Director: Gianfranco Rosi
Run time: 108 min.
"I’m not sure that Mr. Rosi is interested in trafficking in hope, which is among his great virtues as a filmmaker. He takes a hard, empathetic look at reality, which contains wonders as well as horrors. He doesn’t bear witness — an overused and often presumptuous idea. He observes, with humility and precision. Instead of raising awareness, he cultivates alertness. 'Fire at Sea' occupies your consciousness like a nightmare, and yet somehow you don’t want it to end."
—A.O. Scott, New York Times (full review here).
Director: Vitaly Mansky
Run Time: 110 min.
"A rare, jaw-dropping glimpse of everyday life in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang: Zin-Mi is an adorable 8-year-old girl, who, as she prepares to join the prestigious Children's Union, participates in colorful, joyous patriotic school pageants, eats delicious evening meals at her family's well-appointed apartment, and is doted on by her attractive parents who work in model factories that regularly exceed their production targets. Sounds too good to be true? Of course it is."
—Publisher's description
Director: Stephanie Black
Run time: 67 min.
"Winner of the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, H-2 Worker reveals the systematic exploitation of Caribbean laborers by the Florida sugar cane industry from World War II through the 1990s . . . Originally released in 1990, today H-2 Worker provides an invaluable resource to understanding the current debate over guest worker provisions of immigration legislation. While Florida's sugar cane cutters have been replaced by mechanical harvesters, guest worker programs have expanded in agriculture, hotel, restaurant, forestry, and other industries."
—Distributor's description
Director: Saray Deiseil and Jennifer Castillo
Run Time: 88 min.
Call Number: JV 6483 .A443 2016
"American DREAMers follows the journey of Jon, Vero, Raymi, Jose, Alex, and Nico - also known as the Campaign for an American DREAM (CAD) - a group of five undocumented youth and an ally who risk their freedom to organize for immigrant rights by outing themselves as undocumented and walking more than 3,000 miles across America's heartland. Their stories of growing up in a country they know as home while constantly fearing that their families will be separated, inspires people from all parts of the country to take part in what they believe is their civil rights movement. These are college students, young professionals, activists, and community leaders. They are undocumented and unafraid."
—Publisher's description
Directors: Zach Ingrasci & Chris Temple
Run time: 75 min.
"The subjects include a 10-year-old Syrian boy who avoids school while
struggling with severe shellshock, a grandmother who lost her sons in
the war and now expresses her emotions by writing thoughts on her tent’s
walls and weaving art out of discarded plastic bags, an international
relief worker who advocates for women’s rights, a former university
student and aspiring French teacher who now advocates for children’s
education in the camp, and a single mother of three named Ghoussoon who
lives outside Za’atari in the city of Mafraq."
-Jenna Belhumeur, Wall Street Journal Blog (full post here)
Director: Jehane Noujaim
Run time: 109 min.
Call Number: DT107.87 .S63 2015
"'The Square,' a stunning new documentary by Jehane Noujaim about the 2011 uprising in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and its aftermath, epitomizes nonfiction film not just as a way to deepen knowledge and understanding, but also as an art form. In this vibrant, lyrical, graphic, sobering and finally soaring testament to aesthetic and political expression, Noujaim consistently provides light where once there was heat."
—Ann Hornaday, Washington Post (full review here)
