Directors: Yucong Chen In 2014, 24-year-old USC graduate student, Xinran Ji, was beaten to death by four teens when returning home from a study session. The case shook the Chinese community to its core, both in Los Angeles and back home in China, as many demanded for justice. A lawyer, Rose Tsai, took it upon herself to tirelessly advocate on his behalf and represent his parents, as they attempt to understand the senseless tragedy together.
Directors: Sarah D. Collins, Zoe Chiriseri Ramushu Aaliyah, 18, soars on aerial silks. Her cousin Bre, 16, twirls on lyra hoops. The girls dream of escaping the violence that has marred their young lives, and their possible ticket out is Trenton Circus Squad. Now that COVID-19 has changed everything, will the circus and girls’ dreams survive?
Directors: Debbie Africa, Mike Africa Sr. Mike and Debbie Africa joined the MOVE Organization in 1974 with relatively light demonstrations against the city of Philadelphia in the interest to confront some societal ills. Their beliefs and activism put them in the cross hairs of the Philadelphia police and officials. By Your Side highlights how they maintained their relationship through the hardship of the Rizzo era, the 40 years they both spent in prison separated from each other, their children, families, and freedom. Mike and Debbie want to tell the story of their young lives, their hopes, dreams and fears- the story of their determination and commitment to never giving up.
Directors: C. Craig A candy bar stealing transient, a hawk-eyed convenience store manager, two bumbling lawmen, and a clerk just trying to do his job all collide in this story about fighting "the man."
Directors: Amin Anari A teenage girl wants to get a divorce and has gone to the Iranian Forensic Medicine Department to get a certificate to remove her husband's name from her birth certificate. There, her mother, a traditional woman, objects the presence of a number of interns to attend her daughter's virginity examination.
Since you arrived, my heart stopped belonging to me ( Desde que llegaste, mi corazón dejó de pertenecerme)
Directors: Erin Semine Kökdil Central American mothers journey by bus through Mexico, searching for their children who migrated north towards the United States but disappeared en route.
Directors: Gopika Ajay and Annick Laurent To the Plate follows struggling restaurateur Moonlynn Tsai and her girlfriend Yin Chang as they find a way to keep local businesses alive and serve their community. They started the mutual aid initiative Heart of Dinner after hearing Asian elders were being targeted for hate crimes and struggling with food insecurity. Through them, our documentary shows younger generations’ response to anti-Asian crimes which have dramatically surged the past few weeks.
Directors: Bilal Motley Midnight Oil is the story of the controversial last days of Philadelphia’s 150 year old oil refinery, which experienced a massive explosion in June 2019. The film follows first-time filmmaker and refinery worker, Bilal Motley, as he struggles to reconcile his love and kinship for his distressed refinery brothers and sisters and his growing awareness of the surrounding communities of color, fighting for environmental justice.
Directors: Jon Appel In Philadelphia, where Kay is plagued by extreme hours at her grocery store job, a product called R.E.S.T. (Rapid Eye Stimulation Treatment) is distributed to the masses through the televised guise of the Polites. This product triggers REM cycles of sleep, full of dreams, that leave the brain feeling fueled in a small amount of time. It is designed for workers who don't have time to sleep and both Kay and her boyfriend Josiah use it. Meanwhile, Kay’s mother Anya leads a group of thinkers and activists who refuse to take R.E.S.T. due its exploitative nature and numbing side effects. The key to Anya's energy are the secret naps she takes during her Park Services job. When Anya's boss forces her to wear a sleep monitor that wakes her up whenever she is on the clock, her health deteriorates. When Anya falls ill, Kay must come
