NCORE 2011

La Mission

Director/Writer Peter Bratt and Actor, Benjamin Bratt (invited)

The acclaimed motion picture followed by a Q & A with director/writer Peter Bratt and actor Benjamin Bratt (invited). Peter Bratt is an acclaimed director, screenwriter and producer. His films include Follow Me Home (1996), an honest, humorous look at race and identity and his latest, La Mission (2009), a powerful motion picture about family, redemption, and community. Both films star Peter's brother and collaborator, Benjamin Bratt.

About La Mission:
Growing up in San Francisco's Mission District, Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) has always had to be tough to survive. He's a powerful man respected throughout the barrio for his masculinity and his strength, as well as for his hobby building lowrider cars. At the same time, he's also a man feared for his street-tough ways and violent temper. A reformed inmate and recovering alcoholic, Che has worked hard to redeem his life and do right by his pride and joy: his only son, Jes, whom he raised on his own after the death of his wife. Che's path to redemption is tested, however, when he discovers Jes is gay. In a rage, Che violently beats Jes, disowning him. He loses his son - and loses himself in the process. Isolated and alone, Chec comes to realize that his patriarchal pride is meaningless to him, and to maintain his idea of masculinity, he's sacrificed the one thing that he cherishes most - the love of his son. To survive his neighborhood, Che has always lived with his fists. To survive as a complete man, he'll have to embrace the side of himself he's never shown.

NCORE^® would like to acknowledge SpeakOut for their generous sponsorship of this session at NCORE^® 2011.

Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice

Directed by Pat Sanders and Rea Tajiri

Yuri Kochiyama is a Japanese American woman who has lived in Harlem for more than 40 years with a long history of activism on a wide range of issues. Through extensive interviews with family and friends, archival footage, music and photographs, YURI KOCHIYAMA chronicles this remarkable woman's contribution to social change through some of the most significant events of the 20th century, including the Black Liberation movement, the struggle for Puerto Rican independence, and the Japanese American Redress movement. In an era of divided communities and racial conflict, Kochiyama offers an outstanding example of an equitable and compassionate multiculturalist vision.

Sponsored by Women Make Movies—New York, New York.
WMM is the leading distributor of films by and about women)

Last Chance for Eden (Part I)

Last Chance for Eden is a documentary about nine women and men who spend two weekends together talking about racism. On camera for 24 hours, they struggle to find a way to understand each other's differences. PART III focuses on the biographies of the cast members as they struggle to understand what happened to them in their families and, eventually, their journey toward finding healthy lives as adults. (2002)

Lee Mun Wah | Website
Nationally‑Acclaimed Filmmaker
The Color of Fear, Last Chance for Eden
Master Diversity Trainer, Author, Educator, Poet and Asian Folkteller Founder and Executive Director of StirFry Seminars & Consulting—Berkeley, California

Last Chance for Eden (Part III)

Last Chance for Eden is a documentary about nine women and men who spend two weekends together talking about racism. On camera for 24 hours, they struggle to find a way to understand each other's differences. PART III focuses on the biographies of the cast members as they struggle to understand what happened to them in their families and, eventually, their journey toward finding healthy lives as adults. (2002)

Lee Mun Wah | Website
Nationally‑Acclaimed Filmmaker
The Color of Fear, Last Chance for Eden
Master Diversity Trainer, Author, Educator, Poet and Asian Folkteller Founder and Executive Director of StirFry Seminars & Consulting—Berkeley, California

If These Halls Could Talk

Dealing with bullying as it relates to classism, racism, sexism, heterosexism and violence in our schools

If these Halls Could Talk is a documentary film about how college students are experiencing diversity issues on their campuses nationwide—addressing some of the challenges for students of color on predominately white campuses as they interface with other students and faculty. You will hear from educators, presidents, chancellors, administrators and staff about their fears and hopes while working with diverse students. You will also hear from representatives of programs that have had success in working with diverse populations in order to gain some insight on the challenges they face and breakthroughs they witness.

Lee Mun Wah | Website
Nationally‑Acclaimed Filmmaker
The Color of Fear, Last Chance for Eden
Master Diversity Trainer, Author, Educator, Poet and Asian Folkteller Founder and Executive Director of StirFry Seminars & Consulting—Berkeley, California

Blacking Up: Hip‑Hop’s Remix of Race and Identity

Producer/Director: Robert A. Clift

Blacking Up explores tensions surrounding white participation in Hip‑Hop. For some, it is an example of cultural progress. For others, it is just another case of cultural appropriation. Winner of the American Library Association's 2011 Notable Videos for Adults Award.

Sponsored by California Newsreel

SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference

Executive Producer: SNCC 50th Anniversary Conference, Documentary Sub‑Committee

This complete collection of DVDs present formal addresses, panel discussions and cultural programs that took place at a conference and reunion unfolding over four days at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Student Non‑Violent Coordinating Committee (or SNCC).

The collection features presentations from veteran SNCC members and supporters including Bob Moses, Congressman John Lewis, Judy Richardson, Bernice Johnson Reagon, Harry Belafonte, Kathleen Cleaver, Danny Glover, Rev. James Lawson, and the Attorney General Eric Holder. We will present a highlight reel from the DVD collection. 38 volumes (52 hours total), 2011

Sponsored by California Newsreel

Sneak Preview Presentations

California Newsreel presents a sneak preview of new documentaries in production:

Soul Food Junkies
Directed by Byron Hurt (4 minutes)
Filmmaker Byron Hurt explores the health advantages and disadvantages of Soul Food, a quintessential American cuisine. Soul food will also be used as the lens to investigate the dark side of the food industry and the growing food justice movement that has been born in its wake.

More Than a Month
Directed by Shukree Tilghman (11 minutes)
More Than a Month is a feature documentary that follows Shukree Hassan Tilghman, an African‑American filmmaker, on a cross‑country campaign to end black History Month. Through this challenging, complex, and often comedic journey, the film explores what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in “post‑racial” America.

RACE
Directed by Katherine Cecil (4 minutes)
RACE is a cautionary tale about how not to go about rebuilding a city post‑disaster, and challenges the mythology of post‑racialism in the age of President Obama. Against the backdrop of a devastated city, a largely displaced citizenry, and an increasingly divided community, this documentary film charts the unlikely 2006 re‑election of New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin by a completely different electorate than had first put him in office.

The Loving Story: The Long Walk Home
Directed by Nancy Buirski (15 minutes)
The Loving Story documents the interracial love story of Mildred and Richard Loving and 1967 Supreme Court case that changed the course of marriage equality in America.

Turkey Creek
Director: Leah Mahan (10 minutes)
Turkey Creek is about a Mississippi Gulf Coast community, settled by emancipated slaves, that has built powerful alliances to fight urban sprawl and industrial contamination—to protect the culture and natural environment that sustained eight generations.

Sponsored by California Newsreel