Films

The Second Cooler (USA, 87 min)

Directed & Produced by Ellin Jimmerson

The Second Cooler is a migrant justice documentary for English and Spanish speaking audiences which unravels why twelve million Latin American migrants are in the U. S. illegally and brings major implications into focus.

Not Today (India/USA, 105 min)

Directed by Jon Van Dyke, Executive Producer, Matthew Cork, Producer, Brett Martz

Roaming from California to India, Not Today weaves a moving, inspiring story of a young man’s (Hollywood Heights’ Cody Longo) journey from spoiled Orange County “adult-olescent” to a true believer in the fight against human trafficking, risking his life to help the helpless. Not Today is a powerful reminder that change is possible if we're willing to open our eyes ... today. With Walid Amini, Shari Rigby and John Schneider (The Dukes of Hazzard).

Amazon Gold (USA, 53 min)

Directed by Reuben Aaronson

Narrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, Amazon Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey into the Amazon rainforest. Ron Haviv and Donovan Webster, two war journalists led by a Peruvian biologist, uncover the savage unraveling of pristine rainforest. They bear witness to the apocalyptic destruction in the pursuit of illegally mined gold with consequences on a global scale. An animated Agouti springs to life to tell the story of his ecosystem. Left in the wake of surreal images of once extraordinary beauty turned into hellish wasteland, Amazon Gold reaffirms the right of the rainforest to exist as a repository of priceless biodiversity.

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Parallax (USA, 22 min)

Directed by Paul DeNigris

Daniels, a U.S. Army infantryman with a hatred for all Arabs, is injured in a convoy ambush and rescued by Iraqi civilian Hassan and his son Jabir. As the three of them hide from the insurgents, Daniels learns that his prejudices and his hatred have been misplaced and comes to respect Hassan and Jabir as human beings. Making a sacrifice himself in order to save his new friends from the insurgents, Daniels emerges from the experience with his perspective shifted and his heart utterly changed.

Raising Resistance (USA, 53 min)

Directed by Bettina Borgfeld & David Bernet

Raising Resistance is a film about the resistance against the more and more aggressively expanding production of genetic soy in South America. Eighty percent of the soy production is used as animal food in order to satisfy the excessive meat consumption in the rich countries. For the small farmers in Paraguay this means: displacement from their land; loss of basic food supply; and the fight for survival. Over the past few years, there has been a growing resistance among the oppressed rural population that threatens to escalate.

Exposé Award: to recognize the achievement of filmmakers in short and/or feature length, whose film exposes significant and life-altering issues that have previously been given little attention or notice in the world.

The Catalyst (USA, 8 min)

Directed by Rachel Pontbriand

Rue's world is in crisis: it is literally going dark. As Lights die out one by one, Rue discovers her own seemingly uncontrollable ability to restore the mysterious energy. She seeks the help of Tym Woodward, once a renowned scientist working with Light, now an embittered recluse who steals it to sell on the black market. But Rue soon realizes it may be too late to restore Tym's hope in the future.

Child 31 (UK, 31 min)

Directed by Charles Kinnane

In a time of unprecedented technological achievements and luxuries, close to one billion people still go to sleep hungry; but there's an organization attempting to change that. This powerful new documentary captures the life-changing work of Mary’s Meals in action throughout Malawi, Kenya and India and its mission to help millions of children around the world realize their dreams. Grassroots Films follows Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow – recognized as one of CNN’s Heroes in 2010 – to give a glimpse into his simple, yet groundbreaking, approach that is working to lift the developing world out of poverty and give a face to hunger's deadly numbers.