S16.E32 ∙ Birds on the Brink

What happens when a Latin American priest suspended by the Pope for his involvement in revolutionary politics becomes President of the General Assembly of the United Nations? A year in the life of our only global parliament through the eyes of Father Miguel, a man whose directness and plain speaking clashes with the protocols and polished diplomatic language of this venerable, dying 66 year old institution. With unique access inside the U.N. the film takes the viewer behind the scenes, shedding light on its opaque mechanisms and power dynamics. Father Miguel was President of the General Assembly in 2008/2009 but his story is timeless and allows us to take stock of the U.N. today.

Dole Food Company wages a campaign to prevent a pair of Swedish film-makers from showing their documentary about a lawsuit against the company.

Evidence of Harm follows the lives of three health advocates as they struggle to inform the federal government and public that large amounts of toxic mercury vapors are released from "silver" amalgam dental fillings during routine dental procedures. The film presents a haunting portrait of a dental industry all too willing to turn a blind eye to science while placing profits and politics ahead of dental patient's health.

An American School, is a 115 personal direct cinema portrait documentary about a group of parents from an LA Unified public elementary school in Silverlake, a progressive and racially mixed neighborhood opposing a non-consensual co-location by a private Charter Corporation (Citizens of the World Charter) requiring public facilities and taxpayers funds. The films main thrust concerns the parents reactions, and subsequent actions to the districts enforcement of Prop 39, a law with ambiguous legislation and unintended outcomes that public school parents claim contribute to the dismantling of improving public schools nationwide. the 2000 CA law allows charter schools to take up residence in public schools' art rooms, spec. Ed , parent IEP rooms, and computer rooms as surplus rooms. The film's themes involve civil rights, classism, and racism, ethics vs. law, and the slow march of privatization through gentrification.

This is the film I wanted to see when I was diagnosed with cancer. -Allison W. Gryphon

Growing out of three decades of work by the Prince of Wales to combat climate change and find innovative solutions to the global environmental crisis, Harmony is an urgent, accessible and practical call to action. It offers the audience a new and inspiring perspective on how the world can meet the challenges of climate change globally, locally and personally.