Movies: Activism

Transformed by the love of a kitten, a tough New York City construction contractor is inspired to rescue abandoned animals, become a vegetarian, and take his message of compassion to the streets. A construction contractor who grew up on the mean str...

In this tense and immersive tour de force, audiences are taken directly into the line of fire between powerful, opposing Peruvian leaders who will stop at nothing to keep their respective goals intact. On the one side is President Alan Garcia, who, e...

Living in an ancient redwood tree for more than two years to prevent the tree from being clear-cut, Julia Butterfly Hill captured our hearts and minds by showing us that one person can make a difference. Through interviews with Hill, filmmaker Doug W...

Mixing archival footage with interviews, this film celebrates one of Los Angeles's most influential painters and Chicano art activists from the 1970s....

A very personal and dynamic meditation on the current global refugee crisis through the eyes and voices of campaigners, specially children, where past and present establish a dialogue. A reflection on the importance of human rights....

Ukraine's topless feminist sensation Femen has created a media frenzy across Europe, but before they take the world by storm, these bold and beautiful women must confront the dark and perverse forces that power their organisation....

Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin were both on the leading edge of protest in the 1960’s. Rubin became an entrepreneur and the chief spokesman for the Baby Boom generation. Hoffman remained active in environmental issues and grass roots politics, maintai...

A young Venezuelan freedom fighter seeks asylum in the United States, but his heart remains in the fight back home....

Hear the inside story of Huey Newton and the Black Panthers with this documentary that examines their efforts to promote the rights of African Americans as well as the organization's violent tactics, including the killing of a police officer. The fil...

The Balkans cradles Europe's last wild rivers and supports abundant wildlife and healthy, intact ecosystems. These rivers are "The Undamaged" – clean, pristine, and undammed. With over 2,700 small and large hydro power plants planned or under constru...

In the winter of 2011, after a controversial election, Vladimir Putin was reinstalled as president of Russia. In response, hundreds of thousands of citizens rose up all over the country to challenge the legitimacy of Putin’s rule. Among them were a g...

A Gonzo-style exploration that goes beyond everything you thought you knew about the dangers, and promise, of the Darknet. Hackers, Cypherpunks and crypto-anarchists guide us ever deeper down this rabbit hole, uncovering the hidden light at the botto...

For six years, Melati, 18, has been fighting the plastic pollution that is ravaging her country, Indonesia. Like her, a generation is rising up to fix the world. Everywhere, teenagers and young adults are fighting for human rights, the climate, freed...

How to Fix the World? is a comprehensive and informative documentary about direct action in the 1990s and 2000s, directed by Jouko Aaltonen. In the documentary, anarchists, climate activists, and squatters openly describe their experiences and link t...

The Road Forward is an electrifying musical documentary that connects a pivotal moment in Canada’s civil rights history—the beginnings of Indian Nationalism in the 1930s—with the powerful momentum of First Nations activism today. Interviews and musi...

For the last quarter century, Houston native Arden Eversmeyer journeyed across the country to record hundreds of oral "herstories" with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden's legacy by animating the re...

Emmett Till was brutally killed in the summer of 1955. At his funeral, his mother forced the world to reckon with the brutality of American racism. This short documentary was commissioned by "Time" magazine for their series "100 Photos" about the mo...

In light of jailed activist Umar Khalid withdrawing his petition from the Supreme Court amid repeated adjournments, journalist Ravish Kumar captures the contours of Delhi in a video letter addressed to him. What comes out is a critical piece reflecti...

This BBC documentary chronicles the life of folk/soft-rock singer John Denver through his rise with The Chad Mitchell Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary, his subsequent stardom, his popularity decline, and his tragic death at age 53....

This documentary film follows farmers and activists fighting together to stop the Indiana Enterprise Center, a mega-sized industrial park planned west of South Bend, Indiana...