It’s easy to become overwhelmed when thinking about the current state of the world. With so much on the line and in flux, what change can one person really make? If you’ve watched many of the nonfiction films supported by our Documentary Film Program over the last two decades, you’d know that the answer to that is a lot.
While elections are one specific way to let your voice be known (Editor’s note: please make sure you have a voting plan for the election on Tuesday, November 5), the year-round work of grassroots movements and organizations continues to push for progress across the world outside of the ballot box.
Today we’re here to break you out of complacency and embrace the formidable power of a group on a mission — from dismantling systemic racism through peaceful education in Oklahoma to battling corporate giants through labor unions.
Below learn more directly from our DFP team about seven films screening in different formats and venues in 2024, all working toward the common goal of the restoration of rights and justice. The fight is never over, and it’s never too late to join in.
KJ
Director: Joe Namy
Producer: Ill Weaver
Logline: KJ is a cinematic memoir exposing the systemic injustice that led to the murder of Khalid Jabara in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2016. This documentary portrays the tragedy and its aftermath through an intimate and poetic lens, a dedication to victims of racial violence, gun violence, state violence, and the families that endure.
Supported by the Documentary Film Program through the Kendeda Short Film Fund
“KJ builds upon director Joe Namy’s work to reimagine how peace can be taught to counteract systems of ideological violence. The film is part of a larger work that includes an art installation designed to replicate the Khalid Jabara ‘Tikkun Olam’ Memorial Library, which commemorates the death of Joe’s cousin Khalid, who was killed in an infamous 2016 hate crime in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Khalid’s murder led to the passing of the Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer National Opposition to Hate, Assault, and Threats to Equality Act of 2021. — Dominic Davis, Manager, Documentary Fund
Find this film as an installation at public libraries around the country.
No Other Land
Directors: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Producers: Fabien Greenberg, Bård Kjøge Rønning
Logline: For 10 years, Basel, a young Palestinian activist, has been filming homes in his community being destroyed by Israeli soldiers. During the darkest period of his life, in face of mass eviction of his community, he develops an unlikely, intimate relationship with a similarly aged Israeli journalist — who joins his struggle.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2021 Documentary Fund and the 2023 Edit and Story Lab.
“Winner of Best Documentary at Berlinale this year, No Other Land follows the journey of co-director Basel Adra and his family, a displaced people in their home territory of Masafer Yatta in the West Bank. This collaborative effort by a collective of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers is rooted in the profound friendship between Basel and co-director Yuval, an Israeli journalist, as they confront the social and political realities and power imbalances that exist between them, which is felt deeply and clearly. The use of archive throughout the film serves as a document of past and present amid an ongoing genocide across Palestine that will echo into the future. As audiences witness Basel’s community being bulldozed through his camera, No Other Land serves as a crucial testament to the enduring impact of occupation, challenging viewers to reflect on history and advocate for a more just future.” — Andrea Alarcon, Manager, Producing & Artist Support
Screening at AFI Fest October 24–25.
Our Land, Our Freedom
Directors: Meena Nanji, Zippy Kimundu
Producers: Meena Nanji, Zippy Kimundu, Eliane Ferreira
Logline: Set in Kenya, Wanjugu Kimathi’s search for her father’s remains becomes an investigation into British colonial atrocities, including concentration camps and land theft that left hundreds of thousands of Kenyans destitute. Working closely with her mother, their efforts spark a larger movement, transforming Wanjugu into a powerful advocate championing justice and land resettlement for those dispossessed.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2022 Documentary Fund.
“Recently premiered at the 2024 BlackStar Film Festival, Our Land, Our Freedom is a powerful documentary that delves into the enduring issues of legacy, colonialism, and land rights. Following the journey of Wanjugu Kimathi, a Kenyan activist searching for the remains of her father, Dedan Kimathi — legendary leader of the Mau Mau Uprising — this film illuminates the personal and collective struggles against historical injustices through intimate vérité. As Wanjugu investigates the colonial atrocities committed by British authorities and engages in a grassroots movement to reclaim ancestral land, her story resonates with audiences worldwide, making it a timeless and essential exploration of humanity’s quest for freedom and justice.” — Andrea Alarcon
Standing Above the Clouds
Director: Jalena Keane-Lee
Producers: Amber Espinosa-Jones, Erin Lau, Jalena Keane-Lee
Supported by the 2023 Documentary Edit and Story Lab.
Logline: When the massive Thirty Meter Telescope is proposed to be built on Mauna Kea, an uprising of kiaʻi (protectors) in Hawaiʻi and around the world dedicate their lives to protecting the sacred mountain from destruction. Through the lens of mothers and daughters in three Native Hawaiʻian families, Standing Above the Clouds explores intergenerational healing and the impacts of safeguarding cultural traditions.
Currently screening at various festivals.
Directors: Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie
Producers: Emily Kassie, Kellen Quinn
Logline: An investigation into abuse and missing children at an Indian residential school ignites a reckoning on the nearby Sugarcane Reserve.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2022 Documentary Fund, winner of the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
“Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie’s first feature is also the first feature-length documentary following recent investigations of the legacy Indian residential schools in North America. Both a deeply personal and journalistic account, the film makes visible generations of trauma and loss and the work of individuals from within communities to try and bring perpetrators to justice and search for healing within themselves and the generations that preceded them.” — Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film and Artist Programs
In select theaters now.
The Strike
Directors: JoeBill Muñoz, Lucas Guilkey
Producers: JoeBill Muñoz, Lucas Guilkey
Logline: The Strike is a feature documentary that tells the story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement and, against all odds, launched the largest hunger strike in U.S. history.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2021 Documentary Fund.
“Hunger strikes have a long history as a form of protest within the confines of prisons. Inhumane treatment inflicted on those incarcerated matched by the unimaginable fortitude required for a hunger strike is hard to fathom. But what directors JoeBill Muñoz and Lucas Guilkey have vividly captured is a reminder that the fight against injustice must be comprehended, documented, and preserved. The Strike tells the over-a-decade-old story of how California inmates ignited a statewide hunger strike to protest many indecencies, including the practice of unrelenting solitary confinement. An inspiring film showcasing the importance of supporting prisoner-led resilience and the power of unity for the rights of those who are incarcerated.” — Kat Schulze, Coordinator, Documentary Film and Ignite Programs
Currently screening at various festivals.
Directors: Stephen Maing, Brett Story
Producers: Stephen Maing, Brett Story, Mars Verrone, Samantha Curley, Martin Dicicco
Logline: The Amazon Labor Union (ALU) — a group of current and former Amazon workers in New York City’s Staten Island — takes on one of the world’s largest and most powerful companies in the fight to unionize.
Supported by Sundance Institute’s 2022 Documentary Fund, winner of the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for the Art of Change at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
“Through visually striking vérité storytelling, Brett Story and Stephen Maing bring us up close and personal into the daily frontline activities, as well as the varied lived experiences, of the men and women who make up the Staten Island Amazon Labor Union (ALU). We follow and become increasingly emotionally invested in their fight to unionize amid interpersonal conflicts, individual hardships, and external struggles, all culminating in a powerful and highly nuanced David and Goliath narrative.” — Sara Glassberg, Coordinator, Documentary Fund
Currently playing in theaters across the country.
