•Gideon's Army
The film's title refers to the 1963 Supreme Court ruling in Gideon vs. Wainwright. establishing that all who are charged with felony crimes have the right to legal representation. That lead to the establishment of Public Defenders' offices in many states. Currently, there are some 15,000 Public Defenders in the United States, representing approximately two million defendants who need their help annually. The United States has the world's highest percentage of incarceration, and the highest percentage of inmates are black. The documentary imparts shocking statistics, while following three dedicated Public Defenders as they seek justice for their clients. Read my full review.More »
•My Neighbor My Killer
In 1994, in Rwanda, Hutu men rampaged through Tutsi homes slaughtering men, children and infants. They maimed and raped women--but left them alive to suffer having seen their husbands, children, parents and siblings beaten, bludgeoned, hacked to death. In the slaughter, three-quarters of the Tutsi population was exterminated. Years later, the nation faces the need for reconciliation and learning to live in harmony and work together. Filmmaker Anne Aghion spent ten years covering the process that is shown in this remarkable film. Read my full reviewMore »
•Rise Up
Reggae music, the very soul of Jamaican culture, has become popular around the world thanks to the talents and charisma of Bob Marley and other superb and spirited players. But far from the glamorous international venues and festivals where the genre's super stars perform their hits, there are new reggae beats emanating from the impoverished ghettos of Kingston, where the genre was born. Reggae, as we see in this wonderful music documentary, is an essential expression of the Jamaican people's indignation and anger about having to live in poverty and deprivation. The music also clearly serves as a source of hope that they will be able to overcome the hardships they face in their daily lives. Read my full review.More »
•Thunder Soul
During the 1970s, the student band at Kashmere High School, a Houston, Texas, inner city school that was attended mostly by African-American students who were considered at risk, emerged as the unbeatable best in high school band music competitions across the U.S. Decades later, the kids, now grown up, reunite to perform a tribute concert for their beloved and inspiring music teacher, known as Prof. Read my full review.More »
•Louder Than A Bomb
In Chicago, teams of talented high school students compete in the annual Louder Than A Bomb poetry slam, vying for top honors that can lead to scholarships and other opportunities. Filmmakers Greg Jacobs and Jon Siskel follow four strongly competitive teams representing very different high schools from inner city and suburban neighborhoods. Supported by faculty and classmates, the teens hone their rhyming skills and styles until they are nothing less than cutting edge brilliant. These teens are exploding with talent, and Chicago clearly appreciates their poetry. Read my full reviewMore »
•Off and Running
Avery Klein-Cloud is an African-American teenager who lives with her adoptive parents -- two gay white women who've also adopted and are raising other children of diverse ethnic backgrounds. The rainbow family is loving and all the kids are well-adjusted, well cared for and happy. But Avery has an overwhelming curiosity about her biological mother, and wants to meet her. Supported by her adoptive parents and her siblings, but filled with personal doubts and anxieties, Avery begins her search, which is documented in Nicole Opper's Off and Running.. Read my full review.More »
•Raising Renee
Beverly McIver is an African-American artist whose paintings are most often autobiographical or of members of her family. She has become the guardian and caregiver for her mentally challenged sister, Renee. She loves her sister, but deeply resents having had to alter her own lifestyle to care for her. The film takes an almost psychoanalytic approach to McIver's revelations, and to her attempts to reconcile her feelings. Her situation is a difficult one, and the story of Beverly and Renee will resonate with all who've faced similar family situations. Read my full reviewMore »