Sociology

Featuring interviews with five young career people who have disabilities, this film questions the general public's attitudes toward physical disability and our perceptions of the disabled as somehow either weaker or more courageous than the non-disabled.

This offbeat feature documentary shatters stereotypes about the disabled in its portrayal of Diane Starin, a 34-year-old northern California cowgirl who has been blind since she was 18 months old.

This inspiring documentary examines the participation of the blind and visually impaired in competitive athletic events, including track and field, swimming, judo, basketball, and goal ball.

An emotionally compelling examination of NY artist and psychotherapist Jo Roman's pioneering work in developing a philosophy of "rational suicide" as a basic human right.

Examines the impact of AIDS within Hispanic-American communities, focusing on the specific economic, social and cultural factors which influence perception of the AIDS crisis, including macho attitudes about sexuality, traditional relations between men and women, prejudices against homosexuality, and the prevalence of drug abuse.

Looks at the many individuals and organizations that have met the challenge of providing services for people with AIDS (PWAs) in San Francisco, including volunteers who provide vital services that government agencies have been unable or unwilling to provide.

Examines the rapid spread of the AIDS epidemic in Africa, focusing on the small nation of Rwanda.

Examines the plight of babies born with AIDS, focusing on the inspiring examples of dedicated caregivers such as Mother Hale, founder of Hale House in New York City, and Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-ross, filmed at her House of Peace in West Virginia.

Surveys the work of plastic artists in Puerto Rico during the 20th century, as well as significant forerunners in the 18th and 19th centuries, focusing on the artists' expression of national identity. The video combines illustrations of hundreds of art works with interviews with a dozen major contemporary artists and commentary by art critics.

A colorful and entertaining survey of protest music in Central America, from Mexico City to Managua, where popular music has become a forum for social commentary and political protest.

Chronicles the 1987 U.S. tour by the National Symphony Orchestra of the People's Republic of China, including interviews with conductor Zuohuang Chen, a survivor of the Cultural Revolution who studied music in the U.S., Chen's mentor, Seiji Ozawa, director of the Boston Symphony, plus stirring performances of both Western and Chinese music.

Hosted and narrated by singer Linda Ronstadt, this entertaining and informative look at ethnic music in America offers a rich sampling of the nation's culturally diverse musical styles, featuring performances of Irish, Greek, African-American, Jewish, Central Asian, Chinese and Puerto Rican music.

This video follows the world-famous Chicago Children's Choir on their 1996 tour of South Africa and shows how music can convey a message of peace.

Set against a background of farming, saw-milling and moonshining activities in rural Kentucky during the Depression, this short film dramatizes the use of violence as a socially accepted form of "folk justice."

This biographical video tells the story of John McCrae, a Canadian army physician in WWI. Shaken by the experience of having to pick up for burial the body parts of a best friend, the victim of a direct hit from a German shell, McCrae later wrote "In Flanders Fields," one of the most famous anti-war poems of all time, while looking out over the grave.

Scandalize My Name examines the way Red Scare politics were used to impede the emergence of African-Americans as full participants in the political, social, and cultural aspects of postwar American life. Because television was born into this era and adopted the political attitudes of the time, the story is told through the confrontations of African-American performers with blacklists, loyalty oaths, and discrimination in casting.

Tells the story of Eddie Torres, who recruits the best of New York's salseros-Hispanic club and street dancers-and, with the musical collaboration of Tito Puente, molds them into a professional dance troupe.

This autobiographical video, in which the filmmaker reveals his homosexuality to his mother, explores the awkward situation of being ‘out’ to friends but closeted to family.

Profiles a variety of women active in independent-feminist film and video, including production, distribution and education, whose work expresses a variety of political and esthetic viewpoints.

Documents the making of a public art piece that raises questions about the meaning of private and public space and the role of public art.