2019 Show Me Justice Film Festival

April 3-5, 2019

Univ. of Central Missouri

About the Festival

The Show Me Justice Film Festival is an international film festival that brings films from around the world to the Midwest to showcase the theme of social justice. The festival is coordinated by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Central Missouri in cooperation with the Department of Communication. The films selected for the festival compete for prizes based on their artistic competence, creativity, and exploration of the festival theme.

The Show Me Justice Film Festival strives to raise awareness about social justice. Through the powerful medium of film, our goal is to inspire individuals and communities toward collective action against social injustices such as racism, sexism, poverty, substance abuse and other ills that infiltrate society and suppress democratic movements throughout the world. Filmmakers from around the globe are encouraged to submit short feature films (30 to 60 minute), and short narrative, experimental, animated, and documentary films that put a face on the many shades of social injustice and offer a variety of real experiences by sharing their stories.

Email the Show Me Justice Film Festival at filmfest@ucmo.edu.

Film Screenings

Wednesday Evening (7:00pm—Hendricks Hall)

A four-color separation style illustration featuring the film's three subjects.

Image from Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity and Stereotypes, playing during Wednesday's Evening Program

Wednesday Evening Program begins at 7:00pm in Hendricks Hall.

Executioner's Shadow

USA, Documentary, 40 minutes
Directed by Maggie Burnette Stogner

The death penalty has long been a divisive issue and you may know where you stand? But what if you were the executioner? Perhaps, the issue deserves a second look.

Drawn Together: Comics, Diversity, and Stereotypes

USA, Documentary, 52 minutes
Directed by Harleen Singh

Focusing on comics and their dynamic creators, Drawn Together investigates pervasive racial stereotyping in US society.

Thursday Morning (11:00am—Hendricks Hall)

A woman photographs a semi-nude man.

Image from Stardust & Moonbeams, playing during Thursday's Morning Program

Women Are Gold

USA, Documentary, 9 minutes
Directed by Lizzie Green

Penh Lenh, a jewelry store in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, gives women a chance to reach their dreams. In a society where women are less valued than men, the women of Penh Lenh learn to value themselves.

Stop

USA, Narrative, 12 minutes
Directed by Steven DeGennaro

A traffic stop turns sinister when two black men encounter a small-town cop.

Invisible Heel

USA, Experimental, 1 minutes
Directed by Ryan Simantel

What do you do when you don’t fit neatly under any of the labels society creates?

VAGILANTE

USA, Documentary, 6 minutes
Directed by Mari Meyer

Following the 2016 presidential election, a female artist finds her voice as an activist by creating a superhero: the Vagilante.

Stardust & Moonbeams

USA, Narrative, 17 minutes
Directed by Terri Farley-Teruel

Beth is tired of seeing only male viewpoints on public display. With a camera and Will’s help, Beth pushes society’s boundaries while doing her best to upend gender roles.

MAMA

Spain, Narrative, 9 minutes
Directed by Eduardo Vieite

Trying to find a new home, a Syrian refugee finds herself part of a massive exodus driven by war.

Dojo Girl

USA, Narrative, 13 minutes
Directed by Joy Millana

Yumi is the biracial daughter of a Japanese karate sensei. Not only must she cope with the loss of her mother, but Yumi must also face bullying by her white peers, who call her a derogatory name: “Dojo girl.”

Thursday Afternoon (12:30pm—Hendricks Hall)

A group of peopel gather together in song.

Image from You Must Believe: A Lifeline to Success, playing during Thursday's Afternoon Program

Broken Windows

USA, Documentary, 10 minutes
Directed by Mabel Gan

When a jury acquitted a white police officer of fatally shooting a black man, a post-Ferguson St. Louis erupted in protest. Once the protests ended, artists came together to help the community heal. This is their story.

The Broom

USA, Narrative, 7 minutes
Directed by Kent Flaagan

Words have power. A young man must ask, does reappropriating racial slurs and stereotypes really erase the weight of history?

Sanctuaries: A New Life

USA, Documentary, 9 minutes
Directed by Paula Castro

This film profiles four different sanctuaries dedicated to rescuing farm animals in the southeastern US.

Mni Wilčoni: Water is Life

USA, Animation, 3 minutes
Directed by Miguel Antonio Genz and Jeremias Galante

Dedicated to the Standing Rock Sioux tribe, Mni Wilčoni highlights the environmental impact of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Duke

USA, Narrative, 17 minutes
Directed by Thiago Dadalt

Duke is a nonverbal autistic seventeen-year-old. With his family falling apart, Duke must fight to find his voice and keep them together.

Sirens

USA, Narrative, 15 minutes
Directed by Jo Rochelle

A mother whose son was killed by a police officer asks for a mermaid’s help to forget her pain.

You Must Believe: A Lifeline to Success

USA, Documentary, 8 minutes
Directed by Lauren Ready

While in prison, DeAndre Brown wrote a creed that changed his life. Upon his release, he shared that creed with other ex-cons. Today it’s changing lives and transforming communities.

Thursday Evening (7:00pm—Hendricks Hall)

A woman lays in an institutional bed.

Image from Hope, playing during Thursday's Evening Program

An Act of Terror

USA, Narrative, 17 minutes
Directed by Ashley Brim

In 1912,16-year-old African American Virginia Christian was accused of murdering her white employer. This film explores Christian’s experience and how easily a racially biased culture can use their institutions to intimidate and disenfranchise an entire community.

Hope

USA, Narrative, 15 minutes
Directed by Katie Damien

When a mentally ill widow attempts suicide, she survives only to find herself homeless and unable to reconnect with her son. Living in a shelter with no hope of overcoming her situation, she has a chance encounter that will change her life.

Hey Soldier

USA, Experimental, 8 minutes
Directed by Maria Anthony

This film examines the human price of war and the role television plays in uniting people and inspiring compassion.

Delay, Deny, Hope You Die

USA, Documentary, 58 minutes
Directed by Greg Lovett

This film tells the story of American soldiers poisoned by burn pits on military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Friday Afternoon (11:30am—Hendricks Hall)

A crowd of people gathers around an area of illuminated remembrance candles.

Image from Kausachun Angélica, playing during Friday's Shorts Program

DACAmented

Puerto Rico, Documentary, 6 minutes
Directed by Gabriel Sanchez

Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, has helped a young immigrant and her mother. But with DACA’s future uncertain, what happens to the immigrants under its umbrella?

A Family Tale

Spain, Narrative, 13 minutes
Directed by José Corral Llorente

Young Rubén narrates the adventures of space hero Galactic Lightning and his foe, Dr. Evil. Along the course of the evening, each member of Rubén’s family takes up the story, their tellings reflecting their own longings and needs.

Brides of the Well

United Kingdom, Animation, 3 minutes
Directed by Shekhar Kapur

Young women in a small Indian village spend most of their lives walking to the well that provides them with drinkable water. But at what price can they find freedom?

Due Process

USA, Narrative, 8 minutes
Directed by Gabriel Braden

An overburdened social worker fights for justice for a mother and her unborn child.

Mark of a Free Society

United Kingdom, Animation, 2 minutes
Directed by Robert Grieves

The dawn of Britain’s industrial revolution gave rise to the world’s first unions. Ever since, workers’ rights to organize are a mark of a free society.

Kekere

Brazil, Animation, 4 minutes
Directed by Axel Sande

Slavery leaves a long shadow in the collective’s memory and modern-day Brazil continues to feel that shadow’s presence.

Kausachun Angélica

Perú, Documentary, 3 minutes
Directed by Kelly Sánchez

When Peruvian human rights activist Angélica Mendoza de Ascarza dies, she is honored one last time by women who, like her, have lost relatives.

The Dreamer Kid

USA, Animation, 4 minutes
Directed by John Ortiz

A little girl stays up late watching a scary movie. When she finally goes to bed, we learn that monsters come in many forms.

From Fist to Knee

USA, Experimental, 5 minutes
Directed by Paula Neiman

In 1968 a trio of Olympians raised their fists in the air; today, Colin Kaepernick took a knee. These distinct gestures of silent protest are bound by persistent parallels and the absence of change.

We Are Now

USA, Documentary, 8 minutes
Directed by Gandhi Brigade Youth Media

In recent years, a wave of youth activism has swept the US focusing on gun laws, equal rights, immigration, and climate, among other topics. This film highlights these young activists and means to be a rallying cry.

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