Kirwan Institute - Ohio State University

BUS 174 is a careful investigation of the hijack of a bus in Rio, based on an extensive research of stock footage, interviews and official documents.
The hijack took place in June 12, 2000 (Valentines day in Brazil) and was broadcast live for 4 and a half hours. The whole country stopped to watch the drama on TV.
The film tells 2 parallel stories. Not only does it explain the dramatic events that unfolded as the police tried, and failed, to handle the hijack situation; but it also tells the amazing life story of the hijacker, revealing how a typical Rio de Janeiro street kid was transformed into a violent criminal because society systematically denied him any kind of social existence.
Both stories are interwoven in such a way that they end up explaining why Brazil, and other countries with similar social and economic problems, are so violent.

"Ônibus 174" isn't a film: it is a lesson about the Brazilian social tragedy.”- José Geraldo Couto, Folha da São Palo Newspaper.
“…The importance of this documentary is so great that it is not about applying current criteria of judgment. This film is simply situated beyond or before those criteria.”- Luiz Zanir, O Estado de São Palo Newspaper.

This is a story based on an actual incident, an American tragedy that everyone involved tried to forget or deny...
During the first week of January, 1923, Rosewood, a flourishing black town in central Florida, was burned to the ground by whites from the neighboring, less prosperous, town of Sumner. Fueled by a white woman's falsified story that she was assaulted and beaten by a black stranger, a mob of Sumner men declared war on their unsuspecting neighbors. Many of Rosewood's inhabitants were murdered in cold blood and scores more were driven from their beds into the surrounding dank woods, never to return to their homes -- or their secure way of life -- again. And for more than 70 years Rosewood's history and destruction were kept a secret, never discussed by the survivors.
Yet not everyone gave in to either savagery or panic during that horrifying week. A strange and unexpected alliance between two men, one black and one white, brought about a daring rescue that carried dozens of terrified women and children out of the dark Florida swamps to safety.
The willingness of those two men to put their vast differences aside to save human lives forms the core of bravery and hope around which a unique chapter in American history can be illuminated.

Rosewood is an effective, intelligent film, and a strong return to form for its director.”- Keith Phipps, A.V. Club
“…[Rosewood] shows how racism breeds and feeds, and is taught by father to son.”- Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Rabbit-Proof-Fence
Directed by Phillip Noyce

Drama/Adventure, Australia
2002, 94 mins.
www.miramax.com/rabbitprooffence/

Featuring the Golden Globe-nominated score by Peter Gabriel -– is a powerful true story of hope and survival and has been met with international acclaim! At a time when it was Australian government policy to train aboriginal children as domestic workers and integrate them into white society, young Molly Craig decides to lead her little sister and cousin in a daring escape from their internment camp. Molly and the girls, part of what would become known as Australia's "Stolen Generations," must then elude the authorities on a dangerous 1,500-mile adventure along the rabbit-proof fence that bisects the continent and will lead them home. As shown by this outstanding motion picture, their universally touching plight and unparalleled courage are a beautiful testament to the undying strength of the human spirit!

“…[A] searing dramatization of a story of remarkable courage, stamina and spirit.”- Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post.
“…All of "Rabbit-Proof Fence's" characters are so well-drawn, so human - that even in the harsh light of history - it remains difficult to understand how Australia allowed such inhumanity to become institutional, mechanized and accepted.”- Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

Set in the early 1930s, the film takes up the story of Grace (Bryce Dallas Howard) and her father (Willem Dafoe) after burning the town of Dogville at the end of the previous film. Grace and her father travel in convoy with a number of gunmen through rural Alabama where they stop briefly outside a plantation called Manderlay. As the gangsters converse, a black woman emerges from Manderlay's front gates complaining that someone is about to be whipped for stealing a bottle of wine. Grace enters the plantation and learns that within it, slavery persists, roughly 70 years after the American Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation. Grace is appalled, and insists on staying at the plantation with a small contingent of gunmen and her father's lawyer, Joseph, in order to guarantee the slaves' safe transition to freedom. Shortly after Grace's father and the remaining gangsters depart, Mam (Lauren Bacall), the master of the house, dies, but not before asking Grace to burn a notebook containing "Mam's Law," an exhaustive code of conduct for the entire plantation and all its inhabitants, free and slave.

“…no film addict will want to miss [this] cinematic brilliance.”—Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“There is a lot to enjoy in Manderlay and it remains an extremely watchable, thought-provoking and entertaining film…”—Matthew Turner, View London.co.uk

The Freedom Writers Diary is the amazing true story of strength, courage, and achievement in the face of adversity. In the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, dubbed by the administration as "unteachable, at-risk" teenagers. The class was a diverse mix of African-American, Latino, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Caucasian students, many of whom had grown up in rough neighborhoods in Long Beach. In the first few weeks of class, the students made it clear that they were not interested in what their teacher had to say, and made bets about how long she would last in their classroom.
Then a pivotal moment changed their lives forever. When a racial caricature of one of the African-American students circulated the classroom, Erin Gruwell angrily intercepted the drawing and compared it to the Nazi caricatures of Jews during the Holocaust. To her amazement, the students responded with puzzled looks. Erin Gruwell was appalled to discover that many of her students had never heard of the Holocaust. When she asked how many in her class had been shot at, however, almost all of them raised their hands, and began lifting their shirts to show their scars. This initiated a battle-scar show-and-tell that left Erin Gruwell shocked and inspired to take advantage of the powerful energy she had sparked.
By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students' lives. She encouraged them to rethink rigid beliefs about themselves and others, to reconsider daily decisions, and to rechart their futures. With Erin's steadfast support, her students shattered stereotypes to become critical thinkers, aspiring college students, and citizens for change. They even dubbed themselves the "Freedom Writers" - in homage to the Civil Rights activists the "Freedom Riders" - and published a book.
From the moment they named themselves the "Freedom Writers," the students of Room 203 changed from a group of apathetic, frustrated students to a closely knit, motivated family. The Freedom Writers have continued their mission to teach tolerance and share their story of success.
Erin Gruwell and the Freedom Writers started a foundation to positively impact communities by decreasing high school drop out rates through the replication and enhancement of the Freedom Writers Method. The Freedom Writers Foundation uses innovative teaching methods to train teachers, in addition to providing scholarships for deserving students. Using the Freedom Writers Method, the Foundation actively addresses the problem with proven results in communities across the country.

“If so many films about so-called troubled teenagers come off as little more than exploitation, it’s often because the filmmakers are not really interested in them, just their dysfunction. “Freedom Writers,” by contrast, isn’t only about an amazingly dedicated young teacher… it’s also, emphatically, about some extraordinary young people.”—Manohla Dargis, The New York Times.
“…[Freedom Writers] takes the bold approach of being earnest, honest and unafraid to be called naive. As a result, it's extremely affecting.”—John Anderson, Variety