America ReFramed

THURSDAYS 8/7c

America ReFramed brings to life compelling stories, personal voices and experiences that illuminate the contours of our ever-changing country. Since 2012, the anthology series has premiered 170 films from more than 370 filmmakers - more than half were helmed by female filmmakers and a third are credited to BIPOC filmmakers. The series has centered the stories of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, veterans, seniors, immigrants and people from a myriad of backgrounds.

Episodes

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About Season 12

America ReFramed brings to life compelling stories, personal voices and experiences that illuminate the contours of our ever-changing country. The The award-winning series will showcase documentaries focusing on a generation of filmmakers and artists using self-expression to challenge the definition of culture in an ever-evolving America.

Episode

The Cost of Inheritance

THE COST OF INHERITANCE, an America ReFramed special, explores the complex issue of reparations in the U.S. using a thoughtful approach to history, historical injustices, systemic inequities, and critical dialogue on racial conciliation. Through personal narratives, community inquiries, and scholarly insights, it aims to inspire understanding of the scope and rationale of the reparations debate.
Episode

A Woman on the Outside

After watching nearly every man in her life disappear into prison, Kristal Bush channels her struggle into reuniting other Philadelphia families divided by incarceration. But when her father and brother come home after decades behind bars, she confronts the greatest challenge yet - can she unite her own family without losing herself?
Episode

What These Walls Won't Hold

Transcending the grim realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, Adamu Chan's WHAT THESE WALLS WON'T HOLD paints a portrait of resilience and hope blossoming within San Quentin State Prison. Chan, formerly incarcerated himself, offers an insider's view delving into his own journey towards freedom, while amplifying the voices of his community and their loved ones on both sides of the prison walls.
Preview

Hundreds of Thousands

In HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS, a family reeling from the unjust incarceration of an ailing mentally ill loved one, calls on their faith and the strength of community to right a systemic wrong. Music, love and creativity are used to permeate the isolation of a solitary confinement cell, and a public performance on prison grounds is used to challenge the state to do better.
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In Search of Bengali Harlem

As a teen, Alaudin Ullah was swept up by the energy of hip-hop and rebelled against his Bangladeshi roots. Now a playwright contending with post-9/11 Hollywood’s Islamophobia, he sets out to tell his parents’ stories. IN SEARCH OF BENGALI HARLEM tracks his quest from mid-20th-century Harlem to Bangladesh, unveiling intertwined histories of South Asian Muslims, African Americans, and Puerto Ricans.

About Season 11

The award-winning series AMERICA REFRAMED brings to life compelling stories, personal voices and experiences that illuminate the contours of our ever-changing country. The eleventh season will showcase documentaries focusing on a generation of filmmakers and artists using self-expression to challenge the definition of culture in an ever-evolving America.

Short

Big Chief, Black Hawk

Big Chief Tee is a high school senior and the youngest Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief in New Orleans. During COVID-19, he and the Black Hawk Hunters navigate the impacts of gentrification and systemic racism on their annual masking tradition. Through haute couture, movement, and words, BIG CHIEF, BLACK HAWK celebrates the beauty and resilience of “the culture” even in the face of crisis and change.
Episode

The Death of My Two Fathers

After 20 years, Sol Guy finally watches his late father’s tapes and embarks on a personal journey of healing and reconciliation. At once a conversation between past and present and a letter to Sol’s children, THE DEATH OF MY TWO FATHERS reveals the complexities of identity, the persistence of racial trauma, the challenges of fatherhood -- and the liberation that exists in facing our own mortality.
Short

A Decent Home

When housing on the lowest rung of the American dream is being devoured by the wealthiest of the wealthy, whose dream are we serving? A DECENT HOME, directed by Sara Terry, addresses urgent issues of class and economic (im)mobility through the lives of mobile home park residents who can’t afford housing anywhere else.
Short

Blurring the Color Line

BLURRING THE COLOR LINE follows director Crystal Kwok as she unpacks the history behind her grandmother’s family, who were neighborhood grocery store owners in the Black community of Augusta, Georgia during the Jim Crow era. By centering women’s experiences, Kwok poses critical questions around the intersections of anti-Black racism, white power, and Chinese patriarchy in the American South.
Episode

From Here

“Where are you really from?” Inspired by a young generation’s creative response to this loaded question, FROM HERE follows artists and activists from immigrant families coming of age in an era of rising xenophobia and political turmoil. Set in New York and Berlin, the film shows them create families, fight for citizenship, make art and forge identities, while redefining what it means to belong.
Episode

Running with My Girls

Tired of watching local government ignore their communities’ interests, five diverse female activists run for municipal office in Denver - one of the U.S.’s fastest gentrifying cities. A story about an engaged community outrunning the deep pockets of the political establishment, RUNNING WITH MY GIRLS demonstrates that building a new kind of political power is not just aspirational but possible.
Episode

No Time to Fail

Rhode Island's local election administrators and poll workers work around the clock to secure the vote for their community during the 2020 election -- midst an onslaught of attacks from a sitting President and the deadly threat of a global pandemic. Once invisible to the general public, NO TIME TO FAIL spotlights election administrators as the ground zero of American democracy.
Preview

Town Destroyer

TOWN DESTROYER probes a passionate dispute over historic murals at a public high school depicting the life of George Washington: slaveowner, General, land speculator, President, and a man Seneca leaders called “town destroyer.” The controversy becomes a touchstone for a national debate over public art and historic memory in a time of racial reckoning.
Preview

By Water

BY WATER follows an unlikely hero's journey into his memories, which transform into a vehicle for reconciliation and healing. Based on a true story, the film was written and inspired by Iyabo Kwayana’s experience with her brother. Upon receiving an unexpected voicemail from him after his disappearance, Kwayana heeded her brother’s message and created this film as a way to “complete” his story.

About Season 10

The tenth season of AMERICA REFRAMED brings to life compelling stories, personal voices and experiences that illuminate the contours of our ever-changing country. Since 2012, the series has premiered 170 films - centering stories of the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, the incarcerated and formerly incarcerated, veterans, seniors, immigrants and people from a myriad of backgrounds.

Episode

Fannie Lou Hamer's America

Fannie Lou Hamer's America is a portrait of a civil rights activist and the injustices in America that made her work essential. Through public speeches, personal interviews, and powerful songs of the fearless Mississippi sharecropper-turned-human-rights-activist, Fannie Lou Hamer's America explores and celebrates the lesser-known life of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders.
Episode

For the Love of Rutland

An attempt to bring Syrian refugees to invigorate the economically struggling and predominantly white town of Rutland, VT unleashes deep partisan rancor. Despite a lifetime of feeling invalidated and shamed for her poverty and addiction, long-time Rutland resident, Stacie, emerges as an unexpected and resilient leader in a town divided by class, cultural values and political leanings.
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Sapelo

On Sapelo island, two young brothers, JerMarkest and Jonathan, are coming of age in the last remaining enclave of the Saltwater Geechee. As Sapelo’s storyteller and elder matriarch, their adoptive mother, Cornelia Walker Bailey, works to preserve what remains of her African-American community in the face of encroachment by property developers.
Preview

Daughter of a Lost Bird

Kendra, a Native adoptee, grew up assimilated in a loving, white family with little connection to her heritage. Now, as an adult with a family of her own, Kendra embarks on a seven year journey to find her biological mother, April, and return to her Lummi homeland. Together, Kendra and April, also a Native adoptee, navigate what it means to be Native and to belong to a tribe from the outside.
Episode

Geographies of Kinship

GEOGRAPHIES OF KINSHIP weaves together the complex personal histories of four adult adoptees born in South Korea with the rise of the country’s global adoption program. Raised in foreign families, each adoptee sets out on a journey to reconnect with their roots, mapping the geographies of kinship that bind them to a homeland they never knew.
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Chinatown Rising

Weaving together never-before-seen archival footage and photographs, CHINATOWN RISING reveals a deeply personal portrait of a San Francisco neighborhood in transition. Chinatown activists of the 1960s reflect on their years as young residents waging battles for bilingual education, tenants’ rights and ethnic studies curriculum that would shape their community and nation.
Episode

Any Given Day

Filmmaker Margaret Byrne follows three formerly incarcerated Chicagoans as they manage their respective mental illnesses while searching for stability in their families, friendships, jobs and housing. While documenting the challenges that are faced at the intersections of a punitive carceral system, poverty and substance use, Byrne reckons with her own history of mental illness.
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La Manplesa: An Uprising Remembered

On May 5th, 1991, people took to the streets of Washington D.C.’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood to protest the police shooting of a young Salvadoran man, Daniel Gomez. Through testimony, song, poetry, and street theater, LA MANPLESA: An Uprising Remembered weaves together the collective memory of one of D.C.’s first barrios and dives into the roots of the '91 rebellion.
Episode

Kid Candidate

A viral joke video catapults Hayden Pedigo – a 24-year-old artist and musician in Amarillo, TX – into the spotlight and prompts him to make a surprise bid for city council. With his goal of upending the status quo and ousting corrupt incumbent politicians, KID CANDIDATE follows Pedigo’s unorthodox campaign while unpacking issues of race, income inequality and gentrification in small-town America.

About Season 9

The ninth season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of independent films that brings to audiences compelling stories which illuminate the changing contours of our ever-evolving country. The documentary series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future.

Preview

The Area

THE AREA is the odyssey of a South Side Chicago neighborhood, where hundreds of Black American families are being expelled from their homes by a multi-billion-dollar freight company. The documentary film follows homeowner-turned-activist Deborah Payne, who vows to be "the last house standing," as she and her neighbors fight the displacement that looms ahead.
Preview

Pahokee

In the rural town of Pahokee, four teenagers experience the joys and heartbreaks of their last year in high school. This tightly knit community in the Florida everglades struggles with financial insecurity and pin their hopes for the future on their graduating seniors.
Episode

The Falconer

One of only a handful of African American falconers in the country, Rodney Stotts is on a mission to build a bird sanctuary and provide access to nature for his stressed community. This is a story of second chances: for injured birds of prey, for an abandoned plot of land, for a group of teenagers who have dropped out of high school, and for Rodney himself.
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Busy Inside

Through personal stories, BUSY INSIDE delves deeply into Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) - formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder. A respected therapist specializing in the condition's treatment, and her patients, confront past trauma and embrace their different personalities.
Episode

Bring It Home

BRING IT HOME tells the story of five families at a crossroads after the closing of the GM Lordstown auto plant. GM's decision forced thousands to decide between transferring out-of-state or staying put. If they stay, they risk loss of employment and benefits. As families wrestle these tough choices, they are left wondering why a company recording billions in profits is shuttering factories.
Preview

The Place That Makes Us

A quintessential post-industrial American city is seen through the efforts of a new generation. This film is an inspiring portrait of the people of Youngstown, Ohio who have chosen not to abandon their hometown, but to stay, rebuild and make a life for themselves. THE PLACE THAT MAKES US is a powerful testament of the resilience and dedication it takes to change a community.
Preview

Sisters Rising

Native American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience sexual assault than all other American women, and 86% of the offenses are committed by non-Native men. SISTERS RISING follows six women who refuse to let this pattern of violence continue in the shadows. Their stories shine an unflinching light on righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.
Episode

Far East Deep South

Charles Chiu and his family’s search for their roots takes them on an eye-opening journey through the Mississippi Delta, uncovering otherwise unknown stories and the racially complex history of Chinese immigrants in the segregated South. This Chinese American family’s unforgettable story offers a poignant and important perspective on race relations, immigration and American identity.
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Curtain Up!

In New York City's Chinatown, the theater club of PS 124 is staging an adaptation of the film "Frozen.” As the 5th graders gear up and rehearse for the musical production, nervous excitement and flubbed lines brush up against cultural stereotypes, family expectations, and post-graduation uncertainties. CURTAIN UP! shares a kid’s-eye view of the wonders of discovering art, culture and identity.
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Hamtramck, USA

Once known as a Polish Catholic town, Hamtramck, MI is now home to America’s first Muslim-majority city. As election season approaches, candidates set out to win hearts, minds and votes in this rapidly changing city. Going behind the scenes of small-town politics, HAMTRAMCK, USA explores the beauty and challenges that come with multiculturalism.
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Meltdown in Dixie

In the wake of the 2015 Charleston Massacre, a battle erupts in Orangeburg, South Carolina between the Sons of Confederate Veterans and an ice cream shop owner forced to fly the Confederate flag in his parking lot. MELTDOWN IN DIXIE explores the broader role of Confederate symbolism in 21st century America and the lingering racial oppression which these symbols help maintain.
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Jack & Yaya

From a young age, Yaya and Jack saw each other as they truly were, a girl and a boy, even though most of the world didn’t see them that way. As they grew older, they supported each other as they both came out as transgender. JACK & YAYA follows these two friends for a year and explores their unique, thirty-year relationship.
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Five Years North

FIVE YEARS NORTH is the story of America's immigration system through the eyes of Luis and Judy. Luis is an undocumented Guatemalan boy who arrives alone in New York City with little support and many responsibilities. Judy is a veteran ICE agent with Cuban American and Puerto Rican roots, who must weigh the human cost of her work against the future her family would face without her paycheck.
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Hayden & Her Family

The Currys are raising twelve children, five of whom are adopted from overseas and have special needs. One of those children is Hayden, a young girl from China born with linear nevus sebaceous syndrome. Hayden becomes the thread to this intimate adoption journey as she, her new parents, and her siblings experience the complexities, jealousies and joy of becoming a family.
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Brooklyn Inshallah

Father Khader El-Yateem, is campaigning to be New York City's first Arab American councilman. As a Lutheran Pastor and Palestinian American, El-Yateem's bid to make history reveals the aspirations and divisions of his multicultural district. With the support of local organizers and activists, including Aber Kawas and Linda Sarsour, can he bring his community together to win the race?

About Season 8

The eighth season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of independent films that brings to audiences compelling stories which illuminate the changing contours of our ever-evolving country. The documentary series presents an array of personal voices and experiences through which we learn from our past, understand our present and are challenged to seek new frameworks for America’s future.

Episode

Where the Pavement Ends

Transporting viewers to Missouri towns - then all-Black Kinloch and the all-white community of Ferguson, examining the shared histories and deep racial divides affecting both. Through recordings, photographs and recollections, WHERE THE PAVEMENT ENDS draws parallels between a 1960s dispute over a physical barricade erected between the towns and the 2014 shooting death by police of Michael Brown.
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Jaddoland

JADDOLAND is an intimate portrait of the work and process of visual artist Lahib Jaddo while offering a fresh look at the immigrant story in America. Through an exploration of Jaddo's art and connections to her life in Texas, the film also drafts a unique picture of how art can help both the creator and the audience make sense of familial and cultural connections, loss, perseverance and life.
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Tutwiler

TUTWILER takes audiences into Alabama’s only maximum security women’s penitentiary, Julia Tutwiler Prison, and explores the Alabama Prison Birth Project, helping expectant and new mothers learn childbirth and parenting skills while dealing with the pain of being separated from their children.
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Little Miss Westie

A loving and insightful portrait of two transgender siblings - Luca and Ren - and their parents, set in the changing social climate following the 2016 presidential election. LITTLE MISS WESTIE takes audiences behind the scenes as the family navigates puberty, school, dating and more as the children begin living in their authentic genders and Ren participates in the Lil’ Miss Westie Pageant.
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Vision Portraits

Acclaimed director Rodney Evans takes viewers on a personal journey as he ponders how the deterioration of his vision will impact his life and work as a filmmaker. Interviewing blind and low vision artists - a photographer, a dancer and a writer - Evans embarks on a quest to learn how other artists have continued to create art and how their journeys might serve as inspiration for his own.
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First Vote

With unparalleled access to a diverse cross section of politically engaged Chinese Americans, FIRST VOTE offers a character-driven verité look at Chinese American electoral organizing in North Carolina and Ohio. The film weaves their stories from the presidential election of 2016 to the 2018 midterms, and explores the intersections between immigration, voting rights and racial justice.
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Blood Memory

For Sandy White Hawk, the story of America’s Indian Adoption Era is not one of saving children but of destroying families and tribes. As an adoption survivor, Sandy sets out to reclaim the missing pieces of her stolen past only to discover that her’s was not an isolated case. BLOOD MEMORY explores the communal healing that is sparked by the return of this stolen generation.
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The Blessing

A Navajo coal miner, Lawrence, raises his secretive daughter as a single father, while struggling with his part in the irreversible destruction of his tribe’s sacred mountain. This deep spiritual sacrifice has caused him decades of emotional turmoil while providing for his family. Meanwhile, his daughter Caitlin searches for her inner identity amidst the expectations of her traditional father.

About Season 7

The seventh season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from towns big and small to the exurbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. These documentaries invite audiences to reflect on varied topics.

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Saving Brinton

History teacher Mike Zahs uncovers a trove of 19th century showreels of one of America's first motion picture impresarios, William Franklin Brinton. Zahs sets out to restore these showreels and present them to today’s audiences. In this portrait of an unlikely Midwestern folk hero, SAVING BRINTON offers a meditation on the legacy of illusionist Frank Brinton, and the magic of living history.
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Pyne Poynt

The youth of Camden, NJ, one of America’s poorest cities, don’t know who to fear more - the police or the violent drug dealers. Bryan Morton leads a charge to reclaim Pyne Poynt Park as a safe space for little league teams and the community. Against all odds, Morton rallies an array of stakeholders and transforms Pyne Poynt into a field of dreams where the youth can play freely in the field.
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Detroit 48202: Conversations Along a Postal Route

DETROIT 48202: CONVERSATIONS ALONG A POSTAL ROUTE explores the rise, demise and contested resurgence of the "motor city" through a multi-generational choir of voices who reside in mail carrier Wendell Watkins’s work route. Blamed for the devastation - disinvestment to bankruptcy - but determined to survive, the community offers creative solutions to re-imagine a more inclusive and equitable city.
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Struggle & Hope

Following the Civil War, all-Black towns emerged in what is now modern-day Oklahoma. Initially founded in an effort to convince the U.S. to create an all-Black state, only a few towns cling heroically to life. STRUGGLE & HOPE gives voice to the stories of the last remaining residents, while charting their fight to ensure their towns retain independence, character and hope for a better future.
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Late Blossom Blues

Born in Mississippi, Leo “Bud” Welch’s recording and touring career begins at the age of 81. With the support of his dedicated manager, veteran Vencie Varnad, Leo’s Blues career takes him to festivals across the South and all the way to Austria. With just a handful of Bluesmen left in the U.S., LATE BLOSSOM BLUES offers a glimpse into the daily life of one of America’s musical treasures.
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Exit Music

Although medical interventions have kept him alive well beyond his prognosis of cystic fibrosis, 28-year-old Ethan Rice and his family live in constant uncertainty and everyday question how long they can go on fighting. In a culture that often looks away from death, EXIT MUSIC explores the intimate and complex path of terminal illness. What will Ethan’s absence mean to those he leaves behind?
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Death of a Child

Parents recount in disbelief the unimaginable trauma of forgetting their children in the car and being responsible for their deaths. Through their honest and personal stories, DEATH OF A CHILD provides insight into what it means to live with what they have done. These tragedies carry social stigma but talk about responsibility, parenting, stigmatization and shame ultimately lead to forgiveness.
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Nailed It

In virtually every city, state and strip mall across the U.S., women get their nails done in salons likely owned by Vietnamese entrepreneurs. How did this community come to dominate an $8 billion dollar nail economy? NAILED IT takes viewers from Los Angeles to the Bronx to meet the people behind this booming and sometimes controversial industry.
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Circle Up

After the brutal slaying of her teenage son, Janet Connors reaches out to her son’s killers to offer forgiveness. She establishes a connection with one of them in the hopes that their bond will help him turn his life around. Inspired by Native American tradition, Janet and other mothers of murdered children form peacemaking circles to help young people break the chain of violence and revenge.
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Councilwoman

Carmen Castillo is a first-term city councilwoman who maintains her job as a hotel housekeeper. She advocates for the working families in her community and leads the charge of the Fight for $15 Providence, RI. A grueling reelection campaign brings new challenges to the homefront. Through it all, she stays true to her vision for justice and equity to prove that “she can do it!” Will she succeed?
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The Unafraid

Banned from attending Georgia’s top five public universities and from paying in-state tuition at other public colleges in the state, DACA students like Alejandro, Silvia, and Aldo unite through their activist work with an immigrants’ rights group. A humanizing portrait of the undocumented, we learn of their struggles as working families support their children in pursuit of their dreams.
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Intelligent Lives

INTELLIGENT LIVES follows three young adults with intellectual disabilities: Micah, Naieer and Naomie, who, with the support of family, educators and colleagues, work toward a future marked with increased inclusion and independence. Their lives challenge staid notions of intelligence as they navigate high school, college and the workforce. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor, Chris Cooper.
Episode

Perfectly Normal For Me

Alexandria, Jake, Caitlin and Veronica reveal what it’s like to live with physical disabilities. Their parents search out opportunities where they are accepted and feel valued, such as a dance program in Queens, NY. With the help of a loving community, the students prepare for a spring recital. Throughout all, they become eloquent advocates for the powers of inclusion, respect and empathy.
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Surviving Home

Over 20 million U.S. military veterans have put their lives on the line in service to their country. But for many, surviving war is just the beginning. SURVIVING HOME uncovers a detrimental gap between military veterans and the civilian populace they protected, while also exposing a culture of silence that prevents many of them from talking about their experiences in war.

About Season 6

The sixth season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from towns big and small to the exurbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. These documentaries invite audiences to reflect on varied topics.

Preview

Gentlemen of Vision

GENTLEMEN OF VISION follows a year in the life of coach, counselor and founder Marlon Wharton, and his class of young Black males as he strives to rewrite future prospects for his students. Witness a brotherhood of young men as they support each other and chase their ultimate dreams: to maintain their position as national step champions and to be accepted into college.
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For Ahkeem

Expelled from high school, Daje Shelton is only 17 years old when she is sentenced by a judge - not to prison, but to the Innovative Concept Academy. It offers Daje one last chance to earn a high school diploma. FOR AHKEEM is an unvarnished exploration of a complex web of juvenile justice, education, poverty and race in America today.
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Agents of Change

AGENTS OF CHANGE examines the racial conditions on college campuses across the U.S. in the late 1960s, focusing on student demands at two seminal protests: San Francisco State in 1968 and Cornell University in 1969. Many of the same demands are surfacing in campus protests today, revealing the intersections America continue to face.
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100 Years: One Woman's Fight for Justice

Elouise Cobell's relentless pursuit of justice led her to find remedy for over half a million Native American account holders whose funds were held by the U.S. government in trust for a century. 100 YEARS: ONE WOMAN'S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE is the compelling story of this little known hero, and petite Blackfeet warrior, and how she prevailed.
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The Invisible Patients

Through the story of Jessica Macleod, a dedicated nurse practitioner, and her four homebound patients, THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS sheds light on some of the most urgent healthcare issues facing the country today. It challenges us to wrestle with healthcare policy, and as importantly, asks how to care for all persons with dignity and respect.
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MILWAUKEE 53206

MILWAUKEE 53206 introduces viewers to a community with the highest rate of incarcerated African American men. The film unfolds through the stories of postal code 53206 residents directly impacted by imprisonment: Beverly Walker and her husband Baron, Chad Wilson, and Dennis Walton, who is creating a support system for men seeking re-entry.
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Beyond the Wall

BEYOND THE WALL revolves around former prisoner Louie Diaz as he works to guide formerly incarcerated men safely through the minefield of life outside of jail. By helping others, Louie is able to maintain his own sobriety and preserve his freedom. But for those with little to no support from the criminal justice system, how will they find hope?
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The Corridor

San Francisco’s Five Keys Charter School: the first high school of its kind in the U.S. designed to provide incarcerated adults the opportunity to earn a high school diploma to prepare them for successful reintegration into their communities. THE CORRIDOR invites viewers to ask: is education the first step along the pathway to restorative justice?
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Through the Repellent Fence

THROUGH THE REPELLENT FENCE follows the creation of a two-mile long ephemeral art installation by Native Americans artists Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martínez and Kade L. Twist, known as "Postcommodity." Their piece "Repellent Fence" installs floating balloons north and south of the border to represent a metaphorical "stitching" together of the United States and Mexico.
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Finding Kukan

Filmmaker Robin Lung documents her seven-year journey to uncover the efforts of Li Ling-Ai, the visionary but uncredited producer of the Academy® Award-winning documentary 'Kukan.' FINDING KUKAN is a portrait of the pioneer, and sheds a light on the longstanding underrepresentation of women and people of color in the movie-making business.
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Random Acts of Legacy

Finding a cache of deteriorating 16mm home movies spanning from 1936 to 1951, Ali Kazimi deftly crafts a story of history and memory. RANDOM ACTS OF LEGACY reveals a rare portrait of a creative and enterprising Chinese American family in middle America during the Depression, and offers a counter-narrative to the stereotypes of Chinese Americans.
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Who is Arthur Chu?

WHO IS ARTHUR CHU? follows the 11-time Jeopardy! winner. By using an unconventional game strategy, the former insurance analyst amassed both fans and haters on Twitter. To put his 15 minutes of fame to good use, Arthur aspires to become a public figure to address racism and sexism with his posture debunking the “model” Asian American stereotype.
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Bidder 70

Fueled by a desire to safeguard thousands of acres of pristine land near national parks, Tim DeChristopher outbid industry giants and disrupted a controversial oil and gas lease auction as bidder #70. BIDDER 70 traces Tim’s rise from concerned citizen and student of economics at the University of Utah to climate justice activist and leader.
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Personal Statement

PERSONAL STATEMENT follows three high school seniors from Brooklyn intent on defying the odds for themselves and their classmates by becoming the very resource they don't have for themselves: peer college counselors. The film weaves together their individual struggles, family life, and highs and lows of their respective college application processes.
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Charlie vs Goliath

Former Catholic priest Charlie Hardy is 75 years old and has no money or political experience. But none of that dissuades him from running for the U.S. Senate in his home state of Wyoming. Can Charlie, his principles and courage, and his ragtag group of young volunteers sustain their grassroots campaign and shake up the political establishment?
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Island Soldier

Follow the Nena family as they grieve the loss of their son - his death in Afghanistan makes waves through the community where nearly everyone is connected to the U.S. military. Known as a "recruiter's paradise," Micronesia contributes a disproportionate number of soldiers to the armed forces, who cannot receive benefits...yet young men leave their families behind in pursuit of the American Dream.
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Moroni for President

Every four years, the Navajo Nation elects its president, whom many consider the most powerful Native American. Moroni Benally, a witty LGBTQ candidate with radical ideas, hopes to defeat the incumbent president. Fraught with challenges, Moroni soon discovers that theory and a platform does not necessarily prepare you for the daily dirt of politics and the unpredictability of voter’s choice.
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There Are Jews Here

THERE ARE JEWS HERE follows the untold stories of four once thriving American Jewish communities that are now barely holding on. Struggling with aging congregants and dwindling interest, families are moving to larger cities with more robust congregations. A portrait of people who are doing their part to keep the Jewish spirit alive, the film celebrates religious diversity in smalltown America.
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Winter at Westbeth

The residents of Westbeth Artists Housing of NYC are immersed in their art practice as though there is no tomorrow: Edith hopes to complete an experimental film for her birthday, Dudley rehearses for an electrifying return to the stage, and Ilsa candidly weaves her breast cancer experience into her work. WINTER AT WESTBETH captures inspirational stories about aging and the need to keep creating.

About Season 5

The fifth season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from towns big and small to the exurbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. Featuring roundtable discussions moderated by host Natasha Del Toro.

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A New Color - The Art of Being Edythe Boone

The life and work of self-taught artist Edythe Boone. Filmed over five years, follow the spirited and captivating septuagenarian who became an artist/activist simply because empowering and building community is “the right thing to do.” Ultimately, Boone’s mission is to empower individuals and transform communities through art and activism.
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70 Acres in Chicago: Cabrini Green

Exploring the effects of the Plan for Transformation, an order requiring the demolition of Chicago’s public housing high rises, and the building of mixed-income condominiums. 70 ACRES IN CHICAGO illuminates the layers of socio-economic forces, and the questions behind urban redevelopment and gentrification taking place in U.S. cities today.
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Radical Grace

In 2012, The Vatican censured American nuns. RADICAL GRACE follows three U.S. nuns, who refused to back down and continued to challenge the patriarchal system, are willing to lose it all and risk their place within the Catholic Church for their devotion to social justice and to meet their higher calling - to apply their faith to action.
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Enter the Faun

The culmination of an intensive two-year collaboration between Tamar Rogoff and Gregg Mozgala, a young actor with cerebral palsy. Fascinated by Gregg’s unique physicality, Tamar was inspired to choreograph “Diagnosis of a Faun.” Their creative exploration, at the intersection of science and art, led them to challenge the limitations associated with disability.
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Good Luck Soup

For filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi, growing up half Japanese/half Italian in a white Irish-Catholic neighborhood in Cleveland, OH, was a difficult experience. In GOOD LUCK SOUP, Hashiguchi sets out on a journey to discover how the rest of his multi-racial family made sense of their lives and their Japanese American heritage. Surprisingly, he finds a role model in his elderly Japanese grandmother.
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Unbroken Glass

At six-years-old, filmmaker Dinesh Sabu lost both of his parents. Two decades later, worried that he has no memories of his mother and father, he turns a camera on his siblings, trying to understand their parent’s lives and tragic deaths. It's a journey that takes him back to India, a country he barely knows, and it forces him to think about the mental illness that seems to run in his family.
Short

Breathin': The Eddy Zheng Story

Eddy Zheng came to America with his family when he was 12 years old. Then at the age of 16, he committed a horrible crime: home invasion and kidnapping. Year after year he hoped for parole, and after almost 20 years in prison, Zheng was released, a model prisoner who wanted to become a community leader. But his victims insisted he should still be deported.
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Vegas Baby

The Sher Institute in Las Vegas is holding a contest. First prize: a free round of in-vitro fertilization – but even for the winners, there’s no guarantee of success. VEGAS BABY follows the journeys of three families so desperate to have a child, they’re willing to take the gamble. This may be their last chance to have a baby.
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Oxyana

Set among the hills and hollers of Appalachia, Oceana, WV looks like a rural paradise. But this community is under siege: a raging epidemic of prescription drug abuse is so deadly that residents have nicknamed the town “OXYANA.” A close-up look at people who live from one pill to the next, and a harrowing vision of today’s AnyTown, USA.
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Care

90% of Americans want to age at home, but many of them have to rely on paid care workers because their families can’t provide the support they need. On America ReFramed, CARE illuminates the many challenges and deep attachments that can be formed between the elderly and the home care workers they depend on - and exposes the cracks in a system that is poorly serving both.
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Night School

Every year, over a million students drop out of high school. They may complete their graduate equivalency degrees, but then they discover they’re still struggling to get good jobs. For some in Indianapolis, there’s another option: a night school program that will get them their full high school diploma – if they can complete a tough curriculum that includes algebra and biology.
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We Breathe Again

Suicide - one of the leading causes of death for Alaska Natives. Almost every family has lost brothers, sisters, parents, and children to it. WE BREATHE AGAIN introduces four Alaska Natives who are trying to break free from histories of trauma and suicide, creating a new, more positive trail for their communities.
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Farewell Ferris Wheel

Carnivals have a delightful place in the American imagination, with childhood memories of family fun, fantasy, and summer love. But rising expenses and changes in U.S. labor patterns mean this national pastime is nearly extinct. FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL is an inside look at the struggles of an industry trying to stay alive by employing Mexican migrant workers with a controversial visa.
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Deej

DEEJ is the story of DJ Savarese, a gifted, young writer and advocate for nonspeaking autistics. Once a “profoundly disabled” foster kid on a fast track to nowhere, DJ is now a first-year college student who insists on standing up for his peers: people who are dismissed as incompetent because they are neurologically diverse. Will Deej be able to find freedom for himself and others like himself?
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On a Knife Edge

ON A KNIFE EDGE is the coming-of-age story of George Dull Knife, a Lakota teen growing up on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. The film traces George’s path to activism, inspired by his family’s history of fighting for justice for Native Americans. His focus: shutting down liquor stores in Whiteclay, a tiny town nearby that exists only to sell beer to the reservation’s vulnerable population.

About Season 4

The fourth season of AMERICA REFRAMED curates a diverse selection of films highlighting innovative and artistic approaches to storytelling from emerging and veteran filmmakers alike. Viewers will be immersed in personal stories from towns big and small to the exurbs and country roads that span the spectrum of American life. Featuring roundtable discussions moderated by host Natasha Del Toro.

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Old South

In a classic tale of two cities, OLD SOUTH delivers a quiet yet emotionally charged portrait of two communities living on one block. Steeped in history – one black, one white – each strives to keep their respective legacies relevant in a changing American South.
Preview

American Arab

“Why is being an Arab suddenly the opposite of being a decent man?” Throughout AMERICAN ARAB, Iraqi-American Director Usama Alshaibi explores what it’s like to occupy the ‘space in between’ as a hyphenated American, specifically of Arab origin, during the surge of anti-Muslim sentiment that arose in post 9/11 America.
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The Mosque in Morgantown

THE MOSQUE IN MORGANTOWN is an observational documentary that follows Asra Nomani’s early activism and backlash within her W. Virginia mosque, telling a story about competing paths to social change, American identity and the nature of religion itself. Though not always politically correct, the film reveals a truth that may surprise many Americans.
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Adama

In March 2005, an FBI document leaked to the press mysteriously identified Adama Bah, a 16-year-old teenager from Harlem, NY, as an “imminent threat to the security of the United States.” ADAMA provides a timely perspective on the experiences of American Muslims at a time when their religion is being equated, by some, with violence and terror.
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Revolution '67

Focusing on what is known as "The Newark Riots," REVOLUTION '67 reveals how a spontaneous revolt against poverty and police brutality ended as a fateful milestone in urban America's struggles over race and economic justice. The film also provides a historical framework to contextualize recent events in Ferguson, MO and Baltimore, MD.
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BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez

The personal is political. "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez" is a portrait of the artist, revealing her uncompromising life as she raised her voice in the name of black culture, civil rights, women's liberation, and world peace. The film captures Sanchez's commitment to cultural specificity while connecting history and humanities to the mainstream.
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Divide in Concord

DIVIDE IN CONCORD is an engaging tale about a contemporary debate: individual freedom vs. collective responsibility, and how this relates to American democracy. Driving the debate is a fiery 84-year-old grandmother, who presents a bylaw to ban the sale of single-serve plastic water bottles. But can one person take on the bottled water industry?
Preview

Romeo Romeo

How strong is a woman’s desire to be a mother? After marrying the woman of her dreams, Lexy and wife Jessica set out to start a family. The couple spend their life savings on getting pregnant but it turns out to be more difficult than anticipated. ROMEO ROMEO is an intimate portrait of a modern marriage and the struggle with infertility.
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Dog Days

Hot dogs and apple pie are not merely symbols of the American Dream. In DOG DAYS, they are the things those dreams are made of - literally. This story unfolds through the working relationship between Coite, who risks his capital to embark on a new food business, and single mother Siyone, a food vendor from Eritrea dreaming of freedom.
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Children of the Arctic

At the Arctic edge of America, Native Alaskan teenagers strive to be both modern American kids, and the inheritors of an ancient whaling culture, language and tradition. CHILDREN OF THE ARCTIC is a year-in-the-life portrait of Native youth coming of age in Barrow, Alaska, and the decisions they have to make about their futures.
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Reversing the Mississippi

In Missouri, farmer and social innovator Marcin Jakubowski's Global Village Construction Set provides free blueprints to fabricate everything needed for a self-sustaining village. While in New Orleans, Nat Turner teaches kids how to work the land, but has limited resources and broken equipment. If these two men meet might they be able to make real change?
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City of Trees

A personal story about the struggle to achieve social, economic and environmental change during the worst recession in a generation, CITY OF TREES captures the tension-filled last six months of a two-year grant cycle for Washington D.C.'s nonprofit organization Washington Parks & People, and the close-out of a $2.7 million stimulus grant.
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In An Ideal World

Over seven years, IN AN IDEAL WORLD follows three men in CA’s Soledad prison — John, a white separatist murderer, Sam, a black ex-gang member and Ben, a warden. Challenged for the first time by a mixed-race program, and with pressure from the courts to integrate, the men struggle to move beyond the stark realities of America’s prison system.
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The Grace Lee Project

Do you know Grace Lee? Growing up, Grace Lee was the only “Grace Lee” she knew. Upon moving to New York and California, she discovered quite the opposite. In her quest to uncover how the name “Grace” became ubiquitous among Asian Americans, the filmmaker speaks with many subjects named Grace Lee, focusing on the individuality and humanity of all who share her name.
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Operation Popcorn

A thrilling tale, OPERATION POPCORN explores the fate of ten Hmong American leaders and a retired U.S. Army officer who are accused of conspiring together to overthrow the communist government of Laos. Seven years in the making, the film sheds light on the fragile relationships between individuals and the American surveillance state.
Episode

My Life in China

An unvarnished portrait of the life and memories of a stoic and reticent man committed to his family, MY LIFE IN CHINA retraces the perilous steps filmmaker Kenneth Eng's father chanced in search of a better life. Exploring the themes of home, exile and belonging, the film is a story about promise, purpose and living life without regrets.
Episode

The Last Season

Each September, the town of Chemult, Oregon is flooded with mushroom hunters. Many are immigrants from Laos, Cambodia and Thailand who entered the U.S. as refugees in the 1980s. Here, veterans Kouy Loch and Roger Higgins find more than just the rare matsutake in the woods; they create a familial bond and a means to slowly heal the wounds of war.
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College Week

A rarely represented insider's perspective, COLLEGE WEEK documents the impact of teacher and parent involvement on student success at Spencer Elementary Technology Academy. Despite the Chicago neighborhood's high rates of poverty and crime, a caring community of home owners and working class families are striving to make positive changes.
Episode

The Hand That Feeds

At a popular bakery café in Manhattan, patrons get served with a smile 24 hours a day. Behind the scenes, some of the undocumented immigrant workers earn far below the minimum wage. Filmed at the onset of the service economy wage wars, THE HAND THAT FEEDS tells the story of the power struggle that turned a single city block into a battlefield.
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Buried Above Ground

Filmed over six years, BURIED ABOVE GROUND follows three Americans fighting to overcome the paralyzing grip of PTSD. Intimate moments illustrate how the road to recovery takes many shapes while being fraught with obstacles and setbacks. Over time and with support, each finds hope and pathways to living a meaningful and purposeful life.
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Class of '27

In rural America, children face the prospect of a compromised future. Class of '27 focuses on early childhood education in struggling communities, highlighting the efforts of people guiding children toward graduating high school in '27. United by hope, inspiration and resiliency, the film shows that children are most likely to grow into productive adults if they receive support in the early years.
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In the Game

“In life you deal with what’s dealt your way. When you get knocked down, just get up right away. Never give up.” "In the Game" follows a girls’ soccer team in an inner-city Chicago high school to reveal the obstacles confronted by Latinas as they seek an education amid issues of class and gender in the working class Brighton Park neighborhood.
Episode

We Like It Like That

Created by largely Puerto Rican, Cuban and African American youths living alongside each other in the 1960s, Boogaloo served as an authentic and vibrant cultural expression. "We Like It Like That" explores a pivotal moment in '60s music history when blues, funk and traditional Caribbean rhythms were fused to define a new generation of urban Latinos.
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Kivalina

Today, the Inupiaq Eskimo must navigate an uncertain future 80 miles above the Arctic Circle on a fragile barrier island disappearing due to climate change. "Kivalina" is a quiet but stirring portrait immersing viewers into the rarely seen lives of an Arctic tribe who try to continue to honor their way of life despite the government failing them.
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By Blood

Chronicling the ongoing conflict over the issue of tribal rights between the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma and the Cherokee Freedmen, descendants of African American slaves. "By Blood" explores a largely untold history and the impact of a battle over race, identity, and the sovereign rights of Native American people.

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