“An intricate tale of ‘medicine, monopoly, and malice,’ Fire in the Blood tells the story of how Western pharmaceutical companies and governments aggressively blocked access to low-cost AIDS drugs for the countries of Africa and the global south in the years after 1996 – causing 10 million or more unnecessary deaths – and the improbable group of people who decided to fight back.

“Shot on four continents and including contributions from global figures such as Bill Clinton, Desmond Tutu, and Joseph Stiglitz, Fire in the Blood is the never-before-told true story of the remarkable coalition which came together to stop ‘the Crime of the Century’ and save million of lives in the process.

“As the film makes clear, however, this story is by no means over. With dramatic past victories having given way to serious setbacks engineered far from public view, the real fight for access to life-saving medicine is almost certainly just beginning.”

Website:

http://fireintheblood.com

To lend support:

http://fireintheblood.com/get-involved

Notes: Narrated by William Hurt

“… [T]he first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning 50 years from conservation to climate change. Directed and written by Mark Kitchell, Academy-Award nominated director of Berkeley in the Sixties, and narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2012 and has won acclaim at dozens of festivals around the world.”

Website:

www.afiercegreenfire.com

To lend support:

www.sffs.org/donate/donate-now.aspx?pid=1059

“Fantastic Fungi is an excerpt from a feature documentary about Paul Stamets, a mycologist and author, by Louie Schwartzberg. The video pairs beautiful [time-lapse] footage of mushrooms growing with an interview with Stamets, who makes a passionate argument for understanding and valuing nature’s ecosystems.” – The Atlantic

Participant at FiRe 2013: Director Louie Schwartzberg Link to bio

Preview:

Notes: For more films by Louie Schwartzberg, visit www.movingart.tv

“Detroit’s story has encapsulated the iconic narrative of America over the last century: the Great Migration of African Americans escaping Jim Crow; the rise of manufacturing and the middle class; the love affair with automobiles; the flowering of the American dream; and now… the collapse of the economy and the fading American mythos.

“With its vivid, painterly palette and haunting score, Detropia sculpts a dreamlike collage of a grand city teetering on the brink of dissolution. These soulful pragmatists and stalwart philosophers strive to make ends meet and make sense of it all, refusing to abandon hope or resistance. Their grit and pluck embody the spirit of the Motor City as it struggles to survive postindustrial America and begins to envision a radically different future.” – Caroline Libresco

Website:

www.detropiathefilm.com

To lend support:

www.detropiathefilm.com/getinvolved.html

“The dramatic story of one unforgettable athlete, Kevin Pearce; one eye-popping sport, snowboarding; and one explosive issue, Traumatic Brain Injury. A comeback story with a difference.”

“This eye-popping film seamlessly combines 20 years of stunning action footage with new specially shot verité footage and interviews as it follows US champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce and exposes the irresistible but potentially fatal appeal of extreme sports.”

Website:

http://thecrashreel.com/

To lend support:

http://thecrashreel.com/loveyourbrain

“carbon nation is an optimistic, solutions-based, non-preachy, non-partisan, big tent film that shows tackling climate change boosts the economy, increases national & energy security and promotes health & a clean environment. The film’s optimism and pragmatism are appealing across the political spectrum. While other good films have been about problems, blame and guilt, carbon nation is a film that celebrates solutions, inspiration and action. We meet a host of entertaining and endearing characters along the way.”

Participant at FiRe 2012: Director Peter Byck

Website:

www.carbonnationmovie.com

To lend support:

www.carbonnationmovie.com/take-action

Notes: Free for all students & teachers as of Fall 2013 (sign up on website)

“Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity. Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers, and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry.

“This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.”

Website:

blackfishmovie.com

To lend support:

http://blackfishmovie.com/Take-Action

See Orca Relief’s op-ed on Blackfish:

http://orcarelief.org

“Birders: The Central Park Effect reveals the extraordinary array of wild birds who grace Manhattan’s celebrated patch of green and the equally colorful, full-of-attitude New Yorkers who schedule their lives around the rhythms of migration. Acclaimed author Jonathan Franzen, an idiosyncratic trombone technician, a charming fashion-averse teenager, and a bird-tour leader who’s recorded every sighting she’s made since the 1940s are among the film’s cast of characters. Featuring spectacular wildlife footage capturing the changing seasons, this lyrical documentary transports the viewer to a dazzling world that goes all but unnoticed by the 38 million people who visit America’s most famous park each year.”

Producer/Director Jeffrey Kimball: “I became profoundly intrigued by the paradox of nature in an urbanized world. The more I explored this phenomenon, the more aware I became that the scattered patches of green which checkerboard our cities and suburbs are essential to the healthy survival of so many species. It’s really not so surprising that a wonderful wild world exists in the middle of New York City — indeed it exists precisely because the Park is a critical oasis of nature in a vast sea of steel and concrete.

“I hope that this film conveys how a vital piece of nature can exist in the most unlikely of places, and that now, more than ever, we need to make every effort to preserve nature, wherever we find it.”

Website:

http://centralparkbirdfilm.com/birders

To lend support:

http://centralparkbirdfilm.com/birders/birding-in-central-park

Notes: Producer/Director Jeffrey Kimball is on the SNS FiReFilms Steering Committee

Compared to What?

http://packcreekproductions.com | https://barneyfrankfilm.com/

Within days of arriving in Congress in 1981, Barney Frank said, “I’ve been like a kid with my nose pressed against the candy store window. If I can stay here for 30 years, my life will be fulfilled.” Frank did stay for 30 years, enriching not just his life, but the lives of all those for whom he fought.

A fresh and contemporary political drama with unparalleled access, Compared to What? provides a look behind the scenes at one of America’s most controversial and captivating public figures. Frank emerges as a true leader, a passionate “Lion of the House” and champion of progressive values, gay rights, and the proper role of government – and who, in the process, finally integrates his private and public lives. A classic American story about a dedicated public servant who never loses hope.