressure mounts in the US to meet net zero carbon goals, the nuclear power industry makes its case for a nuclear “renaissance.” In place of the highly costly nuclear towers that have been shut down across many regions of the country, investors began in the early 21st century to promote small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs).

ATOMIC BAMBOOZLE follows anti-nuclear activists and attorneys from the Columbia River region as they draw lessons from the decades-long fight to shut down the Trojan Nuclear Power plant in Oregon and reflect on current promotional campaigns by the nuclear industry and the US Department of Energy. The film includes commentary by physicist and professor M. V. Ramana, a global leader and recognized scholar on nuclear power. He traces the history of nuclear power generation from the 1950s to the present and takes up the four main areas of concern and controversy: costs, accidents, waste, and proliferation.

Sunflower Field

A young girl in Ukraine awaits a call from her father. The day turns into night, and she sinks into various dreamscapes from which she must find her way home.

Runtime: 5 minutes

Director: Polina Buchak

11:00 AM : Addicted to Life & Rosenwald: Toward a More Perfect Union - Social Justice Film Institute

Addicted to Life

Strong-willed, funny, and charismatic, Belgian triathlon champion Marieke Vervoort’s time is running out. At 37, a debilitating, chronic illness she has had for more than 20 years has begun to take its toll. As Marieke’s strength falters and her body begins to fail, she decides to take control by signing papers to die by euthanasia, the controversial procedure of medically assisted death.

Liberated and empowered by now having the legal permission to die, Marieke again discovers the freedom and thrill of living and competition. Recovering her sense of self-determination, over the next decade, Marieke postpones her decision to die. Through sheer willpower and strength of character, she qualifies for the Paralympics and wins Gold in wheelchair racing in the Paralympic Games and World Championships. Even as her health deteriorates, her spirit soars. While managing the struggle and emotions of friends and family as they try to accept her decision, Marieke continues to live life to the max, addicted to the adrenaline and adventure of international travel, intense competition, media attention, and a wildly physical bucket list, including indoor-skydiving and bungee-jumping.

Throughout, Marieke draws people to her: fans, girlfriends, celebrities, and other people with disabilities. With virtually unlimited access, Addicted to Life intimately documents this determined, vulnerable, and astonishing athlete through the dramatic events of her final inspirational three years, during which Marieke’s acceptance of death becomes an affirmation of life. In this timely film, Marieke’s story demystifies one of the most controversial issues of our time. Winner, "Best of Women's Voices", Portland Film Festival; International Premiere, Jan 2023, Ostende Film Festival, Belgium; Best Author, Millennium Film Festival, Brussels; Best Docs, DOK.FEST Munich; “Best Feature Documentary”, International Sports Film Festival Slovenia.

Runtime: 86 minutes

Director: Pola Rapaport

Rosenwald: Toward a More Perfect Union

Rosenwald: Toward A More Perfect Union tells the inspiring story of the partnerships Julius Rosenwald formed with Booker T. Washington and with African-American communities. These powerful connections led to the building of nearly 5,000 schools in 15 southern states. These schools educated one-third of the African-American children in the South during the era of “separate but equal” education. The film also presents the Julius Rosenwald Fund fellowship program that provided awards to nearly 900 talented individuals, two-thirds of whom were African Americans. Their accomplishments across a wide variety of artistic, scholarly, and scientific fields, made lasting contributions to our country.

Runtime: 10 minutes

Director: Charles Poe

Common as Red Hair

The aftermath of an emotional funeral causes a grieving father and mother to reexamine their early life decision to have gender normalization surgery performed on their intersex infant.

Runtime: 15 minutes

Director: Robbie Robertson

2:00 PM : Ellos Gritan Libertad - Social Justice Film Institute

Ellos Gritan Libertad (They Scream Freedom)

Through the voices of courageous individuals living in Cuba, ELLOS GRITAN LIBERTAD will awaken the world to the island’s disturbing realities. This isn’t just a film, it’s a PLEA FOR HELP!

Director: Melinda Raebyne

Runtime: 79 minutes

Overtown's Living Legacy

When developers and city planners say they are "revitalizing" the historic black neighborhood of Overtown, in Miami, Florida, they ignore its rich history and the community that has been living there for decades. Three local activist historians speak to what is lost when market forces and hyper-capitalism dominate.

Director: Gina Margillo

Runtime: 7 minutes

6:00 PM : Ithaka & The World's Most Miserable Priest - Social Justice Film Institute

Ithaka

Filmed over two years across the UK, Europe, and the US, Ithaka follows the tireless campaign of 76-year-old retired builder, John Shipton, to save his son, Julian Assange. One of the world's most famous political prisoners, WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, has become the scapegoat for an international struggle pitting freedom of the press against government secrecy, corruption, and unpunished war crimes. Now with Julian facing a 175-year sentence if extradited to the US, his family members are confronting the prospect of losing Julian forever to the abyss of the US justice system. This David-and-Goliath struggle is personal—and, with Julian's health declining in a British maximum-security prison and American government prosecutors attempting to extradite him to face trial in the US, the clock is ticking. Now it's up to Julian's father, John Shipton, and wife, Stella Moris, to join forces to advocate for Julian on this international odyssey. As they rally a worldwide network of supporters and politicians, they cautiously step into the media's glare—and are forced to confront the events that made Julian a global flashpoint.

Director: Ben Lawrence

Runtime: 106 minutes

The World's Most Miserable Priest

A film about a tattooed, cigar-smoking, non-conforming monk, who is well-loved, and does all he can to face the challenges of supporting his community in the heart of Queens, NY.

8:30 PM : Keys Bags Names Words & Panic Attack - Social Justice Film Institute

Keys Bags Names Words

Dementia is one of the greatest fears of people today. This documentary aims to shift that narrative of fear and hopelessness to one of hope and action. There are things we can do as individuals to reduce our risk of developing dementia. There are ways to connect meaningfully with our loved ones, even if they no longer recognize us. We can live a high quality of life after diagnosis. Keys Bags Names Words show intimate profiles of people living with dementia and their care partners. You’ll meet doctors discussing what you can do in your life to support brain health and prevent cognitive decline. You’ll meet musicians and artists, scientists, and policy experts from around the world engaged in a bold approach to tackle a leading global challenge for health and social care in the 21st century, dementia and brain health. This film is not a lament to loss, but an inspiring celebration of the human spirit.

Runtime: 85 minutes

Director: Cynthia Stone

Panic Attack

Alex is transitioning from female to male and desperate to assert his identity, but is it fight or flight when he decides to confront his fiercest anxiety alone?

11:00 AM : Ultimate Sacrifices - Social Justice Film Institute

Ultimate Sacrifices: CPT Jennifer Moreno

After a stellar high school career as a top marksman and leader in the JROTC program at San Diego High School, Jennifer Moreno, a warrior, nurse, and US Army captain, became a core member of the Cultural Support Team in Afghanistan. The joint, elite female squad took part in the most dangerous combat operations in war-torn Afghanistan while providing allied forces a means to communicate with the women of that country. Her mentor battled buddy sister remembers her life and legacy from an underprivileged background, her career in the military, to her sacrifice in the line of duty.

Runtime: 60 minutes

Director: Daniel Leonard Bernardi

Diga Sus Nombres - Say Their Names

Diga Sus Nombres (Say Their Names) is the compelling story of 16 people, killed by the police in the United States. This powerful video polemic is part of the story that must be told, of Racism in America today. It uses poems and stories to describe the Black experience in the United States, as told by the visual narrator, Toya “Cookie” Philips along with images, in the “mollage” style, photographed during 25 Black Lives Matter protests, that are a visual expression of protesters, who were crying out to end violence by the police and an end to systemic racism.

Director: David Reibman

Runtime: 10 minutes

Woyane

Woyane is an intimate and harrowing glimpse into this decade's greatest humanitarian crisis and one of the deadliest conflicts of the 21st century, the hidden genocide of Tigray, Ethiopia. This 30-minute expository film follows a coalition of journalists who will stop at nothing to report the atrocities that have been inflicted upon their land and people, even if it means facing imprisonment or execution. With a powerful combination of first-hand testimonials and on-the-ground warzone footage, Woyane uncovers the brutal reality of the Tigray genocide and brings to light the lived experiences of millions of civilians who have been caught in the crossfires and, in many cases, systematically targeted.

Runtime: 33 minutes

Director: Jonathan Stern

2:00 PM : At Your Cervix - Social Justice Film Institute

At Your Cervix

At Your Cervix is the first documentary to expose the little-known practice of the non-consensual use of patients as practice dummies by the American medical education system. In an era when conversations about both consent and reproductive justice are paramount, it shines a light on the use of anesthetized or unconscious patients by medical students to practice pelvic examinations without the knowledge or consent of those patients. The film goes inside medical schools and hospitals, following students as they try to reconcile their personal ethics with the abusive learning methods they encounter, allowing the audience to hear the stories of students and practitioners who, to learn, conducted non-consensual pelvic examinations on unconscious patients.

It traces this abusive practice back to the genesis of modern gynecology and the modern American healthcare system - both of which were built on a foundation of racism, misogyny, and violence. The film also introduces the audience to patients who have been victims of this practice - having entrusted their well-being to physicians who swore an oath to do no harm, they awoke after surgery or sedatives only to find they had been assaulted by the people and the system that were supposed to take care of them. Finally, the film introduces the audience to an alternative - the Gynecological Teaching Associate (GTA). An ethical and effective way of teaching that has existed for over 40 years, At Your Cervix shines a hopeful light on GTAs as the best way forward, empowering medical students to become holistic, compassionate, skilled physicians by making the “patients” themselves the teachers.

Director: A’magine

Runtime: 71 minutes

Miss Betty's Calling

In the mid-1990s, Betty Thompson retired from her job in state government and started a second career working at the Jackson Women’s Health Organization. By 2004, it was the only remaining abortion clinic in Mississippi, and in 2022, it was forced to close because of the recent US Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. At StoryCorps, Betty reflects on how her own experiences as a teenager in the 1960s led her to her calling.

Runtime: 3 minutes

Director: Richard O’Connor

4:00 PM : Double Feature - Crosses in the Dust & Town Destroyer - Social Justice Film Institute

Crosses in the Dust

A law professor and her students assist organizations fighting the ongoing immigration crisis along the Arizona-Mexico border while honoring those who have perished on their journey into America.

Director: Christine Kane

Runtime: 51 minutes

Town Destroyer

Town Destroyer explores the ways we look at art and history at a time of racial reckoning. The story focuses on a dispute over historic murals depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, general, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called "Town Destroyer" after he ordered their villages destroyed during the Revolutionary War. The murals, at San Francisco's George Washington High School, were painted in 1936 by leftwing artist Victor Arnautoff, a student of Diego Rivera. The murals both praise Washington and—rare for the time—critically depict him overseeing his slaves and directing the bloody seizure of Native lands. Most controversial is a provocative image of a dead Indian—life-size, eye-level, and at the center of the school.

The film addresses current debates over trauma, student safety, and cancel culture: Do images trigger trauma in students? How should a changing society deal with controversial works of art? Do the intentions of the artist matter? Or just the impact on viewers? Is it censorship to destroy murals that show painful histories? What does our country owe people who have been historically wronged?

Director: Deborah Kaufman, Alan Snitow

Runtime: 53 minutes

6:00 PM : Birthing Justice & Iron Sharpens Iron - Social Justice Film Institute

Birthing Justice

America’s medical establishment has turned giving birth into a battleground for Black women and their babies. Going behind the statistics and beyond the grief, Birthing Justice places Black women at the center of the fight to fix a broken system transforming the birth experience to one of resilience and joy one birth at a time.

Director: Monique N. Matthews

Runtime: 86 minutes

Iron Sharpens Iron

Iron Sharpens Iron chronicles the Ironton LA, fight against the development of the Plaquemines Liquids Terminal (PLT) land that includes the community’s ancestral burial grounds, as well as the destruction wrought by Hurricane Ida. The people of Ironton have felt the effects of racial segregation and economic injustice acutely—the community was denied running water into the 1980s, and it has been left outside the levee system that protects so many in southeast Louisiana. In August 2021, Hurricane Ida sent 12 to 15 feet of water into Ironton. Confronted with the storm’s aftermath on top of local resistance, the PLT project was scrapped.

"Iron Sharpens Iron" travels to Ironton before and after Ida’s onslaught, recording local takes on the community’s history, the plans for the PLT, and the storm’s devastation. These residents, speaking for themselves, form the core of the project. “Iron Sharpens Iron” captures a Louisiana community at a pivotal moment in its history, one that nonetheless looks like much of its past: discounted and unaided, it endures.

Runtime: 28 minutes

Director: John Richie

8:30 PM : The Klabona Keepers & Listed - Social Justice Film Institute

The Klabona Keepers is an intimate portrait of the dynamic Indigenous community that succeeded in protecting the Sacred Headwaters, known as the Klabona, from industrial activities. Spanning 15 years of matriarch-led resistance, a small group of determined elders in the village of Iskut heal from the wounds of colonization to push back against law enforcement, government, and some of the world’s largest multinational companies. Nestled between scenes of stand-offs and blockades, land defenders reflect on how their history of forced displacement, residential schools, and trauma strengthened their resolve to protect the very land that was so essential to their healing journey.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Director: Tamo Campos, Jasper Snow Rosen

Listed

Listed is a 13-minute documentary film that shares the story of Faizal Karim, a Canadian man falsely flagged on the Canadian No Fly List, a terrorist watch list under the Passenger Protect Program. Through Faizal’s account of racial profiling and detainment due to being falsely flagged, the film exposes the systemic issues underlying the No-Fly List and its impact on marginalized communities. By examining the potential and historical consequences of relying on a flawed listing regime like the No-Fly List to identify potential threats to national security, the film highlights the dangerous erosion of rights Canadians face at the expense of their civil liberties and freedoms.

Director: Leila Almawy

Runtime: 14 minutes

Waiting for Buffalo

“Waiting For Buffalo” is an extremely affecting glimpse into life on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The film follows two Oglala Sioux men who are transporting buffalo into a pen on the reservation, with historical clips and information slides providing a greater context on the destruction of buffalo and the condition of the Sioux people. The two, we learn, are inextricably bound. The buffalo were intentionally eliminated as they were a crucial food source for Native Americans.

The buffalo themselves are shown as both powerful and peaceful, racing by the camera as ferocious beasts and loitering in the pen as simple animals. It is hard to ignore tragedy when we see them, and the same is true of the Sioux people. The moment when the two men discuss selling buffalo calves to supplement the tribe’s income is devastating. As they stand alone in desolation, beside a skeletal pen, the suffering is impossible to evade. It’s unspeakable. “Waiting For Buffalo” is an exceptional confrontation with one of this country’s greatest ongoing tragedies. – Ayden Kowalski, Scene Writer

Runtime: 10 minutes

Director: Grace Beutter, Aidan O’Malley

11:00 AM : Closing Day - Shorts Program - Pacific Tower

Join us for two programming blocks in the beautiful Panoramic Center at Pacific Tower, whose view overlooks the Olympic & Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound. The event begins with a series of short films from Seattle filmmakers, followed by the feature film We Dare to Dream.

The Fourth

The Fourth is based on the countless footage we see on the news of young men of color who experience police stops, for those who don't make it home after a police or traffic stop. I can see it even in some parts, and it's a story based on my own experiences of being a man of color. And what it can feel like when you don't feel free to express your voice. Writing it required truth and vulnerability that was, quite frankly, frightening to expose.
Though it's common to see another police shooting an armed black man, people, and when I mean people who aren't black or considered the other in the United States, don't know what's it like to experience being stopped. The anxiety of not knowing if this minor stop will escalate into something severe. We always if you only knew how it feels to be in a situation.

Director: Johnny Kirk

Runtime: 12 minutes

By My Side

By My Side is an intimate portrait of three veterans suffering from the invisible wound of PTSD. It is the most prevalent and unhealed wound experienced by veterans. Approximately 20% of those who served in the Afghanistan and Iraq wars are still haunted by visions, chased by enemies they can never outrun, and tortured by the fear that they are now the enemy. These debilitating psychic scars have proven very difficult to heal. Twenty veterans commit suicide every day. It is very rare for veterans to admit they feel pain or need help. Even worse is accepting the pain they’ve brought back into their families. Set in northern California, three veterans opened their homes and hearts to filmmakers Vicki Topaz and Wynn Padula, with their continued spirit of service. These families bravely share their pain, fear, and the difficult realization they’ve lost time and love that they may never get back again. Their lack of faith in themselves and others, left these veterans isolated.

Standard treatments failed, filling them with despair. All three found hope where no one had looked—in the heart of a faithful service dog. The families of these veterans, eloquently and poignantly share how frightened and confused they were by loved ones that looked the same but were unrecognizable. They were battling demons they couldn’t see or love away. They were being ****** into the deadly undertow of secondary PTSD. And then came the service dogs. Once the veterans were partnered with service dogs, their smiles returned. Their fear subsided. They could navigate the world again because of service dogs at their side. The dogs, effortlessly, became a joyful bridge to their children and their spouses. The dogs were the key to everyone’s heart. The healing could begin.

Director: Vicki Topaz, Wynn Padula

Runtime: 30 minutes

The Outlanders - From HKG to SEA

After the 2019 Anti-Extradition Law Amendment Bill in Hong Kong, a young Hongkonger left her hometown and made her way to Seattle. The decision to relocate marked a pivotal turning point in her life.

Director: Azure Kwok

Runtime: 12 minutes

Impegnarsi perché si avveri - La CISL, il Sindacato (Engage to make it happen – CISL, the union)

The short film tells, through the testimonies of CISL operators and delegates from all over the Veneto region, the value of social commitment, the meaning of daily commitment in favor of others, and more particularly, the added value of the personal choice to commit oneself in favor of Workers and the community by contributing, through their daily commitment to the union, to build a better world.

Runtime: 7 minutes

Director: Giovanni Panozzo

HEART: Serving Our Neighbors in Crisis

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, and a historic summer of unprecedented unrest, leaders across the country were confronted with public pressure to defund police and contend with a history of police violence and community fear. This moment in time was underscored by the declaration of racism as a threat to public health and the acknowledgment of the relationship between public safety and health equity. In response, a coalition of multiple cities in North Carolina began researching solutions grounded in the reality that police alone cannot meet every crisis response need. After an RTI study revealed that many of the 9-1-1 calls coming into Durham’s emergency dispatch system were for nonviolent incidents, the City of Durham decided to pilot the Durham Community Safety Department (DCSD), an alternative crisis response program. Better known locally as HEART - the Holistic Empathetic Assistance Response Team is the city's first public safety unit to be staffed with mental health clinicians, peer support specialists, and EMTs. HEART: Serving Our Neighbors in Crisis, is a documentary that details the pilot process and explores the deep collaboration needed for police officers, mental health clinicians, and peer specialists to work together in responding to community needs with care.

Runtime: 34 minutes

Director: Dilsey Davis, Hannah Hamza

Where Do They Go? The Painful Reality of Seattle's RV Homeless Sweeps

Lux has been homeless since she was 16. Growing up, her mother was critically ill, so Lux lived with her stepdad. He would kick her out randomly when he was drinking. "I wouldn't know where to go," she said. "Eventually, it got to the point where I didn't want to go back." Lux is now 19. She has lived in her RV for three years and has been forced to move about 20 times. Seattle's controversial RV homeless sweeps have been a source of contention among advocates, residents, and city officials alike. By forcibly removing vehicle residents from their makeshift mobile homes, these sweeps not only displace vulnerable individuals but also often leave them with no alternative shelter. This policy, aimed at addressing the visible impact of homelessness in the city, has been criticized for exacerbating the issue by further marginalizing those who already face significant challenges. Lux receives help from Vehicle Residency Outreach in Seattle. "Joe and Jonah have been visiting me quite often," she said, bringing her food and to Goodwill for clothes. They also let her know when sweeps will happen, so she doesn't lose her van. "I really appreciate them."

Runtime: 14 minutes

Director: Mark Horvath, Alex Gasaway

Mustang Moments

When wild souls from different worlds come together, they give each other a chance at a better life. Inmates rebuild their lives by participating in a rehabilitation program training wild horses for adoption.

Runtime: 6 minutes

Director: Jamie Williams

Beyond Black & White

Race is one of the burning issues of the day, but does your family talk about it? The topic is uncomfortable and complicated. Yet the conversations need to happen. Young people are entering an increasingly diverse world. To thrive, they must be prepared to work with people who look different or come from different backgrounds. The film Roosevelt High School: Beyond Black & White is a production of Roosevelt Alumni for Racial Equity (RARE), a Seattle non-profit formed to promote racial equity, with a focus on schools and their communities. RARE offers scholarships, this film, and monthly Open Discussions. Its newest initiative is Connections, a program to bring together students of different backgrounds for fun, meaningful experiences outside of school.

Runtime: 30 minutes

Director: Simon Fox

2:00 PM : Closing Day - We Dare To Dream - Pacific Tower

Join us for Closing Day in the beautiful Panoramic Center at Pacific Tower, whose view overlooks the Olympic & Cascade Mountains and Puget Sound.
Directed by Academy Award®-nominated Waad al-Kateab (For Sama), We Dare to Dream was executive produced by Angelina Jolie and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, Virunga, The Edge of Democracy).

We Dare to Dream

We Dare to Dream is the story of refugee athletes from Iran, Syria, South Sudan, and Cameroon who swim, run, and fight their way to opportunity and safety in host nations across the world. Spanning a breadth of backgrounds, personal stories, and Olympic sports, the film reveals the lives and hopes of refugee athletes training to compete on the world stage, showing the fire and the drive of young people forced to leave their families, homes, and countries of birth to build new lives out of nothing.

Directed by Academy Award®-nominated Waad al-Kateab (For Sama), executive produced by Angelina Jolie, and produced by Academy Award® winner Joanna Natasegara (The White Helmets, Virunga, The Edge of Democracy) and Emmy-winning producer Abigail Anketell-Jones (The Edge of Democracy, The Nightcrawlers) of Violet Films, two time Academy Award®-nominated producer, Bryn Mooser (Body Team 12, Lifeboat) and Kathryn Everett of XTR Studios and Joe Gebbia of Gebbia Productions, We Dare to Dream tells the amazing stories of young refugee athletes aiming to compete in the Tokyo Olympics. This is their story of resilience and inspiration, hardship and loss, hope, and home. Culminating in their competition at the summer Olympics, their compatriots back home and their new communities in refugee camps watch as these determined young athletes fight for their place in the world. This is their story of heart in the face of adversity, and most of all, hope for a better life.

Director: Waad al-Kateab

Runtime: 93 minutes

El Ojo Comienza En La Mano (The Eye Begins in the Hand)

El Ojo Comienza En La Mano is a tribute to Campesino histories in rural CA through the artwork of an artist largely absent from critical conversations on Chicanx art, Ruben A. Sanchez, as well as an unsentimental reckoning with the fate of many cultural workers that struggle between paying rent and/or creative endeavors.

Director: Yehuda Sharim

Runtime: 16 minutes

Buy Tickets

Date : October 11, 2023 - October 22, 2023

Location : Various Location

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