Student Union and Intercultural Center

SU&IC Video Library 

Enjoy the following films titles for instructional or private viewing. The films can be access to all students, faculty, and staff by logging into Inside KCC and clicking on SU&IC Video Library.

POETRY OF RESILIENCE, Exquisitely made film explores survival, strength and the power of the human heart, body and soul—as expressed through poetry. She highlights six different poets, who individually survived Hiroshima, the Holocaust, China’s Cultural Revolution, the Kurdish Genocide in Iraq, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Iranian Revolution. By summoning the creative voice of poetry to tell stories of survival and witness, each reclaims humanity and dignity in the wake of some of history’s most dehumanizing circumstances. POETRY OF RESILIENCE gives us an intimate look into the language of the soul and brings us closer to understanding the insanity of war and how art will flourish, in spite of any obstacle. This film is recommended for courses in poetry studies, literature, peace and conflict studies and genocide studies.

Chisolm '72 - Recalling a watershed event in US politics, this compelling documentary takes an in-depth look at the 1972 presidential campaign of Shirley Chisholm, the first black woman elected to Congress and the first to seek nomination for the highest office in the land. Following Chisholm from her own announcement of her candidacy through her historic speech in Miami at the Democratic National Convention, the story is a fight for inclusion. Shunned by the political establishment and the media, this longtime champion of marginalized Americans asked for support from people of color, women, gays, and young people newly empowered to vote at the age of 18. Chisholm's bid for an equal place on the presidential dais generated strong, even racist opposition. Yet her challenge to the status quo and her message about exercising the right to vote struck many as progressive and positive. Period footage and music, interviews with supporters, opponents, observers, and Chisholm's own commentary all illuminate her groundbreaking initiative, as well as political and social currents still very much alive today.

Sisters in Resistance - This compelling documentary shares the story of four French women of uncommon courage who, in their teens and twenties, risked their lives to fight the Nazi occupation of their country. Neither Jews nor Communists, they were in no danger of arrest before they joined the Resistance. They could have remained safe at home. But they chose to resist. Within two years all four were arrested by the Gestapo and deported as political prisoners to the hell of Ravensbruck concentration camp, where they helped one another survive. Today, elderly but still very active, they continue to push forward as social activists and intellectual leaders in their fields. The film captures their amazing lives, and reveals an uncommon, intense bond of friendship that survives to this day.

Muslim in America - Since 2015, anti-Muslim hate groups, conspiracy theories and hate crimes have risen in the United States.  In this Peabody Award-winning exposé,  Deeyah Khan explores the connections between this increase in hate-driven incidents and state-endorsed  racism  and  investigates what it's like to be Muslim in a country where many people feel they don’t belong.  Filmed  before and during the coronavirus pandemic and while events following the death of George Floyd unfolded around her in America, Khan  meets ordinary Muslims whose lives have been shattered by violence and intolerance,  activists trying to combat a rising tide of hatred,  armed militia who believe Islam is infiltrating the U.S., and lawmakers who have themselves been the target of vitriolic rhetoric, such as Minnesota congresswoman Ilhan Omar. Deploying her uniquely intimate filming style, Deeyah seeks to get to the heart of the Muslim experience - providing a vivid insight into the experiences of alienation, of rejection, and the daily struggles of keeping faith in  both Islam and the American Dream.

White Right - In this Emmy-winning documentary, acclaimed Muslim filmmaker Deeyah Khan meets U.S. neo-Nazis and white nationalists including Richard Spencer face to face and attends the now-infamous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville as she seeks to understand the personal and political motivations behind the resurgence of far-right extremism in the U.S.Speaking with fascists, racists and proponents of alt-right ideologies, Deeyah, attempts to discover new possibilities for connection and solutions. As she tries to see beyond the headlines to the human beings, her own prejudices are challenged and her tolerance tested. When she finds herself in the middle of America's biggest and most violent far right rally in recent years, Deeyah's safety is jeopardized. Can she find it within herself to try and befriend the fascists she meets?With a U.S. president propagating anti-Muslim propaganda, the far-right gaining ground in German elections, hate crime rising in the UK, and divisive populist rhetoric infecting political and public discourse across western democracies, WHITE RIGHT: MEETING THE ENEMY asks why. The film is an urgent, resonant and personal look at race wars in America

Black Feminist -BLACK FEMINIST is a lively and illuminating documentary that explores the double-edged sword of racial and gender oppression that Black Women face in America. Frustrated by the lack of intersectionality in the women’s movement and the misogyny plaguing the Black liberation movement, filmmaker Zanah Thirus set out to shine a light on the complexities and power of Black feminism. Featuring interviews with a wide range of scholars, writers, business owners, veterans and comedians including former Ebony Editor-in-Chief Kyra Kyles, professor Carrie Morris, and author Tami Winfrey Harris, the film lays bare the everyday lived experiences of Black Women everywhere.

Belly of the Beast -When a courageous young woman and a radical lawyer discover a pattern of illegal sterilizations in California’s women’s prisons, they wage a near-impossible battle against the Department of Corrections. With a growing team of investigators inside prison working with colleagues on the outside, they uncover a series of statewide crimes -- from inadequate health care to sexual assault to coercive sterilizations -- primarily targeting women of color. This shocking legal drama captured over 7-years features extraordinary access and intimate accounts from currently and formerly incarcerated people, demanding attention to a shameful and ongoing legacy of eugenics and reproductive injustice in the United States.

Councilwoman -COUNCILWOMAN is the inspiring story of Carmen Castillo, an immigrant Dominican housekeeper in a Providence hotel who wins a seat in City Council, taking her advocacy for low-income workers from the margins to city politics. The film follows Castillo’s first term as she balances her full-time day job as a housekeeper with her family life and the demands of public office. She faces skeptics who say she doesn’t have the education to govern, the power of corporate interests who take a stand against her fight for a $15 hourly wage, and a tough re-election against two contenders. As Castillo battles personal setbacks and deep-rooted notions of who is qualified to run for political office, she fiercely defends her vision of a society in which all people can earn enough to support themselves and their families. An eye-opening look at entrenched power in American democracy, COUNCILWOMAN is essential viewing for Latinx, Immigrant, Political Science and Labor Studies courses.

Heather Booth: Changing the World - Renowned organizer and activist Heather Booth began her remarkable career at the height of the Civil Rights movement. Through her life and work, this inspiring film explores many of the pivotal moments in progressive movements that altered our history over the last fifty years, from her involvement with Fannie Lou Hamer and the Freedom Summer Project, to her founding of the JANE Underground in 1964, to her personal relationships with respected leaders such as Julian Bond and Senator Elizabeth Warren. Featuring interviews from close friends, clients, political colleagues and current Midwest Academy students, HEATHER BOOTH: CHANGING THE WORLD explores Heather’s legacy in progressive politics and organizing. At a time when many are wondering how to make their voices heard, when civil and women's rights are under attack, Lilly Rivlin’s acclaimed documentary is an empowering look at how social change happens.

Fannie Lou Hamer's America -Fannie Lou Hamer was a leader in the civil rights movement, founder of the Freedom Democratic Party in Mississippi, and the organizer of Freedom Summer, a volunteer-based campaign launched in the summer of 1964 in order to register as many Black voters in Mississippi as possible. FANNIE LOU HAMER’S AMERICA, a documentary produced by her grand-niece Monica Land, and winner of Best TV Feature Documentary or miniseries at the IDA Awards, is a portrait of a civil rights activist and the injustices in America that made her work essential. Through public speeches, personal interviews, and powerful songs of the fearless Mississippi sharecropper-turned-human-rights-activist, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America explores and celebrates the lesser-known life of one of the Civil Rights Movement’s greatest leaders.

Running with my Girls -Tired of watching local government ignore their communities’ interests, five diverse female activists decide to run for municipal office in Denver — one of the fastest gentrifying cities in the country. It begins when Shontel Lewis wins a transit board seat, inspiring four women who worked on her campaign – Dr. Lisa Calderón, Candi CdeBaca, Shayla Richard, and Veronica Barela – to make the unusual decision to run as a cohort. They quickly realize that in politics, large sums of money can convince voters to overlook scandals, empty promises, and shallow relationships with the community.With only a fraction of the funds of their incumbent opponents, the women tirelessly knock doors, make calls, and rely on each other to power their grassroots campaigns. Using an intimate and unfiltered style to tell each candidate’s story, filmmaker Rebekah Henderson honestly portrays the challenges faced by political outsiders, particularly women of color, while also revealing their tenacious commitment to justice and democracy. Ultimately, RUNNING WITH MY GIRLS is a lesson about an engaged community outrunning the deep pockets of the political establishment and a demonstration that building a new kind of political power is not just aspirational but possible.

Without a Whisper  - Konnon:Kwe -uncovers the hidden history of the profound influence Indigenous women had on the beginnings of the women’s rights movement in the United States. Before the first women’s rights convention in Seneca Falls in 1848, European colonial women lacked even the most basic rights, while Haudenosaunee women had a potent political and spiritual voice and authority in all aspects of their lives. The contact that the early suffragists had with Haudenosaunee women in New York state shaped their thinking and had a vital impact on their struggle for equality that is taken for granted today. The film follows Mohawk Bear Clan Mother Louise Herne and Professor Sally Roesch Wagner as they seek to correct the historical narrative about the origins of women’s rights in the United States.

Love, Barbara -In her collection of over 100 films, pioneering experimental filmmaker Barbara Hammer centered her own body, community, and love to create performative documentations of her lived experience as a lesbian. Her imprint on the art world, on women artists, and on the lesbian community is profound and indelible. However, her greatest love of all – Florrie Burke, who was her partner of over 30 years – was left largely visually unexplored in her public work. In LOVE, BARBARA, the viewer witnesses Burke’s enduring love and grief as she discovers artwork inspired by their relationship, much of it previously unseen, that Hammer left for her to find only after she was gone. This film blends cinematic imagery and archival materials such as video letters, sketches, and writing to offer a touching tribute to Hammer. It is simultaneously a reflection on Hammer’s life and the continuance of an intimate conversation between lovers that transcends death. LOVE, BARBARA offers an artistic exploration of grief, love, sexuality, and what it takes to make a radical impact through art.