Berkeley Journalism Documentary Showcase - Private Screening

The UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism presents:

10 documentary short films by the Class of 2018

Show 1: 3:00-5:30 PM

Films:

• SOME KIND OF DRONE
• MINING PHOSPHORUS
• CAMINOS DE BOYLE HEIGHTS
• THE BLUE DEVIL
• THE MAZE

Reception: 5:30-7:00 PM

In the Wood @ 2930 College Ave, Berkeley

Show 2: 7:30-10:00 PM

Films:

• DUST RISING
• BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY
• FORCED
• THE BLUE ISLAND
• CIPHER

The films:

SOME KIND OF DRONE (dir. Craig Hickerson) -- Two recent UC Berkeley graduates captured the imagination of millions through their 2015 promotional video of a self-piloted camera drone. With a video showing a working prototype the drone racked up $34 million in pre-orders and millions more in investment but the drone never came to market leaving the founders and their company surrounded in questions of fraud and overreach.

MINING PHOSPHORUS (dir. Alan Toth) -- Journalist Laura Newberry hears about a controversy in her home state of Florida, where a local man is hoping to strip mine for phosphate on his farm even as his neighbors vow to stop him. Laura traces the history of phosphate, the most critical mineral in modern agriculture, right to her own home town. As Laura discovers the environmental toll of phosphate, the fight over the mine embroils a county meeting, where the future of the mine will be decided by a few public servants.

CAMINOS DE BOYLE HEIGHTS (dir. Pablo De La Hoya) -- Boyle Heights, a historically Latino enclave in Los Angeles struggles with gentrification and community disagreements on who to fight against in preventing the gentrification. The film paints a portrait of Boyle Heights today and how the situation became so dire.

THE BLUE DEVIL (dir. Nebiat Assefa Melles & Olivia Rempel) -- Water hyacinth, an invasive plant from the Amazon, is spreading rapidly across Ethiopia’s Lake Tana. But the community is fighting back with dedication and local talent, they are determined to save the lake.

THE MAZE (dir. Serginho Roosblad) -- The MacArthur Maze is one the most important freeway interchanges in the state of California. As the gateway to the nation's busiest bridge, the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, it allows 300,000 vehicles each day to travel to all four corners of the Bay Area and beyond. But the Maze also cuts through four distinct landscapes that each tell a story of separation and connection.

DUST RISING (dir. Lauren Schwartzman) -- Dust, that most quotidian of things, has more power than you ever imagined. From human health to ecosystem function, discover the huge impact of tiny specks — and how that’s expected to shift as the Earth’s climate changes.

BLESSINGS OF LIBERTY (dir. Emily Thomas) -- The Iraqi Christian community in Detroit thought they were safe after helping to swing the Michigan election for Donald Trump, who vowed to protect them. However, in a surprising immigration sweep after he took office hundreds from the community were ripped apart from their families and sent to detention centers across the country to await deportation back to Iraq where they face torture and death. Blessings of Liberty follows two families from the community awaiting their fate as they question everything they thought they knew about America.

FORCED (dir. Grace Oyenubi & Nani Walker) -- Three women rebuild their lives after they were forced to flee their homes in 2014, when the dreaded militant group Boko Haram invaded their village in Borno, Northeast Nigeria. The women – Ruth, Esther and Saratu – symbolize thousands of girls and women who were abducted, raped and displaced during the insurgency.

THE BLUE ISLAND (dir. Sofia Melo) -- The Blue Island explores the impact of tourism on the Azores islands through the eyes of the man who introduced the industry there in the 1980s.

CIPHER (dir. Rafael Roy) -- Cipher is a visual guide to hip-hop dance in the Bay Area. The word “cipher” has many meanings, but in hip-hop parlance it is the circle of spectators and participants that forms around a group of artists––the cipher is meant to hold space for creative energy. Shown through some of the Bay Area’s most talented dancers, Cipher is an intimate portrait of a thriving culture.