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Documentary Films Block 1

Available: Jun 12, 2026 07:00
Until: Jun 19, 2026 06:59
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Documentary Films Block 1
The documentary films from this year's selections.
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Discovering Bessie Coleman Discovering Bessie Coleman

Discovering Bessie Coleman

Discovering Bessie Coleman is an inspiring documentary that celebrates the impact of Bessie Coleman’s legacy through the eyes of those she continues to inspire. Rather than a biographical account, the film shares personal stories from Coleman’s family, aviation professionals, and celebrities like author and actress Karyn Parsons, recounting how they first learned about Coleman’s groundbreaking achievements as the first African-American and Native American woman to earn an international pilot’s license. Despite her accomplishments, Coleman’s story remains unfamiliar to many. This documentary highlights the transformative power of her journey, showcasing how her determination to overcome barriers continues to motivate and empower new generations in aviation and beyond.
26 minutes
Born in the Struggle Born in the Struggle

Born in the Struggle

Born in the Struggle is a documentary film that explores the personal accounts of children born to 1960s and 70s radical Black Power activists, including the Honorable Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of the City of Newark, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Fred Hampton Jr, Imani Perry, Ayanna Gregory, and many others.

The film examines their reflections and ruminations on their childhood, the influences of their parents, and how the activism of their parents affected their lives. The shifting cultural times have presented unique but enduring challenges to this new generation. How they have taken up these novel challenges of injustice are explored, with hip hop music being a defining feature that named and proclaimed the black experience for a new generation facing oppression and exploitation.

More than anything, Born in the Struggle is a personal exploration of the Children of the Movement, whose childhoods were defined by their parents’ commitment to the Movement as a first priority, and how this dedication shaped their lives and their subsequent commitments to the same revolutionary spirit that they inherited.
19 minutes
The Jones Twins: Bebop Souls in a Muzak™ World The Jones Twins: Bebop Souls in a Muzak™ World

The Jones Twins: Bebop Souls in a Muzak™ World

This short memoir doc leans into original VHS archival footage and current-day interviews to dip into the family origins, both known and mysterious, and the performance career of the Jones Twins. Writer-performers who blended comedy, music, and spoken word into an afro-futuristic soup, The Jones Twins defied conventions while influencing the experimental performance scene of the 90s, a time of fertile Black creativity in Brooklyn.
20 minutes
The Hollow: Strings of Heritage The Hollow: Strings of Heritage

The Hollow: Strings of Heritage

Cheryl is a talented flautist and a dedicated dental PhD student. She moves between two worlds—her vibrant, independent
life in modern Australia and the quiet, tradition-bound expectations of her Chinese immigrant family.
On stage, she shines with confidence; at work, she is calm and precise; yet at home, conversations are brief, emotions are
restrained, and achievements are spoken of more than feelings.
In English, she connects easily with friends; in Mandarin, she faces the silent weight of expectation. Through music—a universal language that bridges cultures, heals distance, and allows her to reclaim her voice.
16 minutes
Rag Dolls Rag Dolls

Rag Dolls

Two women living with disabilities in Mexico face challenges, yet find ways to love and care for each other.
12 minutes
You Just Watch & See You Just Watch & See

You Just Watch & See

A short documentary of the life and times of the professional woman and world traveler, Dollie Alexander, a Black woman from the south who lives the life she wants in Chicago.
13 minutes
RENEGADES: Celestine Tate Harrington: Building a Legacy RENEGADES: Celestine Tate Harrington: Building a Legacy

RENEGADES: Celestine Tate Harrington: Building a Legacy

RENEGADES is a series of documentary shorts showcasing the lives of diverse, lesser-known historical figures with disabilities, exploring not only their impact on and contributions to U.S. society, but also the concept of disability culture, which honors the uniqueness of disability. Hosted and narrated by the musician and disability rights advocate Lachi, who is blind, and created and produced by a team of D/deaf and disabled filmmakers, the series is designed to increase public knowledge of disability history, and encourage cross-cultural understanding between non-disabled people and those with disabilities – who make up more than 1 in 4 adults in America today.

Born with with arthrogryposis multiplex congenita, a condition that made her limbs unusable, Celestine Tate Harrington (1955-1998) was a street performer in downtown Philadelphia and on the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1980s and 1990s who impressed audiences with her skill at playing the electric keyboard with her tongue. In 1975, when the Philadelphia Department of Public Welfare attempted to take away her infant daughter, claiming that Harrington was physically incapable of caring for a child, she successfully defended her right to parent. In the courtroom, Tate Harrington demonstrated her skills – dressing and undressing her daughter, and changing her diaper, using only her lips, teeth, and tongue – and retained custody.

In Celestine Tate HarringtonL Building a Legacy, RENEGADES explores how Tate Harrington’s fight to be a mother and earn an independent living was a revolutionary act, in the face of laws that cite disability as grounds for termination of parental rights to this day.
13 minutes
Warriors Warriors

Warriors

In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, five Kayapó women embrace the power of filmmaking, as they document the sacred tradition of Festa Krimej to protect and preserve their cultural legacy for generations to come.
13 minutes
Chess: The Quiet War (The Battle Begins Before the First Move) Chess: The Quiet War (The Battle Begins Before the First Move)

Chess: The Quiet War (The Battle Begins Before the First Move)


We examine the game from a cognitive strategic alignment perspective of modern times. Juxtaposition to real issues, thinking ahead is the best diplomatic maneuver. On a trip to deliver boards across the globe, we stopped by Colombia South America.
9 minutes

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