Scars Unseen is a ‘triumph of the human spirit’ documentary following three women who have overcome domestic violence and are paying it forward. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the statistic of 1 in 4 women affected by domestic violence went up to 1 in 3 women. This inspiring documentary highlights each individual’s experience involving domestic violence, focusing not on the grim details of their trauma but rather on the tools and techniques that helped them to persevere on their healing journey. Scars Unseen aims to illuminate the power of healing, de-stigmatize victimhood, and encourage open communication about the causes, treatment, and prevention of abuse. This documentary focuses on the resiliency of three phenomenal women and encourages us all to be more trauma-informed. Scars Unseen is changing the conversation around domestic violence.
7.5In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.
6.2Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
7.3This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
7.1An investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
6.5The feature documentary follows women of all walks of life, all ages and ethnic backgrounds, as they shed trauma, body image shame, sexual abuse and other issues locked in their bodies, and embark on a journey to reclaim themselves. The film also gives a rare window into the world of Pole artistry and expression.
6.1A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
7.4A startling expose of rape crimes on US campuses, their institutional cover-ups, and the devastating toll they take on students and their families. The film follows the lives of several undergraduate assault survivors as they attempt to pursue—despite incredible push back, harassment and traumatic aftermath—both their education and justice.
8.1Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
7.5When a feminist filmmaker sets out to document the mysterious and polarizing world of the Men’s Rights Movement, she begins to question her own beliefs. Chronicling Cassie Jaye’s journey exploring an alternate perspective on gender equality, power and privilege.
8.0Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
7.3Stars of "The Walking Dead," Andrew Lincoln and Danai Gurira, walk down memory lane and visit iconic locations where pivotal moments between their characters, Rick and Michonne, were filmed.
8.4The second "visual album" (a collection of short films) by Beyoncé, this time around she takes a piercing look at racial issues and feminist concepts through a sexualized, satirical, and solemn tone.
6.7Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.
7.4The film chronicles Nina Simone's journey from child piano prodigy to iconic musician and passionate activist, told in her own words.
6.9At a 2012 pre-season high-school football party in Steubenville, Ohio, a young woman was raped by members of the beloved high school football team. The aftermath exposed an entire culture of complicity—and Roll Red Roll maps out the roles that peer pressure, denial, sports machismo, and social media each played in the tragedy.
6.5Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.
6.9In 1999, Internet entrepreneur Josh Harris recruits dozens of young men and women who agree to live in underground apartments for weeks at a time while their every movement is broadcast online. Soon, Harris and his girlfriend embark on their own subterranean adventure, with cameras streaming live footage of their meals, arguments, bedroom activities, and bathroom habits. This documentary explores the role of technology in our lives, as it charts the fragile nature of dot-com economy.
8.2A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
7.1Happy is a 2011 feature documentary film directed, written, and co-produced by Roko Belic. It explores human happiness through interviews with people from all walks of life in 14 different countries, weaving in the newest findings of positive psychology. Director Roko Belic was originally inspired to create the film after producer/director Tom Shadyac (Liar, Liar, Patch Adams, Bruce Almighty) showed him an article in the New York Times entitled "A New Measure of Well Being From a Happy Little Kingdom". The article ranks the United States as the 23rd happiest country in the world. Shadyac then suggested that Belic make a documentary about happiness. Belic spent several years interviewing over 20 people, ranging from leading happiness researchers to a rickshaw driver in Kolkatta, a family living in a "co-housing community" in Denmark, a woman who was run over by a truck, a Cajun fisherman, and more.
This Ukrainian-Jewish teenager immigrated to San Francisco as a young child. Now on the brink of adulthood, she interviews her grandparents about their new lives yearning to see her American world through their eyes. Yelena understands that life in the US has changed her profoundly.
This Ukrainian-Jewish teenager immigrated to San Francisco as a young child. Now on the brink of adulthood, she interviews her grandparents about their new lives yearning to see her American world through their eyes. Yelena understands that life in the US has changed her profoundly.
Low-level narcotics offenders too often cycle in and out of jail, re-offending soon after they hit the streets. District Attorney Kamala D. Harris has convened City leaders to answer this problem and, along with key partners, has launched Back on Track, an innovative education and employment reentry initiative focusing on young adult drug offenders. Designed to increase community safety by reducing recidivism, Back on Track couples strict accountability and close supervision with education, employment support and health care. The purpose of Back on Track is to prevent young people from committing crimes by leading them to make life changing choices.
Diane di Prima (1934-2020) was a poet, writer, publisher and playwright whose work has been associated with the Beat movement. Born and raised in New York City, she associated with poets such as Amiri Baraka, Jack Kerouac and Frank O’Hara, co-editing The Floating Bear magazine with Baraka in the 60s and co-founding the Poets Press and the New York Poets Theatre. Throughout her life in New York and later out West, both her sense of anarchic limitlessness and her zeal for collaboration guided her work.
Diane di Prima (1934-2020) was a poet, writer, publisher and playwright whose work has been associated with the Beat movement. Born and raised in New York City, she associated with poets such as Amiri Baraka, Jack Kerouac and Frank O’Hara, co-editing The Floating Bear magazine with Baraka in the 60s and co-founding the Poets Press and the New York Poets Theatre. Throughout her life in New York and later out West, both her sense of anarchic limitlessness and her zeal for collaboration guided her work.
0.0The origin story of America's first horror theme park and the thrilling journey of its founder. David Bertolino began as a salesman in a Boston joke shop and moved into Halloween products and costuming before becoming a “Hauntrepreneur” and launching the iconic SpookyWorld.
Citizen Film worked closely with The California Nurses Foundation (CNF) to identify nurses who are strong storytellers, and engage them in creating first-person documentaries. These intensely personal narratives emblemize strategies for providing healthcare in an increasingly diverse State. Citizen Film collaborated with CNF to curate those stories into a digital curriculum that provides cultural-competency training to CNF’s very large constituency of healthcare providers around the state.
7.8A short distance from Marseille, at Cape Morgiou, in the depths of the Calanques massif, lies the Cosquer cave, discovered only about thirty years ago by a diver, Henri Cosquer. With its bestiary of hundreds of paintings and engravings - horses, bison, jellyfish, penguins - the only underwater decorated cave in the world allows us to learn a little more about Mediterranean societies 30,000 years ago. Today, threatened by rising water levels accelerated by global warming, this jewel of the Upper Paleolithic is in danger of being swallowed up. To save the cave from disappearing, the Ministry of Culture has chosen to digitize it. From this virtual duplicate, a replica has been made on the surface to offer the public a reconstruction that allows them to admire these masterpieces.
6.5Thanks to DNA, this documentary establishes the identity of Marilyn's biological father, thus revealing her new paternal family, 60 years after the icon's death.
Andrea and Krisztina Marics are 28-year-old identical twins with a teaching degree that have lived together since birth. They work together at a touring circus, doing joint artistic performances. After a long circus tour abroad, Andrea leaves the close relationship and ends their work together. She feels that she can succeed on her own. Krisztina still lives and works in the circus but struggles to find her place there without Andrea. After the winter tour, Krisztina has to decide if she stays at home with her sister or continues the life of a wanderer.
Bishop William Swing, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2006 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for creating a more just and compassionate community. He reaches out across religions and takes risks to push for innovative solutions to social problems. Bishop Swing's perseverance in fighting homelessness, raising HIV/AIDS awareness, and providing equal access to healthcare has left an indelible imprint on local, national, and international communities.
Jane Garcia, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2007 Community Leadership Awards (the Robert C. Kirkwood Award). Jane's visionary advocacy reflects the cultures and languages of patients and has advanced the national, state, and regional public health agenda. Under Jane's dynamic leadership, La Clínica de la Raza grew from a storefront clinic to a national model of multilingual and multicultural access to healthcare. More than 20 sites provide crucial healthcare and empowerment to hundreds of thousands of low-income residents across the Bay Area.
Eva Paterson, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2007 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award). Eva has empowered thousands of people to make their voices heard in the critical civil rights struggles of our times. Eva's passionate and longtime commitment to advancing social and racial justice through law and public policy, communications and the arts, and alliance building has had a profound local and national impact. Her vision, coalition building, and tenacity have not only won landmark cases, but have raised the visibility and impact of the justice movement to change the very fabric of our society.
Elizabeth "Betita" Martinez, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2008 Community Leadership Awards (The San Francisco Foundation Award) - for building unity and alliances across traditional racial and gender lines, and for serving as a selfless and inspirational advocate for oppressed peoples around the world.
0.0Light Upon Light: A Documentary on Hijab is an intimate and deeply personal exploration of the diverse, raw, and untold stories of hijabi women. Through open and vulnerable conversations with 7 women, the film dismantles stereotypes, highlights the challenges imposed by society, and celebrates the profound beauty of the hijab beyond a mere clothing choice. It captures the individuality of each woman’s story—how they came to wear the hijab, the struggles they’ve faced, and the strength they’ve found in it. More than just fabric, the hijab is a journey, often misunderstood, and influenced by the way the world perceives it. By amplifying voices that are often unheard, the documentary creates a space for empathy, challenges misconceptions, and invites a deeper understanding of what it truly means to wear the hijab; inspiring everyone to see hijab in a new light.
Dr. Washington Burns is the executive director of the Prescott-Joseph Center for Community Enhancement, for working tirelessly to meet the needs and better the lives of West Oakland residents. A retired pathologist, Dr. Burns is at the heart of PJCCE's health and human services, education, literacy, arts, and cultural programs for residents of all ages. A trusted community organizer and partner, he inspires others to narrow disparities in health and social services access and to strengthen their own community. In the spirit of The San Francisco Foundation Award, made to an individual demonstrating exemplary commitment to improving human relations in the Bay Area.
1.0As notions of civil rights transformed across the world, so was the screen landscape reformed by the ascension of grassroots film movements seeking to challenge the mainstream. Some aspired to push form to its limit; others worked to destabilise what they saw as a homogenous industry, or to provoke questions around gender, sexuality, migration and race.
Ester Hernandez, winner of the San Francisco Foundation 2004 Community Leadership Awards (Helen Crocker Russell Award) - for fostering community and raising social consciousness through her groundbreaking art, for her work with Creativity Explored, and for inspiring and mentoring the next generation of artists.
7.5A documentary film that delves into the life and cinematic career of one of Japan's most prolific directors: Ishiro Honda. The film will spotlight Honda's filmography from both a historical and personal perspective, exploring his contributions to the Japanese film industry and his firsthand experiences of war, from which he barely survived. It will also delve into his profound feelings regarding the atomic bomb, a subject that became an obsession for him and was frequently reflected in his films. The documentary will analyze Honda's body of work through interviews with individuals who had the privilege of collaborating with him, as well as experts on Honda's films from both Japan and the Western world. Furthermore, the film will uncover Honda's friendship and professional relationship with director Akira Kurosawa.
0.0An Episcopal minister. 41 naval recruits. A zealous newspaper editor. A pandemic. A drag show. A beanstalk. The YMCA. A future president of the United States. This multiple screen installation looks at the 1919 Newport Sex Scandal.
