Rita Semel: San Francisco Foundation Community Leadership Awards 2012

"Smoke Signals" follows the volunteers at High Point Lookout, one of the last remaining fire lookout towers in California. Alternating between the daily duties of the fire lookouts, and a series of profiles on wildfires that have traced their history, "Smoke Signals" questions the role of the fire lookouts in the face of rapidly advancing technology and climate change.

Aria Dean explores the black creative labour put into memes, images defined not by their content but by how they are circulated, mutated and compressed. While all memes lack attribution, Dean illustrates a palpable link between white appropriation of memes created by black people and a deeper lineage of theft and leering fascination.

"Come In" explores how Morse history is entangled with the history of the Spiritualist church. The Spiritualist Church was founded by the Fox sisters in 1850. They claimed that they were mediums who could communicate with the dead and they justified this ability by citing the new ability, through Morse, to speak with someone far away almost instantaneously. After fifty years of practicing Spiritualism, the sisters declared the religion a hoax, and many years later Morse code officially lost its role in the commercial realm. As Spiritualists continue to send messages to the dead in spite of the sisters’ statements, and Morse operators transmit messages into the ether with hope, Johnson asks: How do communication networks and technologies affect our calls and responses and make visible our desire for reciprocity?

The film shows one day from waking up in the morning all the way to waking up again the next morning. The everyday situations that many commercials are made of, the little dramas that they create and solve through the product or service they sell, are stitched together into one day. This is a film about the everyday in (German, or Western-European) society because the commercials are part of the everyday of most people (everyone who watches television) and they depict an ideal image of society. The film abundantly uses repetition as an editing technique, in visual ways as described above, but also because commercials can be read in different ways. For instance, Brat baking foil shows up at the evening dinner sequence, when an ovendish is put on the table, and again later on in the sequence about going out to a classic concert, because the clip has classic music.

In 2001, a series of leaks within the Bionicle community began to appear, claiming that a seventh protagonist named "Voriki" would be arriving soon. And though those leaks turned out to be fake, the legacy Voriki has left behind has more than made up for it.

Tupac Amaru, algo está cambiando: something is changing

A part of Porto’s nightlife history is revealed. In this work, the artist draws on her extensive archive of video recordings of Porto’s artistic and cultural landscape, which she has captured over the last 26 years, to focus on some of the city’s nightclubs that haven’t survived the years. A work commissioned by Batalha Centro de Cinema.

Tamara is from the ocean and water runs in her veins. Born in a fishing village on the Mexican coast, she became a full-time scuba instructor. When she discovers plastic in her beloved ocean, she sets out to get the diving industry to stop using single-use plastic.

During the summer of 2023, my father decided to hang up the boots and walk away from the family business of 25 years. This is my love letter to the cafe in which my family and I have worked, encapsulating the good vibes and cheery nature the business held for a quarter of a century.

MAJOR! follows the life and campaigns of Miss Major Griffin-Gracy, a 73-year-old Black transgender woman who has been fighting for the rights of trans women of color for over 40 years.

This two-part visual essay features the son of director Don Siegel, Kristoffer Tabori, who reads from his father book A Siegel Film. The bulk of the content addresses the production history of Invasion of the Body Snatchers.

Three arrested and detained undocumented immigrants must navigate the system to fight impending deportation.

Sing! is a 2001 American short documentary film about the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, directed by Freida Lee Mock. How do squeaky-voiced 8 year olds become amazing singers? Sing! tells the story of how a community group, amid severe cutbacks in the arts, is able to develop a children's chorus that is one of the best in the country. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Documentary film written by music critic Artemiy Troitskiy. It depicts the variety of Soviet and Baltic rock music and offers its viewer an idea that all this forbidden music is not really dangerous for society. Featuring music bands: "Круиз" (Tambov), "In Spe" (Estonia), "Новый мир" (Estonian hard-rock), "Великие Луки" (punk-rock from Tallinn). Moscow music scene represented by: "Тупые", "Нюанс", "Звуки Му". Leningrad music scene: "Джунгли", "Алиса". Also appearing: "Воплі Відоплясова" from Kiev and "Антис" from Lithuania. Not credited: Roman Neumoev with "Инструкция по выживанию" and Oleg Sudakov with "Гражданская оборона".

Sankara

In this immersive documentary, Winston Stairs invites the audience on a soul-soothing expedition into the world of hiking. Winston’s adventurous spirit guides the viewer through the forests of Ontario, sharing in the enchanting beauty of nature. Through breathtaking landscapes and personal reflections, the film captures Winston's profound love for hiking as more than a mere pastime—it becomes a transformative experience that welcomes self-discovery and a strong relationship with our environment. Join Winston on this inspirational trek, where every step reflects the joys of exploring and the tranquil side of our planet.

At a mobile home park in small-town Northern California, five best friend retirees navigate their golden years with grace, humor, and wisdom, and reflect on the importance of genuine human connection.

When a firefighter comes to your house, chances are that their lives were just like yours not too long ago. 70% of all firefighters in Canada are volunteers, meaning in most cases, they were just eating dinner, coaching a team, or even at their actual job. To raise awareness of the need for volunteer firefighters, "Answer the Call" will showcase the unique lifestyle of volunteer firefighters, and have them shed light on the risks and rewards of living a double life.

This short explores the possibility that Louis XVII, son of King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, escaped death during the French Revolution and was raised by Indians in America.

A villager of Desa Jepitu named Rubiyanto conducted a water extraction project from Gua Pulejajar with a group of volunteers. Echa, a student of cultural anthropology, involved herself in the project for her research. The water reserve in Gua Pulejajar does not only give hope to Rubiyanto and the other villagers of Desa Jepitu, but also reignites spiritual relations between Echa and her late father, who was a former activist of Gua Pulejajar.