Citizen Cinema Film Series

A series of powerful films which examine the process of improving social conditions
in our communities and our world. Each film will be followed by an in-depth
discussion that will explore additional pathways for change.

For an entire summit event listing by day, click here.

Please note:  Seats for all events are on a first come, first served basis.
It is suggested that guests arrive at least 15 minutes prior to event starting time.

These events are free and open to the public.

Sacco and Vanzetti
Immigration. Ethnicity. Politics. Nearly 80 years later, the story of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti continues to have great resonance as America once again grapples with issues of civil liberties and the rights of immigrants. The film chronicles the trial and execution of the two Italian immigrant anarchists who were accused of robbery and murder in the 1920s.  Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Central Library, Fulton County - Downtown
One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303

Strange Fruit
Radio stations banned it, but when Billie Holiday sang “Strange Fruit” the whole world listened anyway.  Sprung from the pen of a little-known Jewish songwriter and Bronx schoolteacher, the song continues to mesmerize musicians and civil rights activists alike with its chilling vision of a lynching. Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Adams Park Library, South Fulton County
2231 Campbellton Road, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30331

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Turner Chapel AME, Cobb County
492 North Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060

What’s Race Got to Do With It?
Despite years of diversity programs and initiatives, many discussions about race remain mired in confusion. This film shares the experiences of a diverse group of college students as they probe and confront each other about issues such as under-representation, the limitation of multi-culturalism, social equity, affirmative action and their personal responsibilities for making a difference. Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Fairburn Library, South Fulton County
60 Valley View Drive, Fairburn, GA 30213

Thursday, January 11, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Covington Library, DeKalb County
3500 Covington Highway, Decatur, GA 30032

Brother Outsider:  The Life of Bayard Rustin
A master strategist, an advisor to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and a tireless activist who brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the American civil rights movement, Bayard Rustin is best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington. Learn how and why Bayard Rustin became one of the most controversial figures of the civil rights movement. Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Redan-Trotti Library, DeKalb County
1569 Wellborn Road, Redan, GA 30074

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
National Park Service Firehouse, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
450 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 5:00 p.m.
Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Cobb County
548 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060

Street Fight
The Academy Award-nominated Street Fight covers the turbulent campaign of Cory Booker, a 32-year-old Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law School graduate running for mayor of Newark, NJ against a four-term incumbent twice his age. Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Mechanicsville Library, Central Fulton County
400 Formwalt Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30312

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 5:00 p.m.
Jennie T. Anderson Theatre, Cobb County
548 South Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060
 

The Rosa Parks Story
This inspiring film traces the life and history of Rosa Parks.  Her personal struggle against institutionalized racism reaches its zenith on the night of December 1, 1955, when, bone-weary after a long day’s work as a seamstress at a Montgomery department store, she refuses to give up her seat on a bus to a white man—and is promptly arrested. Click here to sign up

Monday, January 8, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
National Park Service Firehouse, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
450 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
East Point Library, Fulton County
2757 Main Street, East Point, GA 30344

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 4:00 p.m.
Hapeville Library, South Fulton County
525 King Arnold Street, Hapeville, GA 30354

A Tribe Of His Own: The Journalism Of P. Sainath   
In India, nearly 400 million people live in poverty.  Believing that responsible journalism can help change things for the better, Palagummi Sainath wrote a series of 70 newspaper articles for The Times of India chronicling the living conditions in the ten poorest districts of the country. Click here to sign up

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Central Library, Fulton County - Downtown
One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303
 

Hip Hop: Beyond Beats And Rhymes
This documentary is a “loving critique” of certain disturbing developments in rap music culture from the point of view of a fan who challenges the art form.  Hip Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes takes an in-depth look at representations of manhood, sexism and homophobia in hip-hop culture.  PARENTAL ADVISORY: This film contains strong language and is not suitable for youth under the age of 13. Discretion is advised. 

On Sunday, join WSB TV Channel 2 Anchor Jovita Moore with Spelman Professor Jelani Cobb in a discussion with a panel of legendary hip hop artists.  Meet such legends as Kurtis Blow, Grand Master Kaz of the Cold Crush Crew, “Dr.” Roxanne Shante and Sparky D, and hear how they helped create this art form that has been used to tell the story of urban poverty and economic injustice. Listen as hip hop artists and leading academics discuss the potential of hip hop culture and rap music to continue to affect social change.   Click here to sign up

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Decatur Public Library, DeKalb County
215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, GA 30030

Sunday, January 14, 2007, 1:00-3:30 p.m.
Atlanta Life Building Auditorium
100 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta  30303

Sunday, January 14, 2007, 2:00-4:30 p.m.
Atlanta Life Building Auditorium
100 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta 30303
 

The Boys Of Baraka
African-American boys have a very high chance of being incarcerated or killed before they reach adulthood.  In Baltimore, one of the country’s most poverty-stricken cities for inner-city residents, the Baraka School project was founded to break the cycle of violence through an innovative education program that literally removed young boys from low-performing public schools and unstable home environments and sent them to an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya. Click here to sign up

Tuesday, January 9, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Southwest Fulton Arts Center, Fulton County
915 New Hope Road, Atlanta, GA 30331

Thursday, January 11, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
The Study Hall at Emmaus House, Fulton County
1010 Crew Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30315
 

Homeland: Four Portraits Of Native Action
Nearly all 317 Native American reservations in the U.S. face environmental threats – toxic waste, strip mining or nuclear contamination.  In the face of such a widespread crisis, can one person make a difference?  For the extraordinary peoples of Homelands, the answer is yes. Click here to sign up

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Central Library, Fulton County - Downtown
One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303
 

A Force More Powerful
The greatest misconception about conflict is that violence is the ultimate form of power.  But in conflict after conflict throughout the twentieth century, people have proven otherwise.  Focusing on India, South Africa and Memphis, TN, this film explores popular movements that battled entrenched regimes and military forces with weapons very different from guns and bullets – and won. Click here to sign up

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
National Park Service Firehouse, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
450 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312

Saturday, January 13, 2007
Screening Room, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
449 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312
Running all day in rotation with King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis
 

February One
In one remarkable day, four college freshmen changed the course of American history.  This film tells the inspiring story surrounding the 1960 Greensboro lunch counter sit-ins that revitalized the civil rights movement and set an example of student protest for the coming decade.  In this intimate portrait, find out what led these four friends to protest and how a small group of determined individuals can galvanize a mass movement and focus a nation’s attention on injustice. Click here to sign up

Wednesday, January 10, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Mechanicsville Library, Central Fulton County
400 Formwalt Street, S.W. Atlanta, GA 30312

Thursday, January 11, 2007, 7:00 p.m.
Turner Chapel AME, Cobb County
492 North Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA 30060

 Letters From The Other Side
The film interweaves video letters carried across the U.S.-Mexico border by the film’s director with the personal stories of the women and families left behind in Mexico. Letters From The Other Side depicts a complex portrait of separated families and communities. Click here to sign up

Thursday, January 11, 2007, 6:00 p.m.
Central Library, Fulton County - Downtown
One Margaret Mitchell Square, Atlanta, GA 30303

 King: A Filmed Record…Montgomery to Memphis  
An account of the public career of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., beginning with the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott, when Dr. King was 27 years old, and ending shortly after his murder in Memphis, in April 1968.
 

Saturday, January 13, 2007
Screening Room, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
449 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312
Running all day in rotation with A Force More Powerful

East Atlanta Goin' Through Some Changes
A film in which two dozen children from East Atlanta Kids Club explore the historic changes in this diverse intown neighborhood, through a series of interviews with residents, business owners and community leaders. This film is presented as part of our family series. Click here to sign up

Saturday, January 13, 2007
National Park Service Firehouse, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
450 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312

Our Friend Martin
This animated time-travel adventure follows Matt, who must go on a class field trip to the museum of Martin Luther King, Jr., when he would rather play baseball.  But the trip turns into an exciting adventure when he and his best friend, Randy are sent back in time to meet Dr. King. This film is presented as part of our family series. Click here to sign up

Saturday, January 13, 2007
National Park Service Firehouse, Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic District
450 Auburn Avenue, N.E. Atlanta, GA 30312

From Swastika To Jim Crow
In the 1930s, Jewish scholars who escaped Nazi Germany and immigrated to the U.S. faced an uncertain future.  Confronted with anti-Semitism at major universities and a public distrust of foreigners, a surprising number of Jewish intellectuals secured teaching positions at historically Black colleges in the South.
Click here to sign up

Sunday, January 14, 2007, 1:00  and 3:30 p.m.
Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History
101 Auburn Avenue N.E. Atlanta, GA 30303