Official Selection, CSWE 2012 Film Festival

The following 12 films, which are listed below in alphabetical order by title, were shown at the CSWE 2012 Film Festival during the 58th Annual Program Meeting in Washington, DC, on November 10–12, 2012. The Audience Choice Award recipient was More Than Half the Sky: Building Human Capacity—Social Work With Rural Women in China.

• Ordering Information for Films
• Free CSWE Film Study Guides for use with films

 

Beyond the Invisible: Living With Brain Injury (view clip here)

This documentary produced by the Brain Injury Association of New York State recounts the personal experiences of three New York veterans who sustained a brain injury during Operation Iraqi Freedom. 

 

Coming Home: Families, Courage, and Resilience After Brain Injury
(view clip here)

This follow-up to Beyond the Invisible produced by the Brain Injury Association of New York State focuses on the ways that traumatic brain injury has changed the lives of veterans and their families.

Giota’s Journey (view clip here)

This intimate portrait of a 48-year-old woman with cerebral palsy who communicates through eye movements and facial gestures explores her relationships with family and caregivers, her dreams of love and travel, and the poetry of her eyes and words.

I Won't Go (view clip here)

Meet 90-something Oli Truss, who refuses to leave her condemned cottage. Not easily forgotten, her story exposes the complex issues of self-neglect, competence, and capacity, as well as the right to live and die at home. (photo courtesy of LoveLove Films)

Last Will and Embezzlement (view clip here)

This riveting film exposes the global problem of financial elder abuse and its growing impact on a rapidly aging population. It also documents several true cases of exploitation, including that of Hollywood icon Mickey Rooney (seen at left; photo courtesy of Starjack Entertainment).

Let There Be Light (view clip here)

John Huston’s long-suppressed Signal Corps documentary from 1946 explores the posttraumatic stress disorder experienced by African American and White veterans of World War II. The film, newly restored by the National Archives and the National Film Preservation Foundation, is narrated by Huston’s actor father Walter. (at right: John Huston in Signal Corps uniform)

Mom’s Home (view clip here)

When aging mothers live with their grown daughters, the role reversals trigger social conflict, emotional adjustments, and unexpected difficulties. 

More Than Half the Sky: Social Work With Rural Women in China
(view clip here)

More Than Half the Sky: Building Human Capacity—Social Work With Rural Women in China documents a project of the University of Manitoba’s Faculty of Social Work that initiated rural social work services in three Chinese provinces. It specifically addresses the needs of rural women. 2012 CSWE Audience Choice Award winner
 

Mrs. Judo: Be Strong, Be Gentle, Be Beautiful
(view clip here)
Throwing thousands of years of tradition to the wind, Keiko Fukuda chose to follow her own destiny and become the highest ranking woman in judo. Today, at age 99, Fukuda holds the highest rank available in judo and continues teaching judo 3 days a week from her San Francisco dojo. (at left: Keiko Fukuda, courtesy of Flying Carp Productions)

Raising Renee (view clip here)

This film focuses on artist Beverly McIver and her promise to take her mentally disabled older sister Renee after their mother dies. Filmed over 6 years by Oscar^® nominees Jeanne Jordan and Steven Ascher, Raising Reneeexplores deep themes of family, race, class, aging, and disability. 

 

Straightlaced: How Gender’s Got Us All Tied Up (view clip here)

Straightlaced explores how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. From girls confronting media messages about body image to boys who are sexually active just to prove they are not gay, this fascinating array of students is bravely honest about stereotypes and rigid gender policing.

Strike Dice! Betting on My Father (view clips here)

Strike Dice! is the story of a daughter whose father, an addicted gambler, left the family when the children were young. The film follows the daughter’s struggle to get her father off the streets and back into society.

Also Showing

Look Back to Move Ahead: Social Work With Survivors of Trauma 
(view clip here)
Natural and man-made disasters, sexual abuse, military combat, hate crimes, and other assaults—all of these experiences prompt a feeling of loss of control and fear for personal well-being. In this video, two social work interns deal with the effects of their clients’ trauma narratives and traumatic reactions.

Summer of Decision (view clip here) 
CSWE’s 1959 social work recruitment film, which stars Kevin McCarthy, Suzanne Pleshette, and Lois Nettleton, follows intern David Michaels (played by Risky Business's Nicholas Pryor) as he considers the possible career path of social work. William Graham (X-Files, The Fugitive) directed the film.