‘Of Kites and Borders’ and other titles from Third World Newsreel now available on NJVID
This week NJVID team has digitized and added new titles from the commercial video distributor Third World Newsreel. The videos cover a variety of topics and includes the title Of Kites and Borders, winner of the Best Documentary Award at the San Diego Film Festival and the Havana Film Festival in New York. These titles can now be licensed by any NJVID member for streaming access. The titles in this list are:
- Of Kites and Borders – This film tells the story of the daily struggle to be a child living on the US-Mexico border through the eyes of four working children in the city of Tijuana. Edie is a teen who smuggles immigrants into the United States while promising himself that he will never get worn-out working in the maquilas (assembly plants). Carmela is a nine-year old who knows more about work in the city’s dumps than about fairy tales, yet every day at sunset she dreams of a better life while watching the kites that fly over her slum. Lastly, brothers Adrián and Fernando don masks to conceal their youth and perform wrestling matches at busy intersections in order to support their family – all the while dreaming of traveling the world as famous Mexican luchadores.
- All the Ladies Say – Veteran b-girl Ana “Rokafella” Garcia’s first documentary film All the Ladies Say features the work of female breakdancers in the United States, including Aiko, Baby Love, Beta, Lady Champ, Severe and Vendetta. This film raises awareness of the female presence in Hip-hop and promotes the growth of this dance community in the United States and internationally.
- Hafu: The Mixed Race Experience in Japan – Hafu is the unfolding journey of discovery into the intricacies of mixed-race Japanese and their multicultural experience in modern day Japan. The film follows the lives of five “hafus”–the Japanese term for people who are half-Japanese–as they explore what it means to be multiracial and multicultural in a nation that once proudly proclaimed itself as the mono-ethnic nation.
- Anomaly: A Documentary Film about Multiracial Identity – Anomaly is an award-winning documentary film that provides a thought-provoking look at multiracial identity by combining personal narratives with the larger drama of mixed race in American culture. The characters use spoken word and music to tell their stories of navigating identity, family and community in a changing world.
- Forward Ever: The Killing of a Revolution – The invasion of Grenada by US forces in 1983 echoed around the world and put an end to a unique experiment in Caribbean politics. What were the circumstances that led to this extraordinary chain of events? Forward Ever explores the achievements and shortcomings of the People’s Revolutionary Government of Grenada as it attempted to forge a new revolutionary society.
All titles can be licensed from TWN films at twn@twn.org