Tami Wilson
Rough Road Productions
43:00 2006
Also available on DVD
In this idiosyncratic documentary, Tami Wilson looks at women and meat in a society obsessed with flesh. She introduces a motley crew of women with wildly differing relationships to meat—an organic cattle rancher; a manager for a meat-packing plant; a hunting activist; a Vietnamese-Canadian "meat-lover"; a 14-year-old vegetarian; and a college student/Hooters waitress who admits to feeling like a "stuffed sausage" in her tight uniform.
FLESH also engages the political side of meat eating through interviews with Carol Adams, author of The Sexual Politics of Meat, and Ingrid Newkirk, founder and CEO of PETA, an organization notorious for its animal-rights ads featuring near-naked women. Adams outlines how women and animals are objectified in popular culture and packaged for consumption by men. Newkirk meanwhile refuses to acknowledge these connections in her advocacy for animals. She outright dismisses the feminist critics that claim PETA's highly sexual ads do more harm than good.
Amidst the stories and debate, FLESH dishes up a profusion of powerful images. Magazine photos, clips from popular film and television programs, bucolic scenes of cows with their young calves and harrowing footage of animals at slaughter provide a sometimes beautiful, sometimes humorous, and sometimes disturbing backdrop.
In the end, no perspective wins out unless it is Wilson's underlying argument that women can and should fully engage with the ethical questions that plague our over-consuming society.
Subject(s): Animals, Gender equality, Identity, Media studies, Sexuality, Women
Michelle Mason
50 min. 2002
Also available on DVD
The Friendship Village follows the life of George Mizo, a Native American veteran of the Vietnam War. Decades after the war, he realized a dream to build a village for Vietnamese children exposed to the notorious dioxin, Agent Orange.
This unlikely turn of events began with George's exit from Vietnam as a wounded soldier. His return to America sparked a powerful transformation, as he joined the country's huge protest movement and began to widely question his government's foreign policy. His early activism blossomed into the 10-year Friendship Village project, bringing together veterans from the US, France, Germany, Japan, Australia and Vietnam to build the village George envisioned. This documentary highlights their long and personal journey to make amends. Long suffering from the effects of Agent Orange himself, George Mizo died during the making of this documentary at the age of 57.
Award: Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary / Best Director (Documentary), New York International Independent Film and Video Festival; Silver Hugo (Documentary–Social/Political), Chicago International Film Festival; Columbine Award (for work reflecting non-violent conflict resolution), Moondance International Film Festival
Subject(s): Community dynamics, Environmental issues, History, International relations, Peace/War, Politics, United States
Boschman's video is a revealing tapestry of images, spoken memories and first-person
accounts gathered and created for the art exhibit. While recording a unique
and powerful artistic collaboration, it contributes to an important chapter
in Canada's social history-the move to community inclusion for people with disabilities.
Subject(s): Community
dynamics, Inclusive
education
Colleen O'Halloran/Jason DaSilva/
Todd Tiberi
TBC Project
61:00 min.
2008
Available on DVD and VHS
Meet the TBC Brass Band–a group of high school students from two of the poorest neighbor-hoods in New Orleans, the Seventh and Ninth Wards. Teens from these wards were traditionally enemies, engaged in street fights and often at risk. An enterprising high school teacher found a way to pull them together in a brass band, promoting a musical tradition for which New Orleans is famous. The students excelled, their pride grew, they became close friends and the band was hot–but just as it was about to make it big, Hurricane Katrina blew into town. In the chaos that ensued, band members became displaced and had to move to several different states, along with thousands of others left homeless by the hurricane.
From the Mouthpiece On Back traces their struggle to reunite and continue with what has become central to their lives–their music and their friendship. The film culminates with a triumphant reunion of the group on Bourbon Street, where their music buoys the spirits of a crowd of enthusiastic residents who remain, amid the devastation of the city. From the Mouthpiece on Back is a powerful illustration of how music programs in schools help build good citizens and nurture skills in leadership as well as music itself.
Subject(s): Black culture, Community dynamics, Healing, Identity, Music, United States, Youth
Arthur Holbrook/Karie Garnier
27:30 min. 2005
Also available on DVD
Fuga Island, a small island off the northern tip of Luzon in the Philippines, has attracted visionaries, dreamers and schemers for centuries. After years of abuse at the hands of wealthy landlords trying to make the island into a playground for the rich, the islanders live in limbo. There are no doctors and few educational opportunities. The people have no rights to the land they have lived on for generations.
Canadian Karie Garnier and his Filipina wife Violeta have devoted their lives to helping the people of Fuga Island overcome some of the horrible conditions they face. Now doctors visit the area and children leave the island to attend secondary schools. The next challenge—ownership of the land—pits Karie and the islanders up against powerful forces. But there is hope as Karie, and the Filipino activists who have joined him, strive for justice.
Subject(s): Asian studies, Community dynamics, Development, Poverty
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