ACT Human Rights Film Festival’s digital archive of filmmaker conversations and other programs are accessible on our YouTube channel. Plus, watch festival trailers, interviews, and behind the scenes glimpses into our festival.
A moderated chat with director Addison Wright, discussing his short film Hiplet: Because We Can. Hiplet (hip-lay) fuses classical pointe technique with hip-hop and urban dance styles. Created with the intention to inspire young Black women and men, this film brings the Hiplet ballerinas to center stage. This film showcases how amazing and gifted these young Black dancers are, how they’ve battled adversity within the dance community online and how they are pushing the culture forward. Watch the filmmaker interview.
A moderated chat with directors Kira Dane and Katelyn Rebelo, discussing their award-winning short film Mizuko. In Japanese, there’s a specific word for an unborn life. Mizuko, which means “water child,” is used to refer to both miscarried and aborted pregnancies. In addition to this word, there’s a ritual for grief that allows women to metaphorically return their water children to the sea. Narrated by a Japanese American woman, Mizuko tells the story of her abortion in the US against the backdrop of this cultural context. Watch the filmmaker interview.
Learn more about our Call to ACT partner Tricycle Foundation.
A moderated chat with filmmaker Erin Wright, discussing her award-winning short film Betye Saar: Taking Care of Business. Pushing boundaries for 70 years, this portrait of artist Betye Saar shows she isn’t done fighting inequality in her personal and powerful work. Inside her LA studio, Saar talks about collecting objects, African American history, art as a weapon, and making people think. Watch filmmaker interview.
Plus, our Call to ACT partner Artist Relief joins us via video here.
A moderated chat with filmmaker Amy Bench, discussing her award-winning short film A Line Birds Cannot See. The film is an intimate look at one immigrant’s journey from Guatemala to the United States. Bench is a cinematographer whose work has screened at festivals that include Berlin, SXSW, Sundance and the New York Film Festival. Before film school, she was a mechanical engineer. A Line Birds Cannot See premiered at SXSW’s 2019 festival. Watch filmmaker interview.
Learn more about our Call to ACT partner Latina SafeHouse.
While postponed, ACT Human Rights Film Festival’s 2020 festival trailer captures images from all 26 films selected for the festival’s fifth edition. The trailer was created by CSU alumna Imani Morris. Watch trailer.
Check out ACT Human Rights Film Festival’s YouTube channel for more digital content.