ReadingFilmFEST
Border South Director: Raúl O. Paz Pastrana Runtime: 83 minutes To stem the immigration tide, Mexico and the US collaborate to crack down on migrants, forcing them into ever more dangerous territory. Every year hundreds of thousands of migrants make their way along the trail running from southern Mexico to the US border. Gustavo’s gunshot …
Moonlight Massacre: Building the Haunt Director: Jason HuggRuntime: 75 minutes For years Halloween enthusiast Branden Moyer has constructed a haunted house in his backyard, gathering thousands of visitors. With no more room to expand his home haunt, Moyer takes his hobby to a new level by building a massive 4,000 square foot haunted attraction in …
The Pollinators Director: Peter Nelson Runtime: 92 minutes Much of the food on our tables comes from the intrinsic act of pollinating the flowers that become the fruits, vegetables and nuts we eat, but agricultural practices, pesticides and politics are making that simple act of nature more difficult everyday. Honey bees pollinate one third …
This Is Home: A Refugee Story Director: Alexandra ShivaRuntime: 91 minutes THIS IS HOME is an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in America and struggling to find their footing. Displaced from their homes and separated from loved ones, they are given eight months of assistance from the International Rescue Committee to become …
From Liberty to Captivity Director: Debbie Wright Runtime: 132 minutes From Liberty to Captivity examines how one of America’s original 13 states, Pennsylvania, went from a place that represented the fight for freedom historically and now has become a state where modern-day slavery is flourishing – threatening the principle of “liberty and justice for all.” …
Power to Heal: Medicare & the Civil Rights Revolution Director: Charles Burnett, Daniel LoewenthalRuntime: 56 minutes POWER TO HEAL: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new …
A Day in the Life of Kik Pool Director: Danny KimRuntime: 33 minutes Beginning in the quiet, pre-dawn hours, a public pool provides a place for the community to gather: to stay in shape, to learn an important skill, and to simply have fun. But as the day progresses, it becomes clear that a public …
Capturing the Flag Director: Anne de MareRuntime: 76 minutes In 2013, in Shelby County v. Holder, the Supreme Court invalidates the part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act requiring certain states to submit changes in voting laws to the Justice Department for approval. Almost immediately, certain states take voter suppression measures such as enacting voter …
Strange Tenants: Ska’d for Life Director: Fiona CochraneRuntime: 58 minutes Strange Tenants were the “Godfathers of Australian Ska”, emerging in the 1980s in the wake of UK two-tone ska bands like The Specials but producing original political ska songs unlike most other Australian ska bands. 36 years later they’re still around and still political. Screening …
