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Official program guide to the 2020 North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival.

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2020 Festival Guide
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LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival acknowledges that
our festival is held on Indigenous peoples’ traditional homelands, in-
cluding the Anishinaabe, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara, and the
Lakota, Dakota, and Nakota peoples.
These proud, Indigenous Peoples are not a part of the past.
They remain an essential part of North Dakota today.
Our festival recognizes the ever-present systemic inequities perpetrated
against these cultures in our state, and we commit ourselves indefinitely
to respecting and reconciling this long history of injustice.
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Cover & Official poster designed by D.C. Houle
Opposite: “What Was Ours” | Directed by Matt Hames | 2016
Welcome
I
n June, we were optimistically hopeful
that elected state leaders would rise to the
challenge that the COVID-19 pandemic
presented to North Dakota. Unfortunately,
that hasn’t been the case. As of this writing,
North Dakota leads the nation in per capita
COVID-19 cases. Each week brings another
broken record: The number of active cases.
The number of hospitalizations. The number
of our friends and family members who have
died due to complications of the deadly virus.
As summer transitioned to fall, it was clear
that our leaders’ failure to act would make
traditional screening options inaccessible to
us. That left us with a decision: To cancel our
fourth season or transition the festival online.
We decided, with the support of the filmmakers
in the festival this year, to bring these films
online for you to experience from the safety of
your home.
This year, more than any of our festival’s
history, we felt it essential to bring these
important films to North Dakota. 2020 has
seen the rise of mental health needs in our
society and the deterioration and strain of our
health care systems. It has seen the rise
and cultural acceptance of white separatism
and nationalism. It has seen a Presidential
Administration that has embraced and
emboldened systems of racism that continue
to create and maintain racial inequality in
nearly every facet of life for people of color.
But there has also been
hope
. Our nation’s
collective consciousness that supports
equality, equity, and inclusion has risen
against these injustices: From the continued
Indigenous-led Water Protector movement
that shields our environment from corporate
interests; to the Black Lives Matter movement,
which is demanding reform from our police
and criminal justice systems; to the 50th
Anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, and the
acknowledgment of the Supreme Court that
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects gay,
lesbian, and transgender employees from
discrimination based on sex; and to the Get
Out the Vote movement that has inspired a
new generation of voters to elect leaders that
represent the best of who we are as a nation.
The films in the festival this year capture the
heart of the challenges and hopes that have
defined 2020. It is, I believe, one of the most
important curations of film our Jury has crafted
since our beginnings in 2017. More, while the
pandemic has created challenges for the
festival, the silver lining is this: by moving online,
we have had the opportunity to engage with
more filmmakers this year than ever before.
From Belfast to India, from Sweden to New
Zealand, from California to Australia, we have
been able to have incredible conversations
with filmmakers risking their lives to document
critical human rights, civil rights, and social
justice issues.
On behalf of the entire team, it is my pleasure
to welcome you to the fourth annual North
Dakota Human Rights Film Festival. Thank you
for supporting the work of these filmmakers
and the humanitarian eorts they document.
We hope you leave the festival inspired by the
individuals working to protect our fundamental
human rights.
With love and respect,
Sean Coman
2020 Festival Chair
The North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival
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TICKETS
Passes and Individual tickets
All-Access Pass & Human Rights $80
Summit & Arc of Justice Awards
Provides access to all feature films,
shorts packages and live conversations
from the North Dakota Human Rights Film
Festival and access to the North Dakota
Human Rights Coalition’s Human Rights
Summit and Arc of Justice Awards held
virtually on Saturday, November 14th.
All-Access Pass $35
Provides access to all feature films,
shorts packages and live conversations
Single Admission $12
Individual admission to any feature
film, short package or live conversation
When purchasing your pass or ticket, please
consider also making a tax-deductible
donation to the North Dakota Human Rights
Film Festival. Your support helps bring
important, relevant human rights and social
justice based films to the northern
communities of North Dakota.
How to buy tickets
Online ticket sales begin Monday,
October 19. Tickets are available at
www.ndhr.org.
Tickets are sold via Eventive. Once your
order is complete, you will receive an
email confirmation and receive access
to the films in your package.
You will have the opportunity to screen
films using your desktop computer,
Online and Box Oce payment: Visa,
MasterCard, Discover and American
Express are accepted. Cash and Checks
are not accepted.
The Fine Print: All orders are final. No
refunds, exchanges, substitutions, or
replacements.
The Human Family is not responsible for
lost, stolen, forgotten, or damaged
tickets or passes, or any item misdirected
by the Postal Service or spam filters.
If a screening is canceled, attendees
will have an opportunity to attend a
rescheduled screening. Service fees for
returned rescheduled passes or tickets
are non-refundable. The service fee is
$1.00 per pass or ticket.
Accessibility
Closed-captioning is available for certain
films and for pre-recorded panel
discussions and filmmaker Q&As.
To request specific accommodations,
email ADA@human-family.org
Connect with us
Website NDHRFF.org
Phone (701) 205-0248 FAX (701) 212-4197
How to Join Us
Because of the pandemic, the North Dakota
Human Rights Film Festival has moved online
for our fourth season. The festival will take
place online using the Eventive platform.
You can access the online platform from our
webpage at www.ndhr.org or directly at
https://ndhr2020.eventive.org/welcome
E D Q
5
HOW TO WATCH
Getting Started
This year, the North Dakota Human Rights
Film Festival will only be available online. We
are using the Eventive Platform, which allows
you to screen films to your television, on your
desktop or laptop computer system, or via
your tablet or mobile phone.
The online festival is available at:
https://ndhr2020.eventive.org
You can also find a link to the online festival
on our main website at:
www.ndhr.org
Create Your Log-in
When you make your first purchase of a
pass or individual ticket, you will be asked
to create an Eventive log-in. You will need
this to sign in on your devices to watch.
Once you’ve created your login and
purchased a pass or ticket, simply go to the
film or program you would like to view and
click “Unlock.” You’ll have immediate
access to the film on any of your devices!
Watch on Your Television
Eventive allows you to screen the films in the
festival via your television several ways: If
you're an AppleTV or Roku device user, you
can download the Eventive App from the
app store to your device. Once
the application is installed, you'll receive
instructions on how to link your device with
your online profile.
Alternatively, you can cast from your
browser to your SmartTV.
Please note that you must first unlock
content on a computer or mobile device
before you can view it via either of the apps.
Watch on Another Device
Don’t use an AppleTV or Roku device? No
problem. You can still experience the festival
from your desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile
device.
Simply go to www.ndhr2020.eventive.org
and purchase your pass or ticket, go to the
film or program you would like to view and
click “Unlock.” You’ll have immediate
access to the film on any of your devices!
Video on Demand
Nearly all of the films in the festival are
available Video On Demand. That means
you can watch films as your schedule allows.
Please Remember
Due to licensing restrictions, certain films may
be limited to their screening radius or screen-
ing time. Be sure to review the requirements
of a particular film prior to purchasing a pass
or ticket.
Once you hit play, you have 7-days to
watch that feature or shorts package. You
can pause, stop, and restart at any time
during that time period.
You can only watch from one device at a
time.
If you are experiencing technical diculties,
click on ‘Need Help?’ from your browser.
Films in the NDHRFF have not been rated for
content. Viewer discretion is advised.
6
Contents
Welcome 3
Tickets 4
How to Watch 5
Award Winners 7
Panel Discussions 22
Schedule At-A-Glance 28
Feature Films 30
Shorts Programs 46
Award Winners
“Tent 113, Idomèni” | Directed by Henri Marbacher | 2019
Directed by Leanne Pooley
Language English
Country of Origin New Zealand
The Girl On The Bridge
is the story of
a young woman with the weight of
a generation on her shoulders.
Having survived her own suicidal
struggles Jazz Thornton is a mental
health activist, fighting to change
how society and the system are
dealing with young people like her.
Ultimately this is a film about hope.
It’s a film about redemption.
It’s a challenge to all of us to try
to understand.
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AWARD WINNER: THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE
SAMUEL SPRYNCZYNATYK STORYTELLER AWARD FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Samuel Sprynczynatyk is an
independent filmmaker in Bismarck,
North Dakota. His documentaries are
best known for their ability to capture
his subjects’ human spirit through
extraordinary storytelling.
In June of 2018, Sam suered a heart
attack. Rushed to the hospital, he
promptly suered a second and red-
lined. After emergency surgery, doctors
cooled his body to preserve brain
function. He was in a coma for a week
and two days. His family was not sure he
would survive.
Fortunately, he did.
After substantial rehabilitation, Sam has
returned to capturing the stories of our
neighbors and community.
The Human Family created the
Samuel Sprynczynatyk Storyteller Award
for Best Documentary feature for two
reasons: For Sam, as a reminder for him
to know how important talents are to
the community. Sam is valued as an
artist, a filmmaker, and as a friend.
Second, to recognize feature
documentary films for outstanding
storytelling and for their ability to
capture the essence of the human spirit,
just as Sam has and continues to do.
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SAMUEL SPRYNCZYNATYK STORYTELLER AWARD
FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
“A film that makes the invisible visible,
looking at what we prefer not to see, a
reality profoundly human that has
ceased to exist for us.”
Joan is an alcoholic homeless who
survives in Barcelona streets with
his dog, Tuc. After a mysterious
phone call, Joan falls into a crazy
drunkenness in which ends
up losing Tuc. Castaway in the city,
he is soon brutally beaten. We
rediscover him away from the city in
a delirious journey that exceeds all
his limits. At the end of the road,
something that was once his home.
And a deathbed.
Directed by Xesc Cabot & Pep Garrido
Language English
Country of Origin Spain
10
AWARD WINNER: OUTSIDE
BEST NARRATIVE FEATURE
The Jury recognizes Enrci Molina for
his extrodinary performance as Joan
in
Outside
.
11
AWARD WINNER: ENRIC MOLINA
BEST PERFORMANCE - ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Directed by Maggie Zhu
Language English
Country of Origin United States
In the United States, the average life
expectancy of black transwomen is
35 years old.
In this social thriller, Tonia Stanwell
finds herself on a nightmarish quest
through a mysterious government
agency to get to her 36th birthday.
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AWARD WINNER: 35
BEST STUDENT FILM
Agìr, a smiling and discreet 19 year
old, tells the story of his migration.
His journey from Syria to Switzerland
spans several years, rushes from
boats to buses, lingers from shacks
to mosques, crosses camps
and borders.
From this chaotic construction, a
fragmented, unequal narrative
emerges. Constructed of short
capsules, it is this journey that the
animated film puts into action
through Agìr’s voice-over.
Directed by Henri Marbacher
Languages French, Kurdish
Country of Origin Switzerland
13
AWARD WINNER: TENT 113, IDOMÈNI
BEST ANIMATED FILM
Directed by Tathagata Ghosh
Language Bengali
Country of Origin India
Manob is in love with another man,
and has a price to pay for that. Not
only is he fighting the society around
him, but his own homophobic
father, who does not even refrain
from physical violence to “cure his
son from the disease of loving
another man”.
Cornered between his father’s
expections, the desires of his lovers,
and his personal idenity, Manob
now has to make a choice between
giving up his struggle or standing up
for who he truly is.
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AWARD WINNER: MISS MAN
MIA EH’DESH COURAGE AWARD FOR BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
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MIA EH’DESH COURAGE AWARD
FOR BEST NARRATIVE SHORT
The Mia Eh’Desh Courage Award for
Best Narrative Short recognizes those
films and filmmakers who have
demonstrated extraordinary courage
in filmmaking and storytelling.
The award is named in the spirit of
RuthAnna Bualo. Bualo, Mia Eh’Desh
or Woman Appears, is an enrolled
citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and
Arikara Nation and a descendant of
the Chiricahua Apache. She is a
member of the Dripping Earth clan
and from Mandaree.
In 2018, RuthAnna was the first Native
American Democratic woman elected
to the North Dakota Legislature. She
unseated State Representative Randy
Boehning, the primary sponsor of a voter
ID law designed to disenfranchise
Native Americans from voting. In her first
year in the legislature, RuthAnna
sponsored and led the passage of bills
ranging from the collection of missing
and murdered indigenous peoples,
human tracking, and child care
assistance.
Bualo has selflessly devoted herself and
career to improving the health and lives
of the public. Her background includes
health and wellness, public health,
research, policy, and education.
Cowboy Poetry
is a work of visual
music recorded during a series of
live audiovisual performances.
The audio is created with a
combination of hand made
electronic instruments and vector
imagery that has been translated
into stereo audio. This audio is
visualized on an oscilloscope
and documented during
the performance.
The work is inspired by socio-political
and theoretical ideas surrounding
nationalism and Americana.
Directed by Mark Franz & David Colagiovanni
Language English
Country of Origin United States
16
AWARD WINNER: COWBOY POETRY
RAYMOND REA CREATIVE EXPRESSION AWARD FOR EXPERIMENTAL FILM
The Raymond Rea Creative Expression
Award for Best Experimental Film
recognizes those films and filmmakers
who have demonstrated extraordinary
creativity in experimental filmmaking.
The award is named in the spirit of
Raymond Rea, a filmmaker, and writer.
He worked for over a decade with San
Francisco’s Theatre Rhubarb, a
company dedicated to staging
rarely seen and risk-taking theatre works.
His own production company, Density
Over Duration, has produced 8 stage
works, eight short films, and an
experimental narrative feature.
His film and video work has screened
nationally and internationally. Ray’s
writing has been produced at EXIT
Stage Left, EXIT Mainstage, BUILD, and
the Theatre Rhino in San Francisco.
Grants include awards from the Mas-
sachusetts Council on the Arts, The
Vermont Council on the Arts, The Film
Arts Foundation (Personal Works), The
Arts Partnership, and the LRAC Literary/
Performance Fellowship, funded by the
McKnight Foundation.
He is the founder of the
Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival and
now teaches film/video production in
Northern Minnesota.
17
RAYMOND REA CREATIVE EXPRESSION AWARD
FOR BEST EXPERIMENTAL FILM
The Jury recognizes Vanessa
Chisakula for her extrodinary
performance in
Her Place
.
18
AWARD WINNER: VANESSA CHISAKULA
BEST PERFORMANCE - ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Lost Lives
is a cinematic film inspired
by the book of the same name that,
uniquely, records the circumstances
of every single death in a conflict –
the Northern Irish ‘Troubles.’
There are over 3700 entries in the
book. Over 3700 lost lives.
The film is a reminder of what
happens when we settle dierence
through violence. A reminder that
war is hell.
Directed by Michael Hewitt & Dermot Lavery
Languages English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
19
AWARD WINNER: LOST LIVES
BEST OF SHOW
The Jury recognizes Denis
Dobrovoda for his exceptional writ-
ing of
Savage
.
The script tells the story of a man
brought over from Africa to serve as
an exhibit at a British colonial
exposition tries to escape his captors
and recover his dignity.
Directed and Written by Denis Dobrovoda
Language English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
20
AWARD WINNER: SAVAGE
BEST SCREENPLAY
Over 3,000 migrants have died trying
to cross the Sonoran Desert. The only
marker for where their anonymous
bodies were found: a red dot on a
digital map. Artist Alvaro Enciso is on
a mission to mark the places these
people died, to find a way to honour
his “neighbours” and create a visual
remembrance of their struggle.
For the past 9 years he has been
placing home made crosses in the
desert, leaving a signpost that a
human being lost their life in this
place. He’s placed more than 900
of these markers and yet it’s a task
he will not complete in his lifetime.
Directed by Will Francome & Katie Green
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
21
AWARD WINNER: THE MARKER
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Panel Discussions
“Her Place” | Directed by Gustavo Garcia Solares | 2020
8:00 P.M. CST |Live on Facebook
Join the North Dakota Human Rights Film
Festival for a special 5-year retrospective of
the award-winning film,
Welcome to Leith
.
Documenting events that began in 2015, the
film chronicles the attempted takeover of a
small town in North Dakota by notorious white
supremacist Craig Cobb.
Filmed in the days leading up to Cobb’s arrest
for terrorizing the townspeople on an armed
patrol and his subsequent release from jail six
months later, the film is an eerie document of
American ideals.
Was the film a precursor to the rise in white
supremacy movements around the country?
Co-directors Michael Nichols and Christo-
pher Walker return virtually to North Dakota
to reflect on the film within the context of an
openly racist presidential administration and
a national crisis in race relations.
Free and open to the public
Nichols and Walker will be joined by: Ryan Lenz,
the independent journalist who broke the story
about Cobb’s intentions; Jaylani Hussain,
Executive Director of CAIR-Minnesota; and
community activist Wess Philome.
23
LIVE CONVERSATION
FILMMAKER QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9
JAYLANI HUSSAINRYAN LENZ
CHRISTOPHER WALKER
MICHAEL NICHOLS WESS PHILOME
COMMUNITY ACTIVISTEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
CAIR MINNESOTA
INDEPENDENT
JOURNALIST
CO-DIRECTOR
WELCOME TO LEITH
CO-DIRECTOR
WELCOME TO LEITH
Join host Kahstoserakwathe Paulette Moore
for a conversation with Katsitsionni Fox about
her film,
Without A Whisper – Konnon:Kwe
Without A Whisper – Konnon:Kwe
is the untold
story of how Indigenous women influenced the
early suragists in their fight for freedom and
equality.
Mohawk Clan Mother Louise Herne and
Professor Sally Roesch Wagner shake the
foundation of the established history of the
women’s rights movement in the United States.
They join forces on a journey to shed light on
the hidden history of the influence of
Haudenosaunee Women on the women’s
rights movement, possibly changing this
historical narrative forever.
Katsitsionni Fox has been making films since
2003 in the Mohawk Territory of Akwesasne,
where she resides. Her credits include A short
drama related to the traditional uses of
tobacco, as well as several short films relating
to domestic violence awareness and
environmental awareness
Kahstoserakwathe Paulette Moore is an
independent filmmaker, lecturer, artist and
educator. Moore is Kanyen’kehàka (Mohawk)
and an enrolled member of Six Nations of the
Grand River territory where she is based.
24
8:00 P.M. CST |Live on Facebook
Free and open to the public
LIVE CONVERSATION
FILMMAKER QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10
KATSITSIONNI FOX
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
WITHOUT A WHISPER
KAHSTOSERAKWATHE
PAULETTE MOORE
FILMMAKER, ARTIST,
AND EDUCATOR
Join host Chalsey Snyder for a conversation
with Willow O’Feral, director of
Sisters Rising
,
and Lisa Brunner, one of six women featured
in the film.
Native American women are 2.5 times more
likely to experience sexual assault than all other
American women. 1 in 3 Native women report
having been raped during her lifetime and 86%
of the oenses are committed by non-Native
men. These perpetrators exploit gaps in tribal
jurisdictional authority and target Native
women as ‘safe victims.’
Sisters Rising
follows six women who refuse to
let this pattern of violence continue in the
shadows. Their stories shine an unflinching light
on righting injustice on both an individual and
systemic level.
Willow O’Feral is an award-winning director,
producer and cinematographer. She is also a
co-founder of Haptic Pictures, a production
company producing beautiful original content
around pressing issues of social justice.
Lisa Brunner is a member of the White Earth
Ojibwe Nation and is Wolf Clan. She has worked
in the domestic violence and sexual assault
field for over 18 years, and is a founding mem-
ber of the Violence Against Women Task Force.
Lisa is a 2016 Bush Fellow and teaches at White
Earth Tribal and Community College.
LIVE CONVERSATION
FILMMAKER QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Chalsey Snyder, also featured in the film, is an
enrolled member of the Three Aliated Tribes, a
mother, lawmaker, policy changer and stage four
cancer survivor. She also serves as the Executive
Director of the Indigenous Association.
25
8:00 P.M. CST |Live on Facebook
Free and open to the public
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11
WILLOW O’FERAL
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
SISTERS RISING
LISA BRUNNER
EDUCATOR AND
LEGAL ADVOCATE
CHALSEY SNYDER
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
INDIGENOUS ASSOCIATION
8:00 P.M. CST |Live on Facebook
Free and open to the public
LIVE CONVERSATION
FILMMAKER QUESTION & ANSWER SESSION
Join North Dakota filmmaker Justin Deegan for
a conversation about his film,
Another Scar of
Genocide: Diabetes in Indian Country
.
This project is a documentary designed to
bring awareness to the epidemic of diabetes
throughout Indian Country.
Fashion designer Darlene Perkins of Red
Lightning Couture uses her fashion shows as a
vehicle to bring awareness to this serious
Indigenous health crisis.
Her newfound Indigenous celebrity alliances
join her to raise awareness about the silent epi-
demic ravaging Indian Country.
Justin Deegan is a citizen of the Three Aliated
Tribes, from the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation
and home of the Mandan, Hidatsa and
Arikara Nation.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 12
26
JUSTIN DEEGAN
DIRECTOR & PRODUCER
ANOTHER SCAR OF
GENOCIDE
27
28
2020 SCHEDULE
Sunday, November 8
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
8:00 pm
Welcome to Leith Panel
Available at the NDHRFF
Facebook page
Monday, November 9
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
8:00 pm
Without A Whisper Panel
Available at the NDHRFF
Facebook page
Tuesday, November 10
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
OPENING DAY
FILMS BECOME AVAILABLE
AT 12 A.M. CST
FILMS ARE AVAILABLE
VIDEO ON DEMAND
WHAT WAS OURS
The film WHAT WAS OURs is
available for screening from
12:00 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.
NDHRC Human Rights
Summit and Arc of
Justice Awards
Join the North Dakota Human
Rights Coalition for
their annual human rights
summit. Learn more about
the online event at ndhrc.org
29
8:00 pm
Sisters Rising Panel
Available at the NDHRFF
Facebook page
2020 SCHEDULE
Wednesday, November 11
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
8:00 pm
Another Scar of Genocide
Discussion
Available at the NDHRFF
Facebook page
Thursday, November 12
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
Saturday, November 14
1
PM
2
PM
3
PM
4
PM
5
PM
6
PM
7
PM
8
PM
9
PM
ONE MORE DAY
FILMS BECOME ARE AVAILABLE
THROUGH SUNDAY AT
11:59 P.M. CST
10
AM
Feature Films
“What Was Ours” | Directed by Mat Hames | 2016
7
This project is a documentary
designed to bring awareness to the
epidemic of diabetes throughout
Indian Country.
Fashion designer Darlene Perkins
of Red Lightning Couture uses her
fashion shows as a vehicle to bring
awareness to this serious Indigenous
health crisis. Her new found
Indigenous celebrity alliances join
her to raise awareness.
Directed by Justin Deegan
Year 2019 | 53 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
ANOTHER SCAR OF GENOCIDE
DIABETES IN INDIAN COUNTRY
Live Filmmaker Q&A Thursday, November 12 at 8 p.m.
31
William Kelly, widely considered the
social conscience of Australian art,
once said “Art can’t stop a bullet,
but it can stop a bullet from being
fired.” Can it?
Filmed on five continents, with
contributions from over twenty
artists, thinkers and activists, this
documentary explores the power
of art to influence the violence
in our world.
The film documents the creation of
Kelly’s monumental artwork “Peace
or War/The Big Picture”.
Directed by Mark Street
Year 2019 | 90 min
Languages English
Country of Origin Australia
CAN ART STOP A BULLET?
WILLIAM KELLY’S BIG PICTURE
Prerecorded filmmaker Q&A available
32
A documentary exploring the rise of
Populism during the U.S. Election
in 2016.
Combining the contrasting genres of
road movie and political documen-
tary,
A Conversation With America
is an artists attempt to understand
modern America.
Through the adventure, a picture
of a dierent America emerges, a
portrait composed of the voices of
people in motels, factories,
homeless shelters, small businesses,
opium dens, and the streets.
Directed by Jim Kroft
Year 2020 | 95 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
A CONVERSATION WITH AMERICA
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
33
In a sleepy North Dakota town,
20-year-old college student Andrew
Sadek mysteriously disappears
in May 2014 and is found dead
almost two months later.
Sadek had been coerced into
becoming an informant for an
aggressive police task force that
had been secretly operating for
years.
The film uncovers the forces at play
in his death and reveals why law
enforcement secretly waged a war
on drugs, on a college campus that
didn’t have a drug problem.
Directed by Trevor Birney
Year 2020 | 90 min
Languages English
Country of Origin Ireland
THE DAKOTA ENTRAPMENT TAPES
34
The Girl On The Bridge
is the story of
a young woman with the weight of
a generation on her shoulders.
Having survived her own suicidal
struggles Jazz Thornton is a mental
health activist, fighting to change
how society and the system are
dealing with young people like her.
Ultimately this is a film about hope.
It’s a film about redemption. It’s a
challenge to all of us to try
to understand.
Directed by Leanne Pooley
Year 2020 | 92 min
Languages English
Country of Origin New Zealand
THE GIRL ON THE BRIDGE
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
35
The forest has always served as a
playground for art, mythology and
fantasies, and as a mirror of man’s
own interior.
We get to follow artists and activists
who talk about how their lives and
works were aected by the forest.
What is lost in ourselves when the
wild nature is forced back, when the
experience of being part of a living
environment breaks down?
Directed by Thomas Jackson
Year 2019 | 58 min
Languages Swedish
Country of Origin Sweden
INNER WOODS
36
Lost Lives
is a cinematic film inspired
by the book of the same name that,
uniquely, records the circumstances
of every single death in a conflict –
the Northern Irish ‘Troubles.’
There are over 3700 entries in the
book. Over 3700 lost lives.
The film is a reminder of what
happens when we settle dierence
through violence. A reminder that
war is hell.
Directed by Michael Hewitt & Dermot Lavery
Year 2019 | 92 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
LOST LIVES
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
37
When Explorer left Honduras, she left
everything behind.
In the middle of the night, she didn’t
have the chance to ask where she
was going, but she’s never afraid,
her father is always there taking care
of her. This Honduran family traveled
to Mexico looking for a safe place.
A place where their two daughters
could grow and their lives weren’t
on the line.
This is a brief chapter of this family’s
journey to protect their daughters’
lives and their innocence.
Directed by Janette A. López
Year 2019 | 65 min
Languages Spanish
Country of Origin Mexico
NEVER GOING BACK
38
Joan is an alcoholic homeless who
survives in Barcelona streets with
his dog Tuc. After a mysterious
phone call, Joan falls into a crazy
drunkenness in which ends
up losing Tuc. Castaway in the city,
he is soon brutally beaten. We
rediscover him away from the city in
a delirious journey that exceeds all
his limits. At the end of the road,
something that was once his home.
And a deathbed.
The film stars real people and the
main character had actually been
homeless himself prior to this film.
Directed by Xesc Cabot & Pep Garrido
Year 2019 | 65 min
Languages Spanish
Country of Origin Spain
OUTSIDE
39
In 2019, after months of protests
across Sudan, the military removed
thirty-year dictator Omar al-Bashir
and cracked down in a violent
fashion on the civilian sit-in outside
its headquarters. An ocean away,
Sudanese-American poets and
musicians, whose families left Sudan
for America in decades past, gather
in major American cities to perform
in support of the revolution. At the
heart of the film is a conversation
around identity, belonging, and
the uncertain future of Sudan, from
which they have been physically cut
o. What happens when they can
only watch from afar?
Directed by Bentley Brown
Year 2020 | 67 min
Languages Arabic, English
Country of Origin United States
REVOLUTION FROM AFAR
40
Native American survivors of sexual
assault fight for tribal sovereignty in
order to end the rape of Indigenous
women against the backdrop of
an ongoing legacy of violent
colonization.
Sisters Rising
follows six women who
refuse to let this pattern of violence
continue in the shadows. Their stories
shine an unflinching light on righting
injustice on both an individual and
systemic level.
Directed by Willow O’Feral
Year 2020 | 58 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
SISTERS RISING
Live Filmmaker Q&A Wednesday, November 11 at 8 p.m.
41
Undeterred
tells the story of the build
up of enforcement along the
US/ Mexico border, how it has
aected and changed life in one
small town and how local residents
have organized to push back and
resist those changes
Directed by Eva Lewis
Year 2019 | 76 min
Languages English, Spanish
Country of Origin United States
UNDETERRED
42
Special Five-Year Anniversary
Screening to be followed by a Q&A
with directors Michael Beach Nichols
and Christopher K. Walker.
Welcome to Leith
is a feature
documentary chronicling the
attempted takeover of a small town
in North Dakota by notorious white
supremacist Craig Cobb. Filmed in
the days leading up to Cobb’s arrest
for terrorizing the townspeople on
an armed patrol and his subsequent
release from jail six months later, the
film is an eerie document of
American ideals.
Directed by Michael Beach Nichols &
Christopher K. Walker
Year 2015 | 85 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
WELCOME TO LEITH
Live Filmmaker Q&A Monday, November 9 at 8 p.m.
43
An Eastern Shoshone Elder and two
Northern Arapaho youth living on
the Wind River Indian Reservation
attempt to learn why thousands of
ancestral artifacts are in the
darkness of underground archives
of museums and churches, boxed
away and forgotten. These ancestral
objects – drums, pipes, eagle wing
fans, medicine bags, weapons, and
ceremonial attire are far from home,
their meaning slowly being lost to
time. Should tribes attempt to bring
them back? But why do they want
them back? What answers do they
seek from these artifacts? How can
they take control of their own past?
Directed by Mat Hames
Year 2016 | 79 min
Languages English
Country of Origin United States
WHAT WAS OURS
44
In Porto Alegre, a group of homeless
people makes and sells its own
newspaper, the “Boca de Rua”, the
only in the world that gives a point
of view from the streets about the
streets. More than a source of
income for its writers, it became an
essential reporting channel and
organization tool in the city where
they live.
Today, the “Boca” is celebrating
its 18th birthday. However, if there
was only one shared idea between
all the participants of the project, it
would certainly be their desire not to
be alone in this struggle.
Directed by Charlotte Dafol
Year 2020 | 113 min
Languages Portuguese
Country of Origin Brazil
WITH OPEN EYES
45
Shorts Programs
“Last Memory” | Directed by Neil P George | 2019
Shorts Program 1
35
Directed by Maggie Zhu
Year 2020 | 15 min 16 seconds
Genre Student Film
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
In this social thriller, Tonia Stanwell finds herself on
a nightmarish quest through a mysterious
government agency to get to her 36th birthday.
The Marker
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
Directed by Will Francome & Katie Green
Year 2020 | 12 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Over 3000 migrants have died trying to cross the
Sonoran Desert. The only marker for where their
anonymous bodies were found: a red dot on a
digital map. Artist Alvaro Enciso is on a mission
to mark the places these people died, to find
a way to honour his “neighbours” and create
a visual remembrance of their struggle. For the
past 9 years he has been placing home made
crosses in the desert, leaving a signpost that
a human being lost their life in this place. He’s
placed more than 900 of these markers and yet
it’s a task he will not complete in his lifetime.
About Her
Directed by Wagner Cinelli
Year 2020 | 5 min
Genre Animation
Language(s) English, Portuguese
Country of Origin Brazil
ABOUT HER deals with a sad and unfortunate
worldwide issue: domestic violence against
women. It is a silent animation movie.
The images that alternate between past and
present are enough to convey the message:
we urgently need to talk about it. We must do it
before it is too late.
47
Shorts Program 1
Missionaries of the Rain
Directed by Jimena Paz
Year 2019 | 27 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) Spanish
Country of Origin Mexico
In the central highlands of Mexico, a group of
farmers, resisting modernity, keep on with the
tradition of rain petition rituals. With enormous
responsibility, they assume the mission to
protect and restore their sacred sites in order
to harmonize climatic balance and assure rains
and food for the entire world.
Unlearning Sex
A front row seat to a survivor’s six-month journey
through sexual trauma therapy & healing, and
reclaiming her body.
Directed by Zanah Thirus
Year 2020 | 39 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Shorts Program 2
Altab Ali and the Battle
of Brick Lane
Directed by Diwas Bisht
Year 2020 | 15 min 16 seconds
Genre Animation
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
A short animated documentary that explores
the events surrounding the racist killing of Altab
Ali, a young Bangladeshi worker in east London
in the late 1970s. It tells the tale of the wide-
spread racism faced by the Bangladeshi com-
munity living in east London at the time and how
the incident inspired a generation of Bangla-
deshis to join hands in the fight against the racist
forces. Using interviews of the activists involved
in the anti-racist struggle and striking contrasting
imagery, the film tells the tale of the event that
marks a turning point in London’s race relations.
48
Shorts Program 2
Without a Whisper
Live Filmmaker Q&A Tuesday, November 10 at 8 p.m.
Directed by Katsitsionni Fox
Year 2020 | 27 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
WITHOUT A WHISPER - KONNON:KWE uncovers
the hidden history of the profound influence
Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the
women’s rights movement in the United States.
Miss Man
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
Directed by Tathagata Ghosh
Year 2019 | 24 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) Bengali
Country of Origin India
Manob is in love with another man. And he has
a price to pay for that. Not only is he fighting the
society around him, but his own homophobic
father, who does not even refrain from physical
violence to “cure his son from the disease of
loving another man.”
Broke is the Reason
Directed by Barrington Vaxter & Benjamin Handler
Year 2020 | 8 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
After turning his child’s blankets into a rope, and
scaling a balcony to escape the IRS, Barrington
finds himself a homeless father who will do
anything to keep what he hasn’t lost already.
49
Shorts Program 2
Ours to Tell
Without shame and without fear OURS TO TELL
depicts four people who share their stories and
walk in their truth.
By owning the lives they choose, what unfolds is
an unfiltered and poetic demonstration of how
the right to access abortion acts as a dynamic
turning point in an individual’s journey to
freedom and self love. Each with dierent per-
spectives and experiences, the film’s subjects
— Brittany, Hannah, Nick and Ylonda — take us
inside their worlds, their families, their souls and
boldly illustrate the beauty and power of bodily
autonomy. As we watch, listen and love each
storyteller, we also bear witness to a chilling real-
ity: The fundamental freedom to own our body
and future has never been more uncertain than
it is today.
Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi
Year 2020 | 17 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Shorts Program 3
Tent 113, Idomèni
Directed by Henri Marbacher
Year 2019 | 18 min
Genre Animation
Language(s) French, Kurdish
Country of Origin Switzerland
Agìr, a smiling and discreet 19 year old, tells
the story of his migration. His journey from Syria
to Switzerland spans several years, rushes from
boats to buses, lingers from shacks to mosques,
crosses camps and borders. From this chaotic
construction, a fragmented, unequal narrative
emerges. Constructed of short capsules, it is this
journey that the animated film puts into action
through Agìr’s voice-over.
50
Shorts Program 3
Last Memory
Directed by Neil P George
Year 2019 | 12 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English, Korean
Country of Origin Korea
By the time refugees and migrants step onto
a boat, many will have been tortured, raped,
held for ransom, and seen people die around
them. These refugees risk everything to make
the treacherous journey as their lives they leave
back home pose a greater threat than the sea.
The Last Memory is a poetic homage to the
death of a young Yemeni champion, who tragi-
cally lost his life at sea, whilst seeking refuge from
the ongoing war in Yemen.
Savage
Directed by Denis Dobrovoda
Year 2018 | 14 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
A man brought over from Africa to serve as an
exhibit at a British colonial exposition tries to
escape his captors and recover his dignity.
Mirage
Prerecorded Filmmaker Q&A available
Directed by Luis R. Quintero
Year 2019 | 9 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) Spanish
Country of Origin United States
MIRAGE is a tale of magical realism that takes
you on one girl’s journey, daydreaming through
mystical locations, hoping to be reunited with
her parents as she awaits captive in a
U.S. detention center.
51
Shorts Program 3
Cowboy Poetry
COWBOY POETRY is a work of visual music
recorded during a series of live audiovisual
performances. The audio is created with a
combination of hand made electronic
instruments and vector imagery that has been
translated into stereo audio. This audio is
visualized on an oscilloscope and documented
during the performance. The work is inspired
by socio-political and theoretical ideas
surrounding nationalism and Americana.
Directed by Mark Franz and David Colagiovanni
Year 2019 | 3 min
Genre Experimental
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Execution Island
In February 2006, two young Australians were
convicted of drug smuggling in Indonesia and
were sentenced to death by firing squad. During
their 9 years in prison, Myuran Sukumaran and
Andrew Chan were rehabilitated and began
many positive activities within the prison, such as
mentoring other prisoners and helping to teach
English.
Directed by Jamie Humphris
Year 2018 | 13 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin South Africa
Eat the Rainbow
A musical fable about an odd yet kind man
named Bayani who moves into a conservative
suburban neighborhood and disrupts the other-
wise comfortable homogeny. He doesn’t look or
act like anyone else which causes fear and
panic and eventually a demand for him to
leave the neighborhood. Cousin Wonderlette
befriends Bayani and together they take on
the opposition led by manipulative and
unscrupulous realtor Lobelia Gerber.
Directed by Brian Benson
Year 2018 | 19 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
52
Shorts Program 4
Her Place
Directed by Gustavo Garcia Solares
Year 2020 | 6 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin Guatemala
Vanessa tells us to our face what her place in this
world is.
La Travesía
Directed by Edio Raven
Year 2020 | 20 min
Genre Narrative Short
Language(s) Spanish
Country of Origin Venezuela
Two Venezuelan brothers migrate to Colombia
after the situation in their home country
becomes unbearable, but everything turns
upside down after they get robbed and have
to continue their hundred mile journey without
money or food.
Human Voices: The Curator
Directed by Guero
Year 2020 | 5 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Human Voices presents “The Curator,” a dis-
cussion with Joe Williams, Program Manager
for Native American Programing at the Plains
Art Museum and creator and interviewer of the
podcast series, “Five Plain Questions.”
53
The Greatest Battle Lies Within
Directed by Connor Price
Year 2019 | 10 min
Genre Student Film
Language(s) English
Country of Origin Australia
Prior to his migration to Australia, Congolese
playwright Future D. Fidel witnessed the deaths
of both his parents and narrowly avoided being
massacred alongside other villagers by rebel
soldiers. His debut play and novel, Prize Fighter,
draws on several of his experiences while using a
boxing ring as a metaphor for his character Isa’s
struggles with violence. The play has become a
hit around Australia and for the La Boite Theatre
Company. By detailing his story, Future is able
to provide an example of how works of art and
entertainment can be powerful tools of
self-expression.
Shorts Program 4
Home: The Homelessness Crisis
in North Dakota
Directed by Sonya Jensen
Year 2020 | 30 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
Chapter Two of Home: The Homelessness Crisis
in North Dakota explores North Dakota’s “boot-
strap” mentality, deadly winter weather systems
and the impact of the oil boom in the western
half of the state.
54
My God, I’m Queer (Vol. 1)
Directed by Matt Mahmood-Ogston
Year 2020 | 30 min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United Kingdom
Can you be Muslim and gay? A bereaved
fiancé goes on a deeply personal journey
to prevent the tragedy from ever
happening again.
Being gay is still widely unaccepted within many
conservative interpretations of Islam, with several
countries around the world enforcing the death
penalty for homosexuality. In this film Matt goes
on a journey to try and understand the challeng-
es of what it’s like to be queer and Muslim, in the
hope of preventing another young LGBT+ person
taking their own life.
Until the Last Drop
Directed by Tim Webster & Ernesto Cabellos
Year 2020 | 20min
Genre Documentary Short
Language(s) Arabic, Hebrew
Country of Origin United Kingdom
In an occupied land where water is a privilege,
two farmers working the same land face
increasingly unequal opportunities. Despite
being physically connected to the same land,
the two farmers’ experiences are detached
and unequal. However, despite the odds and
an uncertain future for his children, Abu is
determined to keep farming and keep resisting
until the last drop.
Shorts Programs (Individual)
The Park
Prerecorded filmmaker Q&A available
Directed by Adam Hinkle
Year 2020 | 20min
Genre Episodic Series
Language(s) English
Country of Origin United States
The Park
chronicles the trials and tribulations of a
team of outreach workers as they race against
the clock to prevent gun and gang violence in
a Chicago neighborhood.
55
NDHRFF4 Festival Guide
The Human Family
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