Justice

Becoming Ruby

Becoming Ruby

Dave Mayers/2020/18 min/Health, People & Cultures, Social Justice

Monday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. CST
International Women’s Day

FILM DESCRIPTION: Not seeing herself reflected in the community she loves, mountain biker, skier and artist Brooklyn Bell created her own role model: a hand-drawn hero called Ruby J. With Ruby J as a guide, Brooklyn spent the next few years trying to “live like her, breathe like her, be unapologetically black like her,” and in the process shaped her own identity, one that intertwines her love for dirt, snow and art—and a voice with which to advocate for diversity and inclusion.

This film will precede “Maxima.”

District 15

District 15

Anjali Nayar and Senain Kheshgi/2020/23 min/Energy, Social Justice, Health

Sunday, March 14, 3 p.m. CDT

FILM DESCRIPTION: Sadly, the majority of Los Angeles industrial oil drilling activity takes place in communities of color and low-income communities. “District 15” highlights the hope and tenacity of the young activists of Wilmington, California, as they push the L.A. City Council to prohibit new and existing oil and gas drilling operations within 2,500 feet of homes, schools and hospitals. Communities for a Better Environment is behind this effort. The group does critical work on environmental justice and empowers Californian communities to stand up to polluting industries and build a green energy future.

This film will precede “Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock.”

Flint: Who Can You Trust?

Flint: Who Can You Trust?

Anthony Baxter/2020/119 min/Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures, Health

Saturday, March 6, 6:30 p.m. CST

FILM DESCRIPTION: Filmed over 5 years and long after the story was front page news, “Flint: Who Can You Trust?” is full of new twists and turns. Journalist/filmmaker Anthony Baxter goes beyond the headlines in Flint, Michigan, where a government poisoned its own citizens’ water supply, to show the complete breakdown of authority, public trust and faith in the truth itself. “Flint” is a powerful investigation of the breathtaking scope of toxic pseudo-science, celebrity activism, and official negligence. The film reveals the devastating impact on poor people and people of color, which make up the majority of the residents in Flint, as they continue to seek justice and clean water. Featuring Marc Ruffalo and narrated by Alec Baldwin. Produced by Richard Phinney and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Gather: The Fight to Revitalize Our Native Foodways

Gather: The Fight to Revitalize Our Native Foodways

Sanjay Rawal/2020/83 min/Food & Agriculture, Historical Perspectives, People & Cultures, Social Justice

Saturday, March 6, 3 p.m. CST

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Gather” is an intimate portrait of the growing movement among Native Americans to reclaim their spiritual, political and cultural identities through food sovereignty, while battling the trauma of centuries of genocide. “Gather” follows Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation (Arizona), opening an Indigenous café as a nutritional recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation (South Dakota), conducting landmark studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, a group of environmental activists from the Yurok Nation (Northern California), trying to save the Klamath river.

The Great Green Wall

The Great Green Wall

Jared P. Scott/2019/92 min/Climate Change, Health, Social Justice, People & Cultures

Tuesday, March 9, 6:30 p.m. CST

FILM DESCRIPTION: Take an epic journey along Africa's Great Green Wall—an ambitious vision to grow an 8,000km "Wall" of trees stretching across the entire width of the continent to restore land and provide a future for millions of people. Traversing Senegal, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Ethiopia, Malian musician and activist, Inna Modja follows the burgeoning Great Green Wall through Africa’s Sahel region—one of the most vulnerable places on earth (temperatures are rising 1.5 times faster than the global average)—laying bare the acute consequences of accelerating climate change the Wall aims to counteract: drought, resource scarcity, radicalization, conflict and migration. By Executive Producer Fernando Meirelles (Academy Award and Golden Globe Nominated Director of City of God and the Constant Gardener).

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust

Ann Kaneko/2020/82 min/Historical Perspectives, Social Justice, Water, People & Cultures

Sunday, March 7, 3 p.m. CST

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Manzanar, Diverted: When Water Becomes Dust” provides a fresh interpretation of the Japanese American confinement site by examining the environmental and political history behind the World War II camp. Prior to the war, Manzanar was where Native Americans were driven out and farmers and ranchers were bought out by the L.A. Department of Water and Power (LADWP). By connecting this camp to California’s environmental history, this film shows the intersectionality of how Japanese Americans, Indigenous communities, and locals have been mistreated by government entities that have not served the interests of all of their citizenry. This film aspires to bridge these communities and engage in important public discussion. Manzanar is a site of conscience that all of these communities can claim as their own.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

Maxima

Maxima

Claudia Sparrow/2019/53 min/People & Cultures, Social Justice, Historical Perspectives, Water

Monday, March 8, 6:30 p.m. CST
International Women’s Day

FILM DESCRIPTION: “Maxima” follows Peruvian indigenous farmer Máxima Acuña in her fight to protect her land as she stands up to the largest gold producer in the world: US-based Newmont Mining Corporation. Throughout Máxima’s fight for justice, the film provides an illustrative case study in the tactics used by transnational corporations to commit human rights violations and environmental crimes, the role played by non-profits and The World Bank, and, ultimately, the resilience of one woman who refuses to back down.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.

This film will follow “Becoming Ruby.”

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel

The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel

Jennifer Abbott and Joel Bakan/2020/106 min/Social Justice, Climate Change, Health, Food & Agriculture

Saturday, March 13, 6:30 p.m. CST

FILM DESCRIPTION: In the face of fracturing societies, climate change, and the hollowing out of democracy, “The New Corporation” is a cry for social justice, deeper democracy, and transformative solutions. From Joel Bakan and Jennifer Abbott, filmmakers of the multi-award-winning global hit “The Corporation,” comes this hard-hitting and timely sequel. “The Corporation” (2003) examined an institution within society. ”The New Corporation” reveals a world now fully remade in the corporation’s image, perilously close to losing democracy. We trace the devastating consequences, connecting the dots between then and now, and inspire with stories of resistance and change from around the world.

Tickets available to U.S. viewers only.