Michèle Stephenson

In 1999, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson turned the camera on themselves and began filming their five-year-old son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, as they started kindergarten at the prestigious Dalton School just as the private institution was committing to diversify its student body. Their cameras continued to follow both families for another 12 years as the paths of the two boys diverged—one continued private school while the other pursued a very different route through the public education system.

In the golden age of documentaries, who benefits? SUBJECT reveals the unintended consequences – good, bad, and complicated – of having your life shared on screen. Featuring the protagonists of acclaimed documentaries The Staircase, Hoop Dreams, The Wolfpack, Capturing the Friedmans, and The Square, as well as the filmmakers of Minding the Gap, Cameraperson, An Inconvenient Truth, and more.

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic's Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Elena, the young protagonist of the film, and her family stand to lose their legal residency in the Dominican Republic if they don't manage to get their documents in time. Negotiating a mountain of opaque bureaucratic processes and a racist, hostile society around, Elena becomes the face of the struggle to remain in a country built on the labor of her father and forefathers.

In 1999, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson turned the camera on themselves and began filming their five-year-old son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, as they started kindergarten at the prestigious Dalton School just as the private institution was committing to diversify its student body. Their cameras continued to follow both families for another 12 years as the paths of the two boys diverged—one continued private school while the other pursued a very different route through the public education system.

Black women have played critical roles in all areas of the social justice movement but are often denied the platform they deserve. For Our Girls is a remix of the 2015 New York Times Op-Doc“ A CONVERSATION WITH BLACK WOMEN ON RACE.” It explores the stigmas Black girls face as they grow up within and outside their community. Working with the original interviews and reflections in 2020, mothers share their concerns with how they are shaping and impacting their daughters’ independence. The film is a love letter to Black daughter.

Killing Zone is the story of an affluent Harlem psychiatrist living an unexamined life until his adoptive father- a doctor who plucked him from a Nigerian refugee camp as a child - is gunned down by an eleven-year-old in Brooklyn. In an instant, everything he's absorbed in twent years in America is thrown into question, and his search for the boy resurrects memories of his own buried past.

Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Nikki Giovanni as she reflects on her life and legacy.

Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Nikki Giovanni as she reflects on her life and legacy.

This short documentary features interviews with white people on the challenges of talking about race.

SLAYING GOLIATH takes an unprecedented intimate look at the world of amateur youth basketball through the eyes of the New York Select Huskies team as they seek to win the AAU National Basketball Championship. The grueling price the team must pay to win exposes the hidden dark side of amateur sports.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the New Orleans City Council decides to demolish public housing leaving thousands of people without homes. Staging a courageous battle that reminds us of how much home means to us all, residents became activists, attracting the attention of international human rights monitors and taking their cause to the highest levels of HUD (Housing and Urban Development Agency) in Washington DC.

In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

Five people from five continents tell how they face racism and discrimination in their respective communities.

After learning yoga changes one woman's life, she brings its transformative power to her community of working-class African Americans. Together, they realize the power of mind, body, spirit and community.

In this short documentary, black women talk about the challenges they face in society.

After learning yoga changes one woman's life, she brings its transformative power to her community of working-class African Americans. Together, they realize the power of mind, body, spirit and community.

An illuminating look at the influence that hand games played by Black girls has had on the American creative landscape.

This short documentary features interviews with white people on the challenges of talking about race.

When the water in her small Mexican town proves to be radioactive, a young mom suddenly finds herself leading a local resistance movement. Her life is upended when she has to face a powerful and corrupt government hellbent on burying the truth.

Eighty years after the lynching of Claude Neal, Florida's last spectacle killing, his ghost arises from the grave and we are all better off for it. In the Florida Panhandle lies the provincial town of Marianna, Florida, where one native resident runs a particular marathon in hopes of lifting the veil of racial terror caused by the town’s buried history.

The Changing Same is a magical realist, immersive, episodic virtual reality experience where the participant travels through time and space to witness the connected historical experiences of racial injustice in America.

In this short documentary, young black men explain the particular challenges they face growing up in America.

SLAYING GOLIATH takes an unprecedented intimate look at the world of amateur youth basketball through the eyes of the New York Select Huskies team as they seek to win the AAU National Basketball Championship. The grueling price the team must pay to win exposes the hidden dark side of amateur sports.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina the New Orleans City Council decides to demolish public housing leaving thousands of people without homes. Staging a courageous battle that reminds us of how much home means to us all, residents became activists, attracting the attention of international human rights monitors and taking their cause to the highest levels of HUD (Housing and Urban Development Agency) in Washington DC.

A feature documentary about the death of Freddie Gray in police custody in 2015.

SLAYING GOLIATH takes an unprecedented intimate look at the world of amateur youth basketball through the eyes of the New York Select Huskies team as they seek to win the AAU National Basketball Championship. The grueling price the team must pay to win exposes the hidden dark side of amateur sports.

Five people from five continents tell how they face racism and discrimination in their respective communities.

Paul Lamont, a corrections officer and law student, leads a comfortable if culturally bankrupt, middle-class existence. Lamont's marriage is already in trouble when he bails out a mysterious Haitian, Jean Baptiste, in the belief that Baptiste has been wrongly accused. Baptiste insinuates himself in Lamont's life and leads him on a journey of discovery. Lamont then finds that acts of conscience can have unforeseen consequences.

Like other healthcare industrial complexes, the mental health field operates around a centre defined by a whiteness of theory and practice. It’s a colonization that has rarely ever been questioned.

In 1999, filmmakers Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson turned the camera on themselves and began filming their five-year-old son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, as they started kindergarten at the prestigious Dalton School just as the private institution was committing to diversify its student body. Their cameras continued to follow both families for another 12 years as the paths of the two boys diverged—one continued private school while the other pursued a very different route through the public education system.

Intimate vérité, archival footage, and visually innovative treatments of poetry take us on a journey through the dreamscape of legendary queer poet Nikki Giovanni as she reflects on her life and legacy.

The Changing Same is a magical realist, immersive, episodic virtual reality experience where the participant travels through time and space to witness the connected historical experiences of racial injustice in America.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

An illuminating look at the influence that hand games played by Black girls has had on the American creative landscape.

Eighty years after the lynching of Claude Neal, Florida's last spectacle killing, his ghost arises from the grave and we are all better off for it. In the Florida Panhandle lies the provincial town of Marianna, Florida, where one native resident runs a particular marathon in hopes of lifting the veil of racial terror caused by the town’s buried history.

Eighty years after the lynching of Claude Neal, Florida's last spectacle killing, his ghost arises from the grave and we are all better off for it. In the Florida Panhandle lies the provincial town of Marianna, Florida, where one native resident runs a particular marathon in hopes of lifting the veil of racial terror caused by the town’s buried history.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign of a young attorney named Rosa Iris.

Centers on the 1969 student protests against racism at Montreal’s Concordia University and their contribution to the story of Black liberation.

Movie Details

Movie Details

Jeremy Xido revisits Detroit to reconnect with a "cousin" from his past, examining themes of race and chosen family bonds.

In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, on the basis of anti-black racism. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic's Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929, rendering more than 200,000 people stateless. Elena, the young protagonist of the film, and her family stand to lose their legal residency in the Dominican Republic if they don't manage to get their documents in time. Negotiating a mountain of opaque bureaucratic processes and a racist, hostile society around, Elena becomes the face of the struggle to remain in a country built on the labor of her father and forefathers.

A story to honor actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson and his contributions to today's social climate and inspire new generations to engage in the ongoing fight for justice and equality.

A story to honor actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson and his contributions to today's social climate and inspire new generations to engage in the ongoing fight for justice and equality.

A story to honor actor-singer-activist Paul Robeson and his contributions to today's social climate and inspire new generations to engage in the ongoing fight for justice and equality.