With the Center’s assistance, FSU Film School and Communications School students and faculty have worked on film projects examining a broad range of human rights issues. These projects include the following films:
Breaking the Silence
Jointly produced by FSU Film School professor Valliere Richard Auzenne and the Center’s Executive Director Terry Coonan, “Breaking the Silence” draws on interviews conducted by FSU Film School graduate students with survivors of torture from around the world.
The film focuses on the activities of the Torture Abolition Survivor Support Coalition (“TASSC”), a Washington D.C. based torture survivor group founded by Sister Dianna Ortiz. The film also examines current U.S. complicity in torture.
Fields of Mudan
Produced by FSU Film School graduate Stevo Chan, Fields of Mudan is a drama that explores the sex trafficking of children in the United States. The winner of numerous film festival awards, Fields of Mudan has also been used in human trafficking trainings around the country. In January 2006 actress Darryl Hannah sponsored a special Hollywood screening of the film.
Fighting for Life in the Death Belt
This documentary was produced by FSU Film School graduates Adam Elend and Jeff Marks, and examines the death penalty in the United States. In particular, it recounts the advocacy efforts of the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights on behalf of Death Row inmates.
Threshold: A 360-Degree Dance Film
CAHR partnered with the FSU School of Dance and the FSU College of Communications to create a dance film entitled Threshold. The film utilizes new 360-degree film technology to celebrate the resiliency of women who have survived human rights violations
Produced by Professor Malia Bruker and choreographed by Professor Ilana Goldman, the film is based on the stories of CAHR clients who survived wartime sexual violence, sex trafficking, and other gender-based human rights violations.
Invisible History: Middle Florida’s Hidden Roots
Invisible History recounts the story of how over a million enslaved persons from the Upper South were force-marched to northern Florida in the early 1800s. Once arrived, this enslaved population built the massive plantation network that came to be known as “Middle Florida.”
This documentary by FSU Film School professor Valerie Scoon restores the names and voices of the nearly forgotten people who built what would become Florida’s capital city of Tallahassee and its surrounding counties. CAHR helped fund both the historical research and the production of this Emmy-nominated documentary film.