MARCH ON! FESTIVAL 2020

Paul Robeson: The Voice of the People

2020

Directors: Defne and Kaya Ceyhan
Paul Robeson was a singer, actor, scholar, and athlete. He was one of the first world renowned black artists and used his stature to speak for the rights of others, combining his artistic achievements with political activism. His activism was a precursor to the modern civil rights movement. Shunned but never silenced, Robeson spent his life breaking racial barriers and fighting for the oppressed members of society in America and around the world.

The First

2020

Directors: Mohammed Saffouri
Abrar, a young Muslim American woman running for a school board seat in Fairfax County, Virginia, faces many obstacles during her electoral journey that make her stronger and push her closer to achieve her goal.

Feminism: The Fifth Wave

2020

Directors: Molly E. Smith
Feminism is a dirty word. At least that is how some women see it. It has been weaponized, becoming closely associated with political ties and radical behavior. The media paints this picture of polarization between generations particularly regarding feminism, but these few loud opinions do not make up the whole. In this film, we take a closer look at the evolution of feminism through the generations, reveling a surprising similarity. Are we really different in our ideas of feminism, or is this just a perception? With Generation Z on track to being “most diverse, best-educated generation yet” according to the 2018 study by the Pew Research Center and having access to smart phones since their time of birth, there is no question that Generation Z will forever impact the feminist movement. This film is a culmination of a year long research study to determine the

Purple Dictatorship

2020

Directors: Matheus Moura
Yeda, the green-faced woman, sells homemade bread and cookies to support the house where she lives with her sick husband. Through the context of green-faced people, we know the reality of those who live on the fringes of a purple-faced society.

Home

2020

Directors: Adewale Olukayode
Femi is a Nigerian immigrant who works as a manager at a grocery store in Brooklyn, New York. Over the course of a night, he is informed by a fellow manager that his older brother, Adeola, has stolen a large sum of cash during his shift as a cashier. In confronting Adeola for the missing cash, two brothers question their dissonant life values and realize how different they have transformed from one another in pursuing the American Dream.

LP

2020

Directors: Alexander Etseyatse
A Loss and prevention officer have a sense of real regret after facing a moral decision. Messages tend to resonate more when they’re more subtle, subversive, and provoke thought. Winner: "Carl Lerner Award for Social Significance" at NYU First Run Film Festival

Lupita

2020

Directors: Monica Wise Robles
In a country where indigenous people are increasingly displaced, their land stolen, where students disappear without trace following police arrest, and journalists are murdered at an alarming rate, a courageous new voice emerges. Lupita, a Tsostil Maya massacre survivor, at the forefront of a new movement of indigenous women. If anyone can change the conscience of Mexico, it is Lupita, confronting corrupt militares, mobilizing her pueblo’s resistance, and cultivating a new generation of organized and vocal Maya activists. The film intimately follows Lupita taking on risks and responsibility to represent her people, weaving her personal narrative into the painful revolutionary history of Mexico. Part lyrical testimony, part vérité storytelling, part tribute to 500 years of indigenous resistance, this film mediates the point-of-view of a brave woman who must balance the demands of motherhood with her high stakes choices to reeducate and restore justice to the

COVER/AGE

2020

Directors: Set Hernandez Rongkilyo
For years, advocates have been organizing to make healthcare access a right for all in California, regardless of their immigration status. Set against the backdrop of California's Health4All campaign, COVER/AGE follows two leaders who have been championing the immigrant health justice movement in the Golden State. One is an elderly caregiver who has spent over a decade taking care of senior citizens, in spite of being ineligible for the same services she provides due to her immigration status. The other is a long-time community advocate who has been organizing directly-impacted people towards policy change at the intersection of immigrant, health, and gender justice. As the conversation around universal healthcare continues to gain momentum in the national level, this film highlights the urgency of expanding healthcare access to undocumented people by centering the unwavering voices of immigrant health justice leaders.

Welcome Strangers

2020

Directors: Dia Sokol Savage
Every night at 6pm, detained immigrants are legally released from a for-profit ICE facility onto unfriendly, industrial streets near Denver, Colorado. The men and women, most of them asylum-seekers, have little idea where they are and have nothing more than the clothes on their backs. "Welcome Strangers" tells the story of Sarah Jackson, a young woman who searches the streets for these immigrants and invites them into her home. She and a team of volunteers greet them with compassion and provide them with shelter, clothing and help them reunite with their families.

JOHN ROBERT LEWIS LIFETIME LEGACY AWARD

The Lifetime Legacy Award was established to honor a lifetime of extraordinary achievement in advancing civil rights and social justice. Awarded to Congressman John Lewis himself and renamed the John Lewis Lifetime Legacy Award in his honor after his passing, this prestigious award recognizes leaders whose unwavering commitment to equity and justice reflects the core principles that guided Congressman Lewis— courage, resilience, and transformative action.

MARCH ON! AWARD

The March On! Awards were established to recognize leaders and organizations whose commitment to advancing civil rights and social justice is unparalleled. Honorees exemplify the spirit of activism, advocacy, and creative expression that drives meaningful change. Through their work—whether in the arts, public service, or community leadership—recipients of the March On!™ The lifetime achievement award has only been bestowed upon one other individual.

Vivian Malone Courage Award

Presented biennially by Dr. Sharon Malone—renowned OB/GYN and sister of civil rights pioneer Vivian Malone Jones—this award honors contemporary women who demonstrate extraordinary courage in the fight for racial justice. Named after the first African American to graduate from the University of Alabama, the award celebrates those who, like Vivian, boldly confront injustice and inspire progress.

This year, we are delighted to honor commentator, author, television and podcast host Joy-Ann Reid, who will be joined In Conversation with the Honorable Eric Holder, former US Attorney General. With welcoming remarks from Jalaya Liles Dunn, Director of Learning for Justice at the Southern Poverty Law Center, and a special performance by actor Lisa Arrindell.

And at the top of the program, we will also proudly celebrate the creativity and vision of the winners of the Student and Emerging Filmmaker Competition.

Come early! The first 500 people to arrive receive a free copy of Joy-Ann Reid's book Medgar and Myrlie: Medgar Evers and the Love Story That Awakened America.

Partner
We are excited to partner on this event with Metropolitan AME Church, a historic national church at the vanguard of creating space for all human beings to imagine and build a just and beautiful community and world.

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Registration for the March On! Festival 2025 Is Now Open!