Media That Matters

"Equality, human rights, and social justice are heavy concepts. Media That Matters corrals short documentary films that touch upon big topics and make you think." –Google Video

With the growing consolidation of media worldwide, independent media makers face daunting obstacles in their efforts to introduce new perspectives into public debate. For young filmmakers with few resources, the obstacles are greater still. Arts Engine and its annual Media That Matters Film Festival stand apart, forging vital links between media makers and the public and underscoring independent media’s potential for broad social impact.

The Media That Matters Film Festival brings high-impact shorts and Take Action tools to audiences around the country all year long through distribution of a DVD with all sixteen films, Web streaming, broadcasts and community screenings.

Each year, youth produced films are among those selected for inclusion in the festival. Typically, they tell hard stories: about stereotyping and hate, systems that don’t serve youth well, finding strength in family and friends.

Below we offer two films that were official selections in this year’s annual festival (the sixth since the festival began in 2000).

A Girl Like Me by Kiri Davis
Color is more than skin deep for young African-American women struggling to define themselves.
Winner of the Media That Matters Diversity Award

“For my high-school literature class I was constructing an anthology with a wide range of different stories that I believed reflected the black girl’s experience. For the different chapters, I conducted interviews with a variety of black girls in my high school, and a number of issues surfaced concerning the standards of beauty imposed on today’s black girls and how this affects their self-image. I thought this topic would make an interesting film and so when I was accepted into the Reel Works Teen Filmmaking program, I set out to explore these issues. I also decided to re-conduct the “doll test” initially conducted by Dr. Kenneth Clark, which was used in the historic desegregation case, Brown vs. Board of Education. I thought that by including this experiment in my film, I would shed new light on how society affects black children today and how little has actually changed.

“With help from my mentor, Shola Lynch, and thanks to the honesty and openness of the girls I interviewed, I was able to complete my first documentary in the fall of 2005. I learned that giving the girls an opportunity to talk about these issues and their experiences helped us all to look deeper and examine the many things in society that affect us and shape who we are.”
(posted at http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/a_girl_like_me/0

VIEW MOVIE (7:08 min) | broadband | dial up

Slip of the Tongue by Karen Lum
“What’s your ethnic make up?” A young man makes a pass at a beautiful stranger and gets an eye-opening schooling on race and gender.
Winner of the Media That Matters Jury Award

“I shot and edited Slip of the Tongue in various locations in downtown Oakland, CA, and in my own house. I used Final Cut Pro and other editing equipment at the youth media organization where I belong, Youth Sounds Factory.

“Slip of the Tongue originated when I was asked to participate in a filmmakers’ conference in Connecticut in 2005. In order to go, I had to produce a one-minute PSA that incorporated the theme of how youth are making a difference. Being a lover of spoken word, I wrote out a vague treatment about how many youth utilize poetry to change the world through self-expression. The organizers of the conference immediately rejected my treatment and told me that I needed to have a solid story line. Then one day, the idea suddenly came to: I would take a poetry recording and apply images to it. The slam poem “Slip of the Tongue” by my friend Adriel Luis stood out to me since it actually told a story and was structured just like a film with an introduction, conflict, climax and resolution. And so after two weeks, I finished my one-minute PSA, and eventually, it turned into a complete four-minute short.”
(posted at http://www.mediathatmattersfest.org/6/slip_of_the_tongue/)

VIEW MOVIE (4:06 min)| broadband | dial up

More films:
Still Standing >>
School As Subject >>
Beyond Borders: Personal Stories for a Small Planet >>