Rights Fest

RightsFest is a civil rights film festival sponsored by the Korematsu Institute for Civil Rights and Education, a program of the Asian Law Caucus. The annual RightsFest brings audiences a diverse range of social justice films as well as panels to discuss history, activism, filmmaking, and community-bridging solutions. The first RightsFest theme was US Supreme Court civil rights cases. The event was held in 2010 in Detroit, at Wayne State Law School’s Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights. For more information about RightsFest 2010, click here.

**IMPORTANT**: Guests who have RSVP’d should arrive at least 30 minutes before the start of each screening in order to guarantee a seat for themselves. If you are not seated 10 minutes prior to the screening, your seats may be given away to guests waiting in the standby line. If tickets sell out, please note that we will open the rush line 10 minutes before each screening, so folks who arrive early will have a good chance of getting in!

2011 RIGHTSFEST

Location: San Francisco

Theme: Civil rights activism

On Oct. 26-28, KI will host its second annual RightsFest during the Advancing Justice conference in San Francisco (conference-goers must RSVP separately for RightsFest screenings. Two of the films below will be screened every evening, each followed by a live Q&A panel with directors and activists. RightsFest 2011 has been made possible by funding from Open Society Foundations.

For a list of this year’s panelists, click here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011: Always My Son & The Fall of the I-Hotel

7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema, 1746 Post Street, San Francisco

Cost/Tickets: free, but please be sure to RSVP here in order to reserve a seat

ALWAYS MY SON(2010) chronicles the transformation of Ed from a self-described “macho Mexican” to co-founder of his town’s first LGBT youth support group after his son came out. Director Vivian Kleiman lets a straightforward story speak for itself in this touching and inspiring short documentary. 16 minutes. Confirmed Panelists: Director Vivian Kleiman, Ed & Elizabeth Plata, parents of EJ

Poster by Zand Gee

THE FALL OF THE I-HOTEL (1983) brings to life the battle for housing in San Francisco. The brutal eviction of the International Hotel’s tenants culminated a decade of spirited resistance to the razing of Manilatown. The Fall of the I-Hotel serves as witness to the community’s fight to survive, and as tribute to the dignity and strength of the Manongs. 58 minutes. Confirmed Panelists: I-Hotel activist Emil DeGuzman.

Thursday, October 27, 2011: Pilgrimage & Freedom Riders

7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: San Francisco Film Society | New People Cinema, 1746 Post Street, San Francisco

Cost/Tickets: free, but please be sure to RSVP here in order to reserve a seat

PILGRIMAGE (2008) uses a hip music track to tell the inspiring story of how an abandoned WWII concentration camp for Japanese Americans has been transformed into a symbol of retrospection and solidarity for people of all ages, races and nationalities in our post-9/11 world. Pilgrimage reveals how the Japanese American community reclaimed a national experience that had almost been deleted from public understanding. 22 minutes. Confirmed Panelists: Director Tadashi Nakamura

FREEDOM RIDERS (2010)is the powerful, harrowing, and ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever. From May until November 1961, more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives for simply traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Deliberately violating Jim Crow laws, the Freedom Riders met with bitter racism and mob violence along the way, sorely testing their belief in nonviolent activism. Special 35-minute version. Confirmed Panelists: Former Freedom Rider Carol Ruth Silver.

Friday, October 28, 2011: Whose Children Are These? & Viva La Causa

7:00pm-9:00pm

Location: Opera Plaza Cinema, 601 Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco

Cost/Tickets: free, but please be sure to RSVP here in order to reserve a seat

	A BIG TREE INVITES THE WIND (2008) A short and inspiring portrait of how four women worked together to coordinate a nationwide effort to fight hate. In April 2007, shock jocks at a CBS-owned radio station taped a 6-minute prank call to an Asian restaurant. The call, which was broadcast on air, was filled with offensive racial and sexual slurs about Asians. The Organization of Chinese Americans spearheaded a movement, led by women, which included rallies, petitions, and outreach to advertisers and culminated in a meeting with CBS President Les Moonves and the removal of the “shock jocks” from the air. 5-minute version.
	WHOSE CHILDREN ARE THESE? (2004) provides a gripping view into the lives of three Muslim teenagers impacted by domestic national security measures. Through the eyes of three courageous teens-turned-activists, Whose Children Are These?brings to light the harsh realities faced by Muslim communities in post-9/11 America— including family separation, round ups, bias crimes, detentions, and deportations. 27 minutes. Confirmed Panelists: Director Theresa Thanjan
	VIVA LA CAUSA (2008) focuses on one of the seminal events in the march for human rights – the grape strike and boycott led by César Chávez and Dolores Huerta in the 1960s. Viva la Causashows how thousands of people from across the nation joined in a struggle for justice for the most exploited people in our country – the workers who put food on our tables. 39 minutes. Confirmed Panelists: Director Bill Brummel, Former press secretary for Cesar Chavez and current Communications Director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation, Marc Grossman