The Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival Announces Official Selections

The Sixth Annual Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival will include 40 films. Among these 40, 18 films have been nominated for awards in these four categories—Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Narrative Short, and Student Film. The festival will be held at Morehouse College on September 17 – 21, 2024. Visit morehousefilmfestival.eventive.org/welcome to learn more. 

This year’s festival promises a powerful fusion of storytelling and advocacy, showcasing films from Australia, Canada, Germany, Taiwan, and the United States. These selections tackle critical issues in society, including topics such as political unrest, education, refugee resettlement, social justice, homelessness, the impacts of war, racism, and mental health.   

“The selection process was incredibly competitive,” said Kara Walker, executive director of the Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival. “The festival emphasizes the importance of education and activism. Through the powerful lens of cinema, attendees are encouraged to advocate for social change in their respective communities.” 

This year’s nominated selections include the following: 

Documentary Feature

UNDIVIDE US | Directed by Kristi Kendall  

Through the intimate lens of six focus groups across three American cities, UNDIVIDE US explores the twisted landscape of toxic polarization and uncovers the potential for healing conversation, local community, mutual respect, and democracy.  

Seize the Summit | Directed by Arwa Damon & Binnur Karaevli   

The story of four young people’s thrilling journey to reach the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa. Shaqayeq, Adnan, Safa and Tania are not ordinary adventurers, they are all survivors of war from different countries.   

Invisible Nation | Directed by Vanessa Hope  

With unprecedented access to Taiwan’s sitting head of state, director Vanessa Hope investigates the election and tenure of Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan.   

The Strike | Directed by Joe Bill Muñoz & Lucas Guilkey  

A feature documentary that tells the story of a generation of California men who endured decades of solitary confinement and, against all odds, launched the largest hunger strike in U.S. history.   

The Fight for Black Lives | Directed by Micere Keels  

This film chronicles the ways that racial stress and the American healthcare system disadvantages the health of Black Americans.  

Farming While Black | Directed by Mark Decena  

A feature-length documentary film which examines the historical plight of Black farmers in the United States and the rising generation reclaiming their rightful ownership to land and reconnecting with their ancestral roots.  

Documentary Short 

Appreciation - The Tomiko Morimoto West Story | Directed by Michael Dwyer &  
Chuck Gomez  

An atomic bomb survivor shares her story of triumph in the face of tragedy.  

A Divine Journey | Directed by Annette M. King & Ivanovitch Ingabire  

This film profiles a Rwandan refugee, Divine Mugisha, striving to overcome the hardships of living at a refugee camp all her life.   

How Finland Solved Homelessness: It's More Than Housing First | Directed by  
Mark Horvath  

A profound documentary set in Helsinki that delves into Finland's successful battle against homelessness, highlighting the revolutionary Housing First program.  

The Lincoln School Story | Directed by Andrea Torrice  

Follows the heroic fight for school desegregation led by a handful of Ohio mothers and their children in 1954.  

Narrative Short  

  A Good Day Will Come | Directed by Amir Zargara  

Arash is a professional wrestler with dreams of representing his country and winning gold medals. The country is in turmoil and its people are suffering. Arash must decide between using his platform to stand up to tyranny or put his head down and remain silent.  

  GABRIELA | Directed by Evelyn Lorena  

A young undocumented Guatemalan woman questions her worth as she dreams of joining a Country Club swim team in the American South.  

  HARLEM FRAGMENTS | Directed by Cameron Tyler Carr  

An Afro-futurist scrapbook storytelling of a Harlem Black family's beautiful destruction during the 2008 recession.  

  Super High: A Period Piece | Directed by Bianca Lambert  

In the semi-autobiographical short film Super High: A Period Piece, Amanda battles excruciating period pain caused by fibroids. Desperate for relief, she experiments with a celebrity cannabis brand's edibles. A dosage mishap catapults her into a surreal, anxiety-filled journey until she awakens.  

Student Film 

Born This Way | Directed by Sky Dexter  

Adam and Steve are a happily married gay couple who have built a strong and loving family together. When their son begins exhibiting interests and behaviors that are more in line with heterosexual norms, the couple is thrown into a crisis.  

  Heart of the City | Directed by Will Harvest  

A cinematic portrait of five Winston-Salem locals on the street, as they share a lifetime of wisdom from struggle.  

  Ice Cream for Breakfast | Directed by Julian Reese  

This film captures the duality of becoming a caretaker or even a 'parent' whilst still being young, naive, and inexperienced.  

  Fall Towards the Heavens | Directed by Paris Arthur  

An unsuspecting young girl is marked as a sacrifice to a slumbering cosmic deity to preserve the city it is bound to. Upon meeting, she finds it craves something other than her blood.
 
The festival schedule will be available on August 6. Badges are on sale now at morehousefilmfestival.eventive.org/welcome.