Race Flicks
Race Forward is proud to partner with Working Films for the sixth year to present Race Flicks, a micro-film festival and signature programming track of Facing Race: A National Conference, taking place November 12–14, 2026, in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Race Flicks brings the power of documentary filmmaking to the forefront of racial justice organizing, showcasing compelling, thought-provoking films that illuminate critical issues, amplify community voices, and inspire collective action. More than a film screening experience, Race Flicks creates space for meaningful dialogue, connection, and movement-building among filmmakers, activists, organizers, and advocates committed to advancing racial equity and justice.
Co-curated by Race Forward and Working Films, a national leader in using documentary film to advance social and environmental justice, the festival features films that not only tell powerful stories but also serve as catalysts for organizing, advocacy, and lasting change. Each screening is accompanied by intentional programming and facilitated discussions that connect the stories on screen to the real-world challenges, strategies, and solutions shaping our movements.
Friday November 13
Teaching America honors the high school students and teachers who stood united—embracing joy, dignity, brilliance, and love—when the state of Arkansas threatened to shut down their Advanced Placement African-American Studies classes. The film captures a powerful moment in America: a testament to the wisdom, boundless curiosity, and unshakable desire to learn that crosses boundaries and generations—in a time of forced erasure of our history, culture, and humanity.
Directed and Produced by Anurima Bhargava, Produced by Alisa Payne, Executive Produced by Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard
Directed by Ethiopian filmmaker Herrana Addisu and developed in partnership with Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), In the Same Light offers an intimate, human-centered portrait of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders across the United States. Through quiet, observational storytelling — morning routines, work, family life, creative expression, and moments of reflection — the film reframes TPS holders not as outsiders or policy abstractions, but as essential members of the communities they help shape: workers, caregivers, artists, parents, and neighbors whose belonging is lived every day. The film arrives at a critical moment, as recent moves to terminate TPS protections have placed nearly 1.3 million people — from Afghanistan to Haiti, Venezuela to Ukraine — at risk of deportation to countries still experiencing the very crises that made return unsafe in the first place. In the Same Light is both a cinematic portrait and a storytelling intervention, inviting audiences to see TPS holders not through the lens of status, but as anyone else deserving of safety, freedom, and the right to thrive.
Directed by Herrana Addisu, Developed in partnership with Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP)
Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, killed by the NYPD on Staten Island in 2014, channels her grief into a yearslong fight for justice, drawing international media attention. When the news cameras go away, she surrounds herself with photos of lost loved ones in her home to restore her strength through memories. Her fight challenges the NYPD and former New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, demanding accountability for the officers involved in her son’s death. Along the way, she forms deep bonds with other "Mothers of the Movement," women who have also lost family to police violence—the “club no one wants to be a part of.” In passing the Eric Garner Anti-Chokehold Act in New York while helping other mothers navigate their own journeys, Gwen’s story is one of unwavering resolve. Despite the justice system's repeated failures, she remains determined to protect other mothers' sons and to cherish her remaining family.
Directed by Brad Bailey; Produced by Jered Everson, Doug Blush, Deanna Cuadra, Nancy Blachman, Francis Maxwell, Jeff Weisinger, Cedric HIll, Isaac Smith, Nadia Fischer
Saturday November 14
FREE JOAN LITTLE tells the story of the 1975 groundbreaking case of Joan Little who was the first woman in U.S history to be acquitted for using deadly force to resist sexual assault. At 20 years old, Joan (pronounced Jo-Ann) Little was incarcerated in North Carolina when she killed a white jailer who she said tried to rape her. Her trial drew international attention, becoming a rallying point for civil rights, women’s rights and prison reform. The case brought together activists, including Angela Davis and Rosa Parks, and catalyzed an international conversation about sexual assault and racial justice that has reverberations to this day. With rare archival footage, contemporary interviews, and the folk anthem that carried her cause, FREE JOAN LITTLE captures the spirit of resistance that made history. The film features Oscar-nominated actress Danielle Brooks (The Color Purple) as the voice of Joan and is produced by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Christalyn Hampton (The Devil is Busy) and Bonnie Bertram, in association with Retro Report.
Directed by Yoruba Richen, produced by and produced and Bonnie Bertram, Edited by Hannah Vanderlan, Music Composed by Reggie Dokes, Graphics by Peter Mishara, Executive Producer for Retro Report Kyra Darnton
Featuring Karen Bethea-Shields, Angela Davis, Christina Greene, Larry Little, with Danielle Brooks
America sold the U.S. public a poster: the “American Worker.” The American Worker belongs here. He is patriotic and free. He is white and male. He built the nation, so the nation belongs to him. This film tears the myth open. In the wreckage of decades of mythmaking, an AAPI immigrant filmmaker embarks on a journey across time and geography to uncover how race, labor, and power have shaped belonging and exclusion in America’s story of work.
Directed by Thien Dinh, Produced by John Beder and Anthony Banua-Simon