The Great American Lie

The Great American Lie is a documentary film that examines what inequality looks like today and traces its roots to our long-revered promise of the American Dream. It's a story about how the ideas that are imbued in the Dream dominate our society and create and perpetuate inequality, deepening our social, economic, and political chasms. The film looks at what Americans are told - through all aspects of our culture - about who and what is valued, based on how we "gender" people and things.

Seadrift

In 1979, a Vietnamese refugee shoots and kills a white crab fisherman at the public town docks in Seadrift, TX. What began as a dispute over fishing territory erupts into violence and ignites a maelstrom of boat burnings, KKK intimidation, and other hostilities against Vietnamese refugees along the Gulf Coast. Set during the early days of Vietnamese refugee arrival in the U.S., Seadrift examines the shooting and its dramatic aftermath, and reveals the unexpected consequences that continue to reverberate today.

Suited

An inspiring film about a custom-suit company in NYC that helps members of the LGBTQ community embrace their identity. This beautiful film examines the importance of clothing for the trans and gender non-conforming community through the personal stories of five clients who for reasons related to gender identity, have trouble finding suits that fit their bodies and feel congruent with how they want to look and have sought the services of Bindle & Keep tailors, Rae Tutera and Daniel Friedman. 

Inequality for All

In the wake of the U.S. economic crisis, the widening gap between the rich and the poor has gained unprecedented public awareness. Our narrator and guide, UC Berkeley professor and noted economic policy expert Robert Reich, helps us understand how the extreme inequality we are now facing has roots in economic and policy changes that began over 30 years ago. Punctuated by moments that allow us to know Reich personally, we also see his unwavering passion to return our society to one in which the American dream is possible for everyone.
PG, 99 minutes

The River and The Wall

The River and the Wall follows five friends on an immersive adventure through the unknown wilds of the Texas borderlands as they travel 1,200 miles from El Paso to the Gulf of Mexico on horses, mountain bikes and canoes. They set out to document the borderlands and explore the potential impacts of a wall on the natural environment, but as the wilderness gives way to the more populated and heavily trafficked Lower Rio Grande Valley, they come face-to-face with the human side of the immigration debate and enter uncharted emotional waters.

The Search for General Tso

This mouthwateringly entertaining film travels the globe to unravel a captivating culinary mystery. General Tso’s chicken is a staple of Chinese-American cooking, and a ubiquitous presence on restaurant menus across the country. But just who was General Tso? And how did his chicken become emblematic of an entire national cuisine? Director Ian Cheney (King Corn, The City Dark) journeys from Shanghai to New York to the American Midwest and beyond to uncover the origins of this iconic dish, turning up surprising revelations and a host of humorous characters along the way.

I Am Jane Doe - Movies That Matter

This film chronicles the epic battle that several American mothers are waging on behalf of their middle-school daughters, victims of sex trafficking on Backpage.com, the classified advertising website that for years was part of the iconic Village Voice. Reminiscent of Erin Brockovich and Karen Silkwood, these mothers have stood up on behalf of thousands of other mothers, fighting back and refusing to take no for an answer.

Power to Heal: Medicare and the Civil Rights Revolution

This documentary tells a poignant chapter in the historic struggle to secure equal and adequate access to healthcare for all Americans. Central to the story is the tale of how a new national program, Medicare, was used to mount a dramatic, coordinated effort that desegregated thousands of hospitals across the country in a matter of months.

NR - mature subject matter
56 minutes

Teach Us All

On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the 1957 Little Rock school desegregation crisis, educational inequality remains among the most urgent civil rights issues of our time. With its school district hanging in the balance following a state takeover in January 2015, Little Rock today presents a microcosm of the inequities and challenges manifesting in classrooms all across America. Through case studies in Little Rock, New York City, and Los Angeles, Teach Us All seeks to bring the critical lessons of history to bear on the current state of U.S.