Directors: Derrick L. Middleton Shape Up: Gay in the Black Barbershop' is a documentary short set in Harlem, NYC. This film sheds light on the vital role barbershops play within the black community while examining the often complicated relationship that black gay men have with these spaces.
Directors: Brett Kodama On February 19th, 1942, Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, an order which allowed the military to forcibly move people of Japanese ancestry into designated 'Relocation Centers' during World War II. Over 100,000 people (citizen and alien alike) were 'evacuated' in the name of national security with no legitimate reasoning beyond war time hysteria.Among the internees was my grandmother, who was only three years old at the time of her incarceration in the spring of 1942. The number '1217' refers to the Family ID Number issued to my grandmother and her family at the Manzanar Concentration Camp.Her story is just one of many from this forgotten and often ignored part of American History.
The Lost Flock: Catholic Gays Struggle Between the Church and Self
Directors: Eric Kruszewski The Catholic Catechism states that “homosexual acts are disordered, and under no circumstances can they be approved.” Saint Matthew Catholic Church, located in Baltimore, Maryland, has begun a ministry designed to affirm the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) members of its parish family and the broader community. This ministry, known as LEAD (LGBT Educating and Affirming Diversity), strives to offer a sense of home and familiarity to LGBT individuals. Under the direction of Fr. Joseph Muth Jr., LEAD includes about 50 individuals – some of whom fall under the LGBT label, as well as general supporters of the mission. LEAD offers a safe place for the diverse LGBT community to congregate, share, and to find comfort amidst a larger church environment that does not fully accept them.
Directors: Ted Schneider A black artist is stopped and frisked and struggles to determine the place for his experience within the larger social context of racial profiling.
Directors: Be' Garrett In a rural town in Southern Idaho, a Japanese family owns and operates a small motel. The year is 1965, the height of the civil rights era. One night a stranger sporting city clothes checks in, the first African American man that Toru Suzuki's children have ever seen. Yoshiko, Toru's precocious 13 year old daughter, takes it upon herself to solve the mystery of the man, especially after two detectives come knocking on their door in the middle of the night.
Directors: Ray Whitehouse After attending the Million Man March in 1995, a pastor from Durham, North Carolina strives to recruit 1000 people in his city to attend the 20th anniversary of the march in 2015 and learns about himself in the process.
Directors: Amy Wright Brooklyn's own Federation of Black Cowboys ride the trails, transport inner-city kids off the streets and onto horses, and work to preserve and celebrate the legacy of the forgotten 1/3 of old west cowboys who were Black.
Directors: Jordan Lewis Inspired by a true story. Racial tension runs high in 1969 Lakeland, Florida - a small closed minded southern town. Two high school students, Rose and Jude find themselves bonding over a common cause, having an integrated prom.
