Celebrating storytelling from the front lines of today’s global issues.
SCREENING SCHEDULE
Past Screenings
Tuesday, April 26, 7:30 pm | ALMOST HOLY (CROCODILE GENNADIY) (VIEW TAKE ACTION KIT)
Tuesday, May 24, 7:30 pm | THE TRUE COST (VIEW TAKE ACTION KIT)
Tuesday, June 28, 7:30 pm | OMO CHILD: THE RIVER AND THE BUSH (VIEW TAKE ACTION KIT)
Tuesday, July 26, 7:30 pm | DREAMCATCHER (VIEW TAKE ACTION KIT)
Tuesday, August 23, 7:30 pm | TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR
Selected from 255 films and 96 countries, these five 2016 winning films come to us from Ethiopia, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and the U.S. In Almost Holy (Crocodile Gennadiy), viewers will come face-to-face with a local vigilante who kidnaps and rehabilitates drug-addicted street kids. The True Cost reveals that exploitation has many faces when it comes to the fast-fashion industry. From there, audiences can explore the changing fates of the “cursed” Omo Child in the Kara tribe in Southwest Ethiopia. Next, Dreamcatcher follows Brenda Myers-Powell, a former prostitute turned mentor as she illuminates the trials and tribulations of young prostitutes in urban Chicago. And lastly, Tell Spring Not To Come This Year journeys deep into an Afghan National Army Unit’s harrowing first year after the departure of NATO forces.
Panel discussions will enable audiences to learn more about the making of the films and engage with key stakeholders including aid workers, government officials, NGO representatives, cultural anthropologists, social justice activists, as well as development, education, and human rights experts.
“Partnering with SIMA is a natural fit for the Skirball. Creating opportunities for marginalized voices to be heard and space for meaningful conversation is central to our dedication to social justice and democratic ideals. With this exceptional series of timely and important films, SIMA has identified voices that urgently need to be heard. The Skirball is proud to provide a place to hear them.” – Andrew Horwitz, Skirball Vice President and Director of Programs.
Series Co-Presented with Skirball Cultural Center
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FILMS SCREENING
ALMOST HOLY (CROCODILE GENNADIY)
Screened on April 26th – Event Gallery
Director: Steve Hoover
Producer: Danny Yourd
2015 | 96 min | Ukraine
SIMA 2016 Best Feature Documentary, Best Editing & Stylistic Achievement Jury Prize Winner
Gennadiy Mokhnenko has made a name for himself by forcibly abducting homeless drug-addicted kids from the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. As his country leans towards a European Union inclusion, hopes of continued post-Soviet revitalization seem possible. In the meantime, Gennadiy’s center has evolved into a more nebulous institution.
Presented in Partnership with Human Rights Watch
THE TRUE COST
Tuesday | May 24, 2016 | 7:30 pm
Director: Andrew Morgan
Producer: Michael Ross
2014 | 92 min | USA
SIMA 2016 Lens To Action Jury Prize Winner
This is a story about clothing. It’s about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. The True Cost is a groundbreaking documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? Filmed in countries all over the world, from the brightest runways to the darkest slums, and featuring interviews with the world’s leading influencers including Stella McCartney, Livia Firth and Vandana Shiva, The True Cost is an unprecedented project that invites us on an eye opening journey around the world and into the lives of the many people and places behind our clothes.
OMO CHILD: THE RIVER AND THE BUSH
Tuesday | June 28, 2016 | 7:30 pm
Director: John Rowe
Producers: Tyler Rowe & John Rowe
2015 | 89 min | Ethiopia
SIMA 2016 Ethos Jury Prize Winner
Lale Labuko, born and raised in the Kara tribe in the Omo Valley, Ethiopia, learns of “mingi” at age 15: children born out of wedlock, or whose top teeth grow in before their bottom teeth, or even those who are born a twin, are killed by virtue of this ancient tradition that deems them “mingi”, or cursed. Lale strives to not only save these children’s lives by adopting these children as his own; he also attempts to reconcile with Kara elders to end this tradition forever in order to ultimately protect the longevity of his people and his culture. Filmed over a five year period, this documentary paints stunning portraits of Ethiopian landscapes as it follows Lale’s journey where he confronts his own death, negotiates deeply rooted superstition, and navigates the difficult position of leading a cultural movement.
DREAMCATCHER
Tuesday | July 26, 2016 | 7:30 pm
Director: Kim Longinotto
Producers: Lisa Stevens & Teddy Leifer
2015 | 104 min | USA
SIMA 2016 Best Director
Dreamcatcher explores the cycle of neglect, violence and exploitation which each year leaves thousands upon thousands of girls and women feeling that prostitution is their only option to survive. By following the charming and empathic Brenda, a former teenage prostitute who worked the streets of Chicago, we enter the lives of young women and see their world through their eyes. While the world may overlook these women and men, thankfully Brenda has not, providing an unflinching expose which contrasts seeming hopelessness against the difference that one person can make in the lives of many.
Presented in Partnership with Women Make Movies and UN Women U.S.N.C LA
TELL SPRING NOT TO COME THIS YEAR
Tuesday | August 23, 2016 | 7:30 pm
Director: Saeed Taji Farouky & Michael McEvoy
Producers: Michael McEvoy, Saeed Taji Farouky, & Elizabeth C Jones
2015 | 82 min | Afghanistan
SIMA 2016 Best Cinematography & Best Sound Editing
Tell Spring Not to Come This Year follows a unit of the Afghan National Army (ANA) over the course of their first year of fighting in the Helmand province without NATO support. This intimate and humanist film explores a largely unheard and misrepresented perspective, revealing the deep personal motivations, desires and struggles of a band of fighting men on the front line. Without a NATO soldier in sight, and no narrative but their own, this is the war in Afghanistan, through the eyes of the Afghans who live it.
Presented in Partnership with Human Rights Watch