American History


BELLA
BELLA

Dance  American Studies  American History  Cinema Studies  Cultural Studies  Directed by Women  Performing Arts  2024 

Bella, is about the life, influence and impact of California-based artist and activist Bella Lewitzky. Designated one of America's Irreplaceable Dance Treasures by the Dance Heritage Coalition Lewitzky’s life demonstrates how a “uniquely Californian” artist with vision and tenacity can change the lives of her fellow citizens.

RECORDIALLY YOURS, LOU CURTISS
RECORDIALLY YOURS, LOU CURTISS

2023  American History  Business  Music  Performing Arts  Sociology 

Filmmaker Yale Strom explores the life and work of Lou Curtiss - creator of the San Diego Folk Festival, Adams Ave. Unplugged Festival, audiophile, folklorist, author, raconteur, radio host and proprietor of Folk Arts Rare Records, a mecca for some of the most celebrated American roots musicians in America.

MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color
MISS ALMA THOMAS: a life in color

2022  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.  


CANE FIRE
CANE FIRE

2022  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


ROCK BOTTOM RISER
ROCK BOTTOM RISER

Anthropology  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.


LA MANPLESA: an uprising remembered
LA MANPLESA: an uprising remembered

2022  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.

STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS
STRANGE NEGOTIATIONS

2021  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.

DESALAMBRANDO: THE DOCUMENTARY
DESALAMBRANDO: THE DOCUMENTARY

2019  American History  Chicano Studies  Cultural Studies  Latino Studies  Political Science  Puerto Rican Studies  World History 

Desalambrando examines the history of Puerto Rico’s squatter movement, also known as rescates de terrenos and its current relevance in a post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico.

JEWEL'S CATCH ONE
JEWEL'S CATCH ONE

2018  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.

OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS
OWNED: A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS

2018  Sociology  American History  Urban Studies  Cultural Studies  African-American Studies  2019 

Owned: A Tale of Two Americas is a fever dream vision into the dark history behind the US housing economy. Tracking its overtly racist beginnings to its unbridled commoditization, the film exposes a foundational story few Americans understand as their own.

THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL
THE ISSUE OF MR. O'DELL

2018  African-American Studies  American History  American Studies 

The Issue of Mr. O’Dell examines the lifelong work of a pioneering civil rights organizer Jack O’Dell, 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.



SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los Angeles
SPIRITS OF REBELLION: Black Independent Cinema from Los Angeles

African-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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