2018 Films

Seats at the Table is a feature documentary that depicts a unique college class, Books Behind Bars: Life, Literature and Leadership, founded by University of Virginia Lecturer Andrew D. Kaufman, which brings together university students with residents of a maximum-security juvenile correctional center through the study of Russian literature.

Sparked by backlash to a neo-nazi rally and anti-immigrant laws, a group of activists organize the community to build Phoenix Allies for Community Health, a free clinic for undocumented immigrants.  The film follows nurse and social activist Jason Odhner as he journeys the crossroads of a national debate over healthcare and immigration and shares poignant stories of patients that illuminate the struggles of the marginalized undocumented community.  It highlights how the clinic and its volunteers have worked to make a dent in a problem that has plagued our country for decades.  Exploring how

Remittance follows Marie, a foreign domestic worker from the Philippines as she struggles to cope with demanding employers, long hours of work, and separation from her family.  Breaking from the conventional image of maids as labor, the story explores the transformations Marie goes through as a woman dealing with conflicting obligations and aspirations. 

Playing Frisbee In North Korea is the first documentary produced and directed by an African-American female filmmaker from inside North Korea. It follows Ms. Washington’s journey inside North Korea, offering a first time glimpse into the everyday life of its people.

In 1992, with Israeli-Palestinian relations at an all-time low and communication punishable with jail time, a small group of Israelis and Palestinians gathered in Oslo – secretly and against the law. 

Since 1980 activists in lay and religious life have undertaken dramatic Plowshares protests, derived from the biblical injunction, “They shall beat their swords into Plowshares,” risking long prison sentences in an ongoing campaign to move the world away from the nuclear brink. 

• Screens with Nothing to Do

A group of Jewish senior citizens celebrate the weekly Sabbath (Shabbat) at the local Wendy’s fast food restaurant with Hebrew blessings accompanying their burgers and fries.  This is a story of rediscovering the joys of community in older age and in the longing for ritual – however unorthodox it may appear.

What happens when you can't stand the way your sibling does just about anything, but you're forced to be with them during your father's last days?

When a nation-wide uprising breaks out in 1987, a woman in Gaza must make a choice between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of women in a movement that forces the world to recognize the Palestinian right to self-determination for the first time. Naila and the Uprising chronicles the remarkable journey of Naila Ayesh whose story weaves through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history -- the First Intifada in the late 1980s.

May I Be Happy brings awareness to the benefits of mindfulness as a way out of violence and suffering, and as an attainable solution for younger generations.