Justice in Motion

What was it about Emily in Paris that got it nominated at awards season over shows like I May Destroy You? Why does The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air have lasting power after neon jackets and the Carlton have gone the way of the fax machine and VCR?

In this episode of Justice of Motion, we speak about representation in coming of age narratives, specifically with regards to cultural and inter-generational identity. This episode is hosted by our two 2021 SJFI film fellows, Eva Bryner and Sowyma Kannan.

ACTIVATE | REFUGE, the 2021 Social Justice Film Festival is in just two days! Have you gotten your tickets yet? You can check out our program of over 50 genre-bending social justice films, buy tickets, and RSVP for our live panels at socialjusticefilmfestival.org.

In this episode of Justice in Motion, SJFI film fellow Eva Bryner sat down with SJFI Advisory Council member and documentary filmmaker Sam Hampton to talk about the judging process for the social justice film festival, as well as advice for aspiring social justice filmmakers.

Sam Hampton is a co-founder of Docs In Progress, which is dedicated to creating community through documentary. His films include My Mother’s Journey; Hidden Books; Mr. Stokes’ Mission, Transcending Surgeon, and Change in the Family. In addition to his filmmaking background, Sam has more than 25 years of experience working on social justice issues, including directing a national model community technology center and managing strategic planning and grants management for minority-serving colleges and universities.

Yesterday was Labor Day, and to celebrate and honor the American labor movement and its contributions to the United States, Daniel sat down to talk with two representatives from SAG-AFTRA, the world's largest performer's union, to find out more about labor unions, the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure working standards and collective bargaining needs are met in the entertainment industry, and union representation in Hollywood.

This month's guests are Dee Dee Escobedo (she/her) and Sean F. Taylor (he/him). To learn more about SAG-AFTRA, visit https://www.sagaftra.org/

Monday, August 9th, is National Book Lover's Day, the official holiday to celebrate bibliophiles, reading, and literature. To commemorate, Daniel sits down to talk with Tiffany Douglas, resident book-lover and patient spouse (his words, not ours), to talk about social justice book-to-film adaptations, justice-oriented nuances that can get lost in adaptation, and the continuing impact of classic works of literature on modern storytelling tropes and the way we view ourselves. We hope you enjoy!

The stories explored in this episode are Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. To learn where you can acquire these stories to read, visit Indiebound to find your local independent bookstore. Just this once, the Social Justice Film Institute recommends reading the book before you stream the film.

Continuing our series of conversations with the SJFI Advisory Council around the question "What is a Social Justice film?" this month on Justice in Motion Daniel talks with close friends of the Institute Rhenda Meiser and Lauren Taubman to discuss film, social justice lenses, and hopeful futures of technology and cooperation in the Middle East. We hope you enjoy!

With the prospects of nation-wide vaccination teasing a better summer than the one we had last year, the question on our minds is when can we go to the movies again? Quite apart from being the best way to beat the sweltering summer heat, seeing a movie in theaters is a treasured communal experience whose emotional ties hearken back to the ancient Greek theatre.

For this month's episode of Justice in Motion, we welcome back to the podcast Dr. John Trafton, Seattle University Film Studies professor and author of Movie-Made Los Angeles, to discuss the social importance of going to the cinema, branching off into 16-century panoramic paintings, predicting when moviegoers time their bathroom breaks, and the link between Kevin Smith and Tommy Wiseau.

FESTIVAL SAVE THE DATE. Mark your calendar for October 7 - 17 for the 2021 Social Justice Film Festival. The festival will take place in Seattle and online this year. More info to follow!

PRIDE MONTH IS HERE! Check out monthlong programming from our friends at Three Dollar Bill Cinema, including features, shorts, and live events!

Today, May the Fourth, is Star Wars Day! Our thanks to the machinations of the marketing genius that came up with that.

To commemorate this glorious hybrid holiday of cinema enthusiasm and nerddom, Daniel goes deep on the side of of Star Wars lore and culture that doesn't usually get mentioned: the socially-focused beginnings of the tale that began a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away; and the progression of Disney/Lucasfilm's storytelling approach that has led to the creation of the most polarizing boogeyman we see in today's online culture: the Social Justice Warrior (or SJW).

We invite you to kick back with a glass of blue milk, blare some Yub-Nub from your sub-woofers, and enjoy this special Star Wars Day episode of Justice in Motion.

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This week, SJFI is proud to co-present Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival with Three Dollar Bill Cinema, streaming worldwide May 6 - 9. Book tickets below and register for free queer filmmaker networking hour at the links below!

Filmmaker Networking Hour

F*ck F*scism

Trans Joy

In this episode of Justice in Motion we discuss the stories behind told surrounding the recent shootings in Atlanta, Georgia.

As part of its recent event celebrating Communities Against Hate, Social Justice Film Institute Executive Director Aurora Martin invited Advisory Council members Vivian Hua, Glenn Morey and Andy Chan to discuss their experiences as AAPI storytellers and their vision for how film – particularly who is in front of and behind the camera – can bear witness and elevate voices for equity and justice.

Words matter. The stories and images that are projected into the public have real life consequences in who is seen, heard, and valued.

We mourn the people murdered in the Georgia mass shooting. Most of those targeted were women of Asian descent. All were people with stories, dreams, lives, and family. They had so much more life to experience with their loved ones, beyond the headlines we are left with: Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan, Daoyou Feng, Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue.

This tragic loss did not occur in isolation. It is the result of patterns of hate with an extensive history, which people within Asian American communities have been reporting for a long time. It will take every one of us to unravel these patterns.

Please speak up. Don't be silent. And listen to people who are hurting right now, especially women of Asian descent.

Thank you for listening. The full video of this panel discussion is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GC27lJEtfM

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Submissions are open for the 2021 Social Justice Film Festival. Visit filmfreeway.com/SocialJusticeFilmFestival for submission details

This month, SJFI teams up with Rainier Avenue Radio for a celebration of Earth Day from April 20-22. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for the latest updates!

This month, we bring you Part 2 of our conversation with the SJFFI Advisory Council, an intrepid crew of filmmakers and activists blending art and social change to talk about the joys and challenges of filmmaking, and to ask ourselves 'What is a social justice film?'

This panel was led by Daniel Swan. Panel members: Giovanni Coda, Glenn Morey, and Gilda Sheppard.

There's no more glowing recommendation for a prospective film festival than "they gave me a free breakfast." This is one of the many pearls of wisdom we gleaned in our talk with independent filmmaker and Institute Advisory Council member Michele Noble. Michele directed and produced the short documentary Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock, which won the Tulalip Cares Prize at the 2018 Social Justice Film Festival, and we were lucky enough to sit down with her to learn how a filmmaker can put finishing touches on their work and begin to market it to film festivals, as well as how to stay sane while navigating the film festival circuit. We hope you enjoy it.

To learn more about Michele Noble and her film Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock, visit https://reclamationthefilm.com/