Justice in Motion

What was it about Emily in Paris that got it nominated at awards season over shows like I May Destroy You? Why does The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air have lasting power after neon jackets and the Carlton have gone the way of the fax machine and VCR? In this episode of Justice of Motion, we speak about representation in coming of age narratives, specifically with regards to cultural and i

ACTIVATE | REFUGE, the 2021 Social Justice Film Festival is in just two days! Have you gotten your tickets yet? You can check out our program of over 50 genre-bending social justice films, buy tickets, and RSVP for our live panels at socialjusticefilmfestival.org. In this episode of Justice in Motion, SJFI film fellow Eva Bryner sat down with SJFI Advisory Council member and docume

Yesterday was Labor Day, and to celebrate and honor the American labor movement and its contributions to the United States, Daniel sat down to talk with two representatives from SAG-AFTRA, the world's largest performer's union, to find out more about labor unions, the work that goes on behind the scenes to ensure working standards and collective bargaining needs are met in the ente

Monday, August 9th, is National Book Lover's Day, the official holiday to celebrate bibliophiles, reading, and literature. To commemorate, Daniel sits down to talk with Tiffany Douglas, resident book-lover and patient spouse (his words, not ours), to talk about social justice book-to-film adaptations, justice-oriented nuances that can get lost in adaptation, and the continuing impa

Continuing our series of conversations with the SJFI Advisory Council around the question "What is a Social Justice film?" this month on Justice in Motion Daniel talks with close friends of the Institute Rhenda Meiser and Lauren Taubman to discuss film, social justice lenses, and hopeful futures of technology and cooperation in the Middle East. We hope you enjoy!

With the prospects of nation-wide vaccination teasing a better summer than the one we had last year, the question on our minds is when can we go to the movies again? Quite apart from being the best way to beat the sweltering summer heat, seeing a movie in theaters is a treasured communal experience whose emotional ties hearken back to the ancient Greek theatre. For this month's epi

Today, May the Fourth, is Star Wars Day! Our thanks to the machinations of the marketing genius that came up with that. To commemorate this glorious hybrid holiday of cinema enthusiasm and nerddom, Daniel goes deep on the side of of Star Wars lore and culture that doesn't usually get mentioned: the socially-focused beginnings of the tale that began a long time ago in a galaxy far,

In this episode of Justice in Motion we discuss the stories behind told surrounding the recent shootings in Atlanta, Georgia. As part of its recent event celebrating Communities Against Hate, Social Justice Film Institute Executive Director Aurora Martin invited Advisory Council members Vivian Hua, Glenn Morey and Andy Chan to discuss their experiences as AAPI storytellers and thei

This month, we bring you Part 2 of our conversation with the SJFFI Advisory Council, an intrepid crew of filmmakers and activists blending art and social change to talk about the joys and challenges of filmmaking, and to ask ourselves 'What is a social justice film?' This panel was led by Daniel Swan. Panel members: Giovanni Coda, Glenn Morey, and Gilda Sheppard.

There's no more glowing recommendation for a prospective film festival than "they gave me a free breakfast." This is one of the many pearls of wisdom we gleaned in our talk with independent filmmaker and Institute Advisory Council member Michele Noble. Michele directed and produced the short documentary Reclamation: The Rise at Standing Rock, which won the Tulalip Cares Prize at th