Fifth Annual Media That Matters Film Festival collection

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Audience Rating: (1) login to rate this Embed		Directed by Multiple directors Produced by Arts Engine Genre Short films Runtime: 105 min Release Date: March 2008 Filmmaker's Website Send to Friends URL:
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Plot Outline

Ready to be inspired? From civil liberties to global warming, the fifth annual Media That Matters shorts collection brings you sixteen innovative shorts by independent and youth filmmakers from around the country. These films will make you think, make you laugh and motivate you to take action. The collection includes:

Battleground Minnesota, 8 min, Youth Documentary
Winner of the Jury Award
Hip-hop activist Shakademic proves that if Walter Mondale can learn how to scratch, young voters can get schooled in election politics.
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All That I Can Be, 8:30 min, Youth Documentary
Winner of the Economic Justice Award
William, like many young Americans, feels that joining the military is his only way out of a dead-end job and a rough life.
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Pizza Surveillance Feature, 2:20 min, Public Service Announcement
Winner of the Civil Liberties
Want some privacy infringement with that? If the Patriot Act continues to grow in scope, you may get more than mushrooms with your next pizza order.
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The News Is What We Make It, 8:21 min, Animation
Winner of the Media Reform Award
When the same company owns all the TV stations in town, where can you turn for an alternative perspective? A high-schooler gets burned and turns insult into action.
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Laptop, 0:30 min, Public Service Announcement
Winner of the Digital Divide
A computer is only as advanced as the person behind the keyboard. Laptop reminds us that the digital divide still resides within our borders.
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A Girl Named Kai, 8:00 min, Experimental
Winner of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Rights Award
Through a stirring poetic mix of video and sound, Kai appeals to her traditional Taiwanese parents for acceptance in spite of her untraditional take on life and love.
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Homecoming, 5:30 min, Youth Documentary
Winner of the Peter Yarrow Peace in Our Classrooms Award
When coming out makes Ron a target for attack, he finds a school where respect and acceptance are taught alongside Math and English.
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Bad Choices, 3:00 min, Youth Digital Story
Winner of the Youth Voice Award
Without a support system, it’s hard for a teenager to stay out of trouble. Aderian reflects on the lessons he has learned from his bad choices.
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Happy Ending, 8:00 min, Youth Documentary
Winner of the Family and Society Award
Drugs have taken Chris’s mom out of his life but not out of his heart. In this personal travelogue, he goes to Philadelphia in search of a happy ending.
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System Failure, 8:00 min, Documentary
Winner of the Criminal Justice Award
Physical abuse, sexual harassment, inadequate education for incarcerated youth – if a society can be graded by how it treats its prisoners, then the state of California gets an “F.”
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Fast and Reliable, 7:53 min, Documentary
Winner of the Against the Odds Award
Nothing can stop Dexter the bike messenger — not homelessness or even a close encounter with a ten-ton truck.
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Neglected Sky, 1:36 min, Youth Animation
Winner of the Environment Award
In this fast-paced animation, youth producer John Cooney shows us that a little effort can go a long way in reversing global warming.
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Young Agrarians, 8:00 min, Documentary
Winner of the Nourishing Change Award
Young people plant the seeds for a sustainable future in this portrait of organic farming in California.
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World On Fire, 4:20 min, Music video
Winner of the Citizen Engagement Award
$5,000 could cover the cost of hair and make-up for one day on set in LA or pay for one year’s schooling for 145 girls in Afghanistan. Sarah McLachlan does the math and encourages you to join her.
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The Luckiest Nut In The World, 8:00 min, Musical
Winner of the Global Justice Award Sponsored by Oxfam America
A singing peanut and his gang of shelled friends explain that sometimes free trade is just nuts.
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Something Other Than Other, 7:05 min, Experimental
Winner of the Tolerance Education Award
New parents Jerry and Andrea have endured their own share of discrimination growing up. They hope their newborn son can grow up identifying as something other than “other.”
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If you want to purchase a DVD of these short films, instead of downloading them, please go to the Media That Matters website.

Reviews
"Media That Matters continues to illuminate wrongdoing through the power of images and bring the potential for justice where there seemingly is none." – indieWIRE

"Being raised in Brooklyn means you know something about social issues. For me, Media That Matters is one of the festivals that keeps our focus on how to make our communities better and stronger and smarter." – Chris Rock

"Media That Matters is about people making the switch from apathy to action." – Sarah McLachlan

"This socially conscious film festival tackles big issues in short takes." – The New Yorker Magazine

Filmmaker Notes

The Media That Matters Film Festival is the premiere showcase for short films on the most important topics of the day. Local and global, online and in communities around the world, Media That Matters engages diverse audiences and inspires them to take action. From gay rights to global warming, the jury-selected collection represents the work of a diverse group of independent filmmakers, many of whom are under 21. The films are equally diverse in style and content, with documentaries, music videos, animations, experimental work and everything else in between. What all the films have in common is that they spark debate and action in 12 minutes or less. The Media That Matters Film Festival is a project of Arts Engine, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

Arts Engine supports, produces and distributes independent media of consequence and promotes the use of independent media by advocates, educators and the general public. By fostering the production and use of independent film, video and new media, Arts Engine connects media makers and active audiences in order to spur critical consideration of pressing social issues. Learn more at www.artsengine.net.

Castlist
Short Films