Film & Video: Social Issue Films Fill Niche

Cinema Libre Studio announces release of social issue titles and new blog.

Interest in social issue documentaries as a tool for advocacy is seemingly on the rise. Online sales and submissions to film distributors is on the rise while festivals such as SilverDocs and Full Frame are including panel discussion focused on social activism and marketing. Cinema Libre Studio, a leader in the distribution of social issue titles, is currently in production on a feature length documentary on the true roots of poverty. To begin building its coalition building, the company will launch an interactive blog, calling it: "CinemActivist."

"People are frustrated with the information they receive through traditional media outlets," says Andrew Schreiber, head of Home Entertainment at Cinema Libre Studio. "We are seeing an increase in submissions as well as an increase of sales of our titles. From the feedback we receive, we find that people are turning to films with a social message and using them as tools for activism."

The company, which releases titles in theatres and on DVD, will be releasing a summer slate of titles in the DVD market that includes:

"Biro" -- A film of Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine's one-man play, tells the story of "Biro" from his days as a soldier in Uganda to his HIV positive diagnosis in Cuba to a present day jail cell in Texas. (Available May 29)

"Conventioneers" -- Shot entirely in New York during the 2004 Republican National Convention, this drama is a modern day love story that speaks poignantly to the current political divide in our country. "A rare instance of U.S. narrative cinema that engages the politics of the moment," says Variety. (Available June 19).

"Darfur Diaries" -- In 2004 three filmmakers based in Darfur monitored the worsening political and humanitarian crisis in Sudan. Their film demonstrates how the mainstream media offered marginal and inadequate coverage and how the international community has failed the people of Sudan. (Available Now)

"The Empire In Africa" -- A deep and disturbing investigation that goes beyond the "facts" presented in the Hollywood blockbuster, "Blood Diamond." The filmmaker interviews members from all parties involved in this debilitating 10-year civil war in Sierra Leone and shows how the international community has waged a war on this resource-rich country, with bombs, executions, rigged elections and manipulation of the international media, creating one of the worst humanitarian disasters of our time. (Available May 8)

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Scene from The Empire In Africa

"Giuliani Time" -- As the 2008 presidential race heats up, Rudy Giuliani tops the list of Republican candidates. An examination of Giuliani's rise to power, his policies and his so-called turnaround of New York City, this controversial doc shows Giuliani's true position. Interviews with journalists, activists, legal experts, any many of the city's poor, reveal that while the Mayor touted his Broken Windows and Zero Tolerance policies, the reality on the streets was often police brutality, violations of the First Amendment and racist actions. (Available Now)

"Musica Cubana" -- Docudrama chronicling the new generation of musicians in Cuba, starring Pio Leyva, star of "Buena Vista Social Club," and executive produced by Wim Wenders. The two-disc set includes the 90-minute live concert in Tokyo, which is featured in the film. (Available June 19)

"War & Truth" -- Chronicling the history of embedded journalists from WWII to present day, the film details the courage and frustrations of journalists who risk their lives on the front lines. It dares to bring to light the images you won't see on the news and explores the true story of what it really means when a nation goes to war. (Available July 3)

"Soldier Child" -- Since 1990, the people of Northern Uganda have watched in horror as tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped from their homes, marched to Sudan, and then trained as child soldiers in a rebel army. Acholi rebel-leader and religious fanatic Joseph Kony abducts Acholi children indiscriminately, brainwashes them, and then forces them to commit indescribable atrocities against their own families and friends. (Available Now)

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