Community Voices documentary film screening

The annual Community Voices documentary film screening will take place on Monday, May 12, at 7 p.m.  Six documentaries featuring extraordinary people involved with or served by nonprofit groups in Orange County will premiere in the Folino Theater at Marion Knott Studios.

Community Voices is a social issue documentary film program at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts that links Chapman University film students with Orange County based organizations. Each semester, students teams produce short character-driven portrait films that highlight causes the partner organizations aim to serve. The films are then used in the outreach and fundraising campaigns of these organizations, and are distributed via PBS broadcast, online streaming, educational distributors, and festival release. The filmmakers set to attend this event include:

• Carmen Carillo, Joey Fischground and Nicholas Mc Donald; Out of Time documents the story of a high school junior who crams for the SAT’s while trying to help raise her family. The fulfillment of her college dreams rests on the outcome of one exam.
• Andrea Suleiman, Yvette Chou and Nayobi Maldonado-Ochoa; Roger chronicles the experience of an Orange County resident who, plagued by bipolar disorder and a difficult past, struggles to overcome the demons that keep him from the satisfying, independent life of his dreams.
• Sarah Huffman, Matt Rogers and Rachel Howell; Invisible Wall follows a homeless woman with an artistic gift, who tries to get her life back on track in the face of many odds.
• Casey Acaster, Sydney Guthrie and Shaneika Lai; Water Wars looks at the controversy over one of the most pressing issues of the year- California’s drought crisis.
• Michael Gutierrez and Megan McKeown; Dreamers features a young man who considers whether or not to pursue the benefits behind the DREAM Act as the United States rests on the cusp of substantial immigration reform.
• Marisol Diaz, Chris Denton and Colin Arp; Running Out of Juice follows an Orange County activist who fights to save the last orange orchard in the county from development.

The screening will be followed by a panel with the filmmakers and a reception.  No RSVP is necessary to attend the event. Contact Professor Sally Rubin at rubin@chapman.edu for more information or questions.