San Francisco Documentary Festival 2022

Shorts 5: Worth A Thousand Words (plus Q&A)

Expired June 13, 2022 6:59 AM
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7 films in package
54 Miles to Home
In 1965 three Black farming families risked their lives by providing refuge to the thousands of voting rights marchers on the historic five day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery. Nearly 60 years later, The Halls, Steeles and Gardners share for the first time what their parents and grandparents sacrificed and how their families’ legacies and this historic land can be preserved for generations to come. Their stories help unveil the rural and agricultural roots of the civil rights movement, while asking the seemingly timeless American question: how do you fight for what you know is right when the majority is against you?
A Date, with History
In December 1955, a brief news item in a national publication reported the arrest of a Black woman and a white man at a Miami motel. They were arrested for vagrancy, at the time a vague charge wielded by police against activity deemed undesirable — in this instance two people meeting, likely for sex, in violation of the city’s strict segregation laws. Delving into the case, the filmmakers uncover the personal stories of the two protagonists and show that, far from a footnote, the episode provides an unexpected glimpse into the era's complex social history.
Freedom Swimmer
In order to understand the present, we need to shed light on the past. Freedom Swimmer documents one of the most extraordinary mass escapes of the 20th century – and offers context for a city in uprise, today. Our hybrid, poetic documentary, interweaving extraordinary hand-drawnanimation and film, tells the tale of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution. It is a tale that rhythmically parallels his granddaughter’s participation in mass protests now, and the building pressure for her to escape Hong Kong as new National Security Laws set in.Our film is a story of fear to freedom.
Pineland/Hollywood
At a traffic stop, distinguishing reality from fantasy becomes the difference between life and death.
The American Frontier
The American Frontier looks at Hollywood’s depiction of the Old West. With archival footage and scholarly interviews, the film examines the influence of Westerns and how it impacts society through its portrayals of Indigenous people, gun culture, and the idolization of cowboys.
The Sound of the Time
Nico is a sound man who listens to and records conversations of war soldiers from the past, but when he hears the voice of Andrés, a soldier who has survived several wars, a new empathy is discoverde by him, so he decides to make himself heard by Andrés. Despite his attempts, Nico does not succeed, however, listening the death of Andrés, he lives the inhuman and the real pain in wars.
Worth A Thousand Words Q&A

In order to understand the present, we need to shed light on the past. Freedom Swimmer documents one of the most extraordinary mass escapes of the 20th century – and offers context for a city in uprise, today. This hybrid, poetic documentary, interweaving extraordinary hand-drawn animation and film, tells the tale of a grandfather’s perilous swim from China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution. It is a tale that rhythmically parallels his granddaughter’s participation in mass protests now, and the building pressure for her to escape Hong Kong as new National Security Laws set in. This film is a story of fear to freedom.

  • Runtime
    15 minutes
  • Country
    United Kingdom
  • Director
    Olivia Martin-McGuire
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