Race Flicks
Race Forward and Working Films are excited to announce the 2018 Race Flicks film track of Facing Race: A National Conference being held in Detroit, MI from November 8-10, 2018. This year’s Race Flicks program will focus on making an impact with film and on storytelling that truly represents and is accountable to the subjects and communities featured. The selected films were chosen in large part because of the way they have been or could be used strategically by advocates, organizers, and nonprofits to advance their work for racial justice.
Dozens of filmmakers applied for the opportunity to screen their film at Facing Race. Five were selected, as well as a multi-media session featuring the Detroit Narrative Agency.
Thursday (11/08)
DNA will launch this this year’s Race Flicks program with a multi-media session featuring short films by their fellowship cohort of Black and Brown Detroit filmmakers.
Friday (11/09)
After the police kill four unarmed Latino men in four months, how will a community heal itself? The Circle is the story of a rural community in East Salinas that made history by using ancient wisdom & culture to break a cycle of implicit bias by the police. Follows a former gang member and a police chief who confront each other for answers.
Featuring post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Cheo Tyehimba Taylor, Political Research Associates’ Cloee Cooper, and the HAAS Institute’s Gerald Lenoir.
The award-winning show follows three best friends born and raised in North Oakland, CA who fight, dream, and plot hilarious schemes to remain rooted as their neighborhood becomes a hostile environment. Facing both urban displacement and environmental calamity, they combat evil landlords, crazy geoengineering plots, and ultimately each other.
Featuring post-screening conversation with filmmaker Josh Healy, actress Reyna Amaya, Forward Together’s Kemi Alabi, and NESRI’s Cathy Albisa.
Water Warriors is a story of a community’s resistance against the oil and natural gas industry. When an energy company began searching for natural gas in New Brunswick, Canada, indigenous and white families united to drive out the company in a campaign to protect their water and way of life.
Featuring post-screening conversation with filmmaker Michael Premo, Judith LeBlanc with Native Organizers Alliance, and Crystal Echo Hawk with Echo Hawk Consulting.
Saturday (11/10)
Dispatches from Cleveland is a documentary in five parts that closely examines the Midwestern city of Cleveland, Ohio, one of the most racially divided cities in America, in the wake of the police murder of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The film follows ordinary people – long shaken by police misconduct, social discrimination, and poverty – whose love for their home pushes them to work together to bring about real change.
Featuring post-screening Q&A with filmmaker Cat Gund, Judith Browne Dianis with the Advancement Project, and Jonathan Stith with the Alliance for Educational Justice. Moderated by Ohio Organizing Collaborative's DaMareo Cooper.
Filmed for a decade, Quest is an intimate portrait of the Raineys. Christopher (Quest) and his wife raise a family, while welcoming the community to their home music studio—a creative sanctuary from the strife that grips their Philadelphia neighborhood. Epic in scope, Quest is an uplifting counter-narrative to typical depictions of Black life, and a testament to love, healing and hope.
Featuring post-screening Q&A the film’s Producer, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon.