Human Rights Watch Film Festival High School Program
2003-2004 Video Catalog
Our Mission
Founded in 1999, the HRWIFF High School Program is a human rights media resource. Our program offers videos and educational materials to high school and after-school teachers across the country. Our mission is to promote the inclusion of human rights curricula in secondary and after-school education and to inspire youth dialogue and youth media production around issues of human rights.
Please take a moment to look through our catalog and contact Program Manager Jen Meagher with all video requests at (212) 216-1247 or .
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90 MILES
Directed By:Juan Carlos Zaldivar
Produced In:USA 2001
Running Time: 79 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English and Spanish with English subtitles
Themes:Cuba, Cultural Identity: Latino, Immigration
Distributor:Frameline
Synopsis:
In 1980, filmmaker Juan Carlos Zaldivar was a thirteen-year-old Communist demonstrating against thousands of people who were deserting Cuba in the Mariel boatlift. Ironically, that same year, Juan Carlos' father demands that he and his older sister decide whether their family should join the overcrowded boat lifts and immigrate to the United States to rejoin their relatives in Miami. This would mean leaving behind their homeland Cuba, possibly forever. Eight years later, after moving to Miami, Juan Carlos is the only one of his family who is willing to go back to visit Cuba. Shot over a period of five years, 90 MILES looks at issues of trust, pride, and responsibility and how the complexity of these issues shape the attitudes of Cubans towards the world and the people they love. This film puts a face to a politically charged topic and serves as a testament to the Cuban and Cuban-American experience.
BIORHYTHMS
Directed By:Paper Tiger Television With Streetworks
Produced In:USA 2002
Running Time: 8 minutes
Genre:Youth-ProducedDocumentary
Language:English
Themes:LGBT, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Paper Tiger
Synopsis:
Biorhythms weaves direct address testimonial with the rhymes and rhythms of the street to create a unique form of self-expression. Larry Goodwin, a client of Streetworks, a drop-in center for homeless youth, relates how coming to terms with his sexual identity has severed some relations in his life and yet has yielded a more self-determined voice.
FENCED OUT
Directed By:Paper Tiger Television With The Neutral Zone and Fierce!
Produced In:USA 2001
Running Time: 28 minutes
Genre:Youth-ProducedDocumentary
Language:English
Themes:LGBT, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Paper Tiger
Synopsis:
FENCED OUT documents the fight for the Christopher St. pier – one of the only places in New York City where youth of color, low income, homeless, and LGBTQ youth can hang out. In the summer of 2000, fences are built right on the spot where the kids have routinely congregated to prepare for the construction of a new state park. By the summer of 2001 most of the space has been taken over by this development. Not only are city developers interested in "fencing out" the kids, but neighbors with apartments overlooking the water want these kids to leave as well. The youth have noticed an increased police presence that is not intended to keep them safe but as one officer tells the youth producers quite bluntly, "You are lowering the property value." At first, upset that they will lose the piers, the producers of the documentary interview local queer youth about the importance of the piers in their lives. To further explore their connection to the piers, the producers also interview older LGBT activists about the history of the piers and its connection to the gay liberation movement of the 60s. In turn they become more politicized and see how their struggle to save their public space connects to a larger historical and social movement. As the video comes to a conclusion, the young filmmakers' anger and sadness about losing the piers develops into a plan of action to save them.
THE FLUTE PLAYER
Directed By:Jocelyn Glatzer
Produced In:USA 2003
Running Time: 53 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English Subtitles
Themes:Cambodia, Genocide/Ethnic Conflict
Distributor:NAATA (National Asian American Telecommunications Association)
This film is available for New York City screenings only. High school teachers and after-school educators outside of the New York metropolitan area who would like to show this film to their students should contact NAATA directly: .
Synopsis:
From 1975 to 1979, the Khmer Rouge led a campaign of death against every Cambodian believed to be educated. As a result, over 90 percent of the country's traditional musicians were killed. Now, as the handful of surviving musicians grow old and fall ill, a way of life quietly slips toward the brink of extinction. Facing this desperate situation is Arn Chorn Pond – a survivor of Cambodia's genocide, an internationally recognized human rights leader, and a talented musician. Today Arn is striving to heal the deep scars of his war-torn past by bringing Cambodia's once outlawed traditional music back to his people. THE FLUTE PLAYER is a heroic story of one man's fight against the devastating effects of war. It is a film about sorrow and pain, dignity and freedom, and the will to survive.
ICC: A CALL FOR JUSTICE
Directed By:YO-TV (Youth Organizers Television)
Produced In:USA 2000
Running Time: 15 minutes
Genre:Youth-ProducedDocumentary
Language:English and Spanish with English Subtitles
Themes:Chile, ICC, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Educational Video Center
Synopsis:
What is the International Criminal Court (ICC)? Who will benefit? Why won't America ratify the treaty? Through archival footage, spoken word poetry and interviews with survivors of torture and ICC advocates, the Educational Video Center's Youth Organizers crew explores these and other questions surrounding the ICC.
INVISIBLE REVOLUTION
Directed By:Beverly Peterson
Produced In:USA 2000
Running Time: 55 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Racism
Distributor:Working Films
Synopsis:
Peterson's extraordinary access to skinheads, gutter punks, and mainstream kids drops the viewer into the front lines of a powerful, passionate, and very raw youth subculture. She documents not only the young people involved in the pro-white movement, but also the counter-movement that demonstrates against and often clashes with them: Anti-Racist Action (ARA). After a decade of going unheard, these voices create a stirring and unique look at urgent and timely issues that can be conveyed only by actually viewing the physical confrontations between the two groups as they collide in a war of ideas. Viewers will also become aware of the extreme danger that ARA members expose themselves to: in 1998 two members of ARA were murdered in the Las Vegas desert. Leonard, a 21-year-old neo-Nazi skinhead sums up: "We are two separate groups . . . There's always going to be racism. There's always going to be hate. We're going to do whatever it takes to get the other one out of the way . . ."
IT AIN’T LOVE
Directed By:Susan Todd and Andrew Young
Produced In:USA 1997
Running Time: 58 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Domestic Violence, Gender
Distributor:Nick Athas
Synopsis:
Most Americans have heard of domestic violence, but few know that it affects teen relationships. IT AIN'T LOVE follows the young, spirited members of FACES, a gutsy improv theater company, combining acting and therapy, known for "telling it like it is." Given three months to create a show about abusive relationships, the kids, ages 15-24, start by boldly exploring their own love lives. Intense reenactments bring the violence they've experienced and inflicted dramatically to life. The process is both exhilarating and painful. A striking and alternative look into the intense world of teenagers and violence with a focus on the importance of dialogue and communication. The final product – the new show – is triumphant and serves as a tribute to the honesty and courage of an inspiring group of young adults.
A KIND OF CHILDHOOD
Directed By:Catherine Masud and Tareque Masud
Produced In:UK 2001
Running Time: 50 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Bangladesh, Children’s Rights
Distributor:Xingu Films
Synopsis:
Imagine a world where the concept of childhood as we know it has no meaning, where children support their parents, and where work is just another part of growing up – this is Dhaka, Bangladesh. Following several children over a period of six years, this documentary tells the stories of their childhood – a different kind of childhood.
LUV ME LATEX
Directed By:Frame By Frame Fierce
Produced In:USA 2003
Running Time: 2 minutes
Genre:PSA Animation
Language:Available inEnglish and Spanish
Themes:PSAs
Distributor:MediaRights.org
Synopsis:
When HIV attacks, two unprotected men in love and a gang of healthy T-Cells are no match for a diabolical HIV virus. This clever animated short makes the case for condoms in a fresh and funny way. Winner of the Safe Sex Award and part of the 2003 Media That Matters Film Festival.
ME AND RUBYFRUIT PROGRAM
Directed By:Sadie Benning
Produced In:USA 1989
Running Time: 18 minutes
Genre:Video Art
Language:English
Themes:Gender, LGBT, Video Art
Distributor:Women Make Movies
Synopsis:
"A series of deeply personal, artistically deft and politically-charged works." – Ellen Spiro, The Advocate. At age 15, Sadie Benning began using a toy video camera to produce these frank, funny, and remarkably self-aware missives about growing up lesbian. This compilation tape includes: IF EVERY GIRL HAD A DIARY, ME AND RUBYFRUIT, LIVING INSIDE, and NEW YEAR.
MILITARY MYTHS
Directed By:Paper Tiger Television With ROOTS
Produced In:USA 2001
Running Time: 28 minutes
Genre:Youth-ProducedDocumentary
Language:English
Themes:Militarism, Racism, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Paper Tiger
Synopsis:
Produced in collaboration with youth activists from ROOTS, MILITARY MYTHS offers an update to IT'S NOT JUST A JOB, a video produced in the early 1980s by Paper Tiger TV and the War Resisters League, a video intended to inspire young people to make more balanced decisions about their future. Young people today are smacked with military advertisements and recruiters coming into their schools and communities offering sign-up bonuses, money for education, and job training. MILITARY MYTHS takes a critical look at the military’s promises. The producers contrast media representations of war and military life with the personal experiences of veterans who have gone to war. Interviews with activists and students are also presented along with statistics from the Veterans Administration, CCCO, SLDN, and recent Pentagon studies that lay clear the myths of military life.
MY AMERICAN GIRLS
Directed By:Aaron Matthews
Produced In:USA 2000
Running Time: 62 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Dominican Republic, Cultural Identity: Latino, Immigration
Distributor:Filmmakers Library
Synopsis:
A film which chronicles the everyday troubles and triumphs of the Ortiz family – a Dominican immigrant family residing in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Mayra, Aida, and Monica are three daughters, each traveling down different roads in this country. Over the course of a year and a half, Sandra – their mother – struggles to keep Mayra, the self-proclaimed "ghetto kid," in school and on the right track. At the same time, Monica, an Ivy League scholar and athlete, pursues her dream of becoming an actor and grapples with the reality of growing farther away from her family. Aida, the "typical middle child," tries to find her way between the world of the street and middle class American values. An intimate portrait of an extraordinary family, MY AMERICAN GIRLS portrays the hopes and frustrations of the Ortiz family – five Dominicans dealing with the benefits and the drawbacks of coming to America.
MY NAME GIRL
Directed By:Emily Green
Produced In:USA 2000
Running Time: 10 minutes
Genre:Youth-Produced Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Gender, LGBT, Video Art, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Emily Green
Synopsis:
A high school girl's personal reflections on life, being female, and growing up with a a gay father. Emphasis is on non-verbal communication through video.
NOT ME, NOT MINE: ADULT SURVIVORS OF FOSTER CARE
Directed By:YO-TV (Youth Organizers Television)
Produced In:USA 2003
Running Time: 29 minutes
Genre:Youth-Produced Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Foster Care, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Educational Video Center
Synopsis:
In a time of urgency for the protection of human rights around the world, educational and social reforms are compromising the basic rights of young people right here in New York City. In 1996, high school students at the Educational Video Center (EVC) produced SOME PLACE TO CALL HOME, a piece that examines the foster care system through the eyes of young people living within it. In the tradition of Michael Apted's 7-UP series, last year’s EVC student producers went looking for these same young people to chronicle, in cinema verite style, the struggles they've faced since 1996 in making their way up and out of the New York City foster care system.
NUYORICAN DREAM
Directed By:Laurie Collyer
Produced In:USA 2000
Running Time: 97 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English and Spanish with English Subtitles
Themes:Cultural Identity: Latino, Drugs and Addiction, Immigration, Puerto Rico
Distributor:California Newsreel
Synopsis:
In an American media landscape offering few Puerto Rican stories, NUYORICAN DREAM makes an urgent and resounding arrival. Combining cinema verite and personal documentary with astounding access to her subjects over a seven-year period, director Laurie Collyer delivers a powerhouse of emotion and insight with this chronicle of the struggles and aspirations of three generations of the Marta Gutierrez family. The film follows Robert Torres, Marta's eldest son and the only member of his family to finish both high school and college and make it out of the Bronx tenements. College was supposed to lead to the American Dream, but the experience of transcending class has alienated Robert from his classmates and, ultimately, his family. Two of his sisters battle drug addiction, and his younger brother attempts to stay out of jail while his mother shoulders the family problems, housing both children and grandchildren on a meager income. Robert's position between the worlds of school and the street lends the film a powerful double consciousness: a deeply personal and sympathetic view of his troubled family and an incisive analysis of the effects of colonialism and poverty on Puerto Rican people.
POSTCARDS FROM PEJE
Directed By:Mark Landsman
Produced In:USA/Kosovo 2001
Running Time: 15 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Kosovo, Genocide/Ethnic Conflict, Youth-Produced
Distributor:Filmmakers Library
Synopsis:
In the summer of 2000, just over one year after Serbian withdrawal from Kosovo, a group of Albanian teenagers from the Kosovarian city of Peje come together to create a video postcard of their experiences during and after the war.
PUBLIC ENEMY
Directed By:Jens Meurer
Produced In:FRANCE/USA 1999
Running Time: 88 minutes
Genre:Documentary
Language:English
Themes:Cultural Identity: African-American, Racism
Distributor:Real Fiction
Synopsis:
"We're going to organize ourselves, we're going to stand up, we're going to arm ourselves and we're going to walk on this racist, pig-ass power structure and we're going to say, stick-'em-up, motherfucker, we've come for what's ours,” says Bobby Seale, public speaker, activist, author and the only surviving founder of the Black Panthers. With this opening tour-de-force speech, the tone is set for an electrifying, visceral, in-depth look at the Black Panther movement. Utilizing fascinating archival footage of rallies, confrontations with authority and behind-the-scenes moments in the movement, the film focuses on the members who have survived. Along with Bobby Seale, we meet law professor Kathleen Cleaver, the highest ranking female Panther and one of the most outspoken members; Jamal Joseph who spent nine years in prison for Panther activities and is currently active as a poet and playwright; and in perhaps the most surprising twist Nile Rodgers, a former Panther who went on to found the 80's rock group Chic and create a successful songwriting/performing career. Four incredibly vibrant, talented, passionate people whose political force has carried on into their current lives and who still feel the power and exhilaration of the early days of a unique socio-political revolution that changed both the societal image and the self-image of all African-Americans.
SCENES FROM AN ENDLESS WAR