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2006 festival
New Docs: Films in Competition l Thematic Program l Southern Sidebar l Panels & Workshops l Special Programming l Sponsors l Awards & Winners
thematic program: class in america
Much the way a great museum curates a special exhibit, each year Full Frame creates a thematic program, with a series of films chosen by a guest curator. Past thematic programs include such subjects as Tolerance, Music and War. The theme of the 2006 festival is Class in America, curated by St. Clair Bourne.
Series films are listed below.
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival takes on Hurricane Katrina's legacy with the thematic program Class in America. In the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it has become clear that class is an issue in America that has needed attention for some time. "Class is one of those American taboos — and this year the world saw what we have so carefully hidden in this country," explains Full Frame Founder, CEO, and Artistic Director Nancy Buirski. With this thematic centerpiece, Full Frame hopes to address not only the tragedies, but all the stories that go with this volatile topic.
Distinguished filmmaker St. Clair Bourne will act as the guest curator for this special programming within the festival. St. Clair Bourne is a veteran producer, director and/or writer of some 45 film productions. Bourne has directed a feature-length documentary John Henrik Clarke: A Great And Mighty Walk, produced Half Past Autumn: The Life And Works Of Gordon Parks for HBO, and directed Paul Robeson: Here I Stand! for the American Masters PBS series. Bourne is currently shooting a documentary on writer Walter Mosley and is developing two documentaries: 9/11, Black America and Islam and a 4-hour series on the rise and fall of the Black Panther Party, both for PBS.
For Bourne, the importance of this theme lies in its resonances — how it defines the national character and yet remains unspoken: "The fact that class is both a motivator and an obstacle is rarely discussed. Its traps and trappings are prevalent in all levels of society; it is more often sought after than realized." In order to convey the urgency of this theme, Bourne sought out documentaries that feature conflict created by class differences. In addition to a roster of films — a mix of old and new work — the Class in America programming will also feature a symposium.
class in america film list
Click film title below or Schedule for more film information including screening date, time and venue.
Born Rich
Directed by
Jamie Johnson
A look at
By Invitation Only
Directed by Rebecca Snedeker
Class and culture intersect in this revealing documentary made “from the inside.” Within the Mardi Gras festival exists a very private world of high-society balls that has rarely been questioned by the public.
World Premiere
Desire
Directed by Julie Gustafson
Named after a
Finally Got The News
Directed by Stewart Bird, Rene Lichtman and Peter Gessner
Set in the auto industry of Detroit, this film tells the story of a group of radical African-American workers who try to build an independent labor organization when they decide that the union leadership has not addressed their specific problems.
Flag Wars
Directed by Linda Goode Bryant and Laura Poitras
This cinema verité-style documentary is a fascinating look inside the conflicts that surface when African-American, working-class homeowners are confronted with an influx of white gay home buyers.
The Last Pullman Car
Directed by Gordon Quinn and Jerry Blumenthal
In 1981, Pullman workers found themselves in the midst of a fight to the death for their jobs. At the same time, class interests clashed in the midst of a changing economy that affected society as a whole.
Lay My Burden Down
Directed by Jack Willis
Made in 1966, this film illustrates the forces behind the struggle for “freedom and justice” and was one of the first to raise class questions about the Civil Rights movement, generally described in moral or legal terms by the media at that time.
Maid in America
Directed by Anayansi Prado
The history of domestic workers, the film argues, illustrates the changing relationship of minorities to the middle class. Latina immigrants have become the new face of household labor, once primarily the work of American Blacks.
Now We Live On Clifton
Directed by Peter Kuttner, Gordon Quinn and Richard Schmiechen
Experience how class operates in the process of gentrification through the youthful eyes of 10-year-old Pam Taylor and her 12-year-old brother Scott.
Poverty Outlaw
Directed by Peter Kinoy and Pamela Yates
This film tells the story of one woman who descends from middle-class security to welfare and then abject poverty. But her fierce desire to protect her children drives her to confront and fight welfare bureaucrats, politicians, and even the police.
Recalling Orange County
Directed by Mylène Moreno
Part memoir and part political story, this film deals with class within the context of immigration. A clash between working class Mexican immigrants and wealthy white suburbanites over the educational policies of school board member Nativo Lopez.
Still A Brother: Inside the Black Middle Class
Directed by William Greaves
An landmark examination of the Black middle class with a sharp analysis of race and class that reverberates powerfully today.
Stranger with a Camera
Directed by Elizabeth Barret
In 1967 during the government’s War On Poverty, a visiting filmmaker documenting that campaign was shot and killed by a local Kentucky resident. The search for the reasons behind this shooting provides an opportunity to explore the judgment of filmmakers who promote social change.
The Weather Underground
Directed by Sam Green and Bill Siegel
This reflective film tells the story of anti-Vietnam War activists who set out to overthrow the U.S. government. In the process, they confronted their own position of privilege within class structure even as they evaded one of the largest manhunts in FBI history.
