Directory of Sponsored Projects

Roll Red Roll is a true-crime thriller that goes behind the headlines to uncover the deep-seated and social media-fueled “boys will be boys” culture at the root of high school sexual assault in America. At a pre-season party in small-town Steubenville, Ohio, a heinous crime took place: the assault of a teenage girl by members of the beloved high school football team. What transpired would garner national attention and result in the sentencing of two key offenders. But it was the disturbing social media evidence uncovered by crime blogger Alexandria Goddard that provoked the most powerful questions about the collusion of teen bystanders, teachers, parents and coaches to protect the assailants and discredit the victim. As it painstakingly reconstructs the night of the crime and its aftermath, Roll Red Roll uncovers the ingrained rape culture at the heart of the incident, acting as a cautionary tale about what can happen when teenage social media bullying runs rampant and adults look the other way. The film unflinchingly asks: “Why didn’t anyone stop it?”

LOST IN TRANSLATIONS takes the audience on a quest to answer essential questions regarding Biblical interpretations which have led to decades of theological harm. How did the word “homosexual” end up in the Bible? What are the “clobber passages,” and how are they used as “sacred weapons” against the LGBTQIA+ community? What is the evolution of these translations through time, culture and human understanding? Is the increase of LGBTQIA+ suicide in connection with anti-gay rhetoric, specifically in religious environments, a result of this evolution? Can shedding light on the mistranslations of the past, positively impact our society in terms of acceptance, love, and communion with one another? If we are able to understand where man’s unintended influence altered the universal understanding of God’s will; can we find the wisdom to see one another as worthy of the same rights to love, marriage and leadership?

Within every woman is an untamed wild, instinctive creature — a powerful force of passion, creativity, and infinite wisdom. Her name is Wild Woman. Five intrepid friends set out on the surfing adventure of a lifetime. Commencing in Australia, they head to California where they gather themselves in preparation for the 3000-mile odyssey from Mexico all the way down the Central American coastline to Panama. Surf the Wild Woman is a journey of discovery into the wild nature of woman, where each encounter and experience along the way challenges these women to grow through humour and grace, whilst keeping open hearts and minds so that they can become more of who they already are. Enriching the tapestry of this journey, the women find themselves bumping shoulders with Janne Robinson, Tammi Lynn Kent and other inspiring women who embody the wild woman essence. They hit legendary, as well as local surf locations throughout Central America and beyond, in search of adventure.

With unprecedented access, the Indigo Girls documentary brings to life the songwriting and storytelling of music that transformed a generation. Combining exclusive archival, intimate vérité, and scripted live-action magical realism, the film invites viewers into the lives of one of the most iconic folk-rock bands in America. After sharing a childhood outside of Atlanta, Georgia, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have been making music together for over 30 years, starting with their friendship in high school choir. Despite their contrasting personalities, the two quickly became famous for their ability to harmonize. In 1989, their self-titled debut album became a breakout hit, and Amy and Emily found themselves sidelined by an industry eager to define them – as activists, lesbians, Southerners – and wholeheartedly embraced by devoted fans who connected with their unique sound and emotional lyrics. Across decades of political turmoil, the Indigo Girls consistently took a stand for indigenous rights, racial justice, LGBTQ dignity, and climate change – through their music, by speaking out publicly, and in their private actions. By celebrating the legacy of a duo who never quite got their due, this film lifts up the powerful charisma of their integrity, vulnerability, and harmony. Moving between their coming of age memories as gay women in the South, their sudden rise to fame, and the beauty and friction of aging, the film examines identity, legacy, and the healing power of music through an intimate, character-driven film about legendary musicians Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.

Extreme Animal Transport is an adventure series that follows a specialist team gathered from around the world as they transport large, exotic, animals traveling across borders. Each journey is extreme, documenting the ambitious lengths that animal keepers, vets, drivers, and logistics experts go to in order to get their precious cargo from point A to point B safely. The animals are transported from far and wide. Each journey raises awareness of an issue the species faces including habitat destruction, climate change, and pollution. Some will be leaving life-threatening situations for rehabilitation. Others will be endangered species moving for breeding programs and a lucky few will be preparing for life back in the wild as part of re-wilding programs. We capture wild-to-wild translocations with the world's best animal transportation specialists moving herds of wild elephants and rhinos across international borders where they can be protected from poaching, and then there are the zoos that need evacuating from war zones. Every move has a story. There is always a strong emphasis on the well-being of the animals. The drama and points of difficulty are always about the people dealing with trying circumstances. Vehicles breaking down, extreme weather and road conditions, time restrictions, lack of sleep and tension between key talent. Organizations such as the Humane Society International, Animal Advocacy and Protection, Four Paws, Elephants Rhinos People are just some of those featured in the series.

ROCKY FLATS is a feature documentary about an under-the-radar yet crucial environmental story - of the massive amount of nuclear waste left in the American landscape by the Cold War. The film follows events now unfolding in Colorado, where a contentious fight has erupted over the fate of the lands around the former Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Facility. Late in 2018, the federal government opened Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, 6,500 acres that once surrounded the most notoriously mismanaged nuclear weapons plant in U.S. history. The government claims that the lands are free of plutonium contamination, but a growing coalition of scientists, citizens, environmental groups, and physicians are vehemently disagreeing. They know that for decades, Rocky Flats leaked radioactive plutonium into the air, soil, and water of surrounding areas - long suspected to be the cause of the high rates of cancer in these communities. While a 1989 FBI raid closed down the plant forever, citizens of Colorado are still fighting to unearth the truth about Rocky Flats - including the lasting impacts it has had on their lands and towns. ROCKY FLATS follows five characters who are leading this fight, and by the end of the year, their efforts will open a Pandora's Box the federal government hoped had closed long ago. ROCKY FLATS is the story of one of the most decisive years in the recent history of our nuclear weapons program, in the process shedding crucial light on one of the most pressing environmental stories of our time.

Two women, both Iranian, living at opposite ends of the globe, begin an email correspondence. Leyla is an academic in the US, Farahnaz a filmmaker in Iran, and they have never met. In their letters, they share stories, anecdotes, memories, observations on Iran, culture, the past, art, family. The letters are accompanied by personal film clips and private photos. As stories are shared, an alternative and unofficial history of Iran emerges from two personal angles: one within the country and one outside. This alternative history, that focuses on private spaces and unknown archives, is the core story. The film also traces Leyla 's difficult decision on whether to go back to Iran or not, forming a dramatic parallel narrative.

The lives of a trans Air Force officer in Nebraska and two boys in the Southend of Seattle intersect with those of the first women to win a national championship, the first and only all-black men’s ultimate team, and a prescient feminist economist whose life was tragically cut short by cancer. These stories span fifty years of ultimate history, illuminating the hard, vital fight against systemic oppression. Though ultimate frisbee is unique in that women and men created it together and is technically inexpensive to play, it has followed the growth model of more traditional mainstream sports, which values and over-represents men. In the U.S., players are majority white, male, upper-middle-class, and college-educated. Voices that have historically been underrepresented in the sport -- LGBTQ and non-binary folks, women, people of color, folks from differing socio-economic backgrounds -- are speaking up about their experiences and barriers, pushing for intentional change. By investigating how a seemingly accessible and inclusive fifty-year-old sport grew to be a majority white male sport in the US, we can understand nuanced ways in which systems of oppression have functioned throughout the last 50 years of American history.