• Allegations

Directed by: Rudy Hypolite
TRT: 24 min

An American Film Institute (AFI) award winner, this short video drama focuses on the relationship between police and black teenagers as a means of fostering better communication between the police and young people. The story depicts a day in the life of a black teen, Louis, who is falsely accused by a video store clerk of stealing a video and is subsequently arrested by the police. A surveillance camera video eventually reveals the real thief.

The drama shows that such an incident not only affects the teen and the police officers involved, but also many others, like Louis’ parents and his friends. At the climax of the drama, two life long friends, one white and the other black, have an altercation because of the incident as it relates to race. This production was co-produced with Cambridge Community TV’s Summer Teen Video Institute. The project was taped in Cambridge and Boston with a local cast. Film won the AFI’s Robert M. Bennett Award for Best in Local Programming-Drama.

Other Keywords: Teen issues, Community

• Detained

Directed by: Jenny Alexander
TRT: 27 min
On March 6, 2007, workers at a New Bedford factory producing vests for the U.S. military were arrested in a raid conducted by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) officers. Of the 361 undocumented immigrants arrested that day, the majority were women, many with small children. Detained follows families affected by the immigration raid.

Other Keywords: Immigration, Human Rights

• Mario

Directed by: Jenny Alexander
TRT: 10 min
A year after graduating with honors from Chelsea High School, Mario was arrested in an immigration raid. Immigration agents (ICE) came to his house looking for a criminal who didn’t live there, arresting Mario instead and initiating deportation proceedings.

Mario’s dream is to go to college, but instead he must fight to stay in the country he considers home. Mario is one of many individuals without criminal records who have been caught in sweeps ICE agents describe as targeting criminals.

Other Keywords: Teens, Activism, Immigration

• The Negro Theater in Boston from 1935-1939

Directed by: Lisa Simmons
A Piece of Boston’s History A work in progress, this historical narrative documentary tells the story of the Negro Theater in Boston during the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The rich history of the Negro Theater dates back to the time of abolitionism and continues through the Harlem Renaissance era of the 1920’s, to the Federal Theater Project (FTP) of the WPA up and through today. With funding from the federal government, the FTP hired and paid theater professionals to produce and act in plays during the depression. The FTP spawned a number of theater companies, but for the Negro theater, it played a crucial role in the history of Black Theater. Very little has been written about the Negro Theater in Boston in the 1930s; this documentary pays in homage to the director’s family members who played a pivotal role in the development of Black theater in Boston and educates viewers about the existence of the Negro Theater.

Other Keywords: American Studies, History

• RACE: The Power of an Illusion, The Story We Tell

Directed by: Tracy Strain
This second film in a three-part series traces the origins of the racial idea to the European conquest of the New World and to the American slave system. By the mid-19th century, race had become the accepted, “common-sense” wisdom of white America, explaining everything from individual behavior to the fate of human societies. The idea found fruition in racial science, Manifest Destiny, and our imperial adventures abroad. In the new monthly magazines of the late 19th century and at the remarkable indigenous people displays at the 1904 World’s Fair celebrating the centennial of Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase, we see how American popular culture reinforced and fueled racial explanations for American progress and power, imprinting ideas of racial difference and white superiority deeply into our minds.

Other Keywords: American Studies, Filmmaking

• What Makes Me White?

Directed by: Aimee Sands
TRT: 16 min
What Makes Me White? discusses the role of race in the daily lives of white people. Designed as a gentle tool for the classroom, boardroom, and church, the film avoids blame, guilt, or “political correctnesss.” Instead, it inspires white people to honest reflection about the invisible influence of whiteness on their personalities and their life choices. For more info, visit www.whatmakesmewhite.com

Other Keywords: American Studies, Racism

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