Social Justice and Equality - Documentary Films

Truth and social equality, both International and Domestic, are powerful themes in this selection of three (3) strong documentary films - all with contemporary and topical commentary.   Buy a Columbia Film Festival PLATINUM All Film Pass ($55) for the entire three (3) days, June 27-29, 2019. A FRIDAY ALL ACCESS DAY PASS is available for $35, unlimited films and events on Friday, June 28th.

Documentary, History, Culture, 39 mins

“Big Lies” concept was coined by Adolf Hitler as a propaganda weapon in his famous “Mein Kampf” but was first used by Joseph Stalin to cover up massive man-made hunger in the Soviet Union in the early 30s. The main character is an American writer who travels to Russia these days. She meets the last survivors of Holodomor. Soon she understands that the war of Russian peasantry, started by Bolsheviks 100 years ago, isn’t over yet. She also uncovers many controversial facts about the role played by American media and business in the early ’30s in Soviet Russia. Even more staggering – she starts to understand the connection between those events and current domination of fake news and total mistrust on today’s post-truth world.

Documentary, History, Culture, 55 mins

The American South As We Know It explores the lives and experiences of African-Americans during the Jim Crow era. This film depicts a time when racial tension was at its peak. The educators, historians and brave "everyday" people featured in this documentary, express their vested interest in creating a comprehensive narrative of what life was like for African- Americans in the south.

The American South As We Know It, has afforded director Frederick Murphy the ability to travel the American South, collecting oral histories of individuals who lived through Jim Crow. The names of these men and women are not found in headlines or history books; however, these men and women all made important contributions to the Civil Rights Movement within their own community.

Documentary Short, History, Music, Culture, 28 mins

This film is about a Baltimore child who experienced intermittent homelessness but went on to become a world-class symphony musician and professor. As a child, Richard Antoine White (R.A.W.) slept wherever he could, sometimes in abandoned rowhomes where he was chewed on by rats during his sleep. Now in his 40s, he still has the scars across his abdomen. But despite enormous challenges, he went on to become the first African American in the world to receive a Doctorate in Music for Tuba Performance (D.M. not to be confused with the less rare D.M.A.), and not just from anywhere, from one of the most prestigious music programs in the US. Richard is now not only a tenured professor at the University of New Mexico, but he’s also the principal tubist of the New Mexico Philharmonic, which is in and of itself an Olympian-level accomplishment.

The Baltimore School for the Arts, a rare gem in the education world for it’s extraordinary track record of success (and a partner with Mountainfilm on Tour), is where his life changed from a self-described “yo boy” with little direction to becoming obsessed with Tuba and ultimately following his dreams out of poverty. The director of the Baltimore School for the Arts, met Richard on a chance encounter and after a one-in-a-million audition, Richard set off on a course that changed his life forever.