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: 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.
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: Mike Holland The story of Moreese Bickham, the oldest living survivor of Death Row in the United States. Bickham describes the murders that sent him to Death Row, his life on death row and how he was able to get on with his life after almost four decades in prison.
Directors: Patrick Johnson Honk! is a festival of activist street bands who reclaim public spaces with their brash sound, political messages, and outrageous community oriented performances.
Directors: Emily Pederson In 2014, the disappearance of 43 college students sparked a historic social movement in Mexico. Faced with government obstruction of an international investigation into their disappearance, their families enter a new chapter of uncertainty but refuse to stop seeking justice and closure.
Directors: Daniela Cruzat, Farrah Lopez Born To Stay is a documentary that follows Elvia, an American girl, high school senior, class leader, and head of the debate club who is terrified that her mother will be deported just like her dad. Elvia lives in an all-white community in Upstate New York, where she feels no one understands her situation, making her very outspoken. The film shows her tight relationship with her mother, her efforts to inform her peers during the election year and the impact the election results have on her family. The film is an intimate portrait of the fear a family with an undocumented parent is going through in a country where 4.5 million citizens are born in this situation.
Directors: Azar Newark, NJ is one of the most dangerous inner-cities in the United States. Marked by a history of racism and segregation, people of Newark are heavily policed on a daily basis. In this film, three siblings from Newark have to find a way to spend time together in the absence of their mother who is away working three long shifts.
Directors: R. Kayeen Using the perspective of Derrick Bell, this short documentary providing an alternate and challenging perspective of the historic Brown v. Board of Education decision.
Directors: Smriti Mundhra, Sami Khan Bruce Franks Jr. is a 33-year-old battle rapper, Ferguson activist and state representative from St. Louis, Missouri. Known as Superman to his constituents, he is a political figure the likes of which you've never never seen — full of contradictions and deep insights, who has overcome unspeakable loss to become one of the most exciting and unapologetic young leaders in the country. This short verite documentary follows Bruce at a critical juncture in his life, when he is forced to deal with the mental trauma he's been carrying for the nearly 30 years since his 9-year-old brother was shot and killed in front of him, in order to find peace and truly fulfill his destiny as a leader for his community.
