Current Projects
Walk On
Mark Bashian
Mark Bashian
Hope. Perseverance. Faith. Love. When infected with AIDS or the HIV virus these emotions seem so daunting. For Joseph Kibler, 21, they are a way of life and redemption. Joe, physically handicapped and HIV positive, begins training to walk 6.2 miles in the Los Angeles AIDS Walk with the mindset that doctors said he would never walk. Over 21 years, Joe has gone from a wheelchair to walker, walker to crutches, and now, walks with a cane. Take an inspirational walk...
Wanda the Wonderful
Carolyn Macartney
Carolyn Macartney
Wanda the Wonderful is a feature length documentary film about an adventurous and volatile Wild West sharpshooter. Born in 1900 in Chickasaw Indian Territory, Wanda was a woman who toted guns and wore pants when skirts were the norm. She was a taboo subject to filmmaker Carolyn Macartney, who never knew this mysterious and mythic person, her Grandmother Wanda. Carolyn uncovers the true story of Wanda, a real wild-west woman who dared to follow her passions - at whatever cost.
Welcome to the Neighborhood
Pam Uzzell
Pam Uzzell
Filthy, charming, beautiful and ghetto are just some of the words Lorin District residents might use to describe their neighborhood. Years of gentrification in this traditionally African American neighborhood of Berkeley have created an area rich in contradictions and tensions. Seventy-five-year-old Richie Smith and other community activists haven’t given up on this once vibrant neighborhood. But, for whom are they preserving it? Is there any more there there? Is community even possible under these circumstances?
Western
Bill and Turner Ross
Bill and Turner Ross
In the middle of the plains, along the meandering Rio Grande, sits Eagle Pass, Texas, a town of about 30,000. For centuries, this border town has shared a physical as well as cultural landscape with those across the river, coexisting, intermarrying, culturally cross-pollinating and establishing a singular bi-national community in the American West. But now its geographic location has suddenly placed Eagle Pass literally and figuratively in the middle of divisive debates over violence, immigration, and international trade. This film is the Ross brothers’ Western: a sprawling portrait and emotional mosaic, a living, breathing visual essay on the realities of the frontier in the 21st century.
Whole 'Nother Level
Bruce Gordon
Bruce Gordon
"Whole 'Nother Level" is a short film made to raise awareness about disabled people's struggles to live and be treated like everyone else. It's the story of a young man approaching adulthood, whose chance for independent living is in jeopardy because of his disability. This touches all of us, who, at some time in our lives, have something that tries to force us to live a lesser life than we would like to have.
Wish Me Away
Bobbie Birleffi, Beverly Kopf
Bobbie Birleffi, Beverly Kopf
Emerging from a lifetime of hiding and shame that brings her to the brink of suicide, Country singer Chely Wright comes out as gay shattering cultural and religious stereotypes within Nashville, her conservative heartland family and, most importantly, herself. Knowing that she risks losing the dream that has inspired her since the age of four, she takes the bold step to use her public capital, not to better her career, but to speak out on one of the most polarizing civil rights issues of our time.
Without A Net
Kelly J. Richardson
Kelly J. Richardson
Djeferson, Bárbara, Rayana and Platini live in a drug controlled slum of Rio de Janeiro. Their families are struggling, their homes are physically unstable, and everyone they know has dropped out of school. When a big-top circus tent suddenly appears in a nearby parking lot, they decide to take a chance. They learn trapeze, acrobatics, juggling and contortion, then audition for the end-of-year show, rehearse and prepare for the curtains to part on opening night. Along the way, Without A Net celebrates the perseverance and resilience of youth in the face of tremendous odds.
WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, Kelcey Edwards
Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, Kelcey Edwards
WONDER WOMEN! The Untold Story of American Superheroines traces the fascinating evolution and legacy of Wonder Woman. From the birth of the comic book superheroine in the 1940s to the blockbusters of today, WONDER WOMEN! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation. WONDER WOMEN! goes behind the scenes with Lynda Carter, Lindsay Wagner, comic writers and artists, and real life superheroines such as Gloria Steinem, Kathleen Hanna and others who offer an enlightening and entertaining counterpoint to the male dominated superhero genre.
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (working title)
Arwen Lee Curry
Arwen Lee Curry
Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin (working title) is an hour-long documentary film exploring the life, roots, and ideas of the celebrated Bay Area-born science fiction and fantasy writer Ursula K. Le Guin, whose compelling story has never before been captured in a documentary film. Produced with the author's full participation, Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin will be a riveting journey through her inimitable career and her worlds, both real and fantastic. [Photo by Marian Wood Kolisch]