2009 SBAHFS Film Line Up and Descriptions

Little Rock Central High:  50 Years Later

The events that transpired at Little Rock Central
High School in Little Rock, Arkansas set a key and
vital precedent for civil rights in the United States
and permanently altered the sociocultural landscape
of postwar America. In late September 1957, the
Governor of Arkansas, Governor Orval Faubus, was
unsuccessful in his attempt to block the entrance
of several African American students into the school.
In fact, he was met with unstoppable resistance from
both President Dwight D. Eisenhower and the 101st
Airborne Division of the U.S. Army.

Documentarists Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud go
back to the pivotal institution and commemorate the
50th anniversary by cross sectioning the school's
current racial makeup, student attitudes, adminis-
tration and policies revealing the outstanding social
progress eked out by the school. They also unveiled
related challenges that still confront the students
and faculty members.

In 1999, President Clinton presented the nation's
highest civilian award, the Congressional Gold Medal to
the members of the Little Rock Nine and on January 20,
2009,President Barak Obama invited the Little Rock Nine
to the 2009 inauguration.

There will be a discussion, following the film.
Dr. Terrence James Roberts, one of the nine African
American students who desegregated Little Rock High in
1957, will conduct a Q & A. Dr. Gloria Willingham,
Associate Dean for the School of Education Leadership
and Change, Fielding Graduate University, and a former
graduate of Little Rock Central High, will respond to
questions from the audience. Dr. Clyde Woods, UCSB
Department of Black Studies, will moderate this event.
This is an opportunity for educators and advocates of
children’s education to come together for dialogue in
the community and to hear this poignant message from
scholars who have dedicated their lives to the issue of
race and how race affects education and children in
America.

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The Price of Sugar

In the Dominican Republic, a tropical-island nation,
tourists flock to pristine beaches unaware that a few
miles away thousands of dispossessed Haitians have
toiled under armed-guards on plantations harvesting
sugarcane, much of which ends up in U.S. kitchens.
They work grueling hours and they frequently lack
decent housing, clean water, electricity, education or
healthcare.

Narrated by Paul Newman, "The Price of Sugar" follows
Father Christopher Hartley, a charismatic Spanish priest,
as he organizes some of this hemisphere's poorest
people to fight for their basic human rights.

This film raises key questions about where products
we consume originate and at what human cost they
are produced.

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Mr. Bones

Talk about an avant-garde provocative film, don't miss "Mr. Bones"!
Ages 13 and up.

Three heroes (Devin, Dionne and Dominique) make their passage
into adulthood and we join them in their turbulent present.
The mystery of "Mr. Bones" is their secret, but their secret can't
stay hidden forever so we see the showdown of their dreams,
regrets, lost loves and ultimate salvation. "Mr. Bones" presents a
stirring tableau of the modern African experience, celebrating the
strength of all relationships, reminding us to take nothing and no
one for granted, and gently teaching us to be thankful for what
we have.

The director and cast will be present for discussion following the screening.

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The Right Man for the Job

Returning to the SBAHFS for its 3rd Season!
A satirical look at what happens when CIA training goes awry.

Ominous military-inspired music and government-issue sets
create an atmosphere of threat. The job is for a hired gun.
Three topflight CIA recruits (Cooper, Sorenson, & Thompson)
are called in to compete for an elite CIA assassin position.
Their final test is a diabolical way of determining the potential
operative's ability to follow instructions, regardless of the
circumstances. The first two contenders fail; however, much
to the horrified surprise of the superiors, the third candidate
performs admirably going above and beyond the call of duty.

Gospel Hill

A former sheriff and a former civil-rghts activist revisit
the 30-year-old death of another civil-rights worker.

Residents of the neighborhood of Gospel Hill, in the
southern town of Julia, are being forced out of their
homes to make way for a new multimillion-dollar
development. Race relations are strained similar to
thirty years ago when a black civil rights activist was
assassinated. The lives of the characters intertwine
as they touch on issues of race, eminent domain, and
the power of the human spirit to overcome the pain
and hatred of division.