Film

Watch trailers to our pick of maddening and motivating independent films.

A Social Justice Tour of Oscar Winners Through the Decades

by Christopher Zumski Finke

posted Feb 28, 2014

The upcoming Academy Awards will recognize some of 2013’s best social justice-themed films. Here are some of our favorite past winners.

"Alice Walker: Beauty in Truth" Is as Beautiful Visually as It Is Spiritually

by Heidi Hutner

posted Aug 21, 2013

Filmmaker Pratibha Parmar's presentation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's life will inspire you.

Film Review: Ken Burns’ Dust Bowl

by Valerie Schloredt

posted Feb 01, 2013

The new documentary will bring you inside one of the worst manmade disasters of all time in powerful detail.

Bidder 70: The Tim DeChristopher Story

by Samantha Herndon

posted Aug 01, 2012

Last year, climate activist Tim DeChristopher went to jail for bidding $1.7 million (that he didn't have) to save 22,000 acres of public land from corporate extraction.

Inside America’s Worst Toxic Waste Cover-Up

by Valerie Schloredt

posted Jul 18, 2012

Film Review: The Big Fix exposes BP’s efforts to minimize awareness of North America’s biggest oil spill.

Growing Cities: An Urban Farming Road Trip

posted May 04, 2012

Can farming revitalize our cities and change the way we eat? Follow two friends across the United States to find out.

Cooperatives Put People—and Democracy—to Work

posted Mar 30, 2012

How worker-owned businesses from Cleveland to Spain are nurturing life and jobs outside the corporate framework.

The Koch Brothers Exposed

by Oliver Lazenby

posted Feb 01, 2012

Film Review: How far do the tentacles of the Kochtopus reach? Follow the money with this collection of 13 short films.

Film Review: The Last Mountain

by Ayla Harbin

posted Nov 01, 2011

Follow a group of residents-turned-activists in their efforts to save Coal River Mountain, the last one left in an area devastated by mining.

Film Review: Carbon Nation

by Robert Mellinger

posted Aug 16, 2011

Take a trip across the United States to find out who is developing low-carbon solutions.

Film Review: To Be Heard

posted Aug 01, 2011

Three Bronx teenagers take on poverty, crime, and family stress with the help of good teachers.

YES! Film Picks: Fall 2011

posted Aug 01, 2011

Film reviews from the Fall 2011 issue.

Film Review: Who Took the Bomp?

posted Aug 01, 2011

The feminist band with a DIY ethos has a beat to get you on your feet.

Film Review: Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune

posted May 01, 2011

A long-overdue tribute to a leading Vietnam-era voice of protest.

YES! Film Picks: Queen of the Sun, Egypt: Seeds of Change, and Phil Ochs

posted May 01, 2011

Film reviews from the Summer 2011 issue.