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 documentary filmmaker Sam Hampton to talk about the judging process for the social justice film festival, as well as advice for aspiring social justice filmmakers.
Sam Hampton is a co-founder of Docs In Progress, which is dedicated to creating community through documentary. His films include My Mother’s Journey; Hidden Books; Mr. Stokes’ Mission, Transcending Surgeon, and Change in the Family. In addition to his filmmaking background, Sam has more than 25 years of experience working on social justice issues, including directing a national model community technology center and managing strategic planning and grants management for minority-serving colleges and universities.
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 impact of classic works of literature on modern storytelling tropes and the way we view ourselves. We hope you enjoy!
The stories explored in this episode are Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy, J.D. Vance's Hillbilly Elegy, and Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre. To learn where you can acquire these stories to read, visit Indiebound to find your local independent bookstore. Just this once, the Social Justice Film Institute recommends reading the book before you stream the film.