Simon and the Spirit Bear

Homeland(en)

Following four Lakota families over three years, Homeland explores what it takes for the Lakota community to build a better future in the face of tribal and government corruption, scarce housing, unemployment, and alcoholism. Intimate interviews with a spiritual leader, a grandmother, an artist, and a community activist from South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation reveal how each survives through family ties, cultural tradition, humor, and a palpable yearning for self-reliance and personal freedom.

Feeling Asian American(en)

Feeling Asian American explores the emotional journeys of five individuals, who navigated their way through their own racial reckonings in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. During the height of anti-Asian hate that not only continues to ripple out today, but also brings up echoes of the past, they found community, connection, and self.

I, Kaća, Got Diabetes, So What Now?(sr)

An intimate confession of a girl who was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 23, created as an assignment for a Documentary Film course. In the form of a conversation with herself and her mother, she examines the impact of the disease on her life. The film thematically explores the mental space occupied by the illness and the way she copes with the new circumstances.

Lakota Nation vs. United States(en)

Poet Layli Long Soldier crafts a searing portrait of her Oyate’s connection to the Black Hills, through first contact and broken treaties to the promise of the Land Back movement, in this lyrical testament to resilience of a nation.

Lipstick(en)

With an off beat sense of humour, the film looks at the politics and glamour of lipstick and the dilemmas of the modern woman in a marketed world.

Loyal to My Image(en)

Through one woman's experience as an adopted person and also as a mother who relinquished her child in 1971, this documentary highlights the many complex issues associated with adoption.

Two Spirits(en)

Fred Martinez was a Navajo youth slain at the age of 16 by a man who bragged to his friends that he 'bug-smashed a fag'. But Fred was part of an honored Navajo tradition - the 'nadleeh', or 'two-spirit', who possesses a balance of masculine and feminine traits.

Son of Torum(et)

In the same vein as Meri's other documentations, this one takes advantage of the glasnost policy to discuss the social and ecologic impact of the Russian oil industry on the natives and the lands they inhabit.

It Ain't As Easy As It Looks... (...a.k.a. the Making of 'The Cat's Meow')(en)

A documentary behind the scenes of Peter Bogdanovich's 'The Cat's Meow' (2001).

Jezebel: Legend of the South(en)

Short documentary about the making of the 1938 film "Jezebel."

Sacheen: Breaking the Silence(en)

Revisiting the achievements of Sacheen Littlefeather, the first woman of color to utilize the Academy Awards to make a political statement.

For Frogs' Sake!(en)

The story of two female conservationists fighting against time to save the endangered and elusive Giant Burrowing Frogs in regional Victoria.

The Oyster Gardener(en)

Jolie, a grade-12 student and aspiring marine biologist, joins forces with her community to bring back the lost oyster reefs of the Noosa River.

Alaska and the Wilds Beyond(en)

Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh(en)

Renowned actress Michelle Yeoh journeys home to Malaysia to get to know her adopted orangutan, learning from the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre about the efforts being made to safeguard and sustain this endangered species.

Last of the Longnecks(en)

Last of the Longnecks is a documentary exploring the plight of giraffes and the implications of their demise in our rapidly changing world. With the energy of VIRUNGA, the film celebrates what makes these majestic animals so unique, sheds light on their struggle, and further explores what hope can be found in the tangled relationship between humanity and nature.

Gifted and Challenged: The Making of 'Shortbus'(en)

A look at the unusual process used in the making of the film Shortbus (2006) featuring interviews, behind the scenes footage and clips from the feature film. Director John Cameron Mitchell starts with the concept of using real sex in a film with a positive message. The cast of unknowns is selected from homemade audition tapes and then a callback audition workshop. More acting workshops are used to develop the characters and script. The project overcomes a number of obstacles and the rest of the film's development is followed up until its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival.

Identity Crisis: Bringing Possessor to Life(en)

The cast and crew talk about the core themes of the film and the seeds of the film.

Ian James Made(en)

Ian James has been creating leather goods for nearly a decade, but only recently realized his dream of opening his own shop. When James got laid off during the COVID-19 pandemic, he took the plunge and opened his namesake boutique in San Francisco. James calls the shop—which includes both custom pieces and items that can be bought off the shelf—a “safe space for black people,” where culturally relatable creativity blooms in a gentrifying neighborhood.

The Two Eighty Project(en)

Chris Renfro doesn’t just grow and harvest grapes on a hillside high above San Francisco’s Highway 280 to make delicious local wine. He is dedicated to building a sustainable food community that nourishes every member of the local economy and ecosystem. With the 280 Project’s mission to reclaim space, realize opportunity and revitalize community, Renfro brings both passion and vision to the notion that land ownership is a powerful path to self-determination.