ACHIEVING BALANCE

Achieving Balance chronicles the removal of the Black Rat from Anacapa Island and reveals the profound results of recovery that follow on the island ecosystem.

Produced for web/YouTube and the Channel Islands National Park Visitor Center, the video documents the restoration of Anacapa Island after the removal of the black rat, which was predating on threatened seabirds. A group of non-profit, government, and educational organizations came together to remove these non-native predators in 2002.  The film reveals some of the surprising, positive results ten years after the removal of the rats.

Written, Produced & Directed by Kevin White
Narration by Peter Coyote
Edited by John Dutton & Susan Utell

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

To view the entire film click here

A LAND BETWEEN RIVERS

A Land Between Rivers tells the story of central California between the San Joaquin and Kings Rivers, which has played a critical role in determining the destiny of both California and the West. It is a story of transformation; where the nexus of land, water, and people seeking a better future have created the most productive agricultural region on earth. The program reveals the human and environmental sacrifices in the shadow of this success, and shows how issues of concern in times past remain relevant today as central California faces the future.

Directed by Kevin White
Produced by Michele Dennis & Kevin White
Written by Stephen Most & Kevin White
Edited by Gina Leibrecht

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Alive in Bronze: Huey P. Newton

Sculptor Dana King’s hands and activist Fredrika Newton’s memories come together to build a new monument that honors the Black Panther Party’s vital place in American history.

ALIVE IN BRONZE: HUEY P. NEWTON centers on the memories of sculptor Dana King and activist Fredrika Newton as King was creating the long-time awaited monument—a bust of Black Panther Party leader Huey P. Newton for the Oakland community that he loved and shaped. As the sculpture takes form, more than just a face is revealed. From the project’s conception through its community unveiling, these two women take us on a journey to reclaim erased histories—personal and collective—and to rededicate them to the future.

Director/Producer: A.K. Sandhu

Now streaming on Paramount+

Learn more: www.aksandhu.com/aliveinbronze

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

a place to breathe

A PLACE TO BREATHE explores the universality of trauma and resilience through the eyes of refugee and immigrant patients and health care providers navigating the medical system. This character-driven feature documentary touches the heart of current debates on immigration and health care at this pivotal moment when these two issues dominate the country’s consciousness.

Rodrigue is a newly arrived refugee from war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo who, along with his mother and seven siblings, is struggling to adapt to life in Lowell, Massachusetts. Training to become a medical interpreter at the local community health center, he ultimately aspires to be a social worker to help his community heal from trauma. Socheat, a Cambodian immigrant, seeks tools to combat the stress of supporting her aging parents, teenage daughter, and disabled brother on a manicurist’s salary. The entire family experiences the benefits of meditation classes and culturally tailored wellness approaches at the health center. Sue, a nurse to both families, examines the continued impact of her own traumatic experiences, thriving in the U.S. after surviving the genocide in Cambodia and now supporting others to do the same.

Across the country in Oakland, California, Edgar and Yania, a young couple from Mexico and Uruguay, provide healing to their community through outreach to day laborers and Spanish-language yoga classes. Their aspirations to become a social worker and a nurse are threatened by possible deportation due to their tenuous immigration status under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). At the same health clinic, Norma, a Guatemalan immigrant, provides interpretation into her community’s indigenous Mayan language, while she watches new arrivals from her homeland fight for asylum and safety.

Common ground and chance connection intertwine these stories as A PLACE TO BREATHE spotlights the profound importance of culturally responsive medicine that joins mental, physical, and spiritual paths to wellbeing. In the midst of an increasingly xenophobic climate, the film humanizes those who have come here, sharing their wisdom and perspectives that enrich and strengthen our communities. As violence destabilizes populations across the country and the world, A PLACE TO BREATHE moves audiences to envision new understandings of wellness for all.

A PLACE TO BREATHE premiered at SF Docfest in September 2020 and is currently on the film festival circuit, with educational distribution by Good Docs. The film started broadcasting on Public Television Stations nationwide in Fall 2021.

Director/Producer: Michelle Grace Steinberg
Producer: Robyn Bykofsky

Learn more at https://underexposedfilms.com/a-place-to-breathe

Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Educational distribution by Good Docs

A SIMPLE QUESTION

A Simple Question follows a 4th grade class, partnered with ranchers, scientists, and government agencies, on their remarkable journey to answer one simple question: what can we do to save endangered species?

In 1992, Laurette Rogers’ 4th grade class asked what they could do save endangered species. It was a simple question that would change their lives. Partnering with ranchers, scientists, and government agencies, this remarkable project has led to the restoration of 21 miles of riparian habitat for the endangered California freshwater shrimp. In the process, it has catalyzed significant educational innovations by connecting kids with their local watershed – and classrooms with community. The STRAW program serves as testimony to the importance of empowering children to better their world, which in turn transforms us all.

Produced, Written & Directed by Kevin White & David Donnenfield
Narration by Peter Coyote
Edited by Greg O’Toole

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Watch Now: Kanopy

REVIEWS

“STARRED REVIEW. Top 25 Videos for Students…..” A welcome addition to school and public libraries, this well produced, tightly edited program is just the thing for spurring similar hands–on activities and for encouraging kids to get involved.”
—Booklist

“A model of one of the most successful school-initiated conservation programs. This multi-award winning video would be excellent for classes who are thinking of or are starting major projects with fairly long timelines. It is also excellent viewing for school administrators as it deals with some of the administrative logistics of the project.”
– Green Teacher Magazine

“Highly recommended. A must for all teachers who are thinking about organizing a project with students and the community. This documentary is a true testament to the fact that every person, young or old, and with the help of others, can work in a positive and constructive manner to become good stewards of the environment in an effort to create a better tomorrow.”
—Educational Media Reviews Online

“Inspiring. Recommended for students and adults seeking ways actively to make a difference in their local environments.”
- Library Journal

“This story shows that dreams can have long term success, and life can take unexpected paths. The facts that students can work hard, can get adults to listen and cooperate, and can have a great and lasting impact on their world are emphasized, and could be used to spark new ideas and action in other schools and communities. This DVD can be used in any classroom to encourage students to ask questions, and teachers to take action.”
– NSTA Recommends (National Science Teachers Association)

“Recommended. A well-crafted and inspiring example of young people developing both eco-awareness and leadership skills. DVD extras include extended conversations with ecologists and authors.”
—Video Librarian

“The most compelling example that I’ve seen of students being productively involved in ecological restoration. I use the film as an integral part of presentations I do now to engage students in hopeful environmentalism.”
—Dr. David Sobel, Director, Teacher Certification Programs, Education Department, Antioch New England Graduate School

“‘A Simple Question’ portrays a hope grounded in the ability of the natural world to re-grow itself when people – in this instance, school children – make it the object of their care and attention.  My hope is that this film will inspire more educators across the U.S. and world to take similar actions within their own watersheds.”
— Greg Smith, Ed.D., Professor of Teacher Education, Lewis and Clark College

AWARDS

Nomination, Northern California Emmy Awards
Spirit of Activism Award, Wild & Scenic Environmental Film Festival
Best Educational Documentary, Mammoth Mountain Film Festival
Best Educational Value in the Classroom, andConservation Hero of the Festival, Laurette Rogers, International Wildlife Film Festival
Best Short Film, Reel Earth Environmental Film Festival, New Zealand 

BEYOND MEASURE

Every day we hear stories about the troubles in American education: our test scores are stagnant, we’re falling behind our international peers, and our schools are failing to prepare future generations to succeed in the 21st century. For the last decade, this story – and the fear it inspires – has shaped the way we talk about our education system and informed our policies.

But what if the efforts we’ve been pushing so hard in our schools are actually the things that are leaving our education system worse off? What if the initiatives that narrow, standardize and pressure our school environments are the reason our children are less engaged in school and less prepared to be thoughtful, capable, contributing adults? 

In Beyond Measure we set out to challenge the assumptions of our current education story. And what we found was a revolution brewing in public schools across the country.

From Kentucky to New York City, we follow schools that are breaking away from our outmoded, test-driven education culture and pioneering a new vision for our classrooms. Schools that are asking our students to invent, to make, to imagine how they can effect change in the world today. Schools that are transforming the roles of students and teachers and putting more faith in the ingenuity of our children. And schools that are dramatically improving outcomes for children of all backgrounds.

Beyond Measure fills a void that too many other education stories have left empty – a positive picture of what’s innovative and possible in American education when communities decided they are ready for change.

A film by Vicki Abeles

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Learn more: https://beyondmeasurefilm.com/

Daly City

An Indonesian boy and his mother attend a church potluck and lie about their dish. 

Director's Statement:

I have always been drawn to making films that tell deeply personal stories based on my own lived experience. These truths, I believe, are what connect audiences to my stories and characters. It's also what has led to the success of my films: "The Dishwasher," which I co-directed, premiered at Tribeca 2019 and was inspired by my experience working as a cook in the kitchen of a New York fine dining restaurant.

My latest project, "Daly City," is an autobiographical story that draws from my experiences growing up as an Indonesian immigrant in the Bay Area. There is a sense of urgency for me to tell this story now. We are living in a moment of self-examination for the AAPI community, and in recent years there has been much discourse about the idea of the "model minority myth,” a seemingly positive but damaging stereotype that exotifies Asian immigrants and attempts to define our sense of worth.

While this issue has historically been addressed in documentaries, it's rarely explored in fiction. In telling this story as a narrative film, I want the viewer to draw their own conclusions about the cost of assimilation, as told through the perspective of a young Indonesian-American boy straddling both cultures. For me, this story is about inspiring a new generation of immigrants so that we can both understand our parents' sacrifices in becoming the model minority and also transcend them. 

Directed by: Nick Hartanto

Produced by: Nick Hartanto, Clara Peterson, and Anton Vicente Kliot

Instagram: @dalycityshortfilm, @nickhartanto

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Festivals

• World Premiere: Asian American International Film Festival

• Indonesian Film Festival

Dreamline

Vaanen (16) is an ambitious 1st generation Indian-American classically trained tabla player - but he’d much rather become the next big name in hip-hop. Blasting Kanye on the speakers, eating Taco Bell beefy burritos, and smoking with his friends, Vaanen's behavior is completely at odds with the expectations of his heavily traditional father. When he gets an opportunity to break into the industry, he skips an important networking dinner organized by his father to go work on his beats with his friends instead. A heated argument between father and son ensues - where culture and beliefs violently clash. With some advice from his best friend Rashaad, Vaanen learns that he must let his father into his life, leading him to mend his relationship with his father and find his unique musical voice in the process.

Director/Writer: Harshith S. Kotni

Producers: Julie Xiaolan Zhao, Skylar Eunjean Kim, and Sam Barnett

Cinematographer: Pengfei Song

Production Designer: Adela Hurtado

EVER SHOT ANYONE?

Israeli filmmaker Michal Aviad provides a woman's take on how national culture is informed by male identity through the military experience that bonds her country's Jewish men. EVER SHOT ANYONE? documents Aviad's attempt to infiltrate the world of army reservists during their annual tour of duty on the Golan Heights. Gradually, but not without suspicion and hostility toward the intruder in their midst, the middle-aged civilian-soldiers reveal notions about male identity, friendship, family and gender relations. This dominant male culture through the eyes of the ultimate outsider--a woman.

The video was part of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Feminale, the Liepzig Film Festival, INPUT ’96, London Jewish Film Festival, Washington Jewish Film Festival, Flaherty Film Seminar and many others. It was aired in Canada, Israel, Holland, Denmark, Russia and other countries.

Directed by Michal Aviad (1995)

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Women Make Movies

EVERY BEAT OF MY HEART

The life and legacy of Johnny Otis: the Godfather of R&B, composer, bandleader, disc jockey, civil rights activist, preacher, and artist, who grew up in a Greek immigrant family, but defined himself as African-American.

Every Beat of My Heart is a personal and musical biography of Johnny Otis, the musician, bandleader, producer and songwriter who is often called the Godfather of Rhythm & Blues. But it is more than the biography of one man, just as the story of R&B is about much more than music. Johnny’s odyssey through the world of African-American music in the 20th Century is a window into arenas of race and culture that have defined and transformed contemporary America – and, in turn, have touched the whole world.

Produced by Bruce Schmiechen, Michael Anderson & Kevin White

Directed by Bruce Schmiechen

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Visit the site.

The Exodus: From America to America

For the last half-century, Puerto Ricans, who are American citizens by birth, have slowly been migrating to the mainland, bringing with them an influential wave of culture: legendary movements in language, music and politics. Though no migration to-date has been as significant as post Hurricane Maria, due to the devastation this natural disaster has wreaked on the island. This has exacerbated an already tense US-PR relationship. The lack of attention and federal response received by the island after the hurricane has shed light on the fact that Puerto Rico is in the American population’s imagination as a foreign land.

Left without power, food, and other necessities, many left the island, leaving death behind them. Since 2017, most of them have mainly resettled in Central Florida (Kissimmee and Orlando), possibly bringing with them anger for the current administration’s treatment of the island in Maria's aftermath. The Exodus: From America to America is a feature documentary that focuses on the swing state of Florida’s Puerto Rican population with interviews from community leaders and those new and old to the state. Will this “small” but resourceful resettlement group finally be able to regain their voice with their newfound voting power in the next presidential election? Are they aware of the power they hold?

A film by Genesis Monnet.

Learn more: www.fromamericatoamerica.com

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

FAIR FIGHT IN THE MARKETPLACE

Fair Fight In The Marketplace is a half-hour documentary that provides an engaging look at the antitrust laws that give protection to both American consumers and businesses. The program looks at three case studies, while also considering a more fundamental question: can a set of regulations created by the Sherman Act at the end of the 19th century be relevant in today’s era of digital technology and high-speed communications?

Produced, Written & Directed by Kevin White & David Donnenfield
Edited by Theron Yeager
Original Music by Tom Disher

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Broadcast nationally on PBS via KQED/NETA.
CINE Golden Eagle Award & Telly Award.

Topic areas: Economics, History, Civic Education, Consumer Rights, Economic History, Law, Corporate Reform.

Finding the Money

Can a new economic theory revolutionize our ability to tackle the climate crisis?

An underdog group of economists is on a mission to instigate a paradigm shift by flipping our understanding of the national debt — and the nature of money — upside down.

FINDING THE MONEY follows Stephanie Kelton on a journey through the controversial Modern Monetary Theory or "MMT”, as Kelton provocatively asserts the National Debt Clock that ticks ominously upwards in New York City is not actually a debt for us taxpayers at all, nor a burden for our grandchildren to pay back. Instead, Kelton describes the national debt as simply a record of the number of dollars created by the US federal government (the issuer of the US dollar) currently being held in our pockets, as assets, by the rest of us.

MMT bursts into the mainstream media, with journalists asking, “Have we been thinking about how the government spends money, all wrong?”

But top economists and politicians from across the political spectrum condemn the theory as “voodoo economics”, “crazy” and “a crackpot theory”. FINDING THE MONEY traces the conflict all the way back to the story we tell about money, injecting new hope and empowering democracies around the world to tackle the biggest challenges of the 21st century: from climate change to inequality.

Directed by Maren Poitras

Learn more: www.FindingMoneyFilm.com

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Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

FOR MY CHILDREN

For My Children examines the impact of the conflict in Israel on the filmmaker’s family. It is a personal film about the history and events in the life of one family of immigrants and refugees as seen through the prism of the first days of the new Intifada.

It was shown at the San Francisco International Film Festival, the Berlin Cinematheque, Boston Jewish Film Festival, and many others.

A film by Michal Aviad  (2002)

Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Women Make Movies

Grains of Sand

Filmed over eight years, Grains of Sand accompanies the filmmaker's mother and mother-in-law, artists and close friends, as they enter their ninth decade. Through conversation, memories and artwork, they explore together the lifelong project of becoming oneself.

What does it mean to turn 80? The filmmaker invites her mother and mother-in-law to a working retreat in a stone farmhouse in the countryside. Margot and Barbara are friends, artists, and both on the cusp of their 9th decade. As they unpack the large stones they have brought to sculpt and begin to work on them, they embark on a conversation about creativity and aging. Over the course of eight years, they explore what it means to arrive at this stage of their lives and how their creativity, alive and well, is changing with the years.

Margot lives in San Francisco and Barbara in Hamburg. Interviews with the women in their studios and homes reveal their rich lives at the easel and also how they have grappled over the decades with societal expectations and personal development in their roles as daughters, wives, mothers, and independent women artists.

Once a year for the course of the film, the women meet back at the farmhouse. Here they continue work on their stones, reflect on changes and developments of the past year, and gather strength for the months which will follow.

Although the eight years of the film bring changes and, yes, further aging, Margot and Barbara remain ever-passionate about their art and life. They aren't looking back on their lives. They are living them.

Director and Producer: Sarah Gross

View the Press Kit

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

HOW TO SMELL A ROSE

How to Smell A Rose documents Les Blank's visit with the legendary co-founder of Direct Cinema, Richard Leacock (1921-2011), in 2000. At his farm in Normandy, France, Blank, and co-director Gina Leibrecht, recorded conversations with Leacock about his life, his work, and his other passion: cooking! In the early sixties, together with Robert Drew, D.A. Pennebaker, and the Maysles brothers, Leacock changed the way documentary films were made. Leacock's technical and aesthetic innovations were instrumental in creating America's version of cinema verite . His quest was to create, the feeling of being there. While cooking, and taking walks in the French countryside, Leacock shares with Blank the memorable moments of his filmmaking career, and the extraordinary people he met along the way.

Directed by Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht.

Executive Producer: Kevin White, Filmmakers Collaborative

Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Impresario

Producer/filmmaker Marc Huestis is a galvanizing voice of non conformity since the early days of the Gay Liberation Movement.

Force of nature, filmmaker and producer Marc Huestis has been a galvanizing voice of non conformity since the days of the Gay Liberation Movement of the 1970s. He continues to defy expectations by surviving HIV and delightfully orchestrating personal liberations of his own.

Produced and Directed by Lauretta Molitor.

Impresario is currently being screened in festivals and seeking wider distribution.

www.trouserfilm.com

 Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

In God We Trust

At the crossroads between the streets and the churches of San Francisco, In God We Trust follows the intimate journeys of Dawn, Tony, Terry and Harry as they fight to forge their place in a city ravaged by inequalities and for whom “God” has become the ultimate companion.

The film weaves together the personal stories of these four characters, capturing their complex relationship to religion, to faith, conveying the energy that allows them to "rise from the ashes", to transform in the midst of challenging life situations. In their own way, each of our protagonists are figures of resistance and claim to be so. They refuse the place the society assigns them to. They yearn for recognition, for love, they want to be part of civic life, religious life. Their intimate inner voices are the pillars of the narration and they guide the audience through the film.

The film starts at the church where all characters meet. There, “Killer Kelly '' who identifies as a Black trans woman found a refuge and became “Miss Terry” after a life in the streets of San Francisco. She now facilitates support groups for the disenfranchised alongside Reverend Harry. Both of them are Dawn’s and Tony’s mentors: these two are unhoused and come to their church to eat, sing and to find support. Dawn engages in a fight and a spiritual journey to get her children back, whose custody was lost to drugs. In the meantime, Tony who just arrived in town builds his life from the ground up, rapidly achieving milestones with his housing search, trauma healing process and civic advocacy efforts. “Don’t let your situation define your existence in this world!” shouts Terry in a husky voice. “You are somebody !” Harry repeats relentlessly. But behind their determination, Terry and Harry both deeply question their place and the meaning of their work in a religious institution setting. They decide to turn their backs to the Church they served for years and venture on new paths to reinvent themselves. Reverend Harry aka “O.G—Original Gangster—Rev” defines himself as a “hood preacher” committed to serve the poor. His preaching, well applauded in the streets, is less so in the upper class pews of the Sunday sanctuary where he appears as a pariah of the church. “ How can I be a pastor without a church ?” wonders Reverend Harry. He takes a chance working for a local grassroot non-profit in Oakland before creating his own ministry venture involving hip hop. Meanwhile, Terry decides to embark on a deeply personal journey of self: he retreats far from the church to quieter places and starts a mediation at the crossroads of faith, transgender identity and overcoming one’s past: what will become of “Miss Terry” who was given a place in a church when she had lost everything else? When Tony suddenly disappears from the city, Dawn, Terry and Harry are brought back together to mourn his loss and speak up for the recognition of those who live and die on the streets.

A film by: Laetitia Jacquart & Corinne Sullivan

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Invisible

Over 20 years after two women were raped by the same serial rapist, they randomly meet. The encounter leads one to obsessively delve into the rape, and the other to struggle against the surfacing of the trauma. Eventually they embark together on a journey to release the anguish that unwillingly connected them. The film refers to an actual serial rapist who was operating in Tel Aviv. In the film, factual content and documentary footage is woven into the fictional story. Winner of the Ecumenical Prize, Panorama, Berlin International Film Festival, Best Israeli Film and Best Actress, Haifa International Film Festival, Grand Prize the 34ème Festival International de Films de Femmes de Créteil, and MOMA NY selection for theatrical run.

A feature length fiction film by: Filmmakers Collaborative Co-Founder, Michal Aviad
Cast: Ronit Elkabetz and Evegenia Dodina

I Wanted to be a Man with a Gun: three american soldiers in wWII

 I Wanted To Be A Man With A Gun is a feature documentary profiling three American soldiers in WWII, as they recount their experiences from the perspective of their 90-year old selves, revealing the shocking secrets of revenge on enemy prisoners, the consequences of which still inform their lives.

Each soldier represents a unique and sometimes disturbing perspective in their experience of war - and how they respond to the challenges of surviving combat. Harold Kozloff, a brazen Jewish soldier in the infantry, hated the Germans and killed them with impunity. On the surface, Harold killed without conscience, yet the brutality of WWII touched his life forever.

Leo Litwak was a reluctant Jewish soldier who became a medic in the infantry. While he hated Nazism, he saw the German soldiers as victims of circumstance. Following the orders of the Geneva Convention he treated their wounds with the same consideration he practiced while working on American G.I.’s, but not without consequence.

Paul Mico, a Catholic Squad Sergeant in the 29th infantry, reluctantly takes enemy lives, and gives the film historical context from the Normandy invasion to the German surrender. His soft-spoken musings soon become shocking as he reveals how his squad killed unarmed prisoners. After the massacre at Malmedy, Belgium, where the Germans machine-gunned 84 American prisoners, Sergeant Mico and his men began a killing spree - the impact of which indelibly changed his life.

The soldiers do not censor themselves in telling their stories, including how they reacted to the Anti-Semitism of their fellow G.I.’s; their rage unleashed against the Germans directly involved in the persecution of their religious brethren; and the horrific consequences of the war to their lives. This powerful and poetic film employs a haunting original score integrated with rare archival footage, ultimately revealing that even in a justifiable war no soldier escapes the trauma of the requirement to “kill or be killed.”

Director’s Statement: As the director, I approached this film with a sense of responsibility to portray the psychological truths of war while honoring the courage and sacrifice of those who have lived through the experience of combat. My hope is that this film will encourage the public to reconsider its view of war, and provide a new more significant understanding of the soldier’s dilemma; being asked to do their duty and kill the enemy, inevitably leads to an emotional wound that never fully heals, the consequences of which has had a profound impact on society for generations.

A film by William Farley.

manwithagunfilm.com

Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

The Lure of this Land is an exploration of why people leave the places they know and love. Why do they leave their homelands? What are they looking for? And what do they find? Filmmaker Alexandra Lexton came to Belize and found these stories: A story of a place, the story of those willing to get lost, and the more personal internal voyage of the foreigner in a foreign land. Among others, we meet people who have left everything to regenerate and rediscover themselves: Zookeeper Sharon Matola who has made an indigenous Zoo out of Belize's rescued, endangered and indigenous creatures, nature documentary filmmakers Richard and Carol Foster, and eco lodge originators, Mick and Lucy Fleming. Behind every door is another story, another person who had the drive to change their life... and to risk for a time getting lost.

Producer/Writer/Director: Alexandra Lexton

Length 67 minutes

Shot on location in Belize, Central America

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Learn more: https://www.lexproductions.net/the-lure-of-this-land

The Movement and the “Madman”

The Movement and the “Madman” will tell how in the fall of 1969 two of the largest antiwar demonstrations in American history thwarted President Nixon’s top secret plans for a major escalation of the Vietnam war. Unknown at the time, these demonstrations helped save possibly tens of thousands of lives. 

Focusing on the grassroots October 15th “Moratorium” — a one-day national strike against the war by two million Americans — and on the dramatic November 15th “March Against Death”, followed by the enormous “Mobilization” antiwar rally in Washington, D.C., the film reveals how these protests undermined what Nixon called his “Madman” strategy to cripple North Vietnam, including the possible use of nuclear weapons. The film will present this dramatic confrontation through archival footage and original interviews with leading protest organizers, local activists, historians, and former Nixon administration officials.

Coming during the 50th anniversary decade of the Vietnam war, The Movement and the “Madman" will be the first feature documentary to highlight the power and impact of the antiwar movement, with lessons for today.

Director/Producer: Stephen Talbot
Executive Producer: Robert Levering
Co-Producer: Steve Ladd

Fiscal Sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Learn more: www.movementandthemadman.com

Watch the film

• Watch free on PBS.org

• Amazon Prime Video, purchase for personal use

• American Experience website, free with PBS Passport

• Kanopy, free with public library or college login

For college and university licensing:

• Films Media Group

• Alexander Street

• Kanopy

Watch Chapter 1 free on YouTube

Nature’s Orchestra

Nature's Orchestra follows Bernie Krause on a soundscape expedition in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. To record habitats that are neither disturbed nor destroyed by human activities, nature sound recordists have to travel far. Along with animal voices, including migratory bird songs, the barking of a fox, and a grizzly's sniff, the expedition records the melting of permafrost and other evidence of climate change.

Producer/Writer: Stephen Most.
Director: Bob Hillman.
Executive Producer: Steve Michelson.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Video Project

NOT ALL PARENTS ARE STRAIGHT

Not All Parents Are Straight examines the dynamics of the parent-child relationship, the emotional conflicts, legal issues, and social discrimination that families with gay and lesbian parents face.

A feature-length documentary that chronicles the experiences of six families in which children are being raised by gay and lesbian parents. The program examines the dynamics of the parent-child relationship, the emotional conflicts for the children, legal custody problems, and the social discrimination that these families face.

Produced, Written & Directed by Kevin White

58 mins, stereo, close-captioned

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Broadcast nationally on PBS via common carriage
Golden Gate Award, San Francisco International Film Festival
Berlin Film Festival
American Film Festival
Golden Apple Award, National Educational Film & Video Festival
Blue Ribbon, National Council on Family Relations Film Festival

“…should provide hope and encouragement for families in similar situations…[and] gives heterosexual audiences an insight into the life of a gay couple as parents and dispels the myth that gay couples raise gay children.”
Library Journal

“…provocative (in the best sense)…Viewing this should be reassuring to other children of gay parents, and may enlighten some of their friends.”
School Library Journal

Topic Areas:  Family Relations, Gay & Lesbian Studies, Family Law, Social Work, Psychology, Sociology.

©1986 Filmmakers Collaborative, SF

Once Was Water

Some solutions to the looming global water crisis might be found in sharing the lessons learned by one city in the desert — the driest city in America, faced with depleted groundwater, constant expansion and only three inches of rain per year

Once Was Water seeks to bring a fundamental understanding of the global water crisis to diverse audiences. Our goal is to build an awareness to some of the efforts -- technological, physical and political -- that are being made to better prepare us to live with the escalating water scarcity.

As a follow-up to our previous film Racing to Zero, and in the same style of investigation, Once Was Water will focus on solutions to global water issues by turning a lens on Las Vegas, Nevada.

Las Vegas is a locale that people everywhere in the world know about. It is also the thirstiest city in the driest state in the U.S., so it has had to be proactive in developing solutions that conserve and redistribute water, their most precious resource. Currently the city is faced with only 2.6 inches of rain per annum, a seventeen-year drought, a constantly expanding population and competition for shared resources. As the drought that the water bosses were predicting in 2005 drags on into its 17th year, scientists now recognize it as one of the worst in

1,200 years. As a result, the city has become a unique example of what one desert region has accomplished in its search for solutions. They are now at a fine point in their efforts towards sustainability. They have no choice.

Directed by: Christopher Beaver.

Produced by: Diana Fuller.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Bullfrog Films

Learn more: https://www.oncewaswater.org/

PLASTIC MAN: THE ARTFUL LIFE OF JERRY ROSS BARRISH

Plastic Man: the Artful Life of Jerry Ross Barrish follows Jerry Ross Barrish on his hero’s journey where art is his salvation. Like an alchemist, Barrish fashions sculpture out of found recycled materials to communicate a story. His journey includes prevailing over his learning disability, dyslexia, a decade long career as an independent filmmaker and over 50 years as San Francisco’s best-known bail bondsman. “Don’t Parish in Jail, Call Barrish for Bail,” was the tagline for Barrish Bail Bonds, founded in 1961. Jerry bailed out political activists from the Civil Rights movement, Free Speech movements, anti-Vietnam protestors, and demonstrators supporting Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University.

Produced by Janis Plotkin.
Directed by William Farley.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF
Distributed by: Filmmakers Library

Learn more: http://www.plasticmanbarrish.com/

Racing To Zero

Racing To Zero is a quick moving, up-tempo documentary that presents new solutions to the global problem of waste. Although waste may create garbage, garbage is in itself a RESOURCE, and that is key.

Garbage has an enormous impact on global warming and contributes to 44% of the greenhouse gases that are affecting the environment. The World Bank’s global analysis projects a staggering increase in garbage during the next 13 years from 1.43 billion tons per year to 2.42 billion tons per year in 2025.

A new culture of awareness is spreading and leading people to adopt new practices, create new businesses, and develop new composting technologies in an effort to eliminate waste. The goal is to educate people to make an informed decision, read labels, use less, and buy with recycling in mind.  Our adventure is an on-going treasure hunt. We can and must live off our garbage and the race can be won. The simple substitution of the word RESOURCE for the word GARBAGE produced a new pot of gold.

Directed by Christopher Beaver

Produced by Diana Fuller

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Bullfrog Films

Learn more: racingtozero.org

Redefining Prosperity

Born in the California Gold Rush, Nevada City was once the scene of some of the most destructive environmental practices on earth. By the 1960s, the town was a backwater, its extractive industries dying. Then it was discovered by the "back to the land movement." It was a second gold rush but with a different idea of gold based on nature, community and a sense of place.

The fight to save the Yuba River from proposed power dams brought conflicting factions of the community together while different ideas about the meaning of wealth have led to changes in local food production, education, arts, music and a commitment to building community. Once a place whose essence was individualism, competition and extractive industries, Nevada City is now moving toward a future of solidarity, stewardship, and livelihoods based on renewable resources, husbandry and sustainability.

Featuring two dozen of Nevada City's most active citizens and their stories, REDEFINING PROSPERITY is the remarkable story of a beautiful California town and the outward-looking, creative people who call it home and forged its new identity.

Directed by John de Graaf
Produced by Jennifer Ekstrom and John de Graaf
Consulting producer - Kevin White
Camera & Editing - Greg Davis

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF
Distributed by: Bullfrog Films

Learn more: https://www.redefiningprosperityfilm.com/

Return Flight

Return Flight chronicles the restoration of the bald eagle to the Channel Islands in the face of pervasive DDT contamination.

The bald eagle was once an important avian predator in the Channel Islands, a group of islands just off the coast of Southern California. Then in the early 60¹s the bald eagles disappeared due to egg collecting, hunting, and DDT contamination. Return Flight chronicles how a dedicated team of biologists and their partners has been working tirelessly for decades to bring the bald eagle back to the Channel Islands, leading to some amazing results.

National PBS broadcast via Natural Heroes  Official Selection of the Wild & Scenic Film Festival, the Waimea Film Festival, the DC Environmental Film Festival, the SF Ocean Film Festival, and many other screenings and festivals.

Produced, Writen & Directed by Kevin White

Narration by Peter Coyote

Executive Producers: Jennifer Boyce, Annie Little, and Gabrielle Dorr

Edited by Theron Yeager & Gina Liebrecht

Camera: Richard Neil, Don Starnes, Christopher Blum, David Donnefield & Kevin White

Sound Mix: Leroy Clark & Shane Watson – Sirius Sound

Motion Graphics: Sean Dana

Color Correction/Finishing: David Santamaria

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Full 12 minute version click here

Classroom Study Guide can be downloaded here.

Watch Now: Kanopy

RETURNING HOME

Using innovative restoration techniques in a challenging location over the span of ten years, dedicated scientists worked with local schools and government agencies to restore Common Murres to their ancestral home off the coast of San Francisco.

In1986, a breeding colony of Common Murres on Devil’s Slide Rock off the coast of San Francisco was devastated by an oil spill. Using innovative restoration techniques in a challenging location over the span of ten years, dedicated scientists worked with local schools and government agencies to restore these diving seabirds to their ancestral home. Part of the How On Earth Video Series.

Produced, Written & Directed by Kevin White
Narration by Terri Orth Pallavicini
Edited by Theron Yeager & Marnie Berringer

26 minutes

Updated in 2005 with new footage showing the removal of social attraction equipment from the rock as the project progressed.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

Broadcast on the Emmy-winning PBS series Natural Heroes, 2006
Wild & Scenic Film Festival
Hazel Wolf Film Festival
SF Ocean Film Festival
International Wildlife Film Festival, Merit Award for Storytelling
Marin Environmental Film Festival
EarthVision Film Festival
Society for Ecological Restoration Special Presentation
Telly Award
Aurora Award

Topic areas: Ecosystem Management, Environmental Studies, Marine Biology, Wildlife Biology, Oceanography

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

sands of war

Sands of War  tells the forgotten story of the Desert Training Center — 18,000 square miles of rugged terrain in the Mojave Desert where a million soldiers came to train for battle in WWII. Founded by General George S. Patton in 1942, the DTC tested men and machines in a setting as close to real combat as could be devised.  Using both current and rare archival footage, and told through the personal experiences of WWII veterans, the program provides a compelling account of the young men and women thrust onto the stage of world conflict.

Produced, written & directed by David Donnenfield and Kevin White

Narrated by Peter Coyote

Edited by Susan Utell

Filmed by Steve Davy, Don Starnes, David Donnenfield and Kevin White

Sound mix by Sirius Sound

Saving Species Together

Saving Species Together is a video series and educational campaign highlighting four of California’s threatened and endangered species: Coho salmon, Western snowy plover, California tiger salamander, and San Joaquin kit fox. The videos feature stories of collaboration between private landowners, non-profits, resource agencies, and the public to protect these species.

Full Frame Productions produced all the videos for this campaign, including: four short videos for the web, four PSAs, and a half hour broadcast edit for PBS release. PBS will start airing the program in November, 2020. Full Frame Productions also supported the distribution of the videos through the development of the campaign website and launch strategy.

Director/Writer: Kevin White

Producers: Kevin White and David Donnenfield

Client: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in collaboration with California Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA Fisheries.

Learn more: SavingSpeciesTogether.org

SPEAKING UP

Speaking Up is a 28-minute documentary that examines the dynamics of domestic violence and what neighbors, friends, and family members can do to stop it.

Sponsored by the Family Violence Prevention Fund as part of a comprehensive public awareness campaign, Speaking Up examines the dynamics of domestic violence and what neighbors, friends, and family members can do to stop it. Hosted by Carla-Maria Sorey, the program uses interviews and re-enactments to provide viewers with solutions to address domestic violence at a community level. This program was broadcast nationally on PBS via KTEH/APT

Produced, Written & Directed by Kevin White

Tails of the City

Mixed breeds find love, laughter and mutual pleasure when sharing common ground.

Welcome to Duboce Park. This sunny neighborhood park is a gathering spot for families and dog owners from all over Noe Valley, the Castro and the surrounding Duboce Triangle neighborhood, where blessedly dogs can be off leash. We wanted to bring a smile to the faces of an audience hungry for gentle pleasures, a short, needed distraction from today’s critical events.

Tails of the City will be a 30 minute film.

GoFundMe page

Producer, Director, Editor - Diana Fuller

Producer, Co-Director, Camera, Editor - Jason Wolos

Executive Producer - Berry Minott

Associate Producer - Belinda Presser

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

This Ain’t Your Mother’s Theater Company!

Stories of heartbreak and healing from The Medea Project - Theater for Incarcerated Women/HIV Circle, an ensemble of women working together across backgrounds, race and ages, finding power in telling their raw truths - to themselves and to the world.

Founded in San Francisco County Jail by Rhodessa Jones, The Medea Project brings a unique voice to theater - women whose stories would never be told without the anchor and support of the group's powerful creative process.

"This Ain't Your Mother's Theater Company!" is searing dramatic narrative of the deep connections between women’s health and reproductive rights, and the stark realities of rape, of living with HIV and of women finding their voices in a patriarchal and often brutal world.

Featuring Rhodessa Jones, founder & director of The Medea Project.
Music by Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids.

Produced, filmed and edited by Bruce Schmiechen.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

For Institutional Sales: docmedea@gmail.com

Watch the film: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/medeaproject

WE BRING A QUILT

We Bring A Quilt is a half hour documentary profiling individual stories of those attending the AIDS Memorial Quilt display in Washington DC. Narrated by Robert Wagner, the program aired nationally on PBS and on Bravo. It received an ACE nomination among many other awards.

Produced by David Thompson
Directed by Kevin White & David Thompson
Narration by Robert Wagner

When Rules don't apply

When Rules Don’t Apply tells the story of a large group of leading technology companies that were charged and prosecuted for collusion under antitrust law because of their secret agreement to suppress wages and limit job opportunities of their own employees. The case provides a window into high tech culture and their attitudes towards regulation in their strategy to achieve and maintain market dominance. 

This comprehensive education and information campaign includes a 28-minute film, three short discussion videos, and a resource rich website.

Directed by David Donnenfield

Produced by David Donnenfield & Kevin White

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Learn more: https://www.whenrulesdontapply.com/
Full film available for free here: https://www.whenrulesdontapply.com/stream

"We are experiencing now the fires of the future."    Ken Pimlott, CAL FIRE Director

WILDER THAN WILD: Fire, Forests and the Future reveals how fuel build-up and climate change have made Western wildlands vulnerable to large, high intensity wildfires, while greenhouse gases released from these fires accelerate climate change - a vicious cycle that jeopardizes our forests and affects us all with extreme weather and more wildfires – some of which are now entering highly populated wildland-urban areas. Filmmaker Kevin White takes us on a journey from the Rim Fire of 2013, which burned 257,000 acres in the central Sierra, to the wine country wildfires of 2017, which destroyed 9,000 buildings and killed 44 people. Along the way, we learn how the proactive use of prescribed fire can reduce reliance on reactive fire suppression, and we meet stakeholder groups working with scientists and innovative resource managers to build consensus on how to restore and manage the lands we love and depend on. 

Producers: Stephen Most & Kevin White
Director: Kevin White
Writer: Stephen Most

A Filmmakers Collaborative SF Production

Now streaming on Kanopy and Vimeo on Demand.

Community screening kits available here.

Learn more: https://www.wilderthanwildfilm.org/

THE WOMEN NEXT DOOR

THE WOMEN NEXT DOOR is a thoughtful and emotive documentary about women in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Israeli director Michal Aviad was living in the United States when the Intifada broke out in the West Bank and Gaza. Filled with questions about how the Occupation affected women on both sides of the conflict she set off in a journey through Israel and the Occupied Territories with two other women -- a Palestinian assistant director and an Israeli cinematographer. The film explores the roles that the Occupation designated for women on both sides and the questions it raises. In a world of occupation, what is the meaning of femininity, motherhood, birth, violence, compassion and solidarity between women? Can the womanhood of Israelis and Palestinians be separated from their political reality? The women next door are the women on either side of the border, as well as, those who face the camera and those who stand behind it. THE WOMEN NEXT DOOR provides a unique perspective on women’s lives in the Middle East and the critical part they play in rebuilding societies ravaged by war.

This film was broadcast nationally on PBS in the Point of View series and received awards from the Berlin Film Festival, the Jerusalem Film Festival, the San Francisco Film Festival and several others.

Produced and Directed by Michal Aviad

U.S. Producer: Kevin White

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF

Distributed by: Women Make Movies

THE WOMEN PIONEERS

A hundred years ago, women pioneers came from Europe to Palestine, to realize the dream of creating a new woman in a new world, a woman who is as independent as men are. The women pioneers have left diaries and texts which tell their stories. Their writings shed new light on the archival footage of the time.

The Women Pioneers uncovers the course of their passionate battles and painful disappointments, until they were defeated, and gave up their own liberation for the national struggle.

Premiered at DocAviv 2013.
A documentary by Michal Aviad.

Fiscal sponsorship by Filmmakers Collaborative SF
Distributed by: Film Platform

Working Woman

Working Woman is a beautifully performed drama about the everyday struggles of being female in the workplace. Orna (Liron Ben Shlush) is the mother of three young children whose husband is struggling to start his own restaurant. To help support her family Orna lands a job with a former army superior, Benny (Menashe Noy), who is now a successful real estate developer. While Orna embraces her new position and tries to balance its demands with her home life, she begins to experience escalating sexual harassment from her boss. Her rapid rise through the ranks and her increasing financial success seem to parallel a pattern of predatory behavior which ultimately brings her career and marital relationship to the brink. This timely and devastating story is expertly told by long time feminist filmmaker Michal Aviad.

Directed by: Filmmakers Collaborative Co-Founder, Michal Aviad

Distributed by Zeitgeist Films