In COMPLICIT, a benzene-poisoned electronics factory worker takes his fight against the global smartphone industry from his hospital bed in China to the international stage.

Yi Yeting is struggling with occupational leukemia and trying to obtain compensation from his employer. Wanting to help others, he begins working for a non-profit that assists workers with occupational illness and injuries.

He discovers there are dozens of workers in his local area who were poisoned while making smartphones. Through research in the community, he discovers a leukemia cluster in the neighborhood surrounding Apple's main supplier Foxconn. Yi's research leads him to several workers and their families trying to survive while burdened with their health care costs. Powerful forces are unleashed as he confronts local factories, putting his own safety at risk.

89 minutes
English subtitles for Mandarin Chinese

Directed by Heather White, Lynn Zhang
Produced by Heather White
Writer: Christopher Seward
Editors: Lynn Zhang, Christopher Seward
Cinematographers: Sun Shaoguang, Lynn Zhang
Music: Freddie Bryant

"Our products come from somewhere, and no matter how far away from our daily lives that 'somewhere' might be, we owe it to ourselves and our fellow humans to understand the impacts of the manufacture of the goods we consume. COMPLICIT reveals the faces and voices of young Chinese workers entangled in a system designed to feed the demand for electronic conveniences without adequate safeguards for their welfare. Through these stories viewers learn that the true cost of electronics involves human lives."
Joy Scrogum, Sustainability Specialist, Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"A penetrating and impossible-to-ignore critique of how human labor can be treated just as casually disposable as the technological devices we seem driven to replace. This powerful documentary reminds us that ethics are 'easy' when doing the right thing doesn't conflict with other pursuits. The rubber hits the road when we are faced with real tradeoffs — between different sets of rights, between different people's experiences, and in terms of how our personal activities are ultimately connected to the activities of larger institutions."
George Cheney, Professor of Communication, University of Colorado - Colorado Springs, Co-author, Just a Job?: Communication, Ethics, and Professional Life, Co-editor, The Handbook of Communication Ethics

"A fantastic film!"
Maya Wang, Asia Division, Human Rights Watch

"This poignant, gripping, heartbreaking film shines a beacon on how callous corporate greed has been killing and incapacitating the workers on whom we all depend for the electronic devices we all use...It is sure to open the eyes of students, faculty and other citizens, and help them think differently when they pick up their phones. It may well inspire some to emulate the film's brave protagonists who fight against all odds for simple justice."
Marc Blecher, Professor of Politics and East Asian Studies, Oberlin College, Author, China Against the Tides: Restructuring through Revolution, Radicalism and Reform

"Human-centered from first to last, Complicit is a poignant and devastating takedown of electronics production, which worker-activists reveal to be part of the hazardous chemical industry."
Andrew Ross, Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis, New York University, Author, Fast Boat to China: Corporate Flight and the Consequences of Free Trade

"As one gazes into the screen and taps one's thumbs on the keyboard icons, one grasps one's involvement and complicity in a major human rights issue. Even reviewing the film, staring at a screen on a laptop, feels uncomfortably inappropriate and ironic after viewing this compelling documentary."
POV Magazine

"A riveting documentary...We salute the efforts of this migrant worker-turned human rights activist whose crusade to expose the predatory practices of large electronic companies is courageous and ethically rigorous. We also asked ourselves some serious questions about our own loyalty and support of smart phones, personal computers, and other devices created by big named brands."
Spirituality and Practice

"Vividly shows the struggle in China continues today for a safe workplace and just compensation for worker victims at Apple, Foxconn and other electronic producers. With China cracking down on labor NGOs, lawyers and social protest, the campaign to protect the lives and livelihood of workers becomes even more challenging."
Mark Selden, Senior Research Associate, East Asia Program, Cornell University, Author, Chinese Society: Change, Conflict and Resistance

"A shocking film on global outsourcing."
Faze

"This riveting and powerful film is unique among documentaries of Chinese labor. Its unflinching and piercing focus on workers' bodily injuries inflicted by 'high tech' production and consumption will spark many poignant and necessary debates in the classroom and beyond."
Ching Kwan Lee, Professor of Sociology, University of California- Los Angeles, Author, Against the Law: Labor Protests in China's Rustbelt and Sunbelt

"Critical viewing in the global awakening needed to stop human devastation from unregulated, hazardous chemical use and profits-driven depravity. This film dips below headlines to follow Chinese migrant workers whose lives have been shattered in the exploitative production of consumer electronics, but the challenges they face — terrifying, opaque, infuriating challenges — affect us all, whether we know it now or find out later."
Jen Wong, Director, Materials Lab, School of Architecture, The University of Texas at Austin

"Worker bravery to speak truth to power, to challenge Foxconn and its contractors, Apple and other brands, and the Chinese government, comes alive in this haunting portrayal of the fight against unsafe working conditions in the electronics supply chain. Battling harassment, arrest, and cover-ups, the victims of occupational poisoning become heroes as they demand justice and complicity no more to the valuing of profit over persons."
Eileen Boris, Professor of Feminist Studies, University of California - Santa Barbara, Author, Making the Women Worker: Precarious Labor and the Fight for Global Standards

"The increasingly complex, globalized nature of product supply chains has created 'black holes' in oversight and regulation where serious labor abuses are rife...Xiao's story forces us to confront the human cost of the conveniences we enjoy daily."
Sidney Morning Herald

"A harrowing and powerful documentary that may be set in fast developing China, but it raises an ethical question that we should all consider: From the smartphones we swipe to the Fitbits we wear, what really happens along the supply chain?"
The Reel Word

"A shattering comment on inequality and the forces that work to maintain the unjust status-quo."
Film Doo

"Reveals the human costs of global outsourcing while highlighting the choices made by a group of inspired activists seeking change."
PressReader

"Forces one to ponder how much a life is truly worth in our profit obsessed world."
The Platform

"Reveals the inhumane ways in which hopeful, hardworking citizens are exposed to toxic chemicals on the job and the shady attempts by multi-billion-dollar corporations to shed all responsibility. The result is equal parts devastating, gut-wrenching, and infuriating — a necessary call for westerners to re-evaluate their relationship with capitalism and its astronomical cost."
The Georgia Straight

"A powerful and moving set of stories that can compel 'digital natives' to care about the people who have produced their beloved electronic devices by showing how we, as consumers, are complicit in the system that allows companies like Apple to deny responsibility for the working conditions of millions of young workers...A must-watch film in high schools, colleges and communities to grapple with the dark side of technology."
Anibel Ferus-Comelo, Director of Student Programming, Center for Labor Research and Education, Lecturer of Public Policy, University of California - Berkeley

"The digital, for all its glow and glory, is contingent on the physical. The film gives us access to personal stories of human suffering that are the direct result of our unyielding thirst to consume digital electronics, ignorant of the vulnerabilities and damage they expose. By attracting the young and the poor to the manufacturing urban centers, the allure of the city mirrors the allure of the screen: offering beauty while concealing ugliness. White and Zhang's film should help shape future policy. Will the allure of the screen distract us once more?"
Jonathan Beever, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Digital Culture, University of Central Florida

SACRED COD captures the collapse of the historic cod population in New England, delving into the effects of overfishing, climate change and government policies on fishermen and the fish.

For centuries, cod was like gold, driving men to extremes. Cod were so abundant in the waters off New England that fishermen used to say they could walk across the Atlantic on the backs of them, and generations of men from places like Gloucester and Cape Cod spent their entire lives chasing the coveted fish.

In recent decades, something began to change in the Gulf of Maine. As the region's cod catch plummeted, government surveys of the iconic species reported increasingly dire results. Scientists and environmental activists raised alarms about overfishing and the warming ocean. They urged officials to act.

On Nov. 10, 2014, after years of ignoring warnings, NOAA officials banned virtually all cod fishing throughout the region. Fishermen were infuriated. They challenged the findings and accused the government of trying to destroy their livelihood. Environmental activists feared the government's action had come too late to save the cod.

In 2016, officials estimated there were fewer than 200 cod fishermen left in the fleet, and they're now in the fight of their lives, struggling to hold fast to a tradition that has endured for centuries in New England.

Produced by an outstanding team of filmmakers, including the Boston Globe's Pulitzer Prize-winning environment reporter, David Abel, SACRED COD gives us an up close look at the challenges many will have to face in the age of climate change.

65 minutes

Directed by Steve Liss, Andy Laub, David Abel
Produced by Cody Wolf Productions
Director of Photography: Steve Liss
Editor: Andy Laub
Written by: Andy Laub, David Abel
Soundtrack Composer: Andy Laub
Story Produced and Reported by David Abel

"Perfectly captures the relationships between policy makers, scientists, fishermen, and humanity...A wonderful educational tool that provides and fosters many opportunities for critical thinking in providing solutions for dichotomous relationships."
Christina Conti, Science Books and Films

"A powerful, beautiful film that shows the multifaceted aspects of the fishery for this iconic species...The lessons in this documentary extend well beyond the focal region and species. It illustrates how our traditions and life choices color our perspective and collide with what is determined by scientists, managers and policy makers."
Dr. Robert Steneck, Professor of Marine Sciences, University of Maine

"Thoroughly researched, reasoned and surprisingly moving."
Peter Keough, Boston Globe

"Shows us the human and ecological costs caused by New England's ignoring obvious signs of ecological decline over the past four decades. The filmmaker's depiction of fractured families, disrupted communities, and decimated cod stocks demands that we do better. If ever a documentary revealed how closely tied humanity is to the ecosystem on which we rely, this is it."
Dr. Matthew McKenzie, Associate Professor of History, University of Connecticut, Author, Clearing the Coastline: The Nineteenth Century Ecological and Cultural Transformation of Cape Cod

"[An] intelligent and necessary documentary...Provides a perfect entry point into a discussion of the tragedy of the commons, climate change, American history, and economics. A valuable resource for both the brain and the heart."
Louis Proyect, CounterPunch

"Impressively captures the complexities of managing this vital natural resource in a changing environment. It gives insight into the sometimes-contentious ways that science, policy, and politics interact when both environmental goods and human livelihoods are at stake. This is a compelling case study for any class involving fisheries or natural resource management."
Kimberly Lai Oremus, Sustainable Development, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University

"Remarkably balanced."
Times Herald-Record

"Does a fantastic job compressing the extremely complex and complicated issue of the New England cod fishery into a captivating and enjoyable one hour...A powerful educational tool...I teach undergraduate courses on fisheries policy and marine conservation, which are heavily based on developing critical thinking, and I look forward to showing this documentary to my students."
Dr. Tarsila Seara, Assistant Professor of Marine Affairs, University of New Haven

"The film does a good job of capturing the tension of the different stakeholders in a declining fishery, and it highlights well the disconnect between the 'big picture' stock assessments and the 'local view' of coastal fishers in the western part of the Gulf of Maine."
Karin Limburg, Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry

"Will be useful in general environmental management or marine environmental management courses to introduce students to the interrelationships between the marine biological and human aspects of managing the Gulf of Maine fishery. This film should be shown in courses dealing with resource management."
Dr Richard Pollnac, Professor of Marine Affairs at the University of Rhode Island

"The film breaks my heart as an American and infuriates me as a scientist. The legacy of ignoring scientific advice for decades is the complete destruction of our cultural heritage."
Dr. Janet Nye, Assistant Professor of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, Stony Brook University

"Highly Recommended...A must have for all courses about fisheries, environmental management, and the Tragedy of the Commons. For any courses studying the scientific, political, or cultural impacts of the Atlantic cod fishery this is an essential purchase. No other documentary or television program is available as a substitution about cod fisheries...Recommended for campus and community film series."
Kristan Majors, Emory University, Educational Media Reviews Online

"If you like documentaries that make you feel for people on every side of the story - regulators, scientists, fishermen, local government officials, the guy who runs the ice factory - SACRED COD is for you."
Margaret Lyons, The New York Times

"Highly personal and emotional...Useful for students studying the environmental effects of changes in climate, unregulated fishing, and the man-made consequences for those depending on a single source for their livelihoods."
Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, School Library Journal

"It carries a message that extends well beyond New England: if we're not careful, there may be no more fish to catch."
Heather Goldstone, Atlantic Public Media

"Deeply moving...Emotions run deep on both sides. The program concludes on a hopeful note that indicates that cod populations are on the rise, and fishermen are turning to other species to weather the quota storm and preserve their livelihood."
Carol Holzberg, Booklist

In LOBSTER WAR, climate-changed ocean temperatures shift New England's lobster fishery across national boundaries, sparking international tension.

The Fight Over the World's Richest Fishing Grounds

The buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is warming the oceans, and the waters off New England's coast are seeing some of the most dramatic temperature increases on the planet. This is having a major effect on lobster populations and the fishermen who rely on them. The southern New England lobster fishery has collapsed and the catch has moved north into cooler waters.

LOBSTER WAR documents an escalating conflict between the United States and Canada over waters that both countries have claimed since the end of the Revolutionary War.

The disputed 277 square miles of sea known as the Gray Zone — the swath of water surrounding Machias Seal Island at the entrance to the Bay of Fundy — were traditionally fished by US lobstermen. But as the Gulf of Maine has warmed lobsters have migrated north and the Gray Zone's previously modest lobster population has surged. As a result, Canadians have begun to assert their sovereignty in the area, contesting American claims to the bounty and foreshadowing potential conflicts exacerbated by climate change.

Other films by David Abel and Andy Laub are Sacred Cod and Gladesmen: The Last of the Sawgrass Cowboys.

74 minutes

Directed by David Abel
Produced by David Abel, Andy Laub
Editor: Andy Laub
Cinematography: Andy Laub, David Abel
Composer: Andy Laub

"Beautiful...Compelling."
Rob Conery, Cape Cod Times

"Tackles global issues...[Is] emblematic of the coming conflicts caused by manmade global warming in miniature."
Dennis Perkins, Portland Press Herald

"Climate change, increased lobster populations and a centuries-old land dispute have created a perfect storm...[Lobster War] explores how this conflict came about and why it may only get worse as temperatures continue to rise across the world."
Matt Juul, Metro Boston

"Tackle[s] the all-important question of our age, namely how humanity and nature can co-exist in a period of insurmountable capitalist contradiction, especially when humanity takes the form of small businesspeople hoping to exploit natural resources under duress."
Louis Proyect, CounterPunch

"Fair-minded yet charged and beautifully made...Compels us to consider the dispute as symptomatic of the much larger struggle facing all of us: adapting to climate change, whether individually or nationally, economically, or socially. This is not a problem we can fix by drawing lines on a map, because we're all in the same boat."
Lincoln Paine, Trustee, Maine Maritime Museum, Author, Down East: An Illustrated History of Maritime Maine

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER follows the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who returns to his native coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport.

COME HELL OR HIGH WATER follows the painful but inspiring journey of Derrick Evans, a Boston teacher who returns to his native coastal Mississippi when the graves of his ancestors are bulldozed to make way for the sprawling city of Gulfport. Derrick is consumed by the effort to protect the community his great grandfather's grandfather settled as a former slave. He is on the verge of a breakthrough when Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast.

After years of restoration work to bring Turkey Creek back from the brink of death, the community gains significant federal support for cultural and ecological preservation. Derrick plans to return to Boston to rebuild the life he abandoned, but another disaster seals his fate as a reluctant activist. On the day Turkey Creek is featured in USA Today for the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes.

56 minutes

Directed by Leah Mahan
Produced by Leah Mahan, Jane Greenberg
Cinematography: Leah Mahan
Editor: Jane Greenberg
Co-Editors: William A. Anderson, Dawn Logsdon
Composer: Derrick Hodge
A co-production of Zamler Productions, LLC and the Independent Television Service (ITVS), produced in association with Mississippi Public Broadcasting, with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

"This intimate film tells a gigantic story – about race, about power, about so-called development. But it is also a saga of community, resilience, resistance, and hope. It's about everything that matters in our society."
Bill Bigelow, Rethinking Schools

"Exposes raw in-your-face Mississippi racial politics...a perfect lesson that we are not living in a post-racial era."
Dr. Robert Bullard, Dean, School of Public Affairs, Texas Southern University, Author, Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina

"A deeply moving depiction of the many layers of vulnerability that affect so many communities of color in the U.S. and the dedication and sacrifices required of those who fight for justice. Viewers of this film – including students of environmentalism, social movements and local politics – will gain a vivid understanding of the complexities of environmental justice and the ups and downs of grassroots struggles, which rarely come to neat, Hollywood endings. Indeed, Come Hell or High Water brings life to the words, 'Long is the struggle, hard the fight.'"
Dr. Melissa Checker, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, Queens College, Author, Polluted Promises: Environmental Racism and the Search for Justice in a Southern Town

"A very powerful film...explores the nexus between two powerful and important facets of American life – the surging movement to restore rivers and preserve wetlands, and the quest for environmental justice. This is the story of how one man can energize an entire community and engage in a fierce David vs. Goliath struggle, and win. It explores the burgeoning connection between protecting the environment, and protecting culture, history, and the welfare of poor communities. It is impossible to watch this movie without being moved."
Daniel Craig McCool, Director, Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program, Professor, Political Science, University of Utah, Author, River Republic: The Rise and Fall of America's Rivers

POINT OF NO RETURN documents the journey of the Solar Impulse—the first solar-powered, round-the-world flight—demonstrating the tremendous potential of renewable energy sources.

Soaring at 28,000 feet without a drop of fuel, nothing is predictable. Not the weather, not the technology. And certainly not the fate of a man, alone for five days in a fragile, first-of-its-kind aircraft with nothing but ocean below.

POINT OF NO RETURN takes viewers behind the headlines of the first solar-powered flight around the world, where two courageous pilots take turns battling nature, their own crew, and sometimes logic itself, to achieve the impossible. Not just to make history, but to inspire a revolution.

95 minutes

Directed by Noel Dockstader, Quinn Kanaly
Executive Producers: Ian Reinhard, Angus Macqueen, Dana Nachman
Cinematography: Mathieu Czernichow, Yoann Le Gruiec, Daniel Meyers, Payam Azadi, Noel Dockstader
Editors: Daniel Meyers, Payam Azadi, Noel Dockstader
Music: Dave Tweedie
A Far West Film Production in association with WGBH Boston

"Think we can't take on big technological challenges any longer? Believe our energy conundrum is hopeless? POINT OF NO RETURN proves otherwise! A stunningly beautiful and engaging film, POINT OF NO RETURN restores faith in human ingenuity, international cooperation, and our ability to reach new frontiers in sustainable energy. It is sure to inspire students in engineering as well as well those in the environmental sciences."
Brian Black, Professor, History and Environmental Studies, Pennsylvania State University - Altoona, Editor, Energy and Society

"A documentary that is as dramatic and thrilling as any cinematic space odyssey...A must-see documentary that not only inspires but also offers a powerful wake-up call to action."
Herbert Paine, Broadway World

"Just WOW! What an incredible story filled with remarkable highs and lows, both physical and emotional. POINT OF NO RETURN magnificently demonstrates how inventors construct the path from 'impossible to inevitable.' It is highly recommended for anyone who dreams of bringing huge ideas to life."
Dr. Tina Seelig, Professor of the Practice, Department of Management Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Author, inGenius: A Crash Course on Creativity

"[An] absorbing documentary...A fascinating feat of human and scientific accomplishment."
Justin Lowe, The Hollywood Reporter

"This is a truly outstanding film that skillfully captures the emotion of two adventurer pilots and their crew as they attempt the unimaginable. The viewer is taken on their audacious journey filled with constant challenges and highs and lows, and is witness to an indomitable human spirit on display throughout. This is a very enjoyable film that I would encourage all to watch; I expect that it will be of particular interest in educational settings."
Alan J. Stolzer, Dean of the College of Aviation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

"Filmmakers Noel Dockstader and Quinn Kanaly captured Solar Impulse through the whole project...They've created a beautiful document of a dream given form."
Bradley Gibson, Film Threat

"Watching POINT OF NO RETURN was a deeply moving opportunity. Especially in these times, students need to build confidence in science and engineering to face and to conquer climate change. The self-professed goal of the Solar Impulse flight was not to circumnavigate the earth without the use of fossil fuels. It was exactly to send this message: 'What we do in the air we can do on the ground' with renewable energy."
Dr. Anthony Ingraffea, Professor Emeritus of Engineering, Cornell University, Senior Fellow, Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy

"Everyone, not just technology fans, green romantics and STEM graduates, will thrill to POINT OF NO RETURN."
Don Wallace, Honolulu Magazine

"Experience the excitement, inspiration, frustration, disappointment, and elation as the Solar Impulse becomes the first solar-powered plane to successfully fly around the world. This was a dangerous endeavor plagued by challenges, but necessary to prove what air travel can become - clean and dependent on renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. Classes will have the opportunity to discuss renewable energy and transportation; innovation and the human drive for exploration; boons and barriers to sustainable technology and behavior change; and a bit of scientific history related to the exploits of Piccard and his family of adventurous record-breakers."
Joy Scrogum, ISSP Certified Sustainability Professional, Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

"POINT OF NO RETURN offers a beacon of hope for transforming today's society into one which uses clean technology."
Santa Barbara Seasons Magazine

"Since its inception, the aviation age has been powered by fossil fuel. But are there alternatives? POINT OF NO RETURN tells the story of the visionary project to build a solar-powered aircraft and fly it around the world - a feat that was accomplished in 2015-16 over the course of 16 months in 17 flight segments. Challenges for the next generation involve making solar-powered aircraft safe, reliable, and commercially feasible."
James Rodger Fleming, Charles A. Dana Professor of Science, Technology, and Society Program, Colby College, Author, Fixing the Sky, Inventing Atmospheric Science, and FIRST WOMAN

"A compelling tale of ambition and endurance...The lesson is one of taking risks, innovating, and embracing new challenges to create a better tomorrow."
Pat Mullen, POV Magazine

"Dramatic...The two pilots push on, often facing unimaginable risks. This is an exciting adventure and a testimony to the quest for renewable energy."
Candace Smith, Booklist Online

"Recommended...Simply breath taking...It stands as a testament of inspiration and goal setting, and the very essence of human drive for achievement."
Michael J. Coffta, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Educational Media Reviews Online

Seen through the eyes of family farmers in southwest France, AFTER WINTER, SPRING is an intimate portrait of an ancestral way of life under threat in a world increasingly dominated by large-scale industrial agriculture.

In the Périgord region of southwest France, a rural community grapples with a profound question: will it be the last generation of family farmers in a region continuously cultivated for over five thousand years?

AFTER WINTER, SPRING is an intimate study of these French farmers as they struggle with that issue. Shot over three years, the film captures the daily lives of Nanou, Guy and other neighbors with deep roots in the Périgord. At their kitchen tables and in their fields, these family farmers communicate a profound attachment to the land. But the film's characters also share their day-to-day challenges and their fears that small-scale operations such as theirs may be no match for the multitude of 21st century threats.

In an era of rapid growth of mega-farms, the encroachment of suburbia, new European Union rules, and reductions of agricultural subsidies, these farmers – young and old – are forced to confront challenges that threaten the very existence of their small farms.

Their story is recorded by one of their neighbors, an American filmmaker who grew up on her family's farm in Pennsylvania. Inter-weaving her story and theirs, the film explores the nature of the farming life and the changes, over the last 60 years, that impact the lives of families whose survival is tied to the land. As each of the farmer's stories unfolds, we see their individual responses to change...the losses and the surprising adaptations.

The Périgordine farmers show us that as agriculture moves out of the hands of families who have farmed for generations and into a model of "agriculture as business," something fundamental shifts. This farming community caught between tradition and an uncertain future struggles to hold on not only to their farms but to a set of values that comes of their intimate relationship with the natural world. AFTER WINTER, SPRING reveals the human story of family farming at a turning point in history.

74 minutes

In French and English, with English narration, English subtitles

Directed and Produced by Judith Lit
Associate Producer: David Hurst
Cinematography: Stéphane Carbon
Editor: Jennifer Chinlund
Original Music: Todd Boekelheide

DEATH BY DESIGN exposes the unintended environmental, health and social consequences of our addiction to our digital devices.

Consumers love — and live on — their smartphones, tablets and laptops. A cascade of new devices pours endlessly into the market, promising even better communication, non-stop entertainment and instant information. The numbers are staggering. By 2020, four billion people will have a personal computer. Five billion will own a mobile phone.

But this revolution has a dark side that the electronics industry doesn't want you to see.

In an investigation that spans the globe, award-winning filmmaker Sue Williams investigates the underbelly of the international electronics industry and reveals how even the tiniest devices have deadly environmental and health costs.

DEATH BY DESIGN tells the stories of young Chinese workers laboring in unsafe conditions, American families living with the tragic consequences of the industry's toxic practices, activists leading the charge to hold brands accountable, and passionate entrepreneurs who are developing more sustainable products and practices to safeguard our planet and our future.

From the intensely secretive electronics factories in China, to the high tech innovation labs of Silicon Valley, DEATH BY DESIGN tells a story of environmental degradation, of health tragedies, and the fast-approaching tipping point between consumerism and sustainability.

73 minutes

Directed by Sue Williams
Produced by Hilary Klotz Steinman, Sue Williams
Writer: Sue Williams
Director of Photography: Sam Shinn
Editor: Adam Zucker
Music: Paul Brill
Narrator: Sue Williams
A film by Ambrica Productions in association with Impact Partners

"Everyone should see this film."
Sydney Brownstone, The Stranger

"You won't look at your iPhone in quite the same way again after viewing Sue Williams' thoughtful documentary."
Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

"Both jaw-dropping and heartbreaking, Death by Design forces the viewer to reconsider their whole approach to technology and this mad and unsustainable obsession with constantly upgrading."
Hannah Clugston, Aesthetica Magazine

"An extraordinary film. I have studied the problem of environmental hazards in the global electronics industry for 20 years and this is the best documentary I have seen on the subject matter. This film explains the sources of the environmental threats in the industry, demonstrates how local struggles are linked to global scale phenomena, and chronicles how community leaders around the world are taking positive steps to address these challenges. I will use this film in my courses for years to come."
David Naguib Pellow, Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California - Santa Barbara, Co-author, Challenging the Chip: Labor Rights and Environmental Justice in the Global Electronics Industry

"Death by Design makes the invisible visible, and pushes us to consider the extent and nature of the ecological degradation and human health impacts of our digital lifestyle. Through powerful narrative and images, the film presents this challenge to students and community members. This is an excellent resource to stimulate discussion and motivate action related to the heavy ethical and environmental burdens of the digital age."
Dr. Jonathan Beever, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Digital Culture, Director, Theoretical and Applied Ethics Certificate Program, University of Central Florida

"Few people are aware of the myriad negative environmental and social impacts that result from our love affair with circuitry. Sue Williams' documentary powerfully introduces some of these 'hidden' impacts, and is a useful tool for educators, sustainability advocates, consumers, and other stakeholders to begin exploring and discussing impacts throughout the life cycles of electronic products."
Joy Scrogum, Emerging Technologies Resource Specialist, Co-coordinator of Sustainable Electronics Initiative, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

"When we enter the pristine, minimalist confines of an Apple store to update our 16-month old phone, the true cost of our behavior remains largely hidden. This eye-opening documentary reveals the strain the digital revolution has put on the environment and on the laborers who build our devices. This is a tale of the dark side of global capitalism, but it also invites us to think critically about the morality of the choices we make as consumers. Digital natives need to watch this."
Dr. Bastiaan Vanacker, Associate Professor and Program Director, Center for Digital Ethics and Policy, Loyola University - Chicago

A DANGEROUS IDEA brings to light how false scientific claims have rolled back long fought for gains in equality, and how powerful interests are poised once again to use the gene myth to unravel the American Dream.

There is a dangerous idea that has threatened the American Dream from the very beginning. It is a strong current of biological determinism which views some groups, races and individuals as inherently superior to others and more deserving of fundamental rights. Despite the founders' assertion that "all are created equal," this idea was used to justify disenfranchising women, blacks and Native Americans from the earliest days of the Republic.

A DANGEROUS IDEA: EUGENICS, GENETICS AND THE AMERICAN DREAM reveals how this dangerous idea gained new traction in the 20th century with an increasing belief in the concept of an all-powerful "gene" that predetermines who is worthy and who is not. The film reveals how this new genetic determinism provided an abhorrent rationale for state sanctioned crimes committed against America's poorest, most vulnerable citizens and for violations of the fundamental civil rights of untold millions.

Featuring interviews with social thinkers including Van Jones and Robert Reich as well as prominent scientists in many fields, A DANGEROUS IDEA is a radical reassessment of the meaning, use and misuse of gene science. Like no other film before it, this documentary brings to light how false scientific claims have rolled back long fought for gains in equality, and how powerful interests are poised once again to use the gene myth to unravel the American Dream.

106 minutes

Directed by Stephanie Welch
Produced by Stephanie Welch, N. Jed Riffe
Executive Producers: Mary R. Morgan, Andrew Kimbrell
Writers: Stephanie Welch, Andrew Kimbrell
Editors: Maureen Gosling, Sara Maamouri, Stephanie Welch
Composer: Jonathan Zalban
Creative Director/Associate Producer: Ann Skinner-Jones
Consulting Producer: Bertram Verhaag
Narrator: Neil Harvey
A Paragon Media production in association with Denkmal Film

"In this time of false facts and backlash against a new equality, A DANGEROUS IDEA should be required viewing."
Gloria Steinem

"Yes, this is a dangerous idea--and if you want to better understand why, watch this film and see the history, development and presentation of this idea that there is a book of life, a program that determines, from the moment of conception, all that we are and can be. It is indeed one of the more dangerous ideas humans have come up with."
Barbara Katz Rothman, Professor of Sociology, City University of New York, Author, The Book of Life: A Personal and Ethical Guide to Race, Normality and the Implications of the Human Genome Project

"The never-ending challenge with eugenics is making that abhorrent history relevant to a contemporary audience. A DANGEROUS IDEA meets that challenge by showing how the very same biological justifications of inequality that were used in the past to justify involuntary sterilization, slavery, and genocide are employed in the 21st century to justify anti-immigration policies, the gender pay gap, and racial health disparities. As modern science and modern medicine focus more and more on genetics, A Dangerous Idea reminds viewers that this obsession with genetics is employed by many to promote a vision of society made up of biological 'haves' and 'have nots'."
Dr. James Tabery, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Adjunct Professor of Pediatrics and Internal Medicine, University of Utah, Author, Beyond Versus: The Struggle to Understand the Interaction of Nature and Nurture

"An effective dissection of the genetic determinist worldview, rising again in new garb and aided by the Trump Administration. This documentary provides a timely rebuttal to those who continue to embrace this dogma, and offers a critique that both Liberals and Conservatives can readily converge behind."
Ralph Nader, political activist, author, lecturer, and attorney

"Extremely timely because of the new Trump administration and the threat of a new biologically determined politics. Trump takes an almost social Darwinian view of immigrants, women, people living in poverty and others. And that's dangerous."
Robert Reich, Professor of Public Policy, University of California - Berkeley, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor

"An essential and engaging work that I would like to see on the curriculum of every high school, and played in every library, in the United States. It highlights a shameful side of our society, the devaluation of racial minorities and the poor with supportive pseudoscience, which was mainstream policy for much of the nation's history...These corrosive ideas, accompanied by newer, equally bad science, are now back in full force. This film has appeared at the right time to help turn back this poisonous tide."
Stuart Newman, Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy, New York Medical College, Founding Member, Council for Responsible Genetics

"An exceptionally important film. The scientific world is much too DNA centric and when this world view is sold to the public by the scientific elite, it could lead to the destruction of democratic societies. With the ability to manipulate and then sequence DNA, many scientists assumed that this information would lead to curing most diseases and making genetically modified plants that would feed the world...More complex diseases such as Alzheimer's and traits such as intelligence are not the result of simple genetics, but of the complex interactions between individuals, social, and environmental factors. Making policy decisions based upon genetics is not only dangerous, but also not scientifically valid."
Dr. Dave Schubert, Professor and Head, Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute for Biological Studies

A DANGEROUS IDEA is not only rich historic storytelling but an important reminder about the connection between science and equality; a subject that couldn't be more relevant. ... it is ripe for intense discussion and needs to be seen by as wide an audience as possible."
Aaron Leventman, Director of Programming, Santa Fe Film Festival

A SENSE OF WONDER highlights Rachel Carson's love for the natural world and her fight to defend it.

When pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson published "Silent Spring" in 1962, the backlash from her critics thrust her into the center of a political maelstrom. Despite her private persona, her convictions about the risks posed by chemical pesticides forced her into the role of controversial public figure.

Using many of Miss Carson's own words, actress Kaiulani Lee embodies this extraordinary woman in a documentary style film which depicts Carson in the final year of her life. Struggling with cancer, Carson recounts with both humor and anger the attacks by the chemical industry, the government and the press as she focuses her limited energy to get her message to Congress and the American people.

Beautifully shot in HD by Academy Award®-winning cinematographer, Haskell Wexler, at Carson's cottage in Maine, the film is an intimate and poignant portrait of Carson's life as she emerges as America's most successful advocate for the natural world. Based on Kaiulani Lee's popular play of the same name.

55 minutes

Directed by Christopher Monger
Produced by Karen Montogomery, Sense of Wonder Productions LLC
Executive Producer: Kaiulani Lee
Director of Photography: Haskell Wexler, ASC
Editor: Tamara M. Maloney
Sound: Rob Sylvan
Starring Kaiulani Lee as Rachel Carson

"Anyone who has not had the good fortune to see Kaiulani Lee perform her one woman Rachel Carson show can now have that experience in A SENSE OF WONDER. As someone who has written about Carson, I deeply admire Lee's capacity to evoke Carson largely through the eloquence of her words, but also by capturing her sensibility. I felt I was in Carson's presence."
Mark Lytle, Professor of History and Environmental Studies, Bard College, Author, The Gentle Subversive: Rachel Carson, Silent Spring and the Rise of the Environmental Movement

"Reveals the incredibly appealing personality that lay beneath this environmental hero. Actress Kaiulani Lee embodies Carson's spirit as she recreates the author's last visit to her beloved Maine coast with her son. Against this stunning backdrop, Carson reflects on both her role in history and the role all humanity has played in transforming the environment. Rachel Carson's humanity, humor and intelligence are brought to life as she walks the viewer through her personal struggles and environmental battles. Historically accurate and true to Carson's words, this beautifully shot film is a thoughtful exploration of Carson's life, books, and legacy."
Mark Madison, Historian, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

"I spent weeks in the Rachel Carson archives at Yale attempting to conjure, from her letters and personal writings, Carson's life as a cancer patient, a single mother, and an author who worried she wrote too slowly and revised too much. Now, in 55 luminous minutes here she is--speaking these very words. A tour de force performance by actor Kaiulani Lee. All I can say is brava!"
Dr. Sandra Steingraber, Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies, Ithaca College, Author, Living Downstream: An Ecologist Looks at Cancer and the Environment andHaving Faith: An Ecologist's Journey to Motherhood

"This is the Rachel that I knew, brought to life with almost uncanny skill and understanding."
Paul Brooks, Carson's editor at Houghton Mifflin, and author Rachel Carson: The Writer at Work

"You cannot walk away unmoved."
Bill Moyers

"Beautifully filmed...Kaiulani Lee captures the strengths of Carson's convictions, her resolve in overcoming corporate and governmental interests that would suppress the findings of her work, and her tenacity in fighting and winning the first major battle for environmental conservation. Rachel Carson was one strong, capable woman with ample courage and the self-assurance to air the scientific evidence of the impact of pesticides on the biosphere. A SENSE OF WONDER is highly recommended."
Cliff Glaviano, Bowling Green State University Libraries, Educational Media Reviews Online

"Christopher Monger brings Kaiulani Lee's one-woman stage show to the screen in this unconventional portrait of environmentalist Rachel Carson...An excellent performance by Lee...Highly recommended."
Video Librarian

"An affecting tribute...Would appeal to students and adults with an interest in preserving nature."
Library Journal

"Carson brought about greater awareness of crucial interconnections between all life forms and the need to protect the environment."
Betty Glass, University of Nevada, Anthropology Review Database

NO TIME TO WASTE celebrates legendary 99-year-old park ranger Betty Reid Soskin's inspiring life, work and urgent mission to restore critical missing chapters of America's story.

The film follows her journey as an African American woman presenting her personal story from a kitchen stool in a national park theater to media interviews and international audiences who hang on every word she utters.

The documentary captures her fascinating life—from the experiences of a young Black woman in a WWII segregated union hall, through her multi-faceted career as a singer, activist, mother, legislative representative and park planner to her present public role.

At the Rosie the Riveter/WWII Home Front National Historical Park, Betty illuminates the invisible histories of African Americans and other people of color. Her efforts have changed the way the National Park Service conveys this history to audiences across the U.S., challenging us all to move together toward a more perfect union.

52 minutes

Directed by Carl Bidleman
Writer, Editor: Carl Bidleman
Director of Photography: Stefan Ruenzel
Executive Producers: Marsha Mather-Thrift, Doug McConnell
Narrator: Carl Bidleman
A Digital Story Company Production in association with Rosie the Riveter Trust

"Soskin reminds us that one person's story can bear witness and fill in the gaping holes in our national story."
Mary Forgione, Los Angeles Times

"Touching and engaging...Nonagenarian Soskin reminds viewers of the importance of telling the complete American story - one that recognizes racial and gender discrimination and celebrates the accomplishments of African Americans - so that we, as a nation, can understand from whence we came and where we should be heading in order to create, as she states is her mission, 'a more perfect union.' NO TIME TO WASTE is an inspiring film that spotlights Soskin being 'empowered...by history' and encourages others to do the same."
Traci Parker, Associate Professor African American History, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Author, Department Stores and the Black Freedom Movement

"Tells a valuable story of historic preservation and history-making. Betty Reid Soskin's work in the National Parks Service exemplifies the ways we can learn about even the most uncomfortable parts of our own histories while empowering us to actively engage in not making the mistakes of our past."

"A warm, wonderful, delightful, and moving portrait of one of the most interesting and charismatic people in the National Park Service. The film tells how Betty Reid Soskin has helped teach National Parks how to tell America's history while including the stories of Americans who have traditionally been left out, even the painful parts. It will provoke thoughtful conversations about how history might be told where you live now."
Mark Stoll, Professor of Environmental History, Texas Tech University, Co-editor, To Love the Wind and the Rain: African Americans and Environmental History

"Allows us to spend some time in the presence of inimitable Betty Reid Soskin, a gifted public historian who has spent her life working for the greater good...This is a captivating documentary, one that offers a compelling portrait of this remarkable woman."
Erica L. Ball, Professor of History, Chair of Black Studies, Occidental College, Author, Madam C. J. Walker: The Making of an American Icon

"Betty Reid Soskin demonstrates the importance of finding one's own voice, and using it, calmly and fearlessly, to speak truth to power. As she refuses to allow her own past to be ignored, Soskin, born in 1921, reveals the vital role that history plays in all our lives. This surprising and inspiring documentary will inform and spark discussion on a wide variety of topics, including not only issues of race, gender, and aging, but the importance of history and who's responsible for its telling."
Nancy C. Unger, Professor of History, Santa Clara University, Author, Beyond Nature's Housekeepers: American Women in Environmental History

"Encourages Americans of all ages and walks of life to see more fully who 'we the people' are. With wisdom and integrity, Betty Reid Soskin speaks to the complexity of this nation's history, honoring the many cultural and historical threads defining our larger American experience. She exemplifies what it means to be a responsible citizen and inspires a principled life. Betty inspires life, period. This documentary could be used for elementary through postsecondary school levels, its lessons reaching children and adults. I hope countless others will be as deeply moved as I have been."
Lauret E. Savoy, David B. Truman Professor of Environmental Studies, Mount Holyoke College, Author, Trace: Memory, History, Race, and the American Landscape

THIS IS HOME puts a human face on the global refugee crisis by providing an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in the US and struggling to find their footing.

THIS IS HOME is an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in America and struggling to find their footing. With only eight months of help from the International Rescue Committee to become self-sufficient, they must forge ahead to rebuild their lives in a new home: Baltimore, Maryland. They attend cultural orientation classes and job training sessions where they must "learn America" — everything from how to take public transportation to negotiating new gender roles.

When the newly imposed travel ban adds further questions and complications, their strength and resilience are put to the test. Through humor and heartbreak, this universal story illuminates what it's like to start over, no matter the obstacles. THIS IS HOME goes beyond the statistics, headlines, and political rhetoric to tell deeply personal stories, putting a human face on the global refugee crisis.

91 minutes

Directed by Alexandra Shiva
Produced by Alexandra Shiva, Lindsey Megrue
Editor: Toby Shimin
Director of Photography: Laela Kilbourn
Original Music: T. Griffin
Executive Producers: Princess Firyal of Jordan, Jason Blum, Patty Quillin
A Gidalya Pictures production in association with Blumhouse

"Affecting...Addresses early relief, initial confusion, fluctuating states of peace and homesick despair, and the small joys that come with knowing one can adapt."
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times

"Powerful...Allows an exceptional intimacy to develop between the audience and the subjects...The children make friends. Teenagers get into college. No one is a villain here. People are kind. But Shiva, in this quiet, thoughtful film, has given us a gift in laying bare the extremity of their transition. The more she illuminates the nuances, the better we see."
Eve MacSweeney, Vogue

"America and Americans are many things, but I was reminded of how simultaneously bewildering, charming, generous and scary this place can be."
Susanna Schrobsdorff, Time

"Stirring...A heartening call for open-armed empathy in an America still guarded on that front."
Guy Lodge, Variety

"Give[s] a face to the faceless by putting viewers — no matter their political opinions — in the center of the most personal of moments these families endure."
Meghan Giannotta, amNewYork

"An intimate portrait of the global immigration crisis on a person-to-person level."
Chris Osterndorf, The Daily Dot

"I have watched several documentaries on Syrian refugees — this is the best. A delightful, humorous and honest film. We cheer on four families as they race against time to settle, learn English and find jobs before eight months of state assistance run out. Tears came to my eyes only a few times; this is not a tear jerker. I laughed more often. Some I wanted to hug, others I wanted to shake by the collar to explain that they must fall in line with American customs or sink. This film reminds you that whether refugee or ordinary American, we are all in this together."
Joshua Landis, Professor and Chair, Middle East Studies, Director, Center of Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma, Editor, Syria Comment newsletter

"Succeeds in showcasing the gradual social and cultural changes, including the emotional transformations, the refugees have undergone in adapting to their new homeland. It also brilliantly and subliminally shatters the publicized stereotype that Syrian refugees are a threat to American security and culture. The image of the 'other' is delicately yet seamlessly transposed into one accepted, supported and fitted into the fabric of American society."
Dr. Robert Rabil, Professor of Political Science, Florida Atlantic University , Author, Syria, the United States, and the War on Terror in the Middle East

"Freedom and the hope for a peaceful and prosperous family life is an intoxicating goal. This Is Home captures the struggle for all this. As America turns inward the freedom this country offers fades. This important film brings home how policy affects human beings. A must see film."
David M. Crane, Professor of Practice, Syracuse University, Founder, Syrian Accountability Project, The IamSyria Campaign

"A compelling glimpse into the lives of several Syrian refugee families resettled in Baltimore, MD and the challenges of building a new life in exile while still dealing with the trauma of war. It poignantly depicts how these refugees — with grace, dignity, and humor — overcome culture shock, language barriers, homesickness, and bigotry to forge a new life in America. This film is necessary viewing for understanding how the ordeal of being a refugee continues after being granted asylum."
Dr. Faedah Totah, Associate Professor of Political Science, Virginia Commonwealth University

"If you really care to know about the lives of refugees who are coming to the US now and how they adjust to their new home, you must see this documentary. This is a poignant record of the gap between good intentions of the hosts and everyday realities of the refugee families. Reaching 'home' involves a long, hard journey."
Dr. Bandana Purkayastha, Professor, Sociology, Asian American Studies, University of Connecticut

"Brilliant...Heartbreaking...In this political moment of anti-immigrant hysteria, This is Home is a needed reminder of the many insecurities refugees confront and of the moral and political necessity of supporting them."
Dr. Samer Abboud, Associate Professor, Global Interdisciplinary Studies, Villanova University, Author, Syria

"Warm, personable...Hopeful, positive...Offers constructive counterpoint that dilutes the strident nativist voices of those who would demonize refugees as vulnerable candidates to become radicalized or engaged as terrorists."
Les Roka, The Utah Review

"An engaging, respectful, and realistic account of refugee resettlement in America. A must-see...for communities interested in learning more about the realities and challenges of resettlement for newly arrived refugees. The documentary's unobtrusive focus on the role of refugee resettlement agency staff (such as case managers, employment specialists, and interpreters), the support from faith communities (such as local churches), as well as the social, cultural and psychological challenges facing refugee men, women and children (gender roles, parent child dynamics, trauma, and homesickness) allows the story to tell so much, but without judgement or generalizations...This remains, throughout, the story of how four specific families engage in the universal struggle for dignity and hope in a new home."
Dr. Diya Abdo, Associate Professor of English, Founder/Director, Every Campus A Refuge, Guilford College

THE THIRD HARMONY tells the story of nonviolence, the greatest overlooked resource in human experience.

Drawing on interviews with veteran activists like civil rights leader Bernard Lafayette, scientists like behaviorist Frans de Waal and neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, political scientist Erica Chenoweth, futurist Elisabet Sahtouris and others, THE THIRD HARMONY will help students and the public to better grasp just what nonviolence is and how it works.

By revealing the convergence of modern science and the world's great wisdom traditions, the film also explores the important role that nonviolence plays in the wider struggle to develop a "new story" of human nature, that, contrary to the "old story", scarcity, competition and violence are not inevitable. Rather the universe is conscious and purposeful; we are spiritual beings, and cooperation and collaboration are our natural way of interacting.

Finally, the film points out what each of us can do to facilitate the fulfillment of Mahatma Gandhi's promise that nonviolence could "oversweep the world" and allow us each to find personal fulfillment in the process.

44 minutes

Directed by Michael Nagler, PhD
Executive Producers: Tom Eddington, Steve Michelson
Writer: Michael Nagler, PhD
Editor: Sarah Gorsline
Camera: Lou Zweier, Michael Carrier
Animation: Broelando
Music: Sky
Narrator: Stephanie Van Hook
A Production of the Metta Center for Nonviolence

"Hats off to the Metta Center for this intellectually challenging but completely accessible film that seamlessly addresses both theoretical and practical aspects of nonviolence. Viewers will go away not only appreciating the film's main theoretical point - that nonviolence is an essential human characteristic - but they will also find themselves face-to-face with the film's very practical challenge to take up the work of nonviolence in their own lives."
Charles R. DiSalvo, Professor of Law, West Virginia University, Author, M.K. Gandhi, Attorney at Law: The Man Before the Mahatma

"Weaves together a brilliant tapestry of voices and experiences on the transformative power of nonviolence to grow love, repair harm, and build a more sustainable and just world. Through a conversation that is at once interdisciplinary and keenly focused on practice, students will gain an understanding of the long history and diverse approaches of peacemaking and peaceful conflict resolution. This film should be assigned in every history and civics course as an introduction to the vast potential young people can harness in the face of the world's challenges. The insights it offers are vital to building a better world!"
Selina Gallo-Cruz, Associate Professor of Sociology and Peace and Conflict Studies, College of the Holy Cross

"Gathers some of the most important practical and academic voices of today, calling us to the profound change necessary for our survival. Showing recent examples of how nonviolence is the natural, default response of humanity, it is both inspirational and instructional. Used as a discussion starter it will kick off 1000 different discussions. I highly recommend this to any course on social engagement/change, political science, sociology, religion, and psychology."

"Utilizing leading figures in the field of non-violence, both activist and academic, this film provides insight and a road map into the power and efficiency of 'speaking truth to power.' This film bears witness to the power of non-violence and how as humans we can move forward together to solve the legacies of violence and build a brighter future for all."
Dr. Greg Carroll, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Salem State University

"This inspiring video introduces nonviolent theory, strategy, and practice through diverse voices, examples, and geographies connecting a compelling history through an urgent present to a hopeful future. From India to Occupy, Palestine to Standing Rock, and Black Lives Matter to Climate Activism THE THIRD HARMONY identifies convincing arguments for the power of nonviolent resistance and potential for creative and proactive nonviolent action toward justice and peace...I recommend this film for educators and activists who seek to inspire and educate agents of nonviolent social change."
Mike Klein, Associate Professor and Program Director, Justice and Peace Studies, University of St. Thomas

"Listening to some of today's leading thinkers, activists, and educators, viewers will not only understand the essence of nonviolence, but will feel the powerful pulse of humanity's true heartbeat of love longing for peace with the natural world, with each other, and within themselves. THE THIRD HARMONY mixes real examples of nonviolence transformation together with supporting scientific evidence to shine a bright light on the way forward through the darkness of conflict, hate and violence currently threatening our global community. A must have for any nonviolence training curriculum or peace studies program."
Paul Bueno de Mesquita, Professor and Director, Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies, University of Rhode Island

"Instructive, visually evocative, pragmatic and inspiring...THE THIRD HARMONY will serve well in classes, workshops, and study groups to introduce people to nonviolence. It is broad in scope, revealing nonviolence as an activity at local, national, international, and personal levels. It is comprehensive in presenting a variety of students and practitioners of nonviolence in Asia, Africa, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. And it reveals the many dimensions of nonviolence, from political activity to a personal practice."
Barry L. Gan, Professor of Philosophy, Co-Director of the Center for Nonviolence, St. Bonaventure University

From award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand, COOKED reveals the ways in which class, race, and zip code predetermine unequal response and recovery to environmental disaster.

Chicago suffered the worst heat disaster in U.S history in 1995, when 739 residents—mostly elderly and black—died over the course of one week. As COOKED links the deadly heat wave's devastation back to the underlying manmade disaster of structural racism, it delves deep into one of our nation's biggest growth industries: Disaster Preparedness.

Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Judith Helfand (Blue Vinyl, Everything's Cool), uses her signature serious-yet-quirky connect-the-dots-style to forge inextricable connections between the cataclysmic natural disasters we're willing to see and prepare for and the slow-motion disasters we're not. That is, until an extreme weather event hits and they are made exponentially more deadly and visible.

But whether it was the heat wave in Chicago or Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria, all of these disasters share something key: they reveal the ways in which class, race, and zip code predetermine who was living on the edge to start with, who gets hurt the worst, who recovers and bounces back—and who doesn't. In COOKED, Helfand challenges herself and others to truly see and respond to the invisible man-made disasters taking place in towns and cities across the country before the next "natural" disaster hits.

COOKED is an adaptation of HEAT WAVE: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (2002), Eric Klinenberg's groundbreaking book

82 minutes

Directed by Judith Helfand
Produced by Judith Helfand, Fenell Doremus
Editors: Simeon Hunter, David E. Simpson
Original Music: T. Griffin
Cinematography: Tod Lending, Stanley J. Staniski, Keith Walker
Executive Producers for ITVS: Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen
A co-production of Judith Helfand Productions, Kartemquin Films and Independent Television Service (ITVS) with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB)

"COOKED chronicles the painful truth that waiting for the government can be hazardous to your health. The twin vulnerability of poverty and race placed African Americans at special risk in the 1995 Chicago heat wave. In America, zip code is more important than genetic code and some people and communities have the wrong complexion for protection."
Dr. Robert D. Bullard, Professor, Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Texas Southern University, Author, Race, Place, and Environmental Justice After Hurricane Katrina

"This film is searing, smart and insightful...The film asks important questions with humor, humility, and humanity. This film can be used in a wide range of classrooms with social and ethnic studies and health policy as well as in public contexts of churches, community groups, and other venues."
Julie Sze, Professor of American Studies, Founding Director, Environmental Justice Project, University of California - Davis, Author, Noxious New York: The Racial Politics of Urban Health and Environmental Justice

"This is an important film that makes the often missed connections between poverty and environmental harms. Simple solutions to environmental threats focused solely on environmental responses will leave too many people in danger. I highly recommend this film for broadening awareness of the links between environmental justice, social justice, and poverty."
Nancy C. Loeb, Clinical Associate Professor of Law, Director, Environmental Advocacy Clinic, Northwestern University

"Provides a sobering look back at one of the worst natural disasters in Chicago's recent history while shedding much-needed light on the slow-moving, man-made crisis of socioeconomic inequality that threatens not only the most vulnerable zip codes in Chicago, but cities and towns across the country."
Jay Koziarz, Curbed Chicago

"A much-needed slap in the face to the American people...It's time that those of us with privilege do something to help those who don't."
Lorry Kikta, Film Threat

AMÁ is the untold story of the involuntary sterilization of Native American women by the Indian Health Service well into the 1970s.

AMÁ tells an important and untold story: the abuses committed against Native American women by the US Government during the 1960s and 70s. The women were removed from their families and sent to boarding schools. They were subjected to forced relocation away from their traditional lands and, perhaps worst of all, they were subjected to involuntary sterilization.

The result of nine years painstaking and sensitive work by filmmaker Lorna Tucker, the film features the testimony of many Native Americans, including three remarkable women who tell their stories – Jean Whitehorse, Yvonne Swan and Charon Asetoyer – as well as a revealing and rare interview with Dr. Reimert Ravenholt whose population control ideas were the framework for some of the government policies directed at Native American women.

It is estimated over a twenty-year period between 1960 and 1980 that tens of thousands of Native American women were sterilized without their knowledge or consent. Due to poor record keeping during this era the number may in fact be much higher. Many of these women went to their graves having suffered this incredible abuse of power.

The film ends with a call to action – to back a campaign to get a formal apology from the US government, which would then open the door for the women to bring a lawsuit.

74 minutes

Directed by Lorna Tucker
Produced by Ged Doherty, Colin Firth, Lorna Tucker,
Nuala O'Leary
Cinematography: Andrea Vecchiato
Editor: Claire Ferguson
Native Advisor: LaNada War Jack
A Raindog Films Production in association with Bedlam Productions

 "Thank you for taking back our history and telling it from our narrative. This film is so important because these stories need to be heard — this is the untold history of Native America. Indigenous people hold an intimate knowledge that our women are sacred — we carry life, and the very act of pregnancy is an assertion of sovereignty and resilience. AMÁ seeks to reaffirm our history so that we can continue to center our women. CSVANW hopes this film begins a critical conversation about breaking cycles of violence that have affected our women for far too long."
Angel Charley, Interim Executive Director, Coalition to Stop Violence Against Native Women

"Heart-wrenching...Encourage[s] women to step forward."
Kaleem Aftab, Cineuropa

"Essential watching...Coercion is still happening and there is very little accountability."
Clementine de Pressigny, i-D Magazine

"A passionate insight into an enormous injustice...The bravery in sharing their stories is undeniable. These women won't be quiet any longer."
Culture Fly

"Meet some amazing women who are still fighting oppression...[AMÁ] will go a long way in opening up this conversation and enforcing solidarity between women."
Holly Mosley, Female First

"Full marks...for bringing this shocking story to the fore, exposing an injustice inflicted on women like Jean who are still waiting for an apology from the federal government."
Leslie Felperin, The Guardian

"While AMÁ is undeniably beautiful, in the way it's shot and told, and hauntingly actual, it is not just the power of the film as a work of art that makes it so perfect. It's how perfectly it fits into the age of Me Too movement and the newfound feminism of the Millennials."
E. Nina Rothe, Journalist

"The beginning of every hierarchy is controlling reproduction, and racism in this country has often restricted brown and black women through sterilization, while refusing sterilization to white women unless they had several children and their husbands' written permission. AMÁ proves that democracy begins with our bodies. All who care about democracy should see it." 
Gloria Steinem

"Shocking. A moving, must-see documentary about how a generation of Native American women suffered from coerced sterilization via the United States Government — an almost completely hidden tragedy still within living memory. This is the latest testimony as to how Native American women have been targeted with systematic erasure and silencing. Do not miss this well told and desperately important film."
Naomi Wolf, Journalist, Activist, Author, The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women and Outrages: Sex, Censorship and the Criminalization of Love

"AMÁ should be watched by all who want to understand the impacts of genocide and colonization within the United States. Well into the 1970's the federal government used tactics of persecution, extermination and denial in efforts to eradicate future generations of Native people. This film sheds light on the truth and illustrates the power of Native women in demonstrating resiliency and resistance."
Nicole Lim, Executive Director, The California Indian Museum and Cultural Center

"I would like to pay respect to the elders, both present and past, who have had the courage to tell their stories — we need more documentaries like this. We offer classes in American Indian Health and Wellness, and without fail, my students state that they had no idea of these atrocities, and the fact that they are still happening in the United States is beyond their belief. The US must apologize for the horrendous actions of their medical staff, and admit to the vast amount of indigenous knowledge that has been lost due to their lack of funding for health services."
Dr. Linda Bane Frizzell, Eastern Cherokee/Lakota, Assistant Professor, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota

"This important film will no doubt become a staple in activist and scholarly communities as we strive for a more just world. AMÁ reminds us that reproductive justice is not just about the right to end a pregnancy; at its core, reproductive justice is also about the right to be pregnant, give birth, and raise healthy children."
Sarah Deer, Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, The University of Kansas, Author, The Beginning and End of Rape: Confronting Sexual Violence in Native America

"Powerful, heartbreaking, and enraging...The voices, testimonies and ideas of three native American women and activists accompany the viewer in a journey that is a tale of injustices suffered and never repaid, but also - and most importantly - a tale of resilience and resistance, of struggle and solidarity. I will screen Lorna Tucker's beautiful documentary in my classrooms and discuss it with my students: it is a powerful introduction to the imbrication of gender, ethnicity, race, and class."
Cinzia Arruzza, Associate Professor of Philosophy, The New School, co-author, Feminism for the 99%: A Manifesto

"Traveling on a journey to connect the dots as to why Native women have been systematically sterilized without their informed consent, AMÁ weaves through historical acts of oppression focusing on a Native woman's lived experience. It is impossible to watch the film and not be moved by the barriers and challenges endured in the past four or five decades by Native women to continue as mothers and culture bearers of their communities. This film is an important resource to understand the current advocacy on behalf of the rights of Native women."
Angelique EagleWoman, Sisseton-Wahpeton Dakota Oyate, Visiting Professor of Law, Hamline University

"AMÁ provides support for Indigenous women's demands that the U.S. answer for its genocidal practices to exterminate Indigenous peoples and to examine its human rights record."
Jennifer Nez Denetdale (Dine'), Professor of American Studies, University of New Mexico

"AMÁ skillfully fills in an important (and enraging) part of reproductive history in the United States. The film has the added feature of showing seldom-seen footage of matters ranging from Native American boarding schools to leading figures in the population control movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s."
Carole Joffe, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of California - San Francisco, Co-editor, Reproduction and Society: Interdisciplinary Readings

DAMNATION is a powerful film odyssey across America exploring the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers.

This powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go mainstream. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers bound back to life, giving salmon and other wild fish the right of return to primeval spawning grounds, after decades without access. DAMNATION ’s majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest of the natural world to knowing ourselves as part of nature.

DAMNATION opens big, on a birth, with the stirring words of Franklin D. Roosevelt at the dedication of Hoover Dam, and on a death, as the engineer at Elwha Dam powers down the turbine on its last day. DAMNATION stints neither the history nor the science of dams, and above all conveys experiences known so far to only a few, including the awe of watching a 30-pound salmon hurtling 20 feet into the air in a vain attempt to reach the spawning grounds that lie barricaded upriver. We witness the seismic power of a dam breaking apart and, once the river breaks free, the elation in watching wild salmon — after a century of denied access — swimming their way home.

87 minutes

Presented by Patagonia
A Stoecker Ecological & Felt Soul Media Production
Executive Producer: Yvon Chouinard
Produced by Matt Stoecker, Travis Rummel
Directed by Ben Knight, Travis Rummel
Associate Producer: Beda Calhoun
Director of Photography: Ben Knight
Director of Underwater Photograpahy: Matt Stoecker
Additional Photography: Travis Rummel
Editor: Ben Knight
Narrator: Ben Knight
Conceived by: Matt Stoecker & Yvon Chouinard

In STILL WATERS, Stephen Haff teaches forty Latinx kids reading, creative writing and Latin in his tiny, one-room, after hours, free school in Brooklyn.

A remarkable one-room school in Brooklyn is facing a tough year. It's the run up to the US presidential election and anti-Latino rhetoric is ramped up — an extra source of tension for a hard-pressed Latino community already threatened by gentrification and eviction.

The school, Still Waters in a Storm, is the creation of Yale grad Stephen Haff. A passionate critic of mainstream education, he believes in the joy of learning without tests and the innate creativity of children and insists that the school is free. It survives precariously on the thinnest of shoestrings.

When regular school finishes, Still Waters starts working. Stephen and his group of children explore, with the help of illustrious guest writers like twice Booker Prizewinner Peter Carey, the power of storytelling, creativity and community. And along the way they discuss Donald Trump and gentrification with humor and passion.

Filmed over a year STILL WATERS follows this compelling man, his philosophy, the spirit of the children who attend, and the dreams and fears of their immigrant Hispanic community.

79 minutes

Directed by Peter Gordon
Produced by Ann Lalic
Editor: William Ennals
Music: Adult Jazz
A Shootfilms Ltd. Production

"What an amazing documentary! This is an intimate journey into the life of a learning community and the teacher who inspires children to write and their families to find hope. Anyone working in schools or thinking of what matters about education should watch STILL WATERS. It left me full of hope for the possibilities of teaching and the hope for an education that matters to everyone and not just the privileged."
Gonzalo Bacigalupe, Professor of Counseling Psychology, Director of Family Therapy Program, University of Massachusetts

"STILL WATERS is an important and beautiful film: a testimony to the ways individuals and educators can help create a sense of belonging and hope among America's immigrant children. Profoundly thoughtful about the current state of education and society, this film can serve as a resource to provoke discussion about how we engage community, educate children, and support justice in today's challenging climate."
Dr. Tori Derr, Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, California State University-Monterey Bay

"STILL WATERS describes an after-school program in Brooklyn that serves as a refuge for children who are recent immigrants to the United States...Their writing, reading, and Latin studies validate their own imaginations, their intelligence, and their capacity to think about questions fundamental to human identity and meaning. If you want to expand your sense of the educationally possible, watch this film."
Greg Smith, Professor Emeritus, Teacher Education, Lewis and Clark College, Author, Place-Based Education: Learning to Be Where We Are

"Demonstrates what education can and should accomplish for students...Children spend much of their time reading, writing, discussing, and learning; there are no tests, homework, or bullying...Children come away feeling that learning is joyful and stress-free."
Carol Holzberg, Booklist

"A fascinating look at a unique school that 'teaches what can't be measured.' Viewers will acknowledge on a more profound level the plight of these children and perhaps find their own thinking challenged."
Julia Reffner, Library Journa

JOHN LEWIS: GET IN THE WAY is the first major documentary biography of civil rights hero, congressional leader and champion for human rights, whose unwavering fight for justice spanned over fifty years.

Follow the courageous journey of John Lewis, a civil rights hero, congressional leader, and human rights champion whose unwavering fight for justice spanned the past 57 years. The son of sharecroppers, Lewis grew up in the segregated South and rose from Alabama's Black Belt to the corridors of power on Capitol Hill. His humble origins have forever linked him to those whose voices often go unheard.

Through never-before-seen interviews shot over 20 years, Lewis tells the gripping tale of his role in the vanguard of the Civil Rights Movement. He was the youngest speaker at the historic 1963 March on Washington and he led the Bloody Sunday march in Selma in 1965 where Alabama state troopers attacked peaceful protesters with billy clubs, bullwhips, and tear gas. This march led to President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act into law, which prohibited racial discrimination at the polls.

Originally an activist pushing from the outside, Lewis became the conscience of congress who made noise on the inside pressing for justice, equality, and human rights. Despite setbacks—and there were many—John Lewis' eyes remained steadfastly on the prize.

54 minutes

Directed by Kathleen Dowdey
Produced by Kathleen Dowdey
Editor: Lillian E. Benson, A.C.E.
Director of Photography: Charles A.Schner
Music: Camara Kambon
Executive Producer: Charles Floyd Johnson
Consulting Producer: Donna Brown Guillaume
Story Consultant: Jed Dannenbaum
Produced by Early Light Productions

"When I tell my daughter about the late John Lewis, I say that he was a loving man, a person of intense and infectious kindness. Congressman Lewis was equally unafraid and unselfish, and he inspired those qualities in others. When I tell my daughter about John Lewis, I will encourage her to walk in his path and 'make good trouble.' The stories I tell my daughter are the ones featured prominently in John Lewis: Get In the Way, a film honoring the legacy of the late congressman. This film should be required viewing for everyone, and I recommend it to anyone who, like Lewis, believes that the fate of the nation depends on ordinary citizens being extraordinary in their deeds and ideas."
Ray Block Jr., Associate Professor of Political Science, African American Studies, The Pennsylvania State University

"'The vote,' John Lewis reminds us in Get in the Way, 'is the most powerful non-violent tool that we have in a democracy.' His fearless lifelong effort to protect that tool is at the heart of this moving look at a principled leader. Congressman Lewis is gone when we most need him, but Kathleen Dowdey's inspiring film invites Americans of all ages to break bread with one of this country's true redeemers. Don't pass up this invitation!"
Peter H. Wood, Emeritus Professor of History, Duke University, Author, Black Majority

"Combining voice, image and time, John Lewis: Get in the Way offers a compelling glimpse of what this country can be. Imbued with a remarkable sense of purpose, direction, and determination, the film, largely narrated in Lewis's deeply resonant voice, reveals the pathway to realizing this nation's unmet ideals as a 'community at peace with itself.' His story unfolds from his insistent youth to his persistent career, each stage a revelation of the power of his unflinching love for humanity. A must see for all ages."
David J. Harris, Managing Director, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School

"This film beautifully captures a life of meaning and purpose with love for all mankind. John Lewis inspired this nation through his profound pursuit of social justice. He never wavered when facing injustice and by doing so moved a nation toward righteousness."
Derek Hyra, Associate Professor of Public Administration and Policy, American University, Author, The New Urban Renewal: The Economic Transformation of Harlem and Bronzeville

"Inspiring...The civil rights struggle that has occupied most of Lewis's 77 years is facing a tidal wave of new challenges...The values he embodies are more important than ever."
Frazier Moore, Associated Press

"Trump, as you may recall, tweeted that Lewis was 'all talk, talk, talk - no action or results'...The documentary will show just how wrong Trump was in his tweet. Lewis has been all action, action, action."
Matthew Gilbert, Boston Globe

"The film takes viewers on a journey from Lewis's roots as the son of sharecroppers to his work to end segregation and gain African-American voting rights, to his work as a Washington, D.C. insider to combat discrimination, poverty, poor education, police brutality, inaccessible health care, and voter limitations...But it also gives us a glimpse to his warm, mischievous side."
Susan Karlin, Fast Company

"Through a sweeping and at times non-linear style, Get In the Way gives the audience a sense of Lewis not so much as a biographical subject, but as Representative John Larson put it, an 'experience seared into our collective memory.'"
Argun Ulgen, Pop Matters

"A powerful and focused documentary...Lewis exemplifies the power of nonviolence and the inspiring role of students and young adults in social struggles - an important story to share in classrooms, congregations and community settings. Get In the Way is a compelling exploration of the personal witness of John Lewis and the importance of personal integrity, and the role of sacrifice and suffering in principled nonviolent direct action movements for change."
Chuck Collins, Senior Scholar, Institute for Policy Studies, Author, Born on Third Base

"We were impressed with the community engagement and discussion that came out of Get in the Way. Patrons let us know how important it is to tell stories from leading voices in history."
Zoe Del Mar, Communications Manager, Cambridge Public Library

"Highly Recommended...The sheer historical weight of his experiences, combined with his highly polished way of recounting them, makes for gripping viewing...This program is highly recommended for teaching about the Civil Rights era."
Timothy Hackman, University of Maryland, Educational Media Reviews Online

"This brisk film shows so much of John Lewis's remarkable life: his moral clarity, physical courage, and unrelenting optimism. Americans need to know this sharecropper's son, freedom rider, US Congressman - and more. From this heroic story, we'll all learn a lot more about how American history is made - sometimes by people like us."
David Meyer, Professor of Sociology, Political Science, and Planning, Policy, and Design, University of California-Irvine, Author, The Politics of Protest: Social Movements in America

"The history of the right to vote in the United States has been a history of constant struggle. John Lewis was the essence of that struggle. This documentary wonderfully captures his remarkable life and the many sacrifices he made for our country. It should be required viewing in classrooms all across the country."
Luis Fuentes-Rohwer, Professor of Law, Adjunct Professor of African American and Diaspora Studies and Political Science, Indiana University-Bloomington

"The late John Lewis was at the moral center of the 20th century's Civil Rights Movement. His life showed us that through nonviolent political commitment we can work together to remake our world. In this timely film, Lewis tells his story of how he came to be a soldier for justice and why we must never give up and never give in to the forces working against a better world."
Dr. Lorraine C. Minnite, Associate Professor, Public Policy and Administration, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, Author, The Myth of Voter Fraud

THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON unveils the ancient astronomy of southwestern Pueblo Indians.

THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON examines the deep enigmas presented by the massive prehistoric remains found in Chaco Canyon in northwestern New Mexico. It is the summation of 20 years of research. The film reveals that between 850 and 1150 AD, the Chacoan people designed and constructed massive ceremonial buildings in a complex celestial pattern throughout a vast desert region. Aerial and time lapse footage, computer modeling, and interviews with scholars show how the Chacoan culture designed, oriented and located its major buildings in relationship to the sun and moon. Pueblo Indians, descendants of the Chacoan people, regard Chaco as a place where their ancestors lived in a sacred past. Pueblo leaders speak of the significance of Chaco to the Pueblo world today.

The film challenges the notion that Chaco Canyon was primarily a trade and redistribution center. Rather it argues that it was a center of astronomy and cosmology and that a primary purpose for the construction of the elaborate Chacoan buildings and certain roads was to express astronomical interests and to be integral parts of a celestial patterning.

While the Chacoans left no written text to help us to understand their culture, their thoughts are preserved in the language of their architecture, roads and light markings. Landscape, directions, sun and moon, and movement of shadow and light were the materials used by the Chacoan architects and builders to express their knowledge of an order in the universe.

56 minutes

Directed by Anna Sofaer
Produced by The Solstice Project
Narrated by Robert Redford
Written by Anna Sofaer and Matt Dibble
Music by Michael Stearns

"From the pyramids and temples of Egypt, to England's Stonehenge, (ancient peoples) locked their buildings to the movements of the sky gods. Now, with a definitive study, Anna Sofaer shows that the Pueblo cultures of the southwest US deserts were a high climax to this bonding with the sky...Certainly Chaco was the great center of civilization in North America, long before Columbus landed."
Dr. Gerald S. Hawkins, Commissioner, History of Astronomy, International Astronomical Union

"A captivating look at one of the most impressive archaeological sites in North America...Anna Sofaer reveals the solar and lunar complexity of Chacoan buildings with impressive visual economy and clarity. In the process, we get a whole new picture of the intelligence at work behind Chacoan society and its architecture...THE MYSTERY OF CHACO CANYON interweaves a narrative that is both attentive to indigenous thought and values, and robustly grounded in the rigors of scientific method. Well-paced and absorbing, simultaneously poetic and analytical, this film provides a new benchmark of understanding for serious studies of ancestral-Pueblo astronomy and culture."
Peter Whiteley, Chair, Dept. of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence College

"It does an outstanding job of weaving Pueblo traditions of migration and human agency into scientific accounts of the past at Chaco Canyon, affording both forms of knowledge the respect they deserve...helps place Pueblo people in their contemporary context, as well as explain the past...I highly recommend it."
Dr. T.J. Ferguson, Anthropologist/Archaeologist

"A stunning piece — the graphics are astounding and the entire production is powerful."
Dr. R. Gwinn Vivian, former Curator of Archaeology, Arizona State Museum, University of Arizona

"I highly recommend this video for anthropological, sociological, and American studies classes."
Dr. Brad Eden, UNLV, MC Journal

"Make(s) a compelling case for this ancient people's astronomical prowess. The film argues that the massive multistory buildings and roads the Chacoans constructed in a forbidding stretch of what is now New Mexico were designed to form a vast, stunningly precise map of the yearly cycle of the sun and the 19-year cycle of the moon."
The Wall Street Journal

"A beautiful piece. The composition and photography could not have been better...the public...will eat it up and ask for more."
F. Joan Mathien, Archaeologist, National Park Service

"I rate this video a MUST-SEE for anyone interested in southwestern prehistory."
W. David Laird, Books of the Southwest

"The video, then, is a multi-leveled phenomenon, like Chaco, which embraces complexity, beauty and mystery."
Rina Swentzell, Architect, Santa Clara Pueblo

In BEATRIX FARRAND'S AMERICAN LANDSCAPES, Lynden B. Miller explores the life and work of America's first female landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand.

BEATRIX FARRAND'S AMERICAN LANDSCAPES follows award-winning public garden designer Lynden B. Miller as she sets off to explore the remarkable life and career of America's first female landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand. Farrand was responsible for some of the most celebrated gardens in the United States and helped create a distinctive American voice in landscape architecture.

Although she created gardens for the rich and powerful, including John D. Rockefeller, Jr., J.P. Morgan, and President Woodrow Wilson, she also was an early advocate for the value of public gardens and believed strongly in the power of the natural world to make people's lives better.

Through the documentary, Miller journeys to iconic Farrand gardens, engaging designers, scholars and horticulturists in a spirited dialogue about the meaning and importance of this ground-breaking early 20th-century woman. Lynden Miller's experience as New York City's most prominent public garden designer is woven into a wide-ranging biography of Farrand's life and times.

62 minutes

Directed by Stephen Ives
Produced by Lauren DeFilippo, Karen Smythe, Anne Cleves Symmes
Editor: Kent Bassett
Cinematography: Buddy Squires
Sound Recording: John Zecca
Original Music: Peter Rundquist
Narrator: Lynden B. Miller
An Insignia Films Production

"A work of art chronicling the intersection between garden history and now. We're talking a deftly researched script tracing Farrand's evolution from her New York City socialite roots to her courageous horticultural education shadowing Arnold Arboretum's first director, Charles Sprague Sargent, at a time when women were emphatically not admitted into the field."
Tovah Martin, New England Home

"Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted dismissed her as a 'dabbler.' No university would accept her. Her own friends thought her professional ambition was 'a sort of mild mania.' Yet Beatrix Farrand, who lived from 1872 to 1959, persisted. And she became the first female landscape architect, leaving her mark in gardens, parks, and other public landscapes across the country."
Becky Pritchard, Mount Desert Islander

"Lynden Miller's ability as a natural educator and her lifelong career as an award-winning public space designer made her the perfect guide to host the film viewer's journey through some of Farrand's gardens. The juxtaposition of sharing her own process of redesign and restoration of some of the parks and gardens that many of us enjoy today, inspired by Farrand's insight, marries a modern viewpoint to the historic focus of a bygone era."
Madaline Sparks, Rural Intelligence

 "We must listen to the voices of the people in this important film. If we listen, and hear, we will learn about our history and about our world today. If we listen, and learn, we will be able to create better tomorrows."
Wendy E. Chmielewski, George R. Cooley Curator, Swarthmore College Peace Collection


"The superbly made documentary matches its heroine's sense for perfection in all details: aesthetic refinedness and technical prowess do wonders in bringing to life Farrand's whole age, while showing her visionary landscapes. The smart intermixing of original photos and 19th-century reels of New York City make for a fascinating story from beginning to end."
Vanessa Sellers, New York Botanical Garden Plant Talk