September 17, 2008
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Eight short films made by University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) students will receive a public screening at the 2008 Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival scheduled for Sept. 26-28.
The films will debut beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Carver Theater venue, 1631 4th Ave. N. The students made their films as part of an ethnographic filmmaking course offered jointly by the UAB Center for Urban Affairs, the UAB School of Social and Behavioral Sciences and the UAB University Honors Program. All of the films average 8-10 minutes long.
Ethnographic research deals with the description of a specific culture or human social phenomenon. Students in the course produce short documentaries about people and communities in Birmingham.
The UAB films are:
Birth Right (9 min.) Directors: Emily Jackson and Neeta Kirpalani
At the heart of the midwifery debate in Alabama is a lack of choice. For many healthy women in the state, they are not allowed to have natural, midwife-assisted births at home. This film exposes midwifery communities and the benefits of electing for midwifery care. This film also explores the larger social justice issues, such as the lack of access to care and individual choice within the healthcare system.
Under One Roof (8 min.) Directors: Tyler Godsy and Chris Lee
The film is a portrait of an early childhood program for autistic children, an underserved population in Birmingham.
Food to Fuel (9 min.) Directors: Rachel Thompson and Jim Warnock
The film is an examination of local biofuel programs and the larger implications of converting food to fuel.
Hopheads (9 min.) Directors: Paul Sholly and Jonathan Sutton
In this film grassroots legislative activism is uncovered in an unlikely place: among Alabama beer connoisseurs. This film was selected for an additional screening at 8:30 p.m. at the McWane Science Center venue, 200 19th St. N.
Making the Most at Hoover (9 min.) Directors: Jerald Appling and David Bala
The documentary is an examination of "Black Flight," the move of African-American families from city schools to the suburbs.
Positive (9 min.) Directors: Joshua Vazquez and Stephen Webb
The film is a portrait of a clinic that treats people living with HIV.
The Whole-Way House (9 min.) Directors: Nejla Harris and Logan Talbot
A documentary about the only residential facility in Alabama which allows women to live with their children while they recover from addiction or transition from prison.
Saved: The Story Of The Watercress Darter (10 min.) Directors: Ingrid Pfau and Linh Tran
The film is about the relationship between a church and environmentalists to save a small, endangered fish.
A ninth film, "The Mosque," by Mark Hutson, a former student of the ethnographic filmmaking class at UAB, will compete in the short documentary category during the festival. The film will screen 8 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute venue, 520 16th St. N. The film, which is 15 minutes, is an extended version of an earlier short film he co-produced for the class about the Muslim community in the Birmingham area. "The Mosque" is a film about the Birmingham Islamic Society and the trials and tribulations of turning a church into a mosque in the city of Hoover.