Videos available through Films for the Humanities and Sciences website: www.films.com
Families First
Foster care in America, which was designed as a last resort for families in trouble, has become a commonplace experience for many children today. In this program, Bill Moyers examines a growing national movement that has achieved success in keeping troubled families together through the innovative strategy of working with them in their homes. Modeled after a 1974 pioneer project called "Homebuilders," this approach is known as "family preservation services" (FPS). In the program, we visit with families throughout the U.S. as they deal with personal crises that threaten them with the loss of their children to foster care. Their stories, and the stories of the caseworkers who help them learn the skills they need to stay together, offer a candid look at one of our society’s most distressing problems, and at a promising approach to coping with it. (90 minutes, color)
Foster Care
Every year 200,000 children are taken from their homes because of abuse, neglect, or abandonment. This program provides a profile of the foster care system through the eyes of three such children, their parents, social workers, and the judges who handle their cases. The children tell of the beatings and sexual molestation at the hands of alcoholic and drug-addicted parents that led to foster care placement. Social workers offer insights into the placement process, and describe the hardships experienced by children as they adjust to living with strange families. One judge explains the legal aspects of foster placement, and a second defends foster care as the best alternative for children in hazardous circumstances who have little hope for adoption. (24 minutes, color)
Domestic Violence and Children
Severely wounded, their mother kept crying out, "Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me!" What effects do the sights and sounds of domestic violence have on the malleable minds of children? In this program, ABC News anchor Hugh Downs seeks to answer that question through interviews with Betsy McAlister-Groves, director of the Child Witness to Violence Project at Boston Medical Center, and some of the deeply scarred children who have seen and heard far too much. (14 minutes, color)
Juvenile Justice: In the Child’s Best Interest
When victimized children turn victimizers themselves, juvenile court is likely to be their next destination. Using case studies of families in turmoil, this gripping program sheds light on the juvenile justice system. Courtroom footage reveals the intense proceedings in which judges must shape the futures of children and parents alike, while therapists, child welfare caseworkers, foster parents, and staff members from assistance organizations discuss their efforts on behalf of the children. (60 minutes, color)
Broken Child: Case Studies of Child Abuse
Every year in the U.S., approximately one in 25 children is reported as a victim of prenatal substance abuse, criminal neglect, or physical or emotional violence, and child-protection agencies are being overwhelmed by the crisis. Filmed on location in Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, and Seattle, this cautionary program narrated by Susan Sarandon examines the cycle of child abuse. Case studies include children with developmental difficulties caused by maternal drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by scenes of extreme violence in the home, and life-threatening injuries from beatings. An HBO production. (61 minutes, color)
The Impact of Violence on Children
What is the future of our children in America? Kids today live in a volatile world where violence in the school, home, and streets is an everyday occurrence. Statistics are staggering as children are not only abused by adults, but are killing each other. This program looks at the sources of violence that affect our children. Among the experts featured in the program are Dr. James Garbarino, Director of Cornell University’s Family Life Development Center; James Stayer, President of Children Now; and Kathleen Kostelny, Ph.D., of the Erikson Institute. (28 minutes, color)
The Next Generation
Experts are increasingly focusing on prevention efforts based on community and family. This documentary looks at two of those efforts. One works with parents addicted to heroin by teaching them how to repair the damage to family wrought by drug abuse, and in spite of it, how to raise strong, resilient children. In a second program, vigilant counselors in Dade County schools watch for kids at risk of becoming drug addicts, and offer immediate counseling for those who are already involved with drugs. Nicotine addiction is addressed by a program that provides classes designed to prevent students from smoking, and another that helps them stop if they’ve already begun to smoke. School officials, counselors, and students are interviewed. (57 minutes, color)
Children of Poverty
The number of American children living in poverty is staggering, their lives pitiful, and the prognosis for their growing up physically and emotionally healthy not very good. This program profiles some of these children, all in homes headed by women, and shows the effects on the children and their mothers of the problem of finding shelter and enough food to survive, of trying to prevent kids from becoming either the victims or the perpetrators of crimes, and of trying to nurture self-esteem in poor children—for, as the director of a shelter says, "Self-esteem is the last citadel. When that’s destroyed, a person is destroyed." (26 minutes, color)
Family Violence: Breaking the Chain
This program looks at the effects of family violence on the abused and the abuser: at the danger that abused children will grow up to repeat the pattern of violence in their own relationships; at the problems of date violence; at the physical and emotional abuse women suffer at the hands of their husbands and lovers. While showing the benefits of therapy, it stresses the need of the abused for safety—through shelters, hot-lines, and community assistance—from those who abuse them. (28 minutes, color)
Families Matter
This program with Bill Moyers examines why America has become an unfriendly culture for families and children, and explores ways to rebuild a web of support for families. Among those featured on the program are Rosalie Streett, Exec. Director of Parent Action (Baltimore, MD); Jill Bradley, Director of Child Care Services, Chicago Housing Authority; and Richard Louv, author of the book Childhood’s Future. They discuss some of the practical steps needed to create a more hospitable social climate for families. The program also visits parents in San Diego who are struggling with some of the problems affecting the quality of parents’ and children’s lives. (60 minutes, color)
Child Abuse
This program deals with the delicate subject of sexually and physically abused children. A therapist who deals with sex offenders describes the common characteristics of offenders; a clinical social worker trained to talk with sexually abused children discusses the effects of abuse on the child and explains how she gets children to re-create what has happened to them by using anatomically correct dolls. The program offers tips on selecting a daycare center. A specialist provides examples of disciplinary problems and offers clues to help identify a physically abused child. (19 minutes, color)
Child Development
This program examines a range of the major subjects categorized under the rubric of child development. Topics covered include: Genetic Counseling and Prenatal Testing, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Prepared Childbirth, Reflexes of Newborns, Learning in Infants, Temperament, Physical Abuse of Children, Learning Disabilities, Sexual Abuse of Children, and Teen Suicide. (60 minutes, color)
Childhood Depression
Four to eight percent of American children experience bouts of major depression. Among teenage girls, that rate can be as high as sixteen percent. This program from The Doctor Is In emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and treatment to avoid potential patterns of repeated depression later in life—and to prevent substance abuse and suicide. Children suffering from depression talk about how they cope with it, while child psychiatrist David G. Fassler, author of Help Me, I’m Sad, and Steven Atkins, a psychologist at Dartmouth Medical School, provide authoritative insights. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production. (29 minutes, color)
Crying in the Dark: Misdiagnosed Child Abuse
The flip side of unreported child abuse is falsely-charged child abuse. This award-winning documentary tells the story of anguished families whose tranquillity was shattered and whose very existence was placed into question—the children were removed to community shelters and the parents cast under a cloud of suspicion and revulsion—because of a controversial diagnostic technique used by overzealous medical personnel. (55 minutes, color)
Damaged: When Trauma Leads to Violence
This program investigates the relationship between abuse suffered as a child and the likelihood of committing murder later in life—especially when that abuse results in brain damage. The horrific slaying of Peyton Tuthill by Donta Page is examined, and the case of a mild-mannered doctor who became violent due to pressure from a brain tumor is addressed. Also featured are the findings of various experts, including forensic psychiatrist Dorothy Otnow Lewis, expert witness for Page’s defense; Adrian Raine, whose studies of 41 murderers have consistently revealed frontal lobe damage; and neurologist Jonathan Pincus, author of Base Instincts: What Makes Killers Kill? Original BBC broadcast title: Damaged. (50 minutes, color)
Social service agencies charged with the care of children are supposed to protect children from abuse, but more and more reports are surfacing of agencies too understaffed or undertrained or simply uncaring to prevent vicious and sometimes fatal child abuse. This specially adapted Phil Donahue program examines some of these horror stories and explores the larger question of what is wrong with our social services system. (28 minutes, color)
No One Saved Dennis
Dennis was placed for adoption in the home of a child abuser and her acquiescent husband in a community of family members, social workers, and health professionals many of whom saw parts of the truth but were unwilling to make the first accusation. Thus his death was treated as accidental and it was 20 years before the child’s birth mother discovered information that led to a re-opening of the case and the trial and conviction of the adoptive mother. A segment of 60 Minutes, with Diane Sawyer. (14 minutes, color)
Childhood Sexual Abuse
Childhood sexual abuse affects all social and economic groups. Psychiatrists, social workers, and law enforcement officials explain how the pattern of abuse is frequently spread throughout the family; why children can be manipulated into silent acceptance of abuse; the signs of sexual abuse and how and to whom they should be reported; the reliability of children as witnesses; teaching prevention skills to children; and under what circumstances treatment of sex abusers can be effective. From The Doctor Is In. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production. (26 minutes, color)
Childhood Physical Abuse
This program from The Doctor Is In covers the range of problems in the area of physical abuse of children: the kinds of adults likely to abuse their children; the signs of such abuse; the effects on the children; the ways in which abuse should be dealt with; how abusive parents can break the cycle of their behavior and whether and how they should be punished; what happens to the children when the law steps in; the distinction between discipline and abuse; and whether and how the physical abuse of children can be prevented. A Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center production. (26 minutes, color)
Teen and Child Depression
Even parents who are psychologists sometimes fail to diagnose severe depression in their own children. This program describes the common symptoms of depression: crying, withdrawal, over- or undereating, oversleeping or insomnia, concentration and memory problems, getting no pleasure out of life. In the extreme, these symptoms can lead to suicide—any threat of which must always be taken seriously. The program examines the possible causes of bipolar depression, presents evidence for the biological (as opposed to psychological) causes of depression, and discusses the role of environmental factors such as child abuse in activating depression. Treatment is also discussed. (19 minutes, color)
Adoption Options: An Insight into Adoption
This program provides perspective on all sides of adoption, exploring the emotions, motivation, and process involved in adopting a child, and in placing a child for adoption. The process of adoption can be long and trying. Beyond the strain of waiting, there is the euphoria of being approved, then the work of bonding with and raising the child or children. Equally powerful is the emotional struggle of a birthmother who makes an adoption plan. The program shows the efforts of one couple to secure and bring home their adopted child, their work, adjustments, and joy. It also shows a couple chosen by a pregnant teen to raise her child and the struggle of this birthmother as she comes to terms with the choice she has made. (24 minutes, color)
Failure to Protect? A National Dialogue
As headlines trumpet cases of children becoming "lost"—and in some cases, dying—while in the care of the state or when the state does not act promptly to take custody, child welfare policies have come under intense questioning. But the answers are not simple. This award-winning Fred Friendly Seminar is presented in collaboration with the Institute for Child and Family Policy at Columbia University. Moderated by Dateline NBC correspondent John Hockenberry, the seminar confronts the complexities of child safety and welfare policies and their effect on American families. Panelists include Kathleen Blatz, chief justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court; Richard Gelles, dean of the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Work; Sandra Jimenez, head of advocacy for New York City’s Department of Homeless Services; Marcia Robinson Lowry, executive director of the advocacy group Children’s Rights, Inc.; Cynthia McFadden, ABC News senior legal correspondent; Representative George Miller (D-CA), author of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980; and Northwestern University School of Law Professor Dorothy Roberts, author of Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare. Additional resources are located online at www.fredfriendly.org and www.pbs.org. A FRONTLINE-Fred Friendly Seminars, Inc. co-production with 10/20 Productions, LLC. (60 minutes, color)
Drinking Apart: Families Under the Influence
Every day at the renowned Ackerman Institute for the Family, teams of counselors are helping people with drug and alcohol addictions to save their relationships, their futures, and their very lives. Praised by the American Psychiatric Association, this award-winning program tracks the progress of a husband and wife, a mother and teenage daughter, and a young couple over a three-year period as they fight their way toward recovery. Candidly filmed at Ackerman and other facilities as well as in the subjects’ homes, this gripping documentary provides valuable insights into the devastating effects of substance abuse and the methods being used to assist in breaking addictions. "[Reality television] pales in comparison with the reality offered up by documentarian Ken Rosenberg in this new HBO special," says the Los Angeles Times; extensive footage of family counseling sessions is only one of the reasons why. An HBO production. (71 minutes, color)
To My Birthmother
Reunions between adopted children and their birth parents are deeply emotional experiences. This documentary by Academy Award-winning director Beverly Shaffer follows adoptee Marie Klaassen’s journey of self-discovery as she searches for her birthmother. Marie addresses her birthmother directly, revealing why she was compelled to embark on the search and the effect it has had on her own family. A counselor for pregnant teens, Marie conveys understanding for her birthmother’s decision to create an adoption plan for her child and the need to keep it a secret. (56 minutes, color)
Family in Crisis
This specially adapted Phil Donahue program centers on the plight of poor children growing up in single-parent households. Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (NY) and Dr. Joyce Ladner, Howard University sociologist, examine the problems facing children who are growing up without fathers and the cycle of poverty that especially affects minority families. (28 minutes, color)
What Is Family? Defining the Tie that Binds
Is biological lineage a necessary precondition for being a family? In this program, ABC News anchor Ted Koppel and correspondent Robert Krulwich visit the Van Dries, of Grand Rapids. With three biological children plus eleven adoptees from the U.S. and around the world, parents Doug and Jan put that question to the test, adding language barriers and the effects of extreme poverty and abuse to the usual array of daunting parental challenges. The sociological underpinnings of family and the psychology of parenting are both examined in this compelling portrait of sixteen people for whom reciprocal loyalty is the cornerstone of life. (44 minutes, color)
Addiction: The Family in Crisis
This concise explanation of alcoholism combines expert commentary with one family’s experience. A sober alcoholic, his wife, and their daughter discuss the progression of his alcoholism and its devastating impact on their lives. Experts explain how family members often act as enablers, unintentionally making it easier for the alcoholic to keep drinking. Finally, the program addresses treatment options for alcoholics and sources of support for families. (18 minutes, color)
Breaking the Cycle of Addiction and Abuse: Donna’s Story
By the time Donna Gamble turned 13 she was a drug addict and a prostitute, just like her mother. Today, she is a fiercely determined survivor who has emerged as a powerful voice in counseling members of the Cree Nation and others about how to triumph over addiction. In this poignant yet inspiring program, Donna describes her struggle to start a new life while trying to help improve the lives of others traveling the path she once knew all too well. With courage and candor, she also reveals her ongoing effort to come to terms with the suppressed rage that still flows from her childhood memories of sexual abuse and physical violence. Contains explicit material. (52 minutes, color)
Portrait of Addiction
In this program nine men and women—all recovering from drug and/or alcohol addiction—tell their stories. The recovering addicts run the gamut: a former narcotics agent, now recovering from a cocaine habit; a mother of three who is a marketing specialist; a former addict and founder of Stand-Up Harlem, a community of HIV-positive addicts and recovering addicts; a journalist and former addict who actually served as the researcher for Moyers on the series. This candid testimony from people who have been there leaves no doubt that addiction can happen to anyone and so can recovery. (57 minutes, color)
American Adolescence
A rising divorce rate, frequent relocation, and a fascination with TV, video games, and computers are leaving more and more teenagers under-supervised, rootless, and isolated. Increasingly detached from traditional values and lifestyles, these young adults face daunting obstacles without the support base enjoyed by previous generations. This program investigates the hurdles faced by today’s teens and discusses how their hopes, fears, and expectations will shape American society. Experts include top officers of the Families and Work Institute, National Teen Pregnancy Prevention Research Center, and National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse Control. (30 minutes, color)
The Addicted Brain
This documentary takes viewers on a tour of the world’s most prolific manufacturer and user of drugs—the human brain. The biochemistry of the brain is responsible for joggers’ highs, for the compulsion of some people to seek thrills, for certain kinds of obsessive-compulsive behavior, even for the drive to achieve power and dominance. The program explores developments in the biochemistry of addiction and addictive behavior. (26 minutes, color)
Domestic Violence: Behind Closed Doors
Every 12 seconds, a woman is beaten in the U.S.—beaten by her lover, her husband, her partner in life. Year after year, the cycle of violence spins faster, spiraling down through the generations, father to son and mother to daughter. Only when communities and families say "Enough!" can the cycle be broken. This program shows how people can and have said "Enough!": women, men, and children who offer proof that domestic violence can be stopped, that healing is possible if there is someone to help. The program also shows the social and legal services that make the difference. (28 minutes, color)
Understanding Violence
This program features Dr. Carl Bell, one of the country’s leading psychiatrists, who focuses on children who have witnessed violent acts, committed violence, or been the victims of violence. In this program, Dr. Bell argues that the cycle of violence in children’s lives can be broken if we act early to deal with their trauma. Children capable of violence must be taught to empathize with the pain in someone else’s life, allowing them to see the painful consequences of violence. (27 minutes, color)
On Parenting
This program features Dr. Victor La Cerva, a public health official in charge of statewide programs in New Mexico. Dr. La Cerva specializes in treating victims of domestic violence, both women and children. In this program, he gives practical suggestions for better parenting and avoidance of violence in the home. (27 minutes, color)
What Can We Do About Violence?
A Bill Moyers Special
This four-part series focuses on solutions to the growing problem of violence in America. From a special "kid’s club" that helps children cope with domestic violence, to unusual, but highly effective, alternative sentencing programs for youthful offenders, to high schools that are taking revolutionary steps to foster cooperation among students, the efforts profiled in this series attest to a growing national movement in which people from all walks of life are working to put an end to violence, especially among young people. The series features documentary reports filmed across the country and speaks to experts who have studied the problem and have worked directly to implement programs that have a real, lasting impact. Numerous efforts to combat violence are profiled, including adult mentoring, conflict resolution, parent training, peer education, alternative sentencing, violence prevention counseling, school-based programs, community-policing and activism, substance abuse rehabilitation, and firearm safety. 4-part series, 56 minutes each.
Formed in 1966 as part of President Johnson’s War on Poverty, Legal Services provides free legal assistance in civil matters to those who cannot afford counsel. Using New Jersey as a microcosm of the condition of the impoverished throughout America, this program highlights the crucial work of Legal Services and its basic premise: without equal access, there is no equal justice. Case studies show both the judicial and human dynamics of resolving family matters, consumer matters, housing evictions, public entitlement disputes, and welfare and Social Security issues. The program also contains interviews with state and federal judges, as well as staff members and the president of Legal Services of New Jersey, Melville D. Miller, Jr. (52 minutes, color)
The Women of Hull House: Harnessing Statistics for Progressive Reform
Horrified by the living conditions in Chicago’s tenements, Jane Addams opened Hull House in 1889, a place where she, Julia Lathrop, and other fellow activists could provide outreach services to the poor and uneducated people of the neighborhood—and by applying statistical analysis to real-world problems, pave the way for far-reaching social reform. Filled with archival photos and footage, this powerful program brings together Daphne Spain, author of How Women Saved the City, and Robyn Muncy, author of Creating a Female Dominion in American Reform, to discuss topics including infant and maternal mortality, the landmark Hull House Maps and Papers, and women’s progressive reform movements. (18 minutes, color)
Ending Domestic Violence: Healing the Family
A victims’ rights advocate tells the story of her carefree childhood and adolescence in Palo Alto, and her subsequent 18-month marriage in which she was beaten and nearly killed by an abusive husband. Today, she fulfills her personal vision of helping others. In this program, she counsels a mother of three, who is also involved in an abusive relationship. Scenes include court hearings, and emotional talks between the two women in which the advocate offers insights into the dynamics of spousal abuse. (28 minutes, color)
Drugs: Profiles of Addiction and Recovery
Addiction to drugs and alcohol is a disease—chronic, progressive, and fatal if left untreated. This informative three-part series, featuring true stories told by recovering addicts and insightful commentary by law enforcement professionals and counselors, describes the miseries of substance abuse and methods of overcoming addiction. 3-part series, 25 minutes each.
Good Things Can Still Happen: Helping Children Recover from Sexual Abuse
"It’s not your fault." "We can get help." "You’re good kids." "We love you." These are just some of the positive, reassuring messages found in this classic program, an animated story of two children coping with molestation. Divided into six parts, the video sensitively acknowledges and validates the characters’ emotions as they open up about their experiences and move forward, one day at a time, with a growing sense of hope and empowerment. This powerful program is designed primarily for therapists and other professionals for one-on-one or small-group use with children ages 6 to 12 who have already disclosed sexual abuse. It is also an invaluable training tool for educators and for those who plan to work with sexually abused children. Because of the video’s sensitive content, previewing before use is recommended. (18 minutes, color)
Innocence: What Is a Child?
Interviews with children and experts combine with excellent archival footage to provide an eye-opening look at the construct of childhood innocence, from the late 19th century to the present. The onset of industrialization, subsequent child labor laws, and the idealization of children in art all contribute to attitudes that support the natural innocence of children. However, today’s reality of childhood crime, latchkey children, and children suffering physical and sexual abuse presents a stark contrast with these romanticized notions of children as naive, protected, and cherished. Experts, including noted author Thomas Moore, discuss baby-to-child development and explore the question: What is a child? (54 minutes, color)
These films are available thru the Filmakers Library site at www.filmakers.com.
Adoption and Foster Care
Aging Out Navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood is challenging for even the most mature and privileged youth. For three young people in New York and Los Angeles, making the transition to independent living is considerably more difficult as they "age out" of the foster care system. They suddenly discover that they¹re on their own for the first time. Aging Out chronicles the daunting obstacles that these veterans of foster care encounter as they are forced to fend for themselves. (more)
End of the Line: Orphan Trains. The poignant, depression-age story of abandoned children from big cities who were sent West to live and work with farm families. It was the idea of Charles Loring Brace, founder of the Children's Aid Society, as an alternative to institionalization. (more)
Fallen Women. Before the sexual revolution, women who got pregnant before marriage brought shame on themselves and their families. Often, they were pressured to give the babies up for adoption; the emotional ramifications were severe. (more)
Little Brother, Little Sister Some people have very big hearts! We meet an Australian couple who have adopted several Ethiopian orphaned children. We see how they help the children overcome the pain of their past as they adjust to a new country. (more)
Outside Looking In Filmmaker and transracial adoptee Phil Bertelson examines the bonds and strains that families experience when white couples decide to adopt black children. Through the stories of three generations of adoptees, the film explores how transracial adoption has changed since the early 1970¹s. (more)
Precious Cargo. Operation Babylift in 1975 helped thousands of South Vietnamese children to escape to America where they were adopted . Now in their mid -20's, the adoptees return to their birthplace in search of their roots. (more)
The Struggle for Identity This powerful video focuses on issues of race, culture and identity in families in which there have been transracial adoptions (more)
Taken In Almost half a million children in the United States are in foster care. They were taken from their parents who were deemed unfit to care for them. This is a sensitive exploration of the long term emotional and psychological costs of this policy. (more)
When the Bough Breaks: Children of Mothers in Prison. A sensitive study of the effect on children when their mothers are incarcerated. (more)
Whose Child Is This? After the Indian tribes were vanquished, the governments of the U.S. and Canada destroyed their cultures as well. For generations, youngsters were separated from their Indian parents and adopted by both well-meaning and exploitive adoptive families. This film reveals some of these complicated stories. (more)
Why Can’t We Be A Family Again? Shot over a three year period, this emotionally wrenching story reveals the bond that develops between two brothers who long to be reunited with their mother. Despite the neglect and disappointment they suffer, these extraordinary boys never give up hope that they will some day live with their mother and be a family again. This powerful new film chronicles the mother’s agonizing battle with crack addiction and the grandmother’s struggle to keep the family together. (more)
Violence and Sexual Abuse
The Amazing Normal Story This is the true personal story of the filmmaker who became sexually involved with a man old enough to be her father when she was twelve years old. The film challenges preconceived notions about the way we think about and react to sexual abuse. (more)
Behind Closed Doors This film examines domestic violence from a personal perspective, focusing on an abuser and a victim, who each discuss their backgrounds and their determination to break the patterns of violence that have governed their lives. (more)
Breaking Ground: Men Against Rape The men in this film feel that rape is not just a woman's problem, but a human problem of our violent culture. They are committed to training men and women in rape prevention techniques.(more)
Dating Rites: Gang Rape on Campus This documentary on gang rape and acquaintance rape is a compelling view of what is happening on college campuses. (more)
Domestic Violence: Which Way Out? With domestic violence a growing problem in our society, one community, Bellevue, Washington, developed a successful counselling program which has become a national model. (more)
From Victim to Survivor This film focuses on three survivors of sexual assaults, two women and a man, who poignantly and openly share their experience and its aftermath. (more)
Healing from Childhood Sexual Abuse Three women and one man recall the childhood sexual traumas that destroyed their youth. They speak candidly about the recovery process which released them from symptoms that had plagued their lives. (more)
Incest: The Family Secret In this shockingly frank program we hear adult women tell of the childhood experiences that so traumatized their later years. Included is the testimony of a formerly abusive father who underwent psychiatric treatment. (more)
The Last Taboo: Children Who Sexually Abuse This groundbreaking program shatters the Victorian notion of childhood innocence, revealing the sexual abuse of children committed by other children. (more)
Lizzie Borden, Hash & Rehash The myth has captured the imagination of generations. Today's women cast Lizzie in the role of heroine, overpowering patriarchy. 30 min. (more)
Men Who Molest: Children Who Survive This film explores the lives of four child molesters. Three are in treatment at the nation's largest community-based facility in Seattle; we witness dramatic group therapy sessions and learn how devastating this crime is to the child and the family. (more)
Rape: Face to Face This highly-charged documentary examines the causes and consequences of rape, one of the fastest growing crimes in the America. It includes an emotional confrontation between rapists and victims of rape. (more)
Rapists: Can They be Stopped? This powerful video focuses on participants in a program at OregonStateHospital aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders. (more)
A Room Full Of Men: Therapy for Abusive Men This is a riveting documentary that examines a group of men with a history of abuse towards women, and their efforts to change. (more)
The Silent Scream This unusually sensitive film is a powerful reminder that adults must take children seriously if they hint that something is amiss at home. The sisters in this film found the strength as grown women to come forward and prosecute their father in a court of law for his sexual molestation of them. (more)
Stories from the Riverside: Women Jailed for Killing Their Abusers This documentary visits Gatesville Penitentiary in Texas, where three female inmates convicted of murder and serving sentences ranging from 25 to 40 years describe the domestic violence that eventually brought them to prison. (more)
True Stories The disturbing issue of "acquaintance rape" (also known as "date rape") is brought to life in this powerful short film. Two female high school students and the two boys who raped them describe their behavior and feelings before, during and after the attacks. (more)
Veronica's Story This innovative work is based on an actual letter by a teenager reaching out to understand a childhood of sexual abuse. (more)
Why God, Why Me? This multi-award winning program about childhood sexual abuse dramatizes the life story of victims who grew up never feeling safe in their own home. It is delicately told, with no graphic, sexual or violent scenes. (more)
When Women Kill This powerful film places the personal stories of three battered women in a legal and historical context. It exposes the obstacles facing women who live with batterers and challenges the social and legal institutions that confront the widespread pattern of violence against women. (more)
Poverty
BackWards to Back Streets When the Supreme Court ruled that mental patients could not be kept in institutions against their will, it was assumed that there would be community support available. Instead, the newly released people ended up on the streets, impoverished and without help. (more)
A Brooklyn Family Tale This powerful documentary by Roger Weisberg (Sound and Fury) profiles the struggle of a family to raise teenage children in a troubled neighborhood in Brooklyn. Faced with violence, teenage pregnancy, truancy, and attempted suicide, the family is held together by the support of The Center for Family Life, a social service agency that has helped two generations. (more)
Ending Welfare As We Know It. This film follows six welfare mothers over the course of a year as they struggle to comply with new work requirements, find reliable child care, battle drug addiction and try to make ends meet in the new era of welfare reform. (more)
It Was A Wonderful Life The stories of six educated, articulate women who are among the "hidden homeless"; those who have lost a job, lost a home, and refuse to go to a shelter. (more)
Making Welfare Work This documentary examines the current wave of welfare reform in America. It looks at the effect of new legislation on people’s lives, searching for initiatives that have proven effective. (more)
Michael Harrington and Today's Other America. In 1962, Michael Harrington’s book The Other America was a groundbreaking study of poverty that was probably the driving force behind the "war on poverty." Archival footage and fascinating interviews explore why such poverty still exists despite a booming economy. (more)
No Hunger in My Home A portrait of one suburban community which took steps to alleviate and eradicate hunger when their neighbors were in need. (more)
On A Mission This film introduces us to men who are regulars in a soup kitchen on Manhattan’s upper West Side. They talk about how addiction led to a downhill spiral of alienation, degradation, ill health and poverty. (more)
Our Children At Risk This film examines why millions of today’s poor young children may fail to reach their full developmental potential and considers positive steps that may be taken to address this crisis. (more)
Our Families, Our Future Here is a portrait of the American family in crisis. Half of marriages now end in divorce, and 70% of children are brought up in single parent households. Yet there is a family support movement which is trying to solve social problems by strengthening families. (more)
Shelter Examines the causes of homelessness through moving interviews and portraits of the homeless. (more)
Skid Road Chronic alcoholism is rapidly destroying lives and slowly claiming the streets of our cities. This film examines the moral and political issues cities face in combating this growing problem. (more)
SubwayCity. Three and a half million people ride the New York subway system daily. This film explores this underground world in all its diversity. (more)
Take It From Me: Life After Welfare The stories of several women show that welfare reform has made the system less responsive to individual needs and circumstances.(more)
Temporary Dwellings A heartening look at a group of Seattle’s homeless community who took matters into their own hands and erected a series of large tattered tents, until the mayor finally provided a shelter. (more)
Substance Abuse
A Family in Recovery This is a portrait of a family deeply troubled by alcoholism but in denial. After a family tragedy they seek counseling, and each person finds new self esteem and confidence. (more)
My Friend Jenny: Portrait of An Addict. Twenty-year-old Jennifer Wittberger, an attractive young woman from an affluent family, destroyed herself with her heroin addiction. Her story is told through the eyes of her best friend who was helpless to save Jenny. (more)
Out of the Past. This film shows that the adult children of alcoholics may be profoundly affected by the parent's illness. The need to confront and accept the pain of their childhood before living an emotionally healthy life. (more)
Youth
Aging Out Navigating the transition from adolescence to adulthood is challenging for even the most mature and privileged youth. For three young people in New York and Los Angeles, making the transition to independent living is considerably more difficult as they "age out" of the foster care system. They suddenly discover that they¹re on their own for the first time. Aging Out chronicles the daunting obstacles that these veterans of foster care encounter as they are forced to fend for themselves. (more)
Beyond the Mirage This film raises awareness about the cult phenomenon by introducing us to two former cult members who explain why the joined and how they broke away. (more)
Colors Straight Up An uplifting documentary about ghetto kids of South Central, L.A. who discover their talents and self dignity through "Colors United", a performing arts group created for inner city youth. (more)
Green Chimneys A film about three abused inner city boys who are given the opportunity to heal at a unique facility in rural New York. The philosophy at Green Chimneys is that troubled children can be "reached" through giving them responsibility to care for an animal. (more)
Invisible Revolution This disturbing documentary profiles a chilling subculture among American youth. Racist and "anti-racist" groups have been at war with each other, assaulting and even murdering one another to the consternation of their communities and the police.(more)
My Friend Jenny: Portrait of An Addict. Twenty-year-old Jennifer Wittberger, an attractive young woman from an affluent family, destroyed herself with her heroin addiction. Her story is told through the eyes of her best friend who was helpless to save Jenny. (more)
Sex, Teens and Public Schools Explores the conditions that have led to escalating rates of teen pregnancy and examines the role that public schools can play in stemming the tide of early and unwanted pregnancy. (more)
Talk 16 and Talk 19 -year-old girls were interviewed and filmed at home, in school, at work and with friends. They were filmed again three years later. What emerges is an insightful portrait of growing up female (more)
Tough Love Looks at a strict rehabilitation program that confronts delinquent young people with physical and emotional challenges. It works for some, but others drop out. (more)
Child Development / Education
Is It Really Me? How Teenage Girls View Their Bodies This delightful film shows ten young women who aspire to to be dancers in musical theater as they take a master class with choreographer Ann Reinking and Gwen Verdon. They share with us their insecurities about their bodies. (more)
Boys Alone Boys Alone is a riveting film of an English social experiment in which 10 eleven-year old boys are invited to be "home alone" without adult supervision for a week in a suburban house. The film tests the common belief that a pack of boys left together in a house for a long period of time, will self-destruct, as they did in Lord of the Flies (more)
First Person Shooter Violent interactive video games make up a 20 billion dollar industry. These games may have an addictive quality, especially to teenage boys, whose lives often become dominated by them. What effect does brutality in virtual reality have on the minds and psyches of the young? (more)
Lost Boys This sensitive film portrays the emotional difficulties men have who have grown up without a father. (more)
Music and Early Childhood This film makes a strong case for beginning music education at a very early age because of its precursor to language skills. We hear from Prof. Howard Gardner of Harvard University. (more)
Newborn With Drs. Berry Brazelton, Lewis Lipsett and Louis Sanders, this film documents the extraordinary capabilities of the newborn baby. (more)
Out of the Mouths of Babes Peter and Jill de Villiers of Harvard University, researchers in language acquisition, provide a clear and informative description of the child’s linguistic development. (more)
Prisoners of Childhood: Exploring the Inner Child Inspired by Dr. Alice Miller’s The Drama of the Gifted Child, five actors explore childhood memories to uncover feelings that had been repressed. (more)
Self Esteem Begins in the Family Eminent psychologist Dr. Stephen Glenn shows that, to build self esteem, the most important thing is for parents to treat children with love and respect. (more)
Self Esteem and How We Learn Focuses on the teacher’s role in developing self esteem in the child. (more)
A Sound Education Dr. Chen Ho Yun teaches violin to ghetto kids in South Central, L.A.(more)
Take Omri, for Example A portrait of a fifth grade child who is an "outsider", and doesn’t quite fit in. The other children are cruel to him. How should a teacher handle such a situation? (more)
Total Baby This is a wry look at the way parents, scientists, and the baby industry try to give young ones a competitive edge. (more)
Toys This film looks at the dramatic change in the kinds of toys available to children. Several noted psychologists, including Dr. Jerome Kagan, offer their views on the effect of toys on children’s behavior. (more)
Trouble With Reading Why do so many children have such a hard time learning to read? What is at stake for them? Who can help them? This revealing documentary makes the important connection between early trouble with reading and serious behavioral problems in the classroom. (more)
When the Bough Breaks Using hidden cameras, this film captures the interaction of three children with serious behavioral problems, and their parents. It shows how a whole family can be in turmoil if there is no intervention. (more)
Autism
Autism: A Strange, Silent World This sensitive film takes a comprehensive view of autism by focusing on three children of different ages, with different behavioral patterns. (more)
Behind the Curtain This informative documentary explores the possible origins of autism and the therapies developed for treatment. A broad spectrum of professionals share their views. (more)
The Child That You Do Have Shows a pioneering treatment which is based on the autistic child’s hypersensitivity to sound. The treatment combines auditory therapy and counseling. (more)
Nowhere You Are A portrait of a high functioning autistic young woman will sensitize viewers to the disorder. (more)
Reaching the Autistic Mind Autism, a neurological disorder, affects as many as one in 150 children in the U.S., yet is the least funded of disabilities. By following six families with autistic children for two years, this film takes us inside the world of autism specifically at the Eden II School, in Staten Island, New York. There, the filmmakers gained unique access to children like Sarah, Aaron and Benjamin, triplets who all showed severely autistic symptoms at eighteen months. (more)
A School for Robin Four year old Robin, who is autistic, has been mainstreamed into a normal school. This film follows his progress, as well as the satisfaction his teacher’s take in his achievement. (more)
Shattered Lives: Autism. A "life skill center" where parents and professionals struggle to communicate wit and elicit response, from autistic people. (more)
Native American Studies
How Can I Keep on Singing? This evocative film is a tribute to both the pioneering and Native American women in the West at the turn of the last century, based on the stories of Jana Harris, Mourning Dove and Jeannette Armstrong. (more)
The Right to Be A sixty-one year old Lakota from the Standing Rock Reservation, who has recently graduated N.Y.U. film school, returns to the reservation to produce honest, realistic portrayals of her people (more)
River People: Behind the Case of David Sohappy River People documents a timely issue -- the clash between an ancient culture and modern society. It is the story of David Sohappy, a Native American spiritual leader who became a symbol of resistance for indigenous people of the Northwest U.S. and beyond. (more)
Soop On Wheels The filmmaker captures the character of Everett Soop, a Blackfoot journalist and political cartoonist who has had to face the challenges of being both indigenous and disabled. (more)
The Sunrise Dance This unique and highly visual documentary shows an ancient, sacred Apache ceremony that has never before been filmed. The Sunrise Ceremony marks the passage from adolescence to adulthood for young Apache women. (more)
Thunderbird Woman: Winona LaDuke This is an inspiring portrait of Winona La Duke, a unique and dynamic activist and member of the Anishinaabe tribe from the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota. A published author, she was named one of America's fifty most promising leaders under forty years of age by Time Magazine.(more)
Whose Child Is This? After the Indian tribes were vanquished, the governments of the U.S. and Canada destroyed their cultures as well. For generations, youngsters were separated from their Indian parents and adopted by both well-meaning and exploitive adoptive families. This film reveals some of these complicated stories. (more)
Multicultural Studies
The Amish: Not to be Modern An exclusive portrait of a rarely-filmed religious community that separates itself from the world. It captures the day-to-day life of a people who have preserved their rural traditions. (more)
Amish Riddle This view of the Amish shows a dynamic people who have modified their rules so that they can prosper in commercial enterprises. Modern conveniences, such as telephones, that they shun at home they use in their businesses. (more)
Anatomy of A Springroll This charming film shows how the filmmaker, an immigrant from Vietnam, found a new life in America while preserving his cultural tradition through cooking, eating and sharing the rich and varied food of his homeland. First in trilogy, with Pins and Noodles and A Wok in Progress. (more)
And Thereafter This multi-festival film is a portrayal of the fortitude of an immigrant "war bride" in America. Seventy-six-year-old Young-Ja Wike is one of the 10,000 Korean women who married American G.I.s. after the war. For them marriage was the only escape from the crushing poverty of post-war Korea. (more)
Between Two Worlds: the Hmong Shaman in America Hmong refugees have been transplanted from mountain villages in Laos to cities in the U.S. The film shows how they practice their ancient shamanic rituals in urban America. (more)
Blue Collar & Buddha A sensitive study of a community of Laotian refugees in Rockford, Illinois, who are torn between preserving their cultural identity and adapting to their new life. (more)
The Chinatown Files. The first film to reveal the horrific impact of the McCarthy era on the Chinese-American community. (more)
Covered Girls Muslim-American girls are lively and full of fun -- despite wearing the traditional "hijab". How do they fare after 9/11? (more)
Despair. The first documentary to consider depression, the pervasive mood disorder, from multi-ethnic viewpoints. Psychiatrists, social workers and spiritual leaders emphasize the significance of recognizing cultural differences in clinical treatment. (more)
El Chogui A Mexican immigrant dreams of a better life for himself and his family (more)
Fighting Grandpa A sensitive and probing portrayal of Korean immigrant grandparents and their marriage through the brilliant use of home movies, photographs, and interviews. (more)
For Jackson: A Time Capsule from His Two Grandmothers Seven-year-old Jackson has light skin and curly hair and a remarkable heritage from both sides of his family. In this inspiring film, his two grandmothers from different racial, cultural and religious backgrounds, look back over lives to pass along to him their acquired wisdom. (more)
Geronimo: His Story A portrait of what it’s like to be an "illegal alien." Geronimo came to the U.S. not knowing a word of English, went to school by night, and sent money home to his family in Mexico. When he returns home for a visit, one sees how hopeless life is for those who have remained in his village. (more)
The Golden Cage: A Story of California’s Farmworkers The film chronicles the experiences of Mexican farmworkers and their isolation in a land of plenty. Historical footage and interviews trace the history of the United Farmworkers Union. (more)
Home from the Eastern Sea This is the story of the immigration of Chinese, Japanese and Filipinos to America. The film explores history through the personal stories of representative families. (more)
In the Land of Plenty This is a poignant portrait of the migrant farm worker from Mexico in the strawberry fields of Watsonville, CA. Undocumented, they have no way to protect themselves from exploitation. (more)
Little Brother, Little Sister Some people have very big hearts! We meet an Australian couple who have adopted several Ethiopian orphaned children. We see how they help the children overcome the pain of their past as they adjust to a new country. (more)
Living In America: A Hundred Years of Ybor City This film celebrates the long and rich tradition of Latin culture in a multicultural community in Florida which was founded on the cigar industry. (more)
Made in China Lisa Hsai grew up in Illinois, a typical American in an assimilated household. Chinese food was her only tie to her heritage. She takes us on her voyage to China where she is mistaken for a native citizen, but discovers her Asian roots. (more)
Mirjana: One Girl's Journey Having suffered during the Serbian invasion of Croatia, Mirjana, a high school student, was happy to find refuge with relatives in California. But once here, she found it hard to forget the family she left behind. (more)
Motherland: A Genetic Journey Descendants of slaves are now able to explore their African ancestry through DNA research. We meet several who have made emotional connections. (more)
Moving Mountains This is an intimate look at the Yiu Mien, South Asian refugees who originally settled in the Pacific Northwest. They had to leave Laos because of their involvement with the CIA. Their adjustment to modern American life has its problems. (more)
Mundo Milagroso In Texan communities along the Rio Grande, there is a vibrant mixture of Spanish Catholicism and Indian mysticism. Various saints and religious figures appear to the believers in the shape of everyday objects. (more)
My American Girls: A Dominican Story. This POV film is a lively portrait of a Dominican family in New York, who must straddle two cultures.(more)
Natives This multi-festival film captures the xenophobia of a number of Americans living in California along the U.S.-Mexican border. (more)
None of the Above This is a documentary about people of mixed racial heritage, based on the filmmaker’s own search for identity and community. We are given an inside view of the emotional reality of being racially unclassifiable in a society obsessed with race. (more)
North of 49 The burning of a Sikh temple in upstate New York is the starting point of this film about arson, forgiveness and healing in the post 9/11 world. (more)
Pins and Noodles The second film in the Springroll trilogy, this chronicles the filmmaker’s search through Asia for a cure for devastating allergies, which compromise his primal enjoyment of food. (more)
A Portrait of Mr. Pink This film captures Mr. Pink, a unique and creative individual, who moved from Jamaica to Britain in the fifties. Inspired by a mixture of dreams, memories of childhood and his religion, he adorned his Victorian mansion to recreate the vivid colors of the Carribbean. (more)
Precious Cargo. Operation Babylift in 1975 helped thousands of South Vietnamese children to escape to America where they were adopted . Now in their mid -20's, the adoptees return to their birthplace in search of their roots. (more)
Seoul II Soul Korean American filmmaker Hak J. Chung, explores his roots by documenting his very engaging family. His father is a black veteran of the Korean War. His mother was a Korean war bride. (more)
The Shot Heard Round the World. When a young Japanese exchange student was shot to death on Halloween by a suburban homeowner, the world was horrified by another tragic event resulting from racism and the U.S. gun culture. (more)
Skin Deep: The Science of Race. This CBC film addresses the question of whether there is a genetic definition of race or whether the basis for racism and prejudice is really only based on skin color. (more)
So Far From India Mira Nair's portrait of a family split between two worlds. The husband has come to America to seek his fortune, while his despairing wife is left ashamed and dependent on her in-laws for support. (more)
A Sound Education. Dr. Chen Ho Yun is a gifted violinist who teaches violin after school to young people in South Central L.A. This charming film shows children from the ghetto taking pride in their accomplishment in learning a challenging instrument.(more)
Spirit Doctors In the Mexican American community around the Rio Grande, folk healing is still an established practice. This film follows three healers, or curandera, as they use a variety of spiritual and herbal techniques. (more)
The Split Horn Seen through the eyes of his 14-year-old daughter, a Hmong Shaman, grapples with life in America. (more)
The Struggle for Identity This powerful video focuses on issues of race, culture and identity in families in which there have been transracial adoptions (more)
That Old Gang of Mine Using archival footage and interviews, the filmmaker creates a multi-layered portrait of growing up in New York’s El Barrio in the ‘30s and ‘40s (more)
Thunderbird Woman: Winona LaDuke This is an inspiring portrait of Winona La Duke, a unique and dynamic activist and member of the Anishinaabe tribe from the White Earth reservation in Northern Minnesota. A published author, she was named one of America's fifty most promising leaders under forty years of age by Time Magazine.(more)
Turbans An award-winning short drama of an Asian Indian immigrant family torn between their traditions and assimilation (more)
Under the Willow Tree Using old photographs and interviews, this film tells the remarkable tale of the courageous Asian women who left their families and all that was familiar to settle in the New World and marry men they had never met. The men had come to build the transcontinental railroad. The film is a testimony to the strength, resourcefulness and dignity of these women. (more)
Viva Bengali This charming film contrasts ideas of marriage, courtship and divorce between generations and cultures. It follows Hindu Smita Acharyya and Catholic Remi Boudreau who, in order to escape the complications of a large, family wedding, decided to elope to Las Vegas. But they can¹t escape, and are married again, in a Bengali style wedding arranged by Smita¹s mother. (more)
With Us or Against Us When the Soviets invaded Afghanistan in the late 1970’s, many Afghans fled, leaving behind homes, possessions and sometimes family members. Those Afghans who took refuge in the United States came to treasure the freedom and economic opportunities offered by their new country. After September 11th, these Afghan-Americans found themselves caught in a cultural crossfire as their adoptive homeland was at war with their native land. (more)
Who Killed Vincent Chin? Nominated for an Academy Award this documentary makes a powerful statement about racism in working class America. Twenty-seven year old Vincent Chin was brutally murdered in a fight with a Detroit auto worker, who was at first let off with a suspended sentence and a small fine. The Chinese American successfully community rallied for justice. (more)
A Wok in Progress The third in the Springroll trilogy, this film interweaves a love of food with cultural and psychic survival (more)
Yellow Tale Blues The producers of Who Killed Vincent Chin? turn their cameras on their own families to make this inventive documentary on ethnic stereotypes. Clips from Hollywood movies reveal nearly a century of disparaging images. (more)
Lesbian, Gay And Gender Issues
Because This is About Love: A Portrait of Gay and Lesbian Marriage This is a touching profile of five lesbian and gay couples from multicultural backgrounds who have made a life long commitment to each other by going through a marriage ceremony. (more)
Class Queers High school kids who are gay and lesbian assert their identity with pride, but some are faced with parental rejection. (more).
Coming Out Lesbian and gay teenagers share their stories of coming out to friends and family. (more)
Dads Wanted Because gay and lesbian parents have broken the traditional family mold, they have even more choices to make. How will they get a child? Who will be the designated parents? How will they define each parents' role? Will their children have a difficult time socially? (more)
Family Values: An American Tragedy This intensely personal film documents lesbian videomaker Pam Walton's attempt to reconcile with her long estranged homophobic father, and discover what "family" means to her. (more)
Gay Youth This is the first video to explore the emotional strain placed on gay youth by intense feelings of isolation. This documentary has been designed to break the silence surrounding adolescent homosexuality. (more)
Looking for Common Ground: One School's Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights The film gives voice to the gay and lesbian high school students in Westhampton, Massachusetts after the state enacted an anti-discrimination law establishing their rights. It allows us to hear articulate testimony from all sides of the controversy. (more)
Our Mom's a Dyke This is a charming documentary about adolescent girls who had to deal with an unexpected complication in their suburban life: their mother announces that she was a lesbian. (
