FSU & Human Rights

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:

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.

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.

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.