Tenth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival
With Filmmaker Patrick Smith and Jolene Pinder from Media That Matters in attendance
Friday, December 3, 7PM
Location: Barnevelder Movement Complex, 2201 Preston
$7 Non-Members, Aurora Members Free (RSVP Requested)

The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. From battling health care to day laborers to the bottled water controversy, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of who are under 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, with documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything else in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less.

The following short films will be featured:
Aquafinito - 8:18 min

Documentary

Director: Annalise Littman

Producer: Annalise Littman 
This film addresses the prevalence of bottled water, reasons people buy it and the environmental and social costs associated with it.

Day Job - 6:36 min

Documentary

Director: Sara Hopman

Producer: Sara Hopman 

Faye, a temporary employer of laborers, has an extraordinary perspective.
 

Denied - 12:00 min

Documentary

Director: Julie Winokur

Producer: Julie Winokur 

From the filmmaker, "When I met Sheila Wessenberg, she was living the American nightmare.She had a potentially fatal illness, but because she was uninsured her life seemed expendable.She said to me, “There is no reason why anyone should be shoved into homelessness and helplessness just to live.” She was referring to the fact that she could only get publicly funded health care if she gave up her home and her car. In the meantime, her doctor had abandoned her and she had already gone seven months with no chemotherapy. I was so horrified by the real-life cost of poor public policy that I became obsessed with all the ‘Sheilas’ whose lives were on the line. I realized Sheila could be any one of us—could even be me. I wanted to shout from the highest rafter that she was being dealt one of the greatest injustices I had witnessed in the 20 years I’d been a journalist. We first published Shelia’s story in The New York Times Magazine. Readers were so shocked by her suffering that they donated over $50,000 in order to help the family stay afloat. Next, we published Sheila’s story in a book and exhibition called Denied, which was shared on Capitol Hill and toured to state capitols across the country. But our work wasn’t done because U.S. health care policy hadn’t budged an inch. We decided we had to tell Sheila’s story in film so even more people could see the shocking truth. Considering the raging debate on health care reform in Washington now, inclusion in the Media That Matters Film Festival couldn’t be more relevant or more urgent."

I Am Sean Bell - 10:36 min

Documentary

Director: Stacey Muhammad

Producer: Stacey Muhammad 

From the filmmaker, "When I chose to do the Sean Bell film, I was extremely disturbed by the verdict and wanted to hear from the children, particularly young black boys, about their thoughts, fears and concerns regarding violence against black men. Most of the topics that interest me are those that give a voice to those often unheard populations of people, who indeed have stories to tell and victories to celebrate."

I’m Just Anneke - 11:14 min

Documentary

Director: Jonathan Skurnik

Producer: Jonathan Skurnik 
I’m Just Anneke is the first film in a four-part series of short films called The Youth and Gender Media Project designed to educate school communities about transgender and gender nonconforming youth. The first two films in the series are finished and the second two are in production. The completed films are already being used in schools and conferences throughout the U.S. to train administrators, teachers and students about the importance of protecting all children from harassment due to gender identity and expression.
 

Justice Denied: Voices from Guantánamo - 9:30 min

Documentary

Director: Joel Engardio

Producer: Joel Engardio and Ateqah Khaki
From the filmmaker, "I used sparse narration and avoided talking head commentary by lawyers and advocates. I felt it would be more effective to simply let the men speak for themselves. The purpose of the video was to provide an emotional connection to the issues by focusing only on the personal stories of the men involved. A web link appears at the end of the film for inspired audiences who want to investigate and learn more about things like rule of law and how to stay both safe and free in a troubled world."

Lessons from a Tailor - 8:23 min

Documentary

Director: Galen Summer

Producer: Caitlin Dourmashkin
The inspiration for this film came directly from the man himself. When I first met Martin Greenfield at his factory, with the intention of interviewing him for a lifetime achievement award he was receiving for his efforts as an employer and business owner in Bushwick, Brooklyn, it became clear that there was more to his story than mere success in business.

My Hotness is Pasted on Yey! - 5:37 min

Experimental, Puppetry

Director: Gus Andrews

Producer: Gus Andrews 

 In this episode of The Media Show, My Hotness is Pasted on Yey!, Weena and Erna happen across a terrible graphics job in Cosmopolitan, leading them to the website Photoshop Disasters, which gets them thinking about other photo manipulation throughout history. Stalin, Hitler, OJ Simpson, Beyoncé—who hasn’t been touched by photo alteration in some way? The girls explore art and propaganda and end up playing with Photoshop themselves, taking control and manipulating their own appearance.

No One Bothered - 7:54 min

Documentary

Director: Josephine Boxwell

Producer: Laurie Nicholls 

This short intends to illustrate that none of us are impervious to misfortune or mistakes; all of us are only a few steps away from the street. No One Bothered reminds us that even in societies where social security exists, many are left behind.
 

Shades of the Border - 12:00 min

Documentary

Director: Patrick Smith

Producer: Patrick Smith 

Shades of the Border explores a commonly-held notion from the Dominican media that race does not lay a role in the conflict, contrasted with an almost completely-inverse working-class opinion that the shade of someone’s skin on the island of Hispaniola speaks volumes about the individual.

The Last Town - 7:26 min

Documentary

Director: Yan Chun Su

Producer: Yan Chun Su 

Filmed in Kai Xian shortly before the final relocation, The Last Town is a portrait of the town and its residents as they ready (or not) themselves for the big move.Facing widespread land disputes and unfair relocation assignment, many of the unprivileged residents had to deal with the hardship of not only leaving their homeland behind, but also how to make a decent living afterward. Dust-filled streets and crumbled houses provided the backdrop for stories of ordinary residents dealing with the uncertainty ahead.

Uninsured in the Mississippi Delta - 5:17 min

Documentary

Director: Katie Falkenberg

Producer: Katie Falkenberg 

At a time when the health care debate is at the forefront of the political agenda, Uninsured in the Mississippi Delta puts a human face on the struggles of the 46 million Americans surviving without health care.