A Girl Like Me is part of the 6th annual Media That Matters Film Festival collection - download the entire collection.

A mother of two returns to her home and children in Bolivia after 15 years of working in Israel to make a better life for her kids, only to find her family members have become strangers. "A Working Mom" is a story that demonstrates the extremes that individuals will go to in order to save their families -- sometimes saving and losing them in the same act.

This film is brought to you by ITVS International. For more information about this film and ITVS International see:

Gavin Tartowski has been called a quack, a cult-leader, and a barista who sees himself as a guru. Looking for a support group to help him with his compulsion to wear extremely tight pants, Gavin was turned away from 12-step programs like AA, NA and GA.

“Why all the labels?” Gavin asks. “Why not put all problems under one umbrella?” “That is why I created A. I want to help people no matter what their challenges are.”

The group’s newest challenge is Benji, a troubled 35 year-old “huffer” whose mother has sent him to A. As the members struggle with Benji, they begin to work through their own inner-demons and start to see the value in their lives. Although Tartowski’s methods are less than orthodox, his ability to heal is indisputable.

This film is as life affirming as A itself.

Stop-motion animated film about an android trapped inside of a large maze, fighting for his life and having to make difficult decisions.

This film is also included in the Carrotkid Films DVD that can be downloaded on Caachi.

The explosive documentary "BUSH'S BRAIN" suggests that George W. Bush would never have been president without Karl Rove, the man known as "Bush's Brain", the Wizard of Oz behind the curtain of Presidential politics. Based on the best-selling book by journalists James Moore and Wayne Slater, BUSH'S BRAIN chronicles Rove's history of political chicanery and dirty tricks.

Brilliant tactician, ruthless opponent, savvy policy maker, and one of the greatest political minds in the history of the Republic, Karl Rove shaped Bush’s political career to a degree never before seen in America. BUSH'S BRAIN makes a convincing and explosive case that Karl Rove is the most powerful non-elected official in American history and the first "co-president" of the United States. From his masterful political skills to the secret machinations he carefully orchestrated, the fingerprints of Karl Rove can be found on virtually every decision that has come out of the Bush White House.

A collection of short films consisting of:

• L19: A short film about the last few minutes of an android's life.
• Android 207: Stop-motion animated film about an android trapped inside of a large maze. The maze is vast and filled with many surprises.
• Table Kid Kirby: A five part stop-motion animated series about a small clay man stuck on top of a work table and compelled to reach a strange looking object he sees on the floor.
• Isabel Knew Too Much: A short film with time-lapse video of a dog comprehending the world around her - an awareness that is deeply disturbing to her.
• Time-lapse: Various clips of time-lapse photography.

Dat Kho (Land of Sorrows), a 1970s foreign, English-subtitled film, starring the beloved Vietnamese iconic songwriter/poet/painter Trinh Cong Son (1939-2001) in what may be his only starring movie role, dramatizes the effect of the Vietnam War on a single South Vietnamese family, the inner conflict of decisions by each member of the family whether to remain in Vietnam or leave with the imminent fall of the city of Hue and eventual fall of Vietnam. 

It compresses three seminal events of the Vietnam war: (1) the Buddhist uprising in Hue during 1965; (2) the Tet Offensive in 1968; and (3) the 1972 "Summer of Fire".  It includes real footage of refugees fleeing the North Vietnamese' Easter Offensive of 1972.

With that real war footage serving as the backdrop, "Dat Kho" is a story of the love of family, homeland, and culture and language of Vietnam. It also is about the ethereal love of the ingenue daughter for her fiance, foiled by the antagonistic forces of the ever-present war.  It is thought-provoking, and at the same time it directly relates to present day conflicts such as the Gulf War and Iraq. It challenges the reasons for foreign involvement in essentially a civil war and questions the lessons learned or that should have been learned.

What would you do if you discovered that 13 people slated for execution had been found innocent? That was exactly the question that Illinois Governor George Ryan faced in his final days in office. Deadline is a compelling look insider America’s prisons, highlighting one man’s unlikely and historic actions against the system.

With astounding access to hearings, Death Row prisoners, exonerated men and Governor Ryan himself, Deadline, brings us directly into the emotional and legal storm surrounding Ryan’s impending decision. Viewers are pulled into the story as families exchange pleas for forgiveness or revenge; as an exonerated man in Florida tries to pull the pieces of his shattered life back together; and as a man reflects on his crime and the consequences. The filmmakers also shed light on the United States’ complicated relationship with the death penalty, using archival flashbacks to the landmark decisions and capital punishment policies implemented in the 1970’s that brought the U.S.—and Governor Ryan—to where they are today.

17 year old Wes is stuck living with his divorced father in a boring apartment complex. Eager for his first sexual encounter and starved for companionship, Wes reluctantly forms a friendship with neighbor Dusty after he discovers that the older man writes for an adult magazine called "Dear Pillow".

Dusty mentors Wes in the art of writing pornography and soon draws their lusty apartment manager into his dark lesson plan. The three form an uneasy alliance that plunges Wes into dangerously adult territory where he must choose between sexual fantasy and reality.

Featuring interviews with James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Carrie Fisher, and other screenwriting luminaries, DREAMS ON SPEC takes an intimate look at how far people will go – and how much they will sacrifice – to pursue their dreams. This feature-length documentary follows three screenwriters as they struggle against overwhelming odds – and often their families’ disapproval – to turn their scripts into movies.

David is a hip talent agent's assistant with three scripts circulating around town. He's plugged into "young Hollywood" - and when he's not working or writing, he's usually hanging out at the beach.

Joe is a middle-aged family man who has split time over the last three years between caring for his autistic daughter and writing what he believes could be the Great American screenplay.

And Deborah is trying to become one of the few African-American women to ever write and direct a feature film, though she's struggling just to pay her bills while she searches for money to produce her script.

These poignant portraits are intercut with wisdom from a “Greek Chorus” of superstar screenwriters like James L. Brooks, Nora Ephron, Gary Ross, Carrie Fisher, Ed Solomon, Larry Karaszewski, Scott Alexander, Paul Guay, and Dennis Palumbo to forge a funny and compelling look at inspiration, creativity, and solitude in Hollywood.

Conversations about god and struggling to be gay - Tom Murray's documentary examines the poignant experiences of gay men and women who have tried to "cure" their homosexuality through religion.