Rights! Camera! Action! Film Series

When a circus tent goes up outside of his apartment, a disabled filmmaker must confront the legacy of the Freak Show and whether his past autobiographical filmmaking has fit into its tradition. With the camera pointed away from himself, he captures the personal and poetic from his wheelchair. Shot entirely from the filmmaker's literal physical perspective, both from his wheelchair and his two feet, I Didn't See You There is a groundbreaking work of documentary cinema by first-time feature director Reid Davenport.

Exposing the punitive laws in Nigeria that have put an already beleaguered community at increased risk of extortion and violence, this documentary follows a group of a young non-conforming Nigerians who have created safe houses in Lagos and Harlem. The film toggles between the two cities as daily threats endanger the health and safety of a community united across continents. 

Through intimate stories of patients, families, and medical providers, BEDLAM is a feature-length documentary that immerses us in the national crisis surrounding care for people with severe mental illness. Filmed over five years, it brings us inside one of America’s busiest psychiatric emergency rooms, into jails where psychiatric patients are warehoused, and to the homes – and homeless encampments – of members of our communities with mental illness, where silence and shame often compound personal suffering. 

Based on Francisco Goldman’s book and executive produced by Oscar-winner George Clooney and Grant Heslov, this film tells the story of the 1998 murder of Guatemalan human rights activist Bishop Juan Gerardi and the subsequent investigation by the church that uncovered a web of conspiracy and murder, entangling the upper echelons of the government.

Love Lived on Death Row tells the story of the four Syriani siblings whose father was sentenced to die for the murder of their mother in 1990, and Meg Eggleston, who became their father’s friend and spiritual advisor through letters to him in prison. Orphaned and estranged, the Syriani children raised themselves while they lived with hate, anger and confusion as the man they could only refer to as “Him Him” lived on death row. But in 2004 they collectively decided to visit him in prison, seeking answers so they could move on with their adult lives. What transpired that day was a miracle of forgiveness followed by a journey of healing, restoring family memories and then a battle for his clemency.