Move When the Spirit says Move is a documentary film about the work of a bold yet unsung civil rights activist/educator and those carrying on her legacy; Dorothy Cotton is one of the most important unsung heroes of the Civil Rights Movement and her accomplishments are a testament to the essential but often overlooked role of women in that and other liberation struggles. As Education Director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) her leadership contributed significantly to a movement that has altered the course of social and political life in the United States and transformed the place of African Americans and all people of color in civic engagement and leadership.

While most may know the widely studied and performed A Raisin in the Sun as their only reference point for Lorraine Hansberry, the documentary Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart makes abundantly clear that there is much more to know about the author. The filmmakers combed archival material and  Hansberry’s personal papers and documents in order to present her complex life. Like Hansberry's writing and activism, the film draws attention to some of the most outstanding issues of the mid-Twentieth Century and beyond (racial justice, colonialism, feminism, class divisions, sexuality) and addresses the role of artists and intellectuals in bringing them to center stage. 118min

In one remarkable day, four college freshmen changed the course of American history. February One tells the inspiring story surrounding the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins that revitalized the Civil Rights Movement and set an example of student militancy for the coming decade. This moving film shows how a small group of determined individuals can galvanize a mass movement and focus a nation’s attention on injustice. 61min

This is the film the Black Panthers used to promote their cause. Shot in 1969, in Oakland, San Francisco and Sacramento, this exemplar of 1960s activist filmmaking traces the development of the Black Panther organization. In an interview from jail, Minister of Defense Huey P. Newton describes the origins of the Panther Party, Eldridge Cleaver explains the Panthers' appeal to the Black community, and Chairman Bobby Seale enumerates the Panther 10-Point Program as Panthers march and demonstrate. 14 min

Memphis, Spring 1968 marked the dramatic climax of the Civil Rights movement. At the River I Stand skillfully reconstructs the two eventful months that transformed a strike by Memphis sanitation worker into a national conflagration, and disentangles the complex historical forces that came together with the inevitability of tragedy at the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 58min

The faultline between Blacks and Jews is one of the most visible symbols of America's racial divide. This film, made collaboratively by Jewish and Black filmmakers, goes behind the headlines and the rhetoric to try to heal the misunderstanding and mistrust. Blacks & Jews was acclaimed at the Sundance Film Festival for initiating a frank yet constructive nationwide dialogue between these two traditional allies. 85min

James Baldwin: The Price of the Ticket is considered a classic. Without using narration, The Price of the Ticket allows Baldwin to tell his own story: exploring what it means to be born black, impoverished, gay and gifted – in a world that has yet to understand that “all men are brothers.” 87min

On November 20, 2013, Bayard Rustin was posthumously awarded the prestigious Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama. Who was this man? He was there at most of the important events of the Civil Rights Movement - but always in the background. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin asks "Why?" It presents a vivid drama, intermingling the personal and the political, about one of the most enigmatic figures in 20th-century American history. One of the first "freedom riders," an adviser to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and A. Philip Randolph, organizer of the March on Washington, intelligent, gregarious and charismatic, Bayard Rustin was denied his place in the limelight for one reason – he was gay. 83min

Narrated by Danny Glover and winner of a Television Academy Award, Dirts and Deeds in Mississippi reveals the extraordinary story of a Delta community called Mileston in which 100 sharecropping families gained control of 10,000 acres of some of the best land in the state as a result of a radical New Deal era experiment in the 1930’s and in turn, became leaders of the movement in the 1960s. They were prepared to put their land and their lives on the line in the fight for racial equality and the right to vote in America’s most segregated and violently racist state. 82min.

The Academy Award nominated Freedom On My Mind is the first film to chronicle, in depth, the story of Freedom Summer. It vividly tells the complex and compelling history of the Mississippi voter registration struggles of 1961 to 1964: the interracial nature of the campaign, the tensions and conflicts, the fears and hopes. It is the story of youthful idealism and shared vision, of a generation who believed in and fought for the principles of democracy. 110min

From award-winning filmmaker Stanley Nelson, Freedom Riders is the powerful harrowing and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives—and many endured savage beatings and imprisonment—for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws in order to test and challenge a segregated interstate travel system, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism.

Filmmaker Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story) tells the story of a lasting bond formed between an unjustly arrested Black man, Gary Duncan, and Richard Sobol, his young Jewish attorney. In 1966, 19-year-old Duncan faces the white supremacist court system in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, for daring to touch a white boy’s arm. Standing united, the pair takes Duncan’s case all the way to the US Supreme Court to fight for the rights of all Americans to a fair trial. 91min

On October 22, 1963, more than 250,000 students boycotted the Chicago Public Schools to protest racial segregation. Many marched through the city calling for the resignation of School Superintendent Benjamin Willis, who placed trailers, dubbed "Willis Wagons," on playgrounds and parking lots of overcrowded black schools rather than let them enroll in nearby white schools. Blending unseen 16mm footage of the march shot by Kartemquin founder Gordon Quinn with the participants' reflections today, '63 BOYCOTT connects the forgotten story of one of the largest northern civil rights demonstrations to contemporary issues around race, education, school closings, and youth activism. 31min

The FBI once considered her a threat to national security. Now the Catholic Church is considering her for sainthood.This critically acclaimed documentary tells the extraordinary and courageous life of a woman who cannot be define by one title. As a young journalist, Dorothy Day co-founded the Catholic Worker Movement which grew from a newspaper exposing rampant injustices during the Great Depression, to a network of houses of hospitality welcoming the poor and destitute. Over the years, she answered the Biblical challenge to be “peacemakers” by resisting all forms of military intervention. She protested America’s involvement in World War II and was severely criticized. Day was arrested multiple times for protesting America’s nuclear buildup and led a nationwide resistance against the war in Vietnam. 57min

This award-winning documentary explores the extraordinary life and legacy of one of the most important religious figures of the 20th century.
Born the grandson of slaves, Howard Thurman became a spiritual foundation for the Civil Rights Movement, inspiring many of its leaders including Martin Luther King, Jr., Jesse Jackson, and Congressman John Lewis. In the mid-1930s, Thurman was the first Black American invited to meet Mohandas Gandhi who shared his strategy of non-violent resistance. Gandhi suggested it would be through the African-American experience that the non-violence resistance movement could take on global significance. When Thurman returned to America, ehis writings and speeches planted the early seeds for the non-violent Civil Rights Movement. 57min

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel was one of the most remarkable and inspiring figures of the American 20th Century. He was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr and the entire Civil Rights Movement, a leading critic of the Vietnam War, a champion for Soviet Jews and a pioneer in the work of interfaith dialogue.

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Heschel was part of a dynastic royalty of Hasidic rabbis dating back centuries. He narrowly escaped the Holocaust and arrived in New York in 1940. Over the next thirty years he emerged as a one of the most influential voices in the world of religion. His many books, including The Prophets, The Sabbath, and God in Search of Man, are considered religious classics and are widely studied.
Today his picture hangs in countless synagogues across America despite the fact that fifty years ago many disagreed with his public opinions. 57min

From seaweed to lost beach balls, sun-seekers bump into all sorts of surprises swimming along Florida’s iconic beaches. For black swimmers however, there’s a complex history floating off Florida’s blue waters—one of segregation and violence, but also one of protest and resistance. That’s what Miami filmmaker Cathleen Dean explores in her new documentary, “Wade in The Water: Drowning in Racism.” Diving deep into Black Florida’s fight for the right to swim, the new film brings to life the 1960s Civil Rights protests that desegregated the state’s beaches and swimming pools. 15min

Representative Barbara Lee is a steadfast voice for human rights, peace and economic and racial justice in the US Congress who cut her teeth as a volunteer for the Black Panther Party and was the lone vote in opposition to the broad authorization of military force following the September 11th attacks. The film not only introduces the public to Barbara Lee but to many others such as Senator Cory Booker, Rep. John Lewis, Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, CNN commentator Van Jones, actor Danny Glover and author Alice Walker who all share insights about what makes Barbara Lee unique as a public servant and as a truth-telling African American woman. 82min

The 'Ghosts of Afghanistan' reveals the true face of the “forever war.” The West invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to topple the Taliban regime with promises of democracy, freedom and women’s rights. It was a disaster. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed. Corruption and abuses are endemic. Now the foreign troops have withdrawn. And Taliban, far from defeated, are once again back in power.  What went wrong with the good war? As a young and idealistic war correspondent, Graeme Smith followed the troops into battle in Afghanistan. As the Taliban were sweeping across the country, he returned to revisit old friends and acquaintance and sees the deep divisions in the country Smith makes a remarkable journey to visit with the Taliban at their unofficial headquarters outside of Afghanistan, in Doha, Qatar. The movement that once banned television and cameras now has a young generation of leaders who post videos on the Taliban’s official website and use social media to spread their message. Now they are the new rulers of the country and the world awaits. 89min

In the 1960s, the hippies championed the idea of a sexual revolution. They received neither Fatwas nor bodyguards. Today, Seyran Ates - a Turkish- German lawyer, feminist, and one of the first female imams in Europe - is fighting for a sexual revolution within Islam. In return, she was shot, received fatwas and death threats, and now has to live under constant police protection. Seyran believes the only way to fight against radical Islam is through Islam, which is why, in her liberal mosque, there is no gender segregation or exclusion based on sexual orientation. This is the story of Seyran's personal and ideological fight for the modernization of Islam. Her quest for change takes her on a journey around the world, meeting with different people connected through faith, from sex workers in a German brothel to Uyghur LGBTQ youth and traditional female imams in China. It is also a journey through Seyran's life, from her humble beginnings as a Muslim girl in Turkey's slums to a female leader daring to challenge her own religion. Seyran rebels against extremism and hate in the name of peace and love. 81min

This six-hour documentary series on Barack Obama focuses on the President’s personal story and his vision for America, set against the backdrop of the country’s racial history. It traces his own search for identity and his role shaping a more inclusive American identity that has been under attack since he left office. Through the words of some of the people who knew him best, and through some of his sharpest critics, the film ultimately reveals the fallacy of America as a post-racial society, and confronts the work still needed to achieve a more perfect union as the work of a country, not just one man. 305min

For almost 60 years it has been painfully difficult for U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba. With the loosening of some travel restrictions at the end of the Obama administration, many U.S. citizens visited the island for the first time. In Frenemies we hear from talented but frustrated native Cuban artists living on the island. Contemporary and historical events on the island and in the United States relate to personal opinions of our speaking subjects. The film uses their personal experiences to carry the spectator through a lively discussion that rebuilds the Cuban Revolution, achievements of the Revolutionary government, the Bay of Pigs invasion, and the Missile Crisis. Through their diverse and engaging analysis, audiences can understand anti-communist expressions as they still appear in renewed form in the United States nowadays. Decades of economic isolation have worn out the island and the morale of Cubans who still resist to keep their sovereignty. Can any economy survive such an all-encompassing blockade? The UN has voted almost thirty times for the embargo to be lifted. The embargo is a human rights issue that affects 11.4 million Cubans living in Cuba, 1.5 million Cuban Americans in Florida and 340,000 in other U.S. states whose families remain in Cuba. 86min

King in the Wilderness chronicles the final chapters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, revealing a conflicted leader who faced an onslaught of criticism from both sides of the political spectrum. While the Black Power movement saw his nonviolence as weakness, and President Lyndon B. Johnson saw his anti-Vietnam War speeches as irresponsible, Dr. King’s unyielding belief in peaceful protest became a testing point for a nation on the brink of chaos. 111min

Every year, hundreds of children from pre-K through 12th grade take the stage at the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest, a public speaking competition where they perform poetry and speeches inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The film covers the months leading up to the 40th annual festival, as schools across the city send their top-placing students to compete. It is a portrait of young people raising their voices about issues they care about and of the unique community that celebrates and supports them. 58min

From India with Love is a documentary film about six Americans from diverse backgrounds who embarked on an epic 10-day journey to India in March 2016. The common denominator that binds them in this story is their unique exposure to violence and their desire to reinvigorate the conversation about nonviolence in America. 43min