New African American Perspectives Catalogue

We have just released a 32' page African American Perspectives catalogue, "Forty Films on Race in America", featuring several new films. Among them are Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun, the definitive literary and personal biography of the path-breaking writer/anthropologist; Brick by Brick, a documentary about the landmark case, U.S. vs Yonkers, which challenged housing and educational discrimination in the North; and Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, a daring documentary on the continuing moral and economic legacies of the slave trade.

UNNATURAL CAUSES:
Is Inequality Making Us Sick?

Unnatural Causes, for the first time on film, investigates the sources of our huge and alarming socio-economic and racial inequities in health. The four-hour series sifts through the evidence suggesting that there’s more to our health than bad habits, health care, or unlucky genes. The social environment in which we are born, live and work profoundly affects our well-being and longevity.

Check out our new collection on HEALTH AND SOCIAL JUSTICE for a complete listing of all our films related to global health inequities.

MADE IN L.A. Nabs an Emmy Award!

Made in L.A. traces the moving transformation of three Latina garment workers on the fault lines of global economic change who decide they must resist. Through a groundbreaking law suit and consumer boycott, they fight to establish an important legal and moral precedent holding an American retailer liable for the labor conditions under which its products are manufactured.

New Films on Economic Globalization

This acclaimed set of new documentaries illuminate the dark side of globalization, where labor is exploited, the environment is destroyed, and even human health is often sacrificed in pursuit of higher profits. In Children of the Amazon, Brazilian Filmmaker Denise Zmekhol travels a modern highway deep into the Amazon in search of the Indigenous Surui and Negarote children she photographed fifteen years ago. Part road movie, part time travel, her journey tells the story of what happened to life in the largest forest on Earth when a road was built straight through its heart.
Trailers and clips of our films can been seen on our You Tube channel
http://www.youtube.com/californianewsreel
http://www.myspace.com/californianewsreel
Please also join our California Newsreel group on Facebook.

RACE—The Power of an Illusion

What is this thing we call ‘race’? Where’d the idea come from? What are the patterns of human variation? And if race isn't biological, what is it? How do our social institutions 'make' race? RACE - The Power of an Illusion is the series so many are talking about that compels viewers to scrutinize some of their most fundamental beliefs.

What's Race Got To Do With It?

Despite 15 years of diversity programs and initiatives, many of our discussions about race on campus remain mired in confusion and misinformation. California Newsreel is proud to present What's Race Got To Do With It?. This new documentary chronicles the journey of a diverse group of college students over the course of a semester as they confront their assumptions about race, diversity and disparities - and their own responsibilities for making a difference. Facilitator Guide and companion website now available.

Newsreel Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

California Newsreel was formed in 1968, the year defined by turbulent events around the globe. The organization was inspired by the social and cultural changes prompted by the Civil Rights/Black Liberation, anti-Vietnam War, and student movements. Newsreel gave voice to the issues and perspectives championed by those movements while the mainstream media dismissed or distorted them. In fact, California Newsreel's first releases, BLACK PANTHER and SAN FRANCISCO STATE: ON STRIKE are perfect representatives of this turbulent period. Now 40 years later, Newsreel continues to be the leading source for films examining that landmark year.

The Library of African Cinema

Our recently released Library of African Cinema catalogue highlights several features and documentaries examining themes such as restorative justice, revolutionary politics in post-colonial Africa, the US anti-apartheid movement and Nollywood, Nigeria's burgeoning film industry.