By Morehouse College
Morehouse College, the nation’s only college dedicated to educating and developing men of color, announced the expanded dates, early selection films, and new advisory board for the Fourth Annual Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival (MCHRFF), scheduled for September 20-24, 2022 in-person on the Morehouse campus and The Plaza Theatre. The five-day event will be presented by Chromatic Black in partnership with Steal The Sun Studios. The festival will also be accessible virtually from September 20 to September 30, 2022. Badges are now on sale at a 50 percent discount.
The threefold goal of MCHRFF is to educate and expand awareness of social justice issues, to generate conversation and dialogue around civil and human rights, and to inspire innovative and creative new approaches to social change. The documentary, feature-length, and short film screenings provoke discussions about immigration, race, gender identity, politics, health care, and law enforcement, along with many other human rights and social justice topics.
“The Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival extends the College’s position as an institution founded on the principles of equality and social justice, giving filmmakers a platform of distinction to showcase and discuss projects with themes that meet at the intersection of art and activism, and also continuing to provide humans a place to learn, connect, and celebrate being humans first,” said Kara Walker, executive director of the MCHRFF.
This year’s early selections include the following submissions:
The Missing Peace | Directed by Willie Moore Jr.
Syndicated radio host, inspirational speaker, and best-selling author Willie Moore Jr. was adopted at the tender age of three months old. After being rejected by his biological mother in 2009, Willie locates his entire biological family in 2020, only to find out that the rejection, hurt, and betrayal he felt was all a misunderstanding. Willie discovered “The Missing Peace,” which was his biological family.
Fannie | Directed by Christine Swanson
“Fannie” is a riveting portrait of human, voting, and civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer’s ground-breaking testimony in front of the Democratic National Convention’s credentials committee on August 22, 1964. Hamer was known as the “the midwife of America’s modern Democratic Party.”
Ahmad | Directed by Kors Vandiver & Dario M. Harris Sr.
In 1993, Ahmad, a six-year-old Black boy, was killed by Jonathan, a white teenage neighbor. After being released from prison almost six years later, Jonathan lands a job with Ahmad’s older brother Pierre, who is still struggling with Ahmad’s murder.
Common Good Atlanta | Directed by Hal Jacobs
In 2008, , while working on her Ph.D. at Georgia State University, Sarah Higinbotham wanted to teach a literature class in a Georgia prison while working on her Ph.D. at Georgia State University. Much to her surprise, she discovered that no college education programs existed in Georgia prisons at the time.
Don’t Let Go | Directed by Mel Orpen
When Sam and Reggie get engaged, their future seems bright – until a terrible car accident leaves Reggie in a coma. Sam must confront Reggie’s homophobic mother to fight for a place at her hospital bedside before it’s too late.
Surviving Clotilda | Directed by Olivia Grillo & Kathryn Jamieson
In July 1860, the schooner “Clotilda” slipped quietly into the dark waters near Mobile, Ala. holding 110 Africans stolen from their homes and families, smuggled across the sea, and illegally imported to be sold into slavery. “Surviving Clotilda” is the extraordinary story of the last slave ship ever to reach America’s shores: the brash captain who built and sailed her, the wealthy White businessman whose bet set the cruel plan in motion, and the 110 men, women, and children whose resilience turned horror into hope.
Perception | Directed by Harrison Chandler
A beautiful and uplifting story about generational racism in America, “Perception” follows the life of a single mother Anna Curtis, and her young daughter Jessica Curtis as they transition from a world filled with oppression and prejudice to one overflowed with cultural diversity.
With No Land | Directed by Alam-Warqe Davidian & Kobi Davidian
Thirty years after “Operation Solomon,” which brought 15,000 Jews from Ethiopia to Israel in 22.5 hours and was presented as a magnificent military operation that only Israel could pull off, “With No Land” uncovers the other side of the coin, the one silenced and kept in the dark, about the life-threatening actions of the Jewish Ethiopian activists in Ethiopia, Israel, and North America.
This year, the inaugural Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival Advisory Board has been assembled to provide leadership for the continuous growth and sustainability of the festival. The distinguished members include:
- Abeni Bloodworth (co-chair), Co-Founder and Narrative Strategist, Chromatic Black
- Adrienne Becker, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Level Forward
- Joe Carlos ‘04, Senior Director of Content Marketing Strategy, Morehouse College
- Michael Carswell, Founder, Mathes Event Productions
- Harrison Chandler, Chief Operating Officer, Steal The Sun Studios
- Mavro Diamanti, Founder and Head of Story Development, Steal The Sun Studios
- Chris Escobar, Executive Director, Atlanta Film Society
- Angela Harmon (co-chair), Co-Founder and Narrative Strategist, Chromatic Black
- Adell Henderson, Vice President, Multimedia Content and Programming, Real Times Media
- Jake Kelley, President, Steal The Sun Studios
- David Mitchell, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer, Dry Powder Works
- Kors Vandiver, Owner and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Angel Entertainment
