BUI DOI: LIFE LIKE DUST
M H A
For a member of a gang, like is "like dust:" transient, flighty, and never certain. This film relates the experiences of Ricky Phan, a young man from Vietnam who fell into the gang life as a California teen. The film weaves Ricky's impressionistic childhood memories of hard work and hunger with the comparative "power" he gained as a gang member. The film will prompt viewers to ask which is more violent: fleeing from a war-ravaged country or trying to survive in an alien culture. From Ricky's personal story arises larger cultural issues about the basic human needs that gang life serves, and, perhaps, what social changes need to occur before the tide of alienation is stemmed. 28 mins / 1994

COMMON FIRE
H C A P
COMMON FIRE was kindled from a concern about the quality of personal and public life, growing cynicism and sense of powerlessness in many sectors, and cultural encouragement of narrow self-interest. Yet knowing that beneath the often harsh media coverage there are many people who work steadily for a more positive future, the authors of the book Common Fire began interviewing activist and volunteers to learn three things: What are they like? How did they become that way? What sustains them in a complex, diverse, and ambiguous world? The life stories and patterns that have formed these people committed to the common good, are described in the book Common Fire. The video and guide can be used together to stimulate conversation about our common life, in settings such as a single class, staff retreats, discussion series, church groups, or study circles. Parents, teachers, and others concerned with personal growth will find it useful. 45 mins / 1996

CONFESSIONS OF ROSALEE
H C A P
This PBS Frontline program confronts the interrelationships of poverty, racism, crime, illiteracy, and drug use and their persistence over generations. Reporter Leon Dash spent four years getting to know Rosalee Cunningham, a thief, former prostitute and drug addict, and mother of eight children. An excellent entre to a study of the welfare state. 57 mins /

THE CULTURE OF COMMERCE
H C A P
THE CULTURE OF COMMERCE conveniently compares the dynamics of capitalism in Germany, Japan, and the U.S. Japanese workers pledge their lives to their company in exchange for life-long job security. The German system relies on co-determination, where consensus among owners and workers is the goal. And the U.S. is characterized by often hostile worker-manager relations. Case studies and interviews with workers, owners, and economists provide personal testimony and historical reasons for each country's present system. This video will make vivid the diversity of corporate practices and capitalism itself. Suitable for high school and up. 58 mins / 1994

FOUNDATIONS: THE PEOPLE AND THE MONEY
H C A
This documentary explores the world of not-for-profit foundations, showing the people who work for them as well as some of those who seek the funding foundations offer. We hear the officers of foundations describing their goals and objectives; see program officers working with applicants; and sit in on a board meeting as funding decisions are made. A prize winner at the Chicago International Film Festival. 27 mins / 1989

FOUR LIVES: PORTRAITS IN MANIC DEPRESSION
C A P
FOUR LIVES sensitively portrays the predicament of those who suffer from manic depression. The brain disorder causes erratic mood swings in nearly three million Americans. When depressed they experience debilitating anxiety, sadness and hopelessness. When manic, they are talkative and dangerously uninhibited. If untreated, one in six may commit suicide. This film intimately profiles 4 persons who are being treated for the disease, including perspectives from their psychiatrists and parents. Scenes at a support group emphasize the benefits of human understanding. FOUR LIVES is a candid piece of filmmaking. 60 mins / 1987

FOUR VOICES
H C A
Many communities suffer from homelessness, displacement and unemployment. People are tackling these problems and taking control of their lives through community-based education and problem-solving. FOUR VOICES illustrates the effectiveness of this approach by showing it at work in very different communities across the U.S. 28 mins / 1987

FULL OF SOUND AND FURY: LIVING WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA
C A P
Schizophrenia, one of the most common major mental illnesses, shatters an individual. This sympathetic film presents the experiences of three sufferers of the disease. One man describes the anguish of his marginal existence and his craving for a useful life. Another speaks of her daily battle with delusions and fears. And a mother recounts the torment that drove her son to suicide. This film depicts the schizophrenic's pain and vulnerability with great sensitivity. 54 mins / 1985

THE LYNCHBURG STORY
C A P
Between 1927 and 1972, over 8,000 Virginians were sterilized because the state decided they were unfit to reproduce. This carefully documented story deals with an obscure but significant in byroad American history--the acceptance and implementation of eugenics (the strengthening and cleansing of the human species through selective breeding and sterilization) as a form of state-sanctioned policy. An important and though-provoking program for students and groups concerned with ethics, science and technology. 55 mins / 1993

METROPOLITAN AVENUE
H C A P
An inspiring film about community, METROPOLITAN AVENUE addresses the changing role of women and how powerful ordinary people can be when they fight together for a common cause. Racial tension, cutbacks in municipal services and a changing economy threaten this lively Brooklyn neighborhood. Traditional homemakers lead the struggle to save their community, discovering the empowerment that comes from cooperation. 52 mins / 1985

PETER, DONALD, WILLIE, PAT
H C A P
How do people become homeless? This documentary shadows four men of various ages who have been without homes for various reasons. Peter is an addict who combs through garbage and sells what he finds at flea markets. Donald is an ex-con with epilepsy. Willie suffered frostbite and lost his job. And Pat is a victim of sexual abuse. What they have in common is a will to maintain integrity despite their circumstances. Their attitudes toward their own fates will surprise viewers and humanize the large social problem of homelessness. (Does contain some profanity.) 28 mins / 1994

PHILANTHROPY: VOLUNTARY ACTION FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD
H C A P
This video gives examples of the purposes and power of philanthropy. People, foundations, and corporations give for various moral, economic, altruistic reasons. The film talks about the history of philanthropy from Andrew Carnegie and Jane Addams, and moves to today’s foundations and not-for-profits that continue the American tradition of helping those in need. The risks of philanthropy are discussed—from helping a slave in the Underground Railroad to aiding refugees today. A good contextual picture at the world of philanthropy. 29 mins / 1990

THEM THAT’S NOT
C A
We are the ones who can change the welfare system, people who are the most oppressed--Native people, black people, disabled people, single mothers on welfare… It’s almost like a revolution, but a revolution without the violence, says and anti-poverty activist Brenda Thompson. From the courts of Nova Scotia to the streets of Vancouver, THEM THAT’S NOT takes a critical look at Canada’s welfare system through the eyes of single women and single mothers and examines why they and others are joining together to fight for social change. 54 mins / 1994

TIMES OF A SIGN
H C A P
You wouldn’t imagine tiny Odon, Indiana, as a center for non-violent protest. But that’s exactly what happened when one passionate citizen named Bill Breeden protested the naming of a street after John Poindexter, a "favorite son" of Odon and a convicted figure in the Iran-Contra hearings (though his conviction was later reversed). Breeden stole the street sign, held it hostage, and went to jail to make his point. The film provides a unique bridge between the more remote lives of middle Americans and the very center of political power and influence in the federal government. Subtitled "a folk history of the Iran-Contra scandal," this is a quirky, ironic documentary that will challenge your notions of justice, and your definitions of "radical" and "conservative." Comes with a helpful discussion guide. 40 mins / 1993

TO LIVE UNTIL YOU DIE
H C A
A portrait of Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, whose work with the terminally ill sheds light on the complexity of the dying process. 57 mins / 1984

TURNING SIXTEEN: TEENS AROUND THE WORLD

This series makes vivid issues facing teenagers across the globe. THE STORY OF IDRISSA Idrissa is a Nigerian teen whose culture is in transition between nomadism and capitalism. Can traditional values be maintained in an ever-increasing consumer society? THE STORY OF EMAN Eman is an Egyptian girl who hopes to attend university despite cultural traditions. Like many of her generation, she is odds with her parents over issues of freedom for women. THE STORY OF PUTTINAN Puttinan has left the Thailand countryside for Bankok to be a child rights advocate, although she is only sixteen. 30 mins / 1994

UNCOMMON GROUND
M H A
Subtitled "A new look at South Africa through the eyes of five L.A. youth," UNCOMMON GROUND is a film on top of a film. Curious about how a group of multi-racial American teens would respond to witnessing the slow unpeeling of apartheid in South Africa, filmmaker Aime Williams took them to a country where young people lead the struggles for justice. The youth make brief videos on their South African experience, in which they question notions of privilege, home, and beauty. An interesting experiment in cross-cultural adolescence and social justice. 60 mins / 1994

THE VANISHING FATHER
H C A P
This FRONTLINE explores the dramatic change in the American family and the startling findings of sociologist that, despite economic status, children from single parent homes are twice as likely to drop out of high school, to become teenage mothers, and to spend time in jail. 57 mins / 1992

VOICES FROM A STEELTOWN
M H C A P
In the 1920s, Braddock, Pennsylvania was a thriving cultural and commercial center, a boomtown born a generation earlier when Andrew Carnegie opened his first steel mill there. Today Braddock is dying. Poverty has replaced prosperity and the town’s few remaining residents view their situation with a mix of stoicism, puzzlement and humor. Braddock’s story is a classic one, mirrored throughout America’s Rust Belt. "A moving, sensitive portrayal of the social and emotional costs of plant closings to workers, families, and the community. A powerful aid to discussion in classrooms and union halls." Nick Salvatore, Cornell University. 28 mins / 1989

THE WAY WE DIE: LISTENING TO THE TERMINALLY ILL
M H C A P
Poetic and concise, THE WAY WE DIE is a film about dying told with a light hand, just hinting at the many issues--medical, psychological, spiritual--that death invokes. The video focuses on four stories of terminally ill people and those who love them. The filmmaker made the interesting decision not to reveal what diseases the four have, forcing the viewer to consider each case from the purest perspective. The stories are told largely with real footage and real sentiment. THE WAY WE DIE would be a suitable starter for a discussion of euthanasia, and is eye-opening viewing for care providers or ethicists. 25 mins / 1995

WHEN DOCTORS GET CANCER
H C A P
This film explores the redefinition of the doctor/patient relationship. One psychiatrist whose 3-year-old son died from leukemia had to endure watching the boy have 13 spinal taps. When should a doctor stop trying to cure and focus on making the remainder of a patient's days livable? (It is worth noting that the film was funded by Cerenex Pharmaceuticals, a company that no doubt benefits from greater use of pain killers). If the viewer can forgive that, there are other good ideas: that patients and doctors should be equal partners in healing, that doctors sometimes need to admit that they will be guiding cancer patients to death, and that people can "die healed." A provocative film on medical ethics. 60 mins / 1994

WORKING IN COMMUNITY SERVICE
E M H
Here’s a look at kids working hard to improve the world. Even though volunteer positions pay no money the rewards can be tremendous! The teens in this video have gained much more than money…they have the satisfaction of knowing that their work truly makes a difference. This video features disabled child program volunteers, museum volunteer, nature center worker, basketball coach and a hospital aide. A community service volunteer coordinator helps your students to find the right job for them. 30 mins / 1997

WORLD WAR III: THE POPULATION EXPLOSION AND OUR PLANET
H C A P
The numbers astound: 260,000 humans are born every day while 70 or more non-human species expire or become endangered. This documentary argues that the consumptive, short-sighted mode of human existence is on a collision course with the biosphere. To illustrate the thesis, filmmaker Michael Tobias chooses graphic images. Tobias' global take on the breadth of these problems is meant to disturb the viewer--deeply. He takes his camera to four countries: Kenya, India, China, and the U.S., where these issues are examined. The most fascinating feature of WORLD WAR III is the interrelationships woven among economic, social, and ecological brutality. This film's agenda is not to explore, but to incite. Even those who disagree will find it useful for starting the conversation. 50 mins / 1994

YOU GOT TO MOVE
C A P
A stirring documentary about personal and social transformation, YOU GOT TO MOVE shows the struggles by "ordinary plainfolks" against injustice. The film covers community actions against strip mining in Kentucky, toxic waste dumping in Tennessee and discrimination in South Carolina. The grassroots movements were inspired by the legendary Highland Folk School. For fifty years the school has catalyzed communication and community change. This film joyfully demonstrates what the school teaches: that people count and can make a difference. 87 mins / 1985

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