Amy Schatz
Every year, hundreds of children from pre-K through 12th grade take the stage at the Oakland MLK Oratorical Fest, a public speaking competition where they perform poetry and speeches inspired by the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The film covers the months leading up to the 40th annual festival, as schools across the city send their top-placing students to compete. It is a portrait of young people raising their voices about issues they care about and of the unique community that celebrates and supports them.
An introduction to the terrorist attacks in the United States on September 11, 2001 presented for a young audience.
When Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama teacher Melody Herzfeld heard the fire alarm on Feb. 14, 2018, she was with her students in rehearsals for their annual children’s musical. Moments later, a Code Red sounded. Herzfeld rushed her 65 students into a storage closet while a shooter killed 17 teachers and students nearby.
Eight student eyewitnesses from Stuyvesant High School in New York City recount their experiences of the Twin Towers attack on September 11, 2001, who as young teenagers, found themselves fleeing debris in the heart of the danger zone and faced with a harrowing journey home.
When ten-year-old Elliott asks his 90-year-old great-grandfather, Jack, about the number tattooed on his arm, he sparks an intimate conversation about Jack’s life that spans happy memories of childhood in Poland, the loss of his family, surviving Auschwitz and finding a new life in America.
Enjoy lullabies heard around the world in this delightful, transporting mix of music and art.
Elephants are among the most majestic and intelligent creatures on Earth--but for hundreds of years, they have suffered at the hands of humans. Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this documentary short traces our long history with elephants and explores the many problems that arise when they are brought to live in captivity in zoos and circuses.
Poems by some of the greatest writers of all time are brought to life through lyrical animation and readings by some of today’s most respected performers.
What is a family? Rosie O'Donnell looks at the many answers to this question in this documentary that features original songs and thoughtful kids musing on love and family. The show provides a less than moving portrait of the remarkable diversity of so called families today, including same-sex parents, mixed-heritage families, and stories of adoption. Animated songs and musical performances by kids and families spice up the festivities along with performances and recordings by artists including Ziggy Marley, Bonnie Raitt, Doris Day, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Frank Sinatra, Rosie O'Donnell and They Might Be Giants.
Youngsters express their thoughts about the Great Depression of the 1930s and what they believe it was all about. Some learn more about that period of American life by interviewing individuals who lived through the dreaded times.
In this classic of children's literature, beloved by generations of readers and listeners, the quiet poetry of the words and the gentle, lulling illustrations combine to make a perfect book for the end of the day.
This film is a rich and haunting reinvention of medieval life that never loses its contemporary perspective. When the plague afflicts a village, this world seems to go up in an apocalypse of hatred and disease that presages our own century.
