Powerful intimate stories of young refugees who risked their lives crossing the Aegean Sea to Europe, only to get trapped on the Greek Island of Lesvos with no future and closed borders. It was supposed to be only their "transit" stop, but it turned out where they ended.

Director: Mariam El Mara...

A documentary short about a family divided by the US/Mexico border. Abril is living undocumented in the United States with her 2 year-old son Julian. Julian’s father was stopped by police for a minor traffic incident and was deported back to Mexico. In order to see each other, Uriel, Abril and Ju...

Life can be difficult for children living in the creative, but sometimes volatile, inner-city neighborhoods of Kingston, Jamaica. If an adolescent is a victim of a crime and has to go to court, the case could fall apart because the child is too frightened to testify. This is why development group...

Students from Washington State University visit the prison at Coyote Ridge in order to participate in a debate about gun control. The rest of the participants are the debate club members from the prison – a group of inmates that have been transformed and inspired by their new contact with educati...

From black panthers to young philosophers, to Hasidic Jews, to journalists, to musicians, to CEOs, to the homeless, to kids with I-Pads, to ex- Wall Street members shouting ‘I don’t think it’s the people that are the problem, it’s the system and these bad incentives.” We were all the same and ins...

Indigenous Harakmbut leaders lead journey to rediscover ancient sacred site to connect with their cultural past and protect their future.

Director: Paul Redman
Producer: Tim Lewis

2014 | 9 min
Latin America | Peru
Languages: Spanish
Subtitles: Portuguese, English, Indonesian, Spanish

Blue Chalk worked with The Red Door Project to create a film that showcases its unique participatory process as they work to stage a series of monologues called “Evolve,” which tackles the fraught relationships between communities of color and law enforcement. In the face of seemingly insurmounta...

The Poll Dance is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections....

Over 200,000 migrant laborers, mostly from Africa, work in Italy’s fields. After being exploited for years, the global pandemic made these farmworkers “essential” overnight — but without labor rights or even access to basic sanitation, they are living and working in conditions that have been desc...

The Haystack documentary, is a real-life investigation into 21st-century surveillance in the UK and the Investigatory Powers (IP) Bill currently before Parliament. In light of Snowden’s revelations in 2013, both privacy groups and our government agree that the laws surrounding surveillance need t...

Testimony is an interactive documentary for virtual reality that shares the stories of five survivors of sexual assault and their journey to healing. Beyond just a film, Testimony is an advocacy platform to allow the public to bear witness to those who have been silenced. The Brock Turner case, B...

“I’ve been here about two years, and it feels like twenty have passed.” Among a group of children surviving on the streets of Athens is Sayid, a twelve-year old boy, who works all day selling sunflower seeds in the city’s suburban parks. He wants to leave for Northern Europe to go to school and t...

In Stories From The Field we see both the challenges and innovations for grassroots development programs and resource-poor farmers in Bangladesh. Meet farmers introducing a unique and sustainable seed selection method that empowers women and could impact global food security.

Director: Daniela K...

So You Think You Can Vote is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections, and governance in the lead up to the 201...

Despite their customary land being recognised by the Indonesian Government in 2012, the Seko community have been defending their land against large-scale energy development for the last 3 years. In 2016, 14 community leaders were criminalized, including 1 woman. They were sentenced for at least 7...

Run Rep Run is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections, and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections. I...

ROUTES is a journey of refugees recounts a small daily reality on their arrival in Europe. A topical issue which has become a humanitarian crisis. Through recorded interviews in the autumn of 2015, between the Isle of Lesbos (Greece) and the Macedonian border with Serbia, is still one of the most...

When the social movement "Rio Eu Amo Eu Cuido" was created it had a single purpose: make Rio de Janeiro a better place to live in. This documentary, shot between October 2014 and March 2015, shows a little of the movement's universe, projects and actions that took place with the help of volunteer...

With one of the lowest levels of birth registration in Africa, Tanzania’s failing infrastructure and logistical challenges have left decades of backlog in birth registrations. A Tanzanian governmental agency, RITA, joined forces with some strong partners and decided to tackle the issue of birth r...

A civil rights activist, Mohammad Jibran Nasir, sparks a social revolution after almost 140 children were killed in the Peshawar Army School tragedy. Narrated by Pakistani actress Fawzia Mirza, this documentary sheds light on the consequences of extreme religion and terrorism in Pakistan and offe...

Stripped of her rights, a woman's life changes when she ventures with her husband to remedy an impossible situation.

Directors: Will Hawkes, Melissa Center
Producers: Will Hawkes, Melissa Center
11 min | USA
Languages: English

FILMMAKER Q&A:
https://simaacademy.com/filmmaker-qa/rv/

Esperanza and Teodula are calling for justice in rural Peru, they are part of 300,000 people sterilised without consent more than 18 years ago. The Quipu Project is their phone line that allows the affected across the country to share their shocking testimonies and ensure those responsible are pu...

Marginalised for decades, Pygmy peoples are fighting for recognition and land rights. Even the term ‘pygmy’ is laced with historical racism and prejudice, they are not treated as equal citizens in their home country. At the heart of pygmy culture is their forest, central to their spiritual belief...

Guna communities have long been recognized for protecting the forests along their coastline; despite significant threats from farming and industrial logging, they are proven protectors of their ancestral forests.

Today they face uncertainty over the sea that surrounds their island homes. Increas...