JustFilms Collection

Landfall

Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane Maria Puerto Rico, LANDFALL examines a ruined world at the brink of transformation, spinning a cautionary tale for our times.

Unapologetic

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot.

With Drawn Arms

An intimate conversation with Tommie Smith, the gold medalist who is famous for raising one gloved fist after accepting his medal at the ’68 Olympic games in protest of racial inequality and in support of black Americans.

For the Love of Rutland

FOR THE LOVE OF RUTLAND explores the complex life of a blue-collar New England town as a partial microcosm/mirror of our current national and global reality. An attempt to bring new life to an economically struggling and overwhelmingly white community – through refugee resettlement – unleashes deep partisan rancor and opens new fissures within the city’s small population of 15,000. Stacie, after a lifetime of being invalidated and shamed for her poverty and addiction, emerges as an unexpected and resilient leader in a town divided by class, race, culture, and the toxic politics of today.

Latino Vote: The Tipping Point

Told through the eyes of those on the ground, Latino Vote: Dispatches from the Battleground follows the efforts of community organizers and leaders working to ensure Latino voter turnout in the significant battleground states of Nevada, Texas, Florida and Pennsylvania. Amidst racial justice protests and as Covid-19 ravages communities both urban and rural, how will these grassroots efforts and community issues impact the November presidential election result, and will 2020 be a tipping point for the impact of the Latino vote?

First Vote

Four Asian American voters from two sides of the aisle organize politically leading up to the 2018 midterms. A conservative podcaster in Ohio mobilizes immigrant voters for the Republican Party. In North Carolina, a progressive journalist confronts the rise of “Chinese Americans for Trump”. A gun-toting first-time candidate courts Tea Party votes and supports voter ID legislation in the South, where a critical race theory professor believes it’s making it harder for people to vote. The film explores the intersection of politics, immigration, identity and voting rights through diverse perspectives of Asian Americans, who are now the fastest growing electorate in the United States.

Hamtramck, USA

Once a city that was 90% Polish, Hamtramck became the first Muslim majority city in America. Now, this new wave of immigrants aims to gain representation in city hall.

Hamtramck, USA follows Kamal Rahman, a Bangladeshi candidate for Mayor, Fadel al-Marsoumi, a young Iraqi immigrant running for City Council, and the current mayor, Karen Majewski, Hamtramck’s first female mayor in the city’s 100-year lineage of Polish mayors.

Throughout the election, candidates look to build support across ethnic and religious lines. Woven into the election season, the film showcases the vibrant life, celebrations, and culture of those who call this city home.

Two Gods

An intimate documentary about faith, renewal, and healing, Two Gods follows a Muslim casket maker and ritual body washer in New Jersey, as he takes two young teenagers under his wing to teach them how to live better lives.

Inside a corner casket shop in East Orange, laboring amid the sawdust and the long pine boxes, casket makers work with mentors in the Islamic burial tradition. Hanif, a Black Muslim casket maker who finds spiritual grounding in his work, brings two boys from the local community under his tutelage; 12-year-old Furquan and 17-year-old Naz.

Words from a Bear

Words from a Bear examines the enigmatic life and mind of Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Navarro Scott Momaday, one of Native America’s most celebrated authors of poetry and prose.

When We Walk

When We Walk is a follow-up to the Emmy-Award winning film When I Walk. It is the second part of a documentary trilogy that follows the life of filmmaker Jason DaSilva as he deals with Primary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis. When We Walk takes place six years after the events of When I Walk, and documents DaSilva’s struggle to stay close with his son. In the process, he ends up on a trip through the challenges of a broken health care system and the threat of powerlessness facing all disabled people.

Waging Change

Waging Change weaves together the female driven movements that reveal an American workers’ struggle hidden in plain sight– the effort to end the federal tipped minimum wage of $2.13 for restaurant servers and bartenders and the #MeToo movement’s efforts to end sexual harassment.

Vision Portraits

Chronicling the experiences of several blind artists including photographer John Dugdale and writer Ryan Knighton. Vision Portraits focuses on the ways each artist was impacted by the loss of their vision and how their creative process thrives in spite of their blindness.