The Shooting on Mole Street

On March 1, 1996, 15-year-old Shafeeq Murrel was killed on the street in South Philadelphia — innocently caught in the crossfire between rival pairs of crack dealers out for revenge. Shafeeq’s murder was one of 435 in Philadelphia that year, and it was soon shelved as a cold case. Then, detectives David Baker and Julie Hill took it on— two middle-aged white cops working a Black neighborhood in their battered Plymouth Gran Fury. Filmed like a taut police procedural, THE SHOOTING ON MOLE STREET chronicles the investigation, as Baker and Hill knock on doors, shake down dealers, and beg, threaten and cajole residents in an effort to get someone — anyone — to talk. Baker rejects any accusation of police racism in the unsolved murders of young Black men. Isn’t he out here trying to close the case? But racism is more complicated than intent.

Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story

Boogie Man is a comprehensive look at political strategist, racist, and former Republican National Convention Committee chairman, Lee Atwater, who reinvigorated the Republican Party’s Southern Strategy to increase political support among white voters in the South by appealing to racism against African Americans. He mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush and played a key role in the elections of Reagan and George H.W. Bush.

Wattstax

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the living conditions in the current-day Watts neighborhood.

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.

Hull Fair

The ornate pavilions of cinematographs, boxing booths and menageries at Hull Fair.

Confessions of a Burning Man

The experience shared by four first-timers demonstrates how Burning Man dissolves the barriers between races, nationalities and economic classes. A beautiful piece of film-making which inspires and entertains as it provides some understanding about why people return year after year.

For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots

This High Definition, PBS miniseries uses letters, diaries, speeches, journalistic accounts, historical text and military records to document and acknowledge the sacrifices and accomplishments of African-American service men and women since the earliest days of the republic.

Machel Montano: Journey of a Soca King

With a lifelong mission to put soca music on the international map, Machel Montano has pioneered the evolution of the genre throughout his 34-year career.

Ballet Black

Stephen Dwoskin brings together members of the Ballet Negres dance company, founded in London in 1946.

Last of a London Summer

The last days of summer captured on 16mm.

American Thrift: An Expansive Tribute to the "Woman American"

Chevrolet presents this tribute to the American woman and her thrifty ways with money. The film also salutes the individuality of the Amerian citizen and the variety of choices we have in the marketplace.

Dust Devils

A beautifully done video of Burning Man 2001, 2002 & 2003. Lots of people interviews, Center Cafe activity and extensive coverage of artist David Best and the Temple construction and burn. This documentary captures the swirling columns of dust that were created during the intense heat of the 2002 Temple burn.

Danton's Death

Steve, a 25-year-old Black man from the Paris suburbs, seeks to escape the violence of his immediate surroundings by training to become an actor at one of France’s most prestigious drama schools. But soon he discovers that the theater world is only interested in having him inhabit “Black” roles.

Alaaf - 200 Jahre Kölner Karneval

200 years of Cologne Carnival! The most colourful and loudest festival in Cologne celebrates a big birthday. In February 1823, a few men from Cologne's upper class founded the so-called 'Festordnende Komitee' - the forerunner of today's 'Festkomitee Kölner Karneval'. This 'big bang' was a reaction to the old festival getting out of hand in orgies and violence. Carnival was in danger. A ban by the Prussian rulers was imminent. The new committee wanted to control the wild goings-on, establish rules and organise the celebrations.

Kanga

Early 90s London gets a vibrant dose of African culture in this mini odyssey fusing dance, music and fashion.

Le soleil a pas d'chance

Harrow Hospital Carnival

Harrow’s extraordinary and opulent pageant, and seaside holidays on the south coast.

La couleur du temps

Pushout: The Criminalization of Black Girls in Schools

"PUSHOUT" is a feature length film confronting the criminalization and miseducation of African American girls that has led to their alarming high school dropout rate and increase into the juvenile justice system.

Festive Land: Carnival in Bahia

Festive Land examines one of the largest and most extraordinary popular celebrations in the world, the week-long Carnival that brings more than two million people to the streets of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. Carnival is the most expressive showcase of the unique cultural richness of Bahia, where African culture has survived, prospered, and evolved, mixing with other Brazilian influences to create forms found nowhere else in the world. The film captures this unique cultural energy through extraordinary footage of musical performances, dances, religious manifestations, and street celebrations. At the same time, Carnival reflects the racial and social tensions of Brazil's heterogeneous society. At first glance there appear to be two million people chaotically mixed on the streets, but a more detailed look reveals how patterns of segregation driven by racial, social and economic differences continue in Carnival.