January 31 - February 1, 2024 | The Cabot Theatre (286 Cabot Street, Beverly, MA 01915)
Breaking Boundaries: Stories of Struggle and Strength
Amplifying Voices brings impactful stories and voices to the North Shore, and beyond, by presenting films made by and about people of color. These two days of films are curated by Sabrina Avilés, Executive Director of CineFest Latino Boston and Lisa Simmons, Executive Director of The Roxbury International Film Festival.
We hope to make all voices and people feel welcome in our community by uplifting those who are too often marginalized. With the help of the filmmakers as well as civic, arts, and educational organizations across the North Shore, we hope to deepen empathy, expand understanding, and advance important conversations.
Amplifying Voices is free to Students, Seniors, Veterans, and EBT Cardholders.
FILM LINE UP
Opening Night: IGUALADA || Friday, January 31 at 7pm
Directed by Juan Mejía Botero (Colombia/Mexico/USA, 81 mins.) In one of Latin America’s most unequal countries, Francia Márquez, a Black Colombian rural activist, challenges the status quo with a presidential campaign that reappropriates the derogatory term “Igualada” — someone who acts as if they deserve rights that supposedly don’t correspond to them — and inspires a nation to dream.
Shorts Program - Strength || Saturday, February 1 at 2pm
EXPANDING SANCTUARY
Directed by Kristal Sotomayor (USA, 20 mins). An immigrant mother emerges as a community leader during the historic campaign to end the sharing of the Philadelphia police database with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Expanding Sanctuary tells a rarely told story about a Latinx immigrant community’s successful journey to change legislation and protect families.
REMEMBER US
Directed by Pablo Leon (USA, 14 mins). A journalist documents the experiences of three different people who lived through the tragic 12-year-long Salvadoran Civil War in the 1980s, exploring themes of childhood loss, violence against women and the indigenous population, and regaining a sense of hope for the future that spans over three generations.
HOW TO SUE THE KLAN
Directed by John Beder (USA, 31 mins). How to Sue the Klan is the story of how five Black women from Chattanooga used legal ingenuity to take on the Ku Klux Klan in a historic 1982 civil case, fighting to hold them accountable for their crimes and bring justice to their community. Their victory set a legal precedent that continues to inspire the ongoing fight against organized hate.
Shorts Program - Struggle || Saturday, February 1 at 4pm
BOXED
Directed by Wanjiru M. Njendu (USA, 6 mins). A fictionalized short film based on the true story of the terrifying daring escape of Henry “Box” Brown, an enslaved man who used creativity to escape from slavery in 1849 by mailing himself to freedom.
NYANGA
Directed by Medhin Tewolde Serrano (Mexico, 20 mins). During the colonial era, Nyanga was kidnapped off the coast of Africa, brought to Mexico and enslaved. Based on historical fact, and using shadow theater and hand made cinema, ‘Nyanga’ is an homage to resistance against colonial chains.
GHOST IN AMERICA’S KITCHEN
Directed by Anthony Werhon (Mexico, 61 mins). This documentary outlines the life and legacy of James Hemings, the first American chef to be trained classically in France, the chef to Thomas Jefferson, and the founding father of what we now know to be American food.
Closing Night: SING SING || Saturday, February 1 at 7pm
Directed by Greg Kwedar (USA, 107 mins.) Divine G, imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he didn’t commit, finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity, and the transformative power of art.
