CW: talk of violence

Behind These Walls documents the experience of Sean “Dino” Johnson through his own unsparing words. Born and raised in Queens, New York, Johnson served a 15-year prison sentence for a drug-related charge. His conviction occurred during the national war on drugs, and before New York State began to reform its notorious Rockefeller drug laws. While incarcerated at Sing Sing Correctional Facility, Johnson discovered the prison’s theater program and was initially skeptical, saying “We are in a maximum security facility and you want me to run around in tights talking about to be or not to be?” Johnson takes the leap though, and the film’s archival excerpts of his in-prison performances alongside his compelling narrative reveal how the dramatic arts impacted his ability to self-correct and express empathy. He describes his mental and emotional transformation as liberating, concluding “I found my freedom behind those walls.”

(Susan Margolin, US, 2021, 6 min)

In a moment of extreme division within the United States, a Japanese American artist creates work that honors the family story of a Black American friend alongside that of her own community. In doing so, she reveals how the two communities’ rhyming reparations movements and histories can create deep solidarity and healing.

(Erin Shigaki, US, 2021, 5 min, in English)

Tiny Gray-Garcia’s heartbreaking true story about growing up on the streets of Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland with her mother, Mama Dee. Based on her children’s book of the same name with illustrations by Ace Robles and music score by Lottie Johnston.

(Peter Menchini, US, 2021, 8 min, in English)

Facing the climate crisis, Louise, a philosophy teacher, turns words into action.

(Alexandre Isabelle, Canada, 2021, 12 min, in French with English subtitles)

CW: discussion of race and slavery

When these five Black lawyers set out on their journeys to receive a professional legal education, they did not realize that they would have to struggle against additional battles even more challenging than the rigors of learning the law in a hypercompetitive environment. They discover the contradictions of studying in an institution that idealistically represents “justice” for all.

(Evangeline Mitchell, US, 2021, 25 min, in English)

WHAT NOW?—a hybrid gathering designed by a Seattle team of artists and organizers led by Vee Hua 華婷婷 and Julie-C Chang Schulman, in partnership with Common Field—is organized to envision the transformative possibilities birthed in moments of uncertainty. Onsite and online programs will be holistic and interactive to maximize the engagement and utility of resources, and will seek to strengthen creative ecosystems by exploring The Role of Artists and Structures of Support in this work. Sessions will include peer-to-peer workshops, collaborative arts network mapping sessions, facilitated conversations, and moments of embodied practice. A combination of virtual and in-person programs will bring local and national voices together across regions to share the work that’s working, and dream the models for our futures.

For a detailed program overview and more on our Partners, organizers, advisors, presenters and session facilitators, please visit the WHAT NOW? page on CommonField.org.

American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation and communication access real-time (CART) captioning will be provided for all sessions, onsite and online. We welcome you to review our event accessibility, venue health and safety guidelines, and Common Field’s Community Care Agreements on our website.

Please note: in-person tickets are designed to engage local and regional arts organizers who live within driving distance of Seattle’s Central District. Online tickets, in turn, are meant for members of the broader national audience who live outside this region.

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Presented by the Social Justice Film Institute, Northwest Film Forum, and the Meaningful Movies Project, the 2022 Social Justice Film Festival is a celebration of the power of people and film to push for change within their homes and communities.

This year’s program runs from September 28 to October 2 and features a competitive, curated selection of short and feature films that highlight many of today’s key human crises. Taken together, the genre-spanning films ask how we activate and create refuge in response to crisis.