• Acts of Defiance

With these films about facing adversity and holding firm against the powers that be, this program highlights the lengths some are willing to go to to fight for themselves and others.

Short Films

Freedom Swimmer

This hybrid, poetic documentary, interweaving hand-drawn animation and film, tells the tale of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution while creating a parallel with his granddaughter’s participation in mass protests now.

The Seine's Tears

October 17, 1961, in the middle of the Algerian war, Algerian workers are demonstrating against the mandatory curfew imposed by the Paris police.

Crazy Bitch

An explosive teenager persuades her schoolmates to take up arms for a pacifist student protest, but she goes too far.

The Last Days

​​In a near-future world where you can discover your Death Day, an apolitical woman learns that she and many Black people have been given incorrect dates and seeks justice before her time runs out — that same day.

Breakpoint

Odile—a textile worker—and her colleagues are forced to evaluate Tunisian young women for a week at their workplace. Playing a zero sum game for jobs they all need, there is no good solution, but Odile strives to make the right choice.

I Santi

In an old industrial Italian town, Maria sets out to help her drug-addict brother whose life is being threatened for an unpaid debt. She only has one option: to steal. As much as possible, as soon as possible.

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