Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past eight years, it’s hard to ignore the dismal human rights record of George W. Bush. Where can one begin when you reflect on the human rights abuses, violations of international agreements and government-sanctified torture policies of the Bush Administration? By intimately exploring the stories attached to the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib, our film, Standard Operating Procedure, helped to give us a clearer understanding of the prison which cemented our country’s anti-human rights record and image to the world. Human rights were systematically violated and our global leadership was marginalized because of our policies during the past eight years.

However, since the election, the tide has turned and things are finally looking brighter. President-elect Obama has already indicated a desire to reshape our human rights policies, including closing Guantanamo.

However, for many of the policies changes to occur, the new president and Congress needs to hear from citizens like you and me.  Human Rights First is has made the following a priority for the Obama Administration : the closure of Guantanamo, protection for Iraqi refugees, stop the flow of arms to Darfur and end torture of prisoners in US custody.  Help to make these important goals a reality by signing their letter which will be published in newspapers worldwide.  We voted against torture on November 4th. Let’s help to show the world that we can help to change our policies and have our country return to being the visionary beacon for human rights that we once were. takepart today to sign Human Rights First’s letter.

(photo by habacuc_1988)

When NBA stars make headlines off the court, it often involves scandal but this weekend Tracy McGrady received media attention for his amazing work to help raise awareness on the genocide in Darfur. Tracy visited Darfurian refugee camps (along with super-human rights activist, John Prendergast) in Chad last year. His physical and emotional journey is captured in the fabulous documentary, 3 Points.

I had the great pleasure of meeting Tracy and seeing the film this weekend at a private screening at CAA headquarters in LA. Some 200 attended the event last Saturday including actor Emmanuelle Chriqui, the legendary Reggie Miller, and fellow NBA stars Baron Davis and Carl Landry. As well as dozens of young people from high schools across LA.

Tracy is candid about his fears of traveling and camping in Africa and about his confusion of the very complicated situation. What he learns while he is there- and what we learn from the film- is that the children in these refugee camps have strength way beyond their years. And what they need most (in addition to the 3Ps: Peace, Protection and Punishment) is education. And this became Tracy’s call to action.

Read the rest of this entry »

GoodTube, a video sharing site dedicated to all things Good, is here and is live and wants you to check out the videos they have to offer.   So what is GoodTube?  Well, it was created by a group of documentarians that didn’t think that great charities they were filming were getting enough presence through their films.   Hence, GoodTube.   As the site states,

It [GoodTube] provides charities with a way to showcase their work, reach potential donors and inspire viewers. It is a place for video enthusiasts with a Good message to connect with a global audience. GoodTube is a non profit, non religious enterprise, and it is 100 percent free.

There are many categories under which videos can fall, be in Environment, Crisis Assistance, Health and Nutrition, Peace, and a million things in between.   Here’s a video I found under the Environment section.

And anyone can upload a video…all you need to do is sign up!

Read the rest of this entry »

What did you eat yesterday? Chances are somewhere in your meal and snack choices was some corn. Don’t believe me? You should head on over to I-Tunes tomorrow and download a fascinating documentary called King Corn. Katie blogged about King Corn when it was in theaters and now, along with being on DVD, King Corn is making the move to I-Tunes.

You can now download the documentary that will make you question everything that you eat (as I write this I’m looking at my coffee, yogurt and cliff bar rather quizzically). As summer nears and more and more local food markets open, this may be the perfect time to hang out with a film that discusses what’s in our food and where it comes from.

takepart to download the film now and to watch the trailer and learn more, click here >>>

Read the rest of this entry »

The TakePart Top 10 Weekly Roundup is a compilation of the week’s most notable stories from our entertainment-meets-social-action blogging network. Want to learn our top eco-kinky tips for ‘greening up’ your sex life? How about the top 10 ways to take action against AIDS?  Check out some of our most popular stories of the week, as well as a few TakePart blogger favorites!

Katie:

Annie Lennox & Top 10 Ways to Take Action Against AIDS

Somewhere Over the Rainbow: American Idol & Yip Harburg

* * *
Nicole:

Top 10 Ways to ‘Green Up’ Your Sex Life

Top 10 Global Warming Myths Debunked

* * *
Giulia:

Mortified Makes Movies

What a Bunch of Boobs

* * *
Gina:

Top 10 Immigration Films

Boarding Gate’s Empty Adventure of Capitalism

* * *
Say Hello to Our Guest Bloggers!

Jon Popham wrote:

Young At Heart Hits the Silver Screen

Death and the River

Andy Kondrat wrote:

Top 5 Things You’ll Love About Planet Green

Leonardo DiCaprio Does Everything For the Environment, Ever

Young@Heart, a new release from Fox Searchlight Pictures, is set to kick off in theaters April 9th. A recent hit at the SXSW Film Conference & Festival, the film tells the tale of the Young@Heart Chorus, an ensemble of singing Senior Citizens formed at a retirement home in Northampton, MA in 1982, whose taste in material run irrepressibly toward contemporary pop and rock. The group, whose membership ranges from 73 through 92 years of age, performs choral renditions of songs by Outkast, Nirvana, Sonic Youth and Radiohead, just to name a few.

But Young@Heart isn’t just about having kitschy fun watching the elderly sing the music of a younger generation. The film also shows the illness and loss experienced within the group, which frames the music they create in a whole new light - such as the video clip of “I Will Survive” below - and gives us a portrait of Seniors refusing to give in to the cruel demands of age by making music with their friends and having a great time doing it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Groundspark Film Project (formerly Women’s Educational Media) works with social activists and educators to produce truly visionary films that inspire social action. A spirit of innovation and energetic activism colors their Respect For All Film Project and accompanying educational campaigns as they engage with youth and adults alike on topics of human diversity and preventing prejudice. The project offers a variety of resources for educators and service providers, including award-winning documentaries, a workshop series, and curriculum guidelines.

Read the rest of this entry »

King Corn is a movie about “Two friends, one acre of corn and the subsidized crop that drives our fast-food nation.” Directors Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis were college buddies who decided to leave the city, move to farm in Iowa and grow corn, in order to find out about the crop that is used in everything we eat, from hamburgers, to soda, to donuts. 9 months (and 31,000 seeds, a 10,000-pound harvest of corn) later, the crop yield was so huge it would be able to yield 57,348 cans of soda, 3,894 corn-fed hamburgers, 2,301 pounds of bacon or 6,726 boxes of frosted corn flake. The two filmmakers put the corn into Cheney and Ellis used the corn to feed livestock, and turned the rest into ethanol and sweeteners, such as corn syrup. Curious about how much corn they were ingesting, Cheney and Ellis got their hair “corn tested” and discovered the food made up 58% and 53% of their diets.

Read the rest of this entry »

On March 10th, the 2008 International Documentary Challenge wrapped up their timed filmmaking competition! 122 filmmakers from 16 different countries participated in the challenge ” to make a documentary film in five days. Each documentary filmmaker was assigned a different genre, including music, politics and character studies, all embodying the theme of “Change.”

The 2007 Doc Challenge was a big success, with ten of the twelve filmmaking teams attending the sold out screening in Toronto. Additional screenings took place this year at the Northwest Film Forum and the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Check out what some of the filmmakers had to say about their experience from last year’s event.

Read the rest of this entry »

When Freeheld won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short, it was more than just a win for the filmmakers, Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth. It was a victory for same sex couples everywhere who face discrimination and are told they cannot take care of the people they love. And it was a victory made possible by someone who wasn’t around t celebrate it: the woman whose life, love and struggle for justice is the subject of the documentary. When Laurel Hester, a 50 year police Lieutenant who had been on the force for 25 years, was diagnosed with cancer she knew she would have to fight for her life. What she didn’t know was that she would have to fight for her partner’s security, for her pension and for basic fairness and decency.

Read the rest of this entry »