American Studies
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I AM A TOWN2023 American Studies Anthropology Art History Cinema Studies Family Relations Photography
The community of Provincetown, which has been clinging to a distinctly American - and yet increasingly rare - way of life. In his immersive documentary debut, Mischa Richter, whose artist family has been living there for nearly a century, explores his home through shared moments and conversations with locals, pilgrims, outcasts, fishermen, drag queens and spirit guides in an exploration of what freedom and community mean in America today.
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MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color2022 American Studies American History Art History African-American Studies Education Short Films Directed by Women Women's Studies Alma W. Thomas, a Black woman painter, broke color barriers on and off the canvas, yet did not receive national attention until she was 80 years old. “Miss Alma Thomas” is the first documentary film that explores Thomas’ incredible life through the lens of curators, art specialists, scholars, and her family. |
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CANE FIRE2022 American Studies American History Cinema Studies Indigenous Studies Media Studies A kaleidoscopic portrait of Hawaiʻi and the economic and cultural forces that have cast Indigenous and working-class residents as "extras" in their own story |
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ROCK BOTTOM RISERAnthropology Asian-American Studies Cinema Studies Economics Media Studies Photography Political Science Science Physical Science Sociology American Studies American History 2022 Explorers have long made Hawaii the hub for their searching. Today-as lava continues to flow on the island—another crisis mounts as scientists plan to build the world's largest telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii's most sacred and revered mountain. The film weaves a vital tapestry of post-colonialism and pop culture with cinematic brio and a wry wit. Rock Bottom Riser is an essential document and an exhilarating tour-de-force, a palimpsest that traverses geology, ethnography and astronomy. |
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LA MANPLESA: an uprising remembered2022 American Studies American History Criminal & Law Cultural Studies Directed by Women Latin-American Studies Sociology
On May 5th, 1991, people took to the streets of Washington D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood to protest the police shooting of Daniel Gomez, a young man from El Salvador. Through testimony, song, poetry, and street theatre, La Manplesa weaves together the collective memory of one of D.C.’s first barrios and dives into the roots of the ‘91 rebellion.
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ANY GIVEN DAY2022 American Studies Directed by Women Family Relations Health Psychology & Psychiatry Sociology Criminal & Law A filmmaker with mental illness follows three defendants through a specialized mental health probation program. While sharing their rarely seen struggles, she faces her own challenges, making clear just how precarious the ties between people with mental illness, their families and society can be. From Margaret Byrne, the director of Raising Bertie. |
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THE KITCHENISTAS2021 American Studies Business Cultural Studies Family Relations Gastronomy Health Latino Studies Latin-American Studies Women's Studies Sociology 2022
What started as a 7-week nutrition program for women seeking healthier diets, has become a Latina-led movement to enact change in their own communities. Known as Kitchenistas, these women are showing how healthy food traditions can lead to physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing as well as big change in the home, at schools, within city hall, and in the healthcare system.
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STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS2021 American Studies American History Anthropology Cinema Studies Family Relations Music Religion & Spirituality Political Science
Musician David Bazan retreated into a solitary life after renouncing his long-held Christian beliefs and walking away from his critically-acclaimed band, Strange Negotiations follow David a decade into his journey, during which he has become a sort of reluctant prophet to Americans during the 2016 presidential election.
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TO KID OR NOT TO KID2020 American Studies Cinema Studies Cultural Studies Directed by Women Women's Studies Health
Filmmaker Maxine Trump turns the camera on herself and her close circle of family and friends as she confronts the idea of not having kids, and explores the cultural pressures and harsh criticism childfree women regularly experience.
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THE FOURTH KINGDOM: the kingdom of plasticsAmerican Studies Alcohol & Drug Abuse Chicano Studies Cinema Studies Environmental Studies Immigration Labor Studies Latino Studies New York City Urban Studies 2020
The Fourth Kingdom: The Kingdom of Plastics is a compassionate through-the-seasons study of a non-profit recycling and redemption center in New York.
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AMERICAN REBELS IN CUBA2019 American Studies Cuban Studies Chicano Studies Latino Studies Latin-American Studies Peace & Conflict Political Science World History American Rebels in Cuba follows the unusual life of “rebels” Neill and Nancy Macaulay and their involvement with the Cuban Revolution, providing an inside look at one of the most important historical events of the 20th century. |
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I'M LEAVING NOW (YA ME VOY)2019 American Studies Chicano Studies Latino Studies New York City Urban Studies Cinema Studies Immigration Felipe, an undocumented Mexican immigrant in Brooklyn, struggles with whether to return home to Mexico, to the wife and children he no longer really knows. |
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JEWEL'S CATCH ONE2018 African-American Studies AIDS American History Directed by Women Human Sexuality LGBTQ Women's Studies American Studies 2019
The story of famed Los Angeles nightclub Catch One and its owner Jewel Thais-Williams, who defied all odds and provided a safe space for both black and LGBT communities.
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KEEP TALKING2018 Native American Studies American Studies Kartemquin Films Cultural Studies Indigenous Studies
Keep Talking follows four Alaska Native women fighting to save Kodiak Alutiiq, an endangered language now spoken by less than 40 remaining fluent Native Elders.
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THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL2018 African-American Studies American History American Studies
The Issue of Mr. O’Dell examines the lifelong work of a pioneering civil rights organizer Jack ODell, who was a close colleague and advisor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but was ousted from King's organization after President Kennedy named him the number five Communist in America.
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MILFORD GRAVES FULL MANTIS2018 Music African-American Studies American Studies Media Studies
Milford Graves Full Mantis is a feature-length portrait of renowned percussionist Milford Graves, oscillating from present to past and weaving intimate glimpses of the artist’s complex cosmology with blistering performances from around the globe, exploring his kaleidoscopic creativity and relentless curiosity.
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HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING2018 African-American Studies American Studies Cinema Studies Media Studies Academy Award Winners & Nominees 2019
2019 ACADEMY AWARD® Nominee for Best Documentary Feature. Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting the beauty of life and consequences of the social construction of race, while simultaneously a testament to dreaming - despite the odds.
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EN EL SEPTIMO DIA (On The Seventh Day)2018 Immigration New York City Latino Studies Cinema Studies American Studies Chicano Studies Labor Studies Narrative Films
A fiction feature about a group of undocumented immigrants from Puebla, Mexico who live in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. En el Séptimo Día (On the Seventh Day) is both timely for our current immigration debate and an exciting enjoyable film to watch.
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SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los AngelesAfrican-American Studies Directed by Women American Studies Cinema Studies Media Studies Cultural Studies American History 2018
Spirits of Rebellion: Black Cinema from UCLA documents the lives and work of a small critically acclaimed group of black filmmakers and media artists known as the Los Angeles Rebellion, the first collective of minority filmmakers that aimed to reimagine the production process to represent, reflect on, and enrich the day to day lives of people in their own communities.
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BEYOND WISEGUYS: italian americans & the movies2017 American Studies Cinema Studies Media Studies Pacific Street Films
Executive-produced by award-winning actor/filmmaker John Turturro, BEYOND WISEGUYS is a feature-length documentary that uses extraordinary interviews with prominent Italian American film artists such as John Turturro, Isabella Rossellini, Susan Sarandon, Martin Scorsese, Ben Gazzara, Marisa Tomei, and many others to explore the personal experiences that brought them all to the movies.
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