International Child Welfare Issues and Events

International Issues

Child Abuse

MRC Area Studies videographies

Labor and Labor History

Psychology

Women and Gender Studies

International Issues

3551, A Story of Change

Presents the demobilization process of some 3551 child soldiers of the Sudan People's Liberation Army by UNICEF in southern Sudan. 199? 28 min. DVD 7453

A-OK?(Life, Part 26)

In underdeveloped countries children with Vitamin A deficiency run the risk of dying from common childhood illnesses. The cost of ensuring all children receive enough Vitamin A is small, but improves children's chances of survival by 25%. This episode looks at Vitamin A distribution programs in Ghana, Uganda, India and Guatemala. Video/C 7786

Bullfrog Films catalog description

About the United Nations: Human Rights

In all countries children are the victims of abuse, deprivation, hunger, disease, oppressive labor practices, lack of education and even lack of a personal identity. To protect the future, the General Assembly of the UN adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which calls on all countries to ratify a set of international standards and behaviors regarding the treatment of all children. 1991. 16 min. Video/C MM719

Ajit (The Unconquerable).

Film is a close-up view of an eight-year-old boy who works as a domestic in a middle class Calcutta household. He is shown at his daily tasks--sweeping, cleaning, laundry, and caring for his employer's children. There is no time for school but when he is interviewed, Ajit says he is fortunate for in this household he is given ample food as wages, while in the countryside he often went hungry. 1996. 28 min. Video/C 4915

All Our Futures

Shows the worldwide efforts of UNICEF to provide children and mothers with nutritious food and an adequate diet, pure water, disease control and basic health education. Focuses on projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. 1989. 28 min. Video/C MM563

Anonymously Yours

An extraordinary documentary shot clandestinely in Burma, the film examines sex-trafficking in Southeast Asia through interviews with four young women. The brutal honesty of their stories exposes the commonplace bartering and selling of women and the cycles of poverty that enslave them. From the back rooms of teashops and restaurants to the lounges of five-star hotels, the Far East sex trade thrives on the routine merchandising of girls and women for the sexual pleasure of men from all cultures. 2002. 58 min. Video/C 9864

Ballad of the Little Soldier (Ballade vom kleinen Soldaten)

A film about indigenous Contra child soldiers tragically caught up in the Miskito Indian resistance of Nicaragua. A tribute to all those children who are being forced to fight wars at ever younger ages in ever larger numbers. Written and directed by Werner Herzog and Denis Reichle. 1984. 45 min. DVD 6505

Bangkok Girl

This tragic documentary provides a glimpse into Thailand's notorious and booming sex tourism industry through the experiences of a 19-year-old bar girl named Pla. Working in the bars from the age of thirteen, Pla has managed to avoid selling her body--a remarkable revelation given her surroundings--but her refusal to take part in this all-too-common profession for young Thai women cannot last. The introduction of falangs, or foreigners, to Thailand has forever changed the city, the economy, the Thai people's lives and desires. A daring and unabashed look at a popular Western predilection through the eyes of one girl, this film challenges the accepted worldwide practice of sex tourism. Directed and written by Jordan Clark. Dist: Moving Images Distribution. 2005. 43 min. Video/C 8310

Bangladesh

A documentary on how one of the poorest nations, with a population of 120 million, managed to creatively tackle the enormous challenge of educating its many children. The program highlights government efforts to make schools more accessible, particularly to girls. One compelling story features Shumi, the daughter of a peddler, who longs for an education and a better life than her parents. 1998. 29 min. Video/C 6112

Beyond Good & Evil: Children, Media and Violent Times.

Intro: Where were you? -- A simple story -- Playing at war -- Constructing the enemy. "Full of poignant footage and moving responses from children, exposes how the media has been used to earn public support for the U.S.-led military campaign against Iraq. The news coverage, as well as movies, television shows and video games that have incorporated the narrative of war into their storylines, has an especially profound influence on children, who often bring both entertainment and real-world violence to their play. This video examines how the "good and evil" rhetoric, in both the entertainment and the news media, has helped children to dehumanize the enemies, justify their killing and treat the suffering of innocent civilians as necessary sacrifice." c2003. 37 min. DVD 6703

Description from Media Education Foundation catalog

The Blood of Yingzhou District.

Documentary on the AIDS epidemic in rural China focusing on one year in the life of a young boy with AIDS whose parents have died of the disease. Looks at how people living with the disease are ostracized. Shows how economic realities force many of the population into selling their blood to make ends meet, a practice that can expose them to unsafe medical practices that can expose them to the virus. Directed by Ruby Yang. Dist. Cinema Guild. 2006. 40 min. DVD 8244

The Body Parts Business.

Follows Covenant House worker, Bruce Harris, as he visits Argentina and Central America to investigate the murder of homeless children and patients in mental health facilities as sources of body parts for the black market. 1994. 62 min. Video/C 4375

Bolivian Blues.(Life, Part 27)

In Bolivia, 10% of children are undernourished and average school attendance is less than 7 years. Entrenched vested interests hamper foreign investments and its landlocked geography limits access to export markets. But there are signs of change. This program explores the success of a new initiative "Dialogo 2000: si se puede" designed to coordinate the work of donor agencies and focus outside aid on achieving real poverty reduction. Video/C 7787

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Born Into Brothels

While living in the red light district of Calcutta and documenting life in the brothels, New York-based photographer Zana Briski embarked on a project by which she gave cameras to the children of prostitutes and taught them photography, awakening within them hidden talent and creativity and giving them a means to transform their lives. A film by Ross Kauffman & Zana Briski. c2005. 83 min. DVD 4383

Born into Prostitution: The Badis of Nepal

A daughter of a Badi prostitute is required to be registered under the surname Nepali. So marked from birth, she is born into prostitution and is expected to follow her mother into that trade-- unless the family, the Dalit community, or charitable NGOs are moved to help them make a change. This program profiles two Badi families and the positive efforts of one former prostitute and the director of Social Awareness for Education to assist them. Dist.: Films Media Group. 2007. 28 min. DVD 9194

Calcutta Calling.

A white luxury tour bus squeezes its way through a narrow Calcutta alleyway, child beggars clawing at its windows. The kids inside the bus look like Indian children, but for their walkmans, hip hugger jeans, and white American parents. They're separated from the children on the street by a thin window, and a stroke of luck. Adopted from Calcutta and raised in rural, Swedish-Lutheran Minnesota, these girls and their adoptive parents are visiting the girls country of birth for the first time. The film follows three families hog farmers, lesbian moms, and a girl who is the only brown kid in her high school as they travel from the prairie to the crowded, urban chaos of Northern India. It's journey of friendship among Minnesota teenagers who find their reflection not only in the children on the street, but in each other. UCB student film by Shasha Khokha. 2004. 27 min. DVD 4391; vhs Video/C MM512

Cambodia's Children: Investing in Their Future

Cambodia had to start from scratch after two decades of war and devastation. In the education sector the problems were immense: an acute shortage of teachers since many had been killed under the Khmer Rouge regime, inadequate classrooms, an antiquated curriculum and a dearth of teaching materials. With the help of the international community, Cambodia is rebuilding from the bottom up, targeting the primary school sector in an effort to increase literacy and reduce the drop-out rate. 1996. 11 min. Video/C MM123

Chatila, Beirut 2001

Examines living conditions in the Chatila Refugee Camp for Palestinian Arabs in the suburbs of Beirut as seen through the eyes of the children. The film also explores themes such as the experience of exile and Palestinian national identity in the diaspora; the cult of martyrdom; and the role that media coverage of the intifada has played in politicizing youth in the camp. Filmed and edited by Diana Allan. c2002. 44 min. Video/C MM114

Cheated of Childhood. (Life, Part 38)

The city of St. Petersburg, Russia has become home to a generation of street children who survive by begging, informal child labor or prostitution. This segment looks at the work of the International Labor Organization, whose efforts to rescue and rehabilitate these street children is an wholly new phenomenon in Russia. Video/C 9847

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Child Labor. [Part 1](Human Rights & Wrongs)

First segment: Looks at Pakistan's system of child labor and the movement to abolish it with excerpts from "The Carpet," a documentary film by Magnus Bergmar. The segment concludes with an examination of the tragic death of Iqbal Masih and charges that his death was part of a conspiracy against him by Pakistan's carpet "mafia." Second segment: An interview with UNICEF deputy executive director, Guido Bertolaso. Broadcast April 25, 1995. 27 min. Video/C 6720

Child Labor. [Part 2](Human Rights & Wrongs)

First segment: Investigates the complicity of U.S. corporations in the global exploitation of children through the promotion by celebrity endorsements of products produced by children in Third World Countries. Includes excerpts from the film "Zoned for slavery." Second segment: Examines the life a child worker in Pakistan's brick kiln industry through excerpts from the film "My life is mine," produced by Magnus Bergmar. Third segment: New York Times columnist, Bob Herbert, discusses the response of American corporations to the public outcry against child labor. Broadcast July 24, 1996. 27 min. Video/C 6741

Children & Human Rights [Part 1](Human Rights & Wrongs)

First segment: An overview of the conditions of children around the world with a discussion of their intrinsic rights to live, to be free from abuse and forced labor and provided with health care and education. Second segment: Presents a rap video, "What's the right?" written and performed by students at El Puente Academy for Peace and Justice in New York. Third segment: Profiles a 13 year old African-American boy living in Washington, D.C. and a 15 year old girl in India. Fourth segment: Reports on the recent brutality against Brazilian street children. Program concludes with Judy Collins' song, I Dream of Peace, accompanied by drawings and writings of children living with war.Broadcast June 11, 1994. 27 min. Video/C 6713

Children & Human Rights [Part 2](Human Rights & Wrongs)

First segment: Profiles Geoffrey Canada who directs Harlem's Rheedlen Centers for Children and Families which provides quality preventive social services to New York City's most devastated communities. Second segment: Appalachian youth talk about how their lives are being turned around by a group called Appalshop, a nonprofit media center, radio station and recording studio. Third segment: An interview with Marian Wright Edelman, founder and director of the Children's Defense Fund.Broadcast April 4, 1995. 27 min. Video/C6717

Children & Human Rights [Part 3](Human Rights & Wrongs)

First segment: A look at the "Stand for Children" rally, where hundreds of thousands of Americans and children's rights advocates gathered in Washington, DC to give voice to children's rights as human rights. Second segment: A look at the Denmark's Children's Council, one of the first attempts to bring the voice of children directly into the seat of government. Third segment: Yasmin, a street child in India, shows her world and the importance of education through her personal video diary. Broadcast June 26, 1996. 27 min. Video/C 6737

Children for Sale: Dateline with Stone Phillips; NBC News.

Presents an undercover investigation with hidden cameras, of the illegal sex industry that victimizes Cambodian children, and efforts to stop it. Also investigates the activities of American sex tourists who travel to Cambodia to exploit the hundreds of thousands of girls and boys who have been bought, sold or kidnapped and then forced to have sex. In interviews these "tourists" claim they're involved in nothing more than prostitution, but by any definition it is rape. A segment from the January 23, 2003 NBC News television program, Dateline NBC. 2004. 43 min. Video/C MM75

Children of Asia: Making a Difference

Presents four stories of children in Asia who are making a difference by overcoming their environments. The 1st work focuses on child laborers in southern India who form a union to defend their rights, the 2nd focuses on a teenage girl in northern Thailand coping with becoming an AIDS orphan, the 3rd focuses on children in East Timor striving to overcome the trauma of armed conflict, and the 4th focuses on poor children in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and India who are benefiting from information and communication technology. 2001. 50 min. Video/C MM449

Children of Fire.

Personal view into the lives of the children of the Palestinian uprising, as seen through their eyes. 1994. 50 min. Video/C 3630

Children of Golzow.

Begun in August 1961, this longest running documentary in the history of film chronicles the lives of nine children growing up in the German Democratic Republic. It follows their lives for almost four decades beginning in the rural town of Golzow providing a social panorama of life in the GDR. Central themes in the documentary are the relationships between generations, trust and responsibility, daily work, as well as existential questions about war and peace. c1999. 2 tapes. 256 min. Video/C 7149

Children of the Crisis

Documentary that looks at children that live or work on the streets in Jakarta and how a community-based program is helping educate them and provide vocational training. Also examines the reasons many parents must leave their children unattended or give them to orphanages. 1999. 13 min. Video/C MM125

The Children of Soong Ching Ling

After glimpsing the conditions in which Chinese children lived prior to the programs and facilities instituted by Madame Sun Yat-Sen in 1949, this program goes on to document how the Chinese are attempting to provide their children with the health, education, and skills that they will need in the modern world. 1985. 29 min. Video/C MM564

Children of War.

This chilling feature tells the story of Acholi school girls from St. Mary's College in Northern Uganda who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army to serve as child soldiers. Of the 250,000 child soldiers worldwide, many are used as sexual servants, spies, porters and frontline grunts. These unwilling combatants often find themselves subject to disease, physical assault and rape. Includes interviews with one of the girls who escaped and survived the ordeal, a teacher and the assistant headmistress at St. Mary's College who recounts the night of her students' abduction and the torturous process of trying to secure their release. Dist.: Witness Project. 2000. 7 min. DVD 3235

Children Underground

Documentary on a year in the lives of five homeless Romanian children who make their home in a subway station in Bucharest. Begging on the streets, drug addicted, and painfully unaware of the cruel horrors of their soul-crushing existence, the story unfolds to reveal their harrowing day-to-day struggle for survival. c2002. 104 min. Video/C 9451

A Child's Century of War

From the perspective of children, takes the viewer on a journey through the past century, examining the way in which modern wars have increasingly threatened and targeted children. Three contemporary conflicts are at the heart of the film. Telling their stories in their own voices, we hear from orphans of the two recent Chechen wars, from children in Hebron on the West Bank and from the abducted, raped and amputated children of Sierra Leone. c2001. 90 min. Video/C 9452

Description from First Run/Icarus

China's Lost Girls.

Examines the consequences of China's two-decade-old, "one-child policy" designed to curb the country's exploding population. Due to cultural, social and economic factors, traditional preference leans toward boys, so girls are often hidden, aborted, or abandoned. As a result, tens of thousands of girls end up in orphanages across China. The program follows American families as they travel to China to adopt some of these girls. c2004. 43 min. DVD 4675

Danger: Children at Work(Life; 32)

Part of a series examining the issue of glabalization and its effect on ordinary people around the world. This segment looks at the production of fireworks by poor families and their children in Guatemala. Since the land is poor, many have turned from agriculture to producing fireworks at home. The practice has become the major source of income for 80% of local people, with no safety controls and frequent accidents.

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Daughter from Danang

Heidi seems the proverbial "all-American girl" from small-town Pulaski, Tennessee. But she was born Mai Thi Hiep in Danang, Vietnam, the daughter of an American serviceman and a Vietnamese woman. At the war's end, her mother, hearing rumors that racially mixed children would be persecuted, placed the 7-year-old girl on an "Operation Babylift" plane to the United States. Twenty-two years later mother and daughter are miraculously reunited in Danang. But what seems like the cue for a happy ending is anything but as Heidi and her Vietnamese relatives are caught in a heart-wrenching clash of cultures. Directed by Gail Dolgin and Vicente Franco 2003. 83 min. Video/C 9538

The Devil's Miner

The story of 14 year-old Basilio Vargas and his 12 year-old brother Bernardino as they work in the Bolivian silver mines of Cerro Rico (Potosi). Abandoning their Catholic beliefs, Cerro Rico miners believe that Satan, as represented by hundreds of statues constructed in the mines, determines whether they live or die there. A film by Kief Davidson and Richard Ladkani. 2005. 82 min. DVD 5345

Everyone's Child.

Through the tragic story of one Zimbabwean family devastated by AIDS, the film makes an eloquent call for action on behalf of Africa's millions of orphaned children. The film was produced in direct response to the prediction that by the year 2000 there will be over 10 million AIDS orphans on the African continent. At the same time, the film focuses attention on millions of other children left homeless by civil wars or abandoned because their parents could not support them. 1996. 83 min. Video/C 5253

Description from California Newsreel catalog

Five Days to Change the World

This documentary about the recent Hague Appeal for Peace and Justice focuses on a group of young people at the world's largest peace conference as they create their own agenda for peace in the 21st century. Includes speeches and interviews with activists, young and old, who devise concrete steps aimed at stopping war and the use of child soldiers, land mines, the trade in small arms, nuclear weapons, and the institution of a permanent international criminal court, peace education, and reducing debt by poor countries. Archival footage places these issues in historic context. Produced and directed by Robert Richter. 2001. 57 min. Video/C 9008

Fragile Promise

What promise does the new millennium hold for Asia's vast army of child laborers? One answer can be found in Bangalore, India where working children have organized a union to fight for their rights and welfare. This is the story of children changing their lives for the better, children for whom the future holds a fragile promise. 2001. 11 min. Video/C 9142

Gathering of Little Men (Encuentro de hombrecitos)

Depicts the life of children in Lima, Peru who work in the streets as hawkers, grocery carriers or loaders. Some help their parents; others live in the streets. Few of them attend school. In Spanish. 1980? 30 min. Video/C 4224

Give Me a Shilling: Phenomenon of the Street Children

Presents the Charles Lwanga Watoto Project, the efforts of the Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga not only to rehabilitate Nairobi's street children, but to prevent slum children from ending up in the streets. Features life in the slums of Nairobi, the situation of the street children, the efforts of the social workers to involve the children's parents, the various reception centers, the vocational school, the Boy's Town Ruai Residential School, the community of the Brothers of St. Charles Lwanga as well as interviews with former street children and with various directors and benefactors of the project. c1996. 45 min. Video/C 9112

God Among the Children.(Life, Part 22)

The Boston Ten Point Coalition is an ecumenical group working to mobilize the community around issues affecting black and Latino youth -- especially those at risk from violence and drug abuse. The coalition's goals are to make the local churches more effective in the work of rebuilding the community by getting out into the streets to work with the city's growing numbers of alienated young people. Video/C 778

Bullfrog Films catalog description

A Great Wonder: Lost Children of Sudan Resettling in America

More than 2 million Sudanese have died in the longest uninterrupted civil war in the world. This film traces the extraordinary journey of three young Sudanese orphans, a fraction of the 17,000 so-called "lost boys" of Sudan, and their arrival and resettlement in Seattle. Not your average immigration story, the 3 youths using digital video cameras, recorded their own experiences over the course of 18 months. The resulting "diaries" serve as a personal thread throughout the film, incorporating first-hand accounts of their experiences in war and with their radically different lives as immigrants in America. Producer & director, Kim Shelton. SEE ALSO: Lost Boys of Sudan. 2003. 61 min. DVD 2762

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

A Guerra Dos Meninos (Children's War)

Interviews with "street children", social workers, policemen, and the public about the murders of large numbers of abandoned children who are living in the streets of Brazil. Based on the book by Gilberto Dimenstein. Dist. Cinema Guild. 1991. 51 min. Video/C 4230

Highway Courtesans

Examines the unusual custom of the Bachchara community in India which demands that the eldest daughter born to every family must work as a prostitute to support their entire household. Known as a Khilawadi, their positions are stronger than that of the male members of the community. Directed by Mystelle Brabbee Filmed in Central India from 1995 to 2004. 71 min. DVD 4508

Description from Woman Make Movies catalog

Catsoulis, Jeannette. "Highway Courtesans." New York Times, 12/1/2006, Vol. 156 Issue 53780, pE12,

Shelley Feldman; Karuna Morarji. "Highway Courtesans" Visual Anthropology; March 2007; Volume 20 No. 2 Pages 251 - 254 UC users only

Highway to Hell: Trafficking of Girls from Nepal to India

Examines the plight of Nepalese girls tricked into leaving home, often with the promise of marriage or legitimate employment, then sold to brothels in India. A film by Meera Dewan. 2000. 38 min. Video/C 9738

I Am a Child!

Through compelling images and moving personal stories, investigates the issue of child labor through children at work in the fields and plantations of Kenya, in the streets and workshops of Thailand, and in the charcoal yards of Brazil. 1999. 52 min. Video/C MM1129

India Inhales. (Life; 12)

Every day in India, another 55,000 children start smoking. This film explores the cynicism of the major global tobacco companies' campaigns in India with particular reference to the largest firm in India, ITC Limited. It also looks at the work of activists who have pledged to try to stop them -- and to halt the soaring increase in cancer cases in India that result from smoking. c2000. 24 min. Video/C 7772

India: The Little Serfs

This program spotlights the exploitation of children in India as bond slaves in the rug-weaving, bangle-making, quarrying, and gemstone-cutting industries and the measures being taken to eradicate this practice. Dist: Films Media Group. c2000. 45 min. Video/C 7840

India: Working to End Child Labor.(What in the World? People of the Developing Nations)

This documentary follows the lives of 5 child laborers in India: Bala (11) and Rama (9), stone cutters; an 8 year old girl who makes incense sticks; a 7 year old girl who works 10 hours a day in the poppy fields and a 10 year old boy who was pulled out of school to tend cattle. Also tells of the work of political science professor Shanta Sinha's program that rescues children from jobs and places them in a special school program. The film makes a strong case that child labor increases poverty levels. 2004. 26 min. DVD 5450

Island to Island

Since 1993, the Global Children's Organization has provided summer camps to children who have suffered as innocent victims of regional violence. Our programs are planned and implemented in collaboration with members of the communities we serve. Staffed by volunteers from around the world, GCO programs for children in the Balkans, from Northern Ireland and from troubled, violence-ridden neighborhoods of Los Angeles have been inspired by the vision that peace is a possibility. This film visits children from Bosnia and Hercegovina who attended the "Island to Island" summer camp of 1994. 8 min. DVD 7326

It Takes a Child: Craig Kielburger's Story: A Journey into Child Labour

In 1995 when child labor activist Iqbal Masih was killed in Pakistan, that event changed Craig Kielburger's life forever. He went on a seven-week trip to South Asia to find out everything he could about the lives of child laborers. What he learned has turned him into a passionate, articulate, and incredibly effective advocate on their behalf. With a group of his peers Craig has founded "Free the Children," a children's organization that now has 10, 000 members in 20 countries. c1998. 56 min. Video/C 8118

Jagriti (The Awakening).

This film is about Jagriti, a school for the children of Motia Khan, a slum in the poorest district of Delhi. Although set in India, this film is a case study of the political roadblocks, red tape, and corruption often encountered by samaritans in poor areas all around the world. 1991. 25 min. Video/C 3043

Description from First Run/Icarus catalog

The Journey Home: a Romanian Adoption

This is the story of Alexandra, an eleven-year-old Romanian girl who was adopted by a Canadian family at the age of three. Sandi and Al, Alexandra's parents, feel it is time for their daughter to make the journey to meet her birthparents and discover her roots. The film follows Alexandra and her adoptive family as they travel from Bucharest across Romania to the village where Alexandra was born. Along the way they visit orphanages for infants and children to see how they are run today. c2000. 44 min. Video/C 8970

Kim's Story: The Road From Vietnam.

This is the story of Kim Phuc, who was photographed as a nine year old girl running naked down a road in Vietnam, screaming in agony from napalm burns. Now, in order to confront her past, Kim comes to America on a remarkable odyssey to Washington's Vietnam War Memorial wall, as part of Veterans Day ceremonies. There she makes it clear that her mission is one of forgiveness and a wider healing. 48 min. Video/C 4955

Lage Jiva Ghar Ghar: A Document on Women and Shelter.

Traces the differential socialization of the girl child in India, which is geared towards preparation for marriage, rather than for earning an independent livelihood. It highlights the skewed access to ownership of property in a patriarchal society which denies women their basic right to shelter, forcing them to continue living in abusive marriages. Also examinines the limitation of alternative sources of shelter, such as working women's hostels, shelter homes for women in distress and homes for the aged. 199? 44 min. PAL format. Video/C 466

Lessons from Life

When the people of East Timor voted for independence from Indonesia militia groups opposed to independence went on a rampage, burning, looting and killing the people. The toll on children was especially high with 90% of the primary schools destroyed or badly damaged. Nevertheless, within months children were back at school holding classes in the ruins. This tells the story of East Timorese children determined to continue their education, learning to cope with the trauma left by the devastation that marked the birth of their country. c2001. 14 min. Video/C 9144

Life and Debt: Economics and the Murder of Street children in Rio de Janeiro. (Developing Stories).

This film shows how dire economic conditions in Brazil have led to the murder of 500 street children per year in Rio de Janeiro. A staggering debt, uncontrolled deforestation, and massive dislocation have all contributed to this scandalous murder spree. 1992. 48 min. Video/C 3868

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

Listen to the Kids! (Life 4)

One in five of the world's population is aged between 12 and 18. In developing countries, where the percentage is much higher, children and young people often carry a huge burden of responsibility yet rarely are their views taken into account. This program reports on a UNICEF initiative to involve children in decisions that affect their own futures, their families and communities. From post-conflict Sri Lanka to the back-streets of New Delhi children are campaigning to be heard: street children forming the Children's Council in New Delhi, a teenage photographer campaigning for girls to be able to stay in school in Bangladesh, a sixteen year-old fighting discrimination against HIV/AIDS sufferers in Nepal. Directed and produced by Di Tatham. 25 min. DVD 3954

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Lost Boys of Sudan

Focuses on the journey of two teenage Sudanese boys, orphaned by the war in Sudan, who travel to America looking for a safer environment where they find they must grapple with extreme cultural differences and learn to cope with the unfamiliar complexities of contemporary American society. Directed and produced by Megan Mylan & Jon Shenk. SEE ALSO: A Great Wonder. 2003. 87 min. DVD 3110

Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo.

Mothers who believe their children were kidnapped by the Argentine government tell how they banded together in 1977 to demonstrate in the Plaza de Mayo. SEE ALSO: Spoils of War. Dist.: Direct Cinema. 1986. 64 min. Video/C 2180

A Massacre Remembered.

Tells the story of Jesus Tecu Osorio, one of the few survivors of the Rio Negro Massacre that took place in Guatemala on March 13, 1982. After witnessing the massacre of more than one hundred children and nearly eighty women by members of the Guatemalan army and civil patrols, Jesus and seventeen other children were taken to work as servants in the houses of the patrollers who killed their families. Jesus lived in captivity for three years until freed by his only surviving sister. A production of the Witness Project which uses video technology to investigate human rights abuses. SEE ALSO: A Right to Justice. Dist.:Witness Project. 2000. 4 min. DVD 3256

Minsan lang sila bata

A Documentary film profiling child labor abuses in the Philippines through commentary by the children themselves about their lives and work. In Tagalog and various languages with Tagalog subtitles. 1996. 50 min. Video/C 5658

Mothers in Prison: Children in Crisis.

Eighty percent of women in prison are mothers. Seventy-five percent are mothers of minor children and studies show that these children are 5 to 6 times more likely to be imprisoned in their futures. At a time when tougher prison sentences are being handed down and more children are being affected by a parent's incarceration, this documentary looks at the social, economic, political, and emotional costs. Includes interviews with mothers in prison in Arkansas, their children, caregivers, child welfare experts and prison authorities in an attempt to illustrate how a mother's incarceration affects her children. 2002. 57 min. Video/C MM710

The New Heroes: Their Bottom Line Is Lives: Episode 4, Power of Knowledge.

Looks at people who are working to improve lives by creating opportunities for education for children who are often left to fend for themselves. Among them are Sompop Jantraka, who has started a school for young Thai girls with the goal of saving them from entering into prostitution, and Dina Abdel Wahab who has started schools in Egypt for the nation's often-neglected children with disabilities. In Calcutta, Inderjit Khurana has set out to bring education to children who beg in the train stations -- setting up a school right on the railway platforms. Originally broadcast on PBS stations in 2005. 60 min. DVD 4495

No Childhood at All

Documentary on human rights abuses perpetrated against children in Burma, in particular the conscription of children into the Burmese Army which has become routine in a country that has been in continuous civil war for most of the Twentieth century. c1997. 30 min. PAL format. Video/C 8915

No Time For Play

Examines the plight of some three to five million Filipino children who are forced to work in factories, sugarcane plantations, even the depths of mine tunnels and looks at what is being done to help them. 1996. 50 min. Video/C 5367

Operation Fine Girl: Rape Used as a Weapon of War in Sierra Leone.

Documentary about the use of sexual violence against women as a weapon in the Sierra Leone civil war. The story is told through the eyes of survivors: women and girls, as well as the child soldiers and perpetrators. Dist.: Witness Project. 2001. 46 min. DVD 3237

The Orphan Trains

Between 1854 and 1929 the Children's Aid Society in New York and other East Coast charities organized an ambitious rescue effort to send hundreds of thousands of homeless children to foster homes in farming communities. The video explores the successes and failures of this resettlement movement. Interviews with elderly survivors and century-old letters from children are included. Produced and directed by Janet Graham and Edward Gray. 1995. 60 min. Video/C 6009

Our Children at Risk

Documentary examines why millions of American children fail to reach their full developmental potential and considers steps needed to be taken to rectify this crisis. Discusses the need for better health care for poor families. Presents interviews with mothers on Medicaid who can't afford better health care for their children. Includes interviews with medical doctors. Dist.: Filmakers Library. 1993. 32 min. Video/C 3337

Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq /

Journalist John Pilger and former Asst. Sec. Gen. of the United Nations, Denis Halliday, journey to Iraq to investigate the effects of UN sanctions imposed in 1998. Together, they reveal the shocking realities of everyday life in a country with a decaying infrastructure, presenting evidence that "holds" on humanitarian supplies have paralyzed the country and many are dying from curable diseases because life saving drugs are only available intermittently. He also finds that the breakdown of the clean water system and health facilities are having tragic effects on children, contributing to a rise in their mortality rate. 75 min. 200. Video/C 7632

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

Philippines: Angels of the Night

Prostitution is the occupation of necessity for supporting impoverished millions residing in the slums of Manila. This program tracks the lives of three girl prostitutes, ages 11 to 13, over a five-year period, during which one becomes a pimp, another a drug addict, and the third vanishes, presumed dead. Efforts by family planning organizations such as UNICEF sponsored Reach Out and the Apelo Women's Health clinic are described, as well as the Roman Catholic point of view. Dist.: Films Media Group. 1999. 45 min. Video/C 7368

The Price of Youth

Examines the explosion in systematic tafficking of young girls and women from Nepal to work as prostitutes in neighboring Bombay, India. Looks at grassroots efforts to combat their forced prostitution and to rehabilitate these young victims. Dist: Witness Project. 2000. 10 min. DVD 3246

Promises

Follows the journey of one of the filmmakers, Israeli-American B. Z. Goldberg, as he travels to Palestinian communities and settlements in the West Bank where he has never ventured before, and to the familiar neighborhoods of Jerusalem. There he meets with seven Palestinian and Israeli children between the ages of nine and thirteen and explores the Middle East conflict through their eyes. Produced & directed by Justine Shapiro, B.Z. Goldberg. 2001. 106 min. Video/C 9517

Returning Dreams.(Life, Part 37)

Fourteen-year old Jemoh has been living in a refugee camp in Sierra Leone for three years. This program follows her on her return journey home to Liberia, and the mixed picture she finds there. Jemoh is just one of millions of children caught up in the world's conflicts. Some are forced to fight and kill; others are used as slaves and "wives." Those that do survive are left brutalized and traumatized. How, this program asks, can these children be rehabilitated who have gone through such experiences? Directed by Emily Marlow. 23 min. DVD 3976

Description from Bullfrog Films catalog

A Right to Justice

Follows the struggle of the indigenous Maya Achi people of Guatemala to learn the truth of the Rio Negro genocide that took place on March 13, 1982. Includes footage of the recent trial of a few of the perpetrators and details recent efforts to document the atrocities and to secure justice through the prosecution of those responsible. SEE ALSO: A Massacre Remembered. Dist: Witness Project. 2001. 10 min. DVD 3258

The Rights of the Child

Examines the 1989 UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child which published a declaration recognizing that all children have the same basic rights. This video powerfully presents the systematic violation of children's human rights throughout the world, and provides concrete examples of the needs of children and programs to assist them. 1990. 23 min. Video/C MM893

Sacrifice.

Each year thousands of girls are recruited from rural Burmese villages to work in brothels in Thailand where they are held for years in debt bondage. The trafficking of Burmese girls is a direct result of political repression in Burma. Human rights abuses, war, and ethnic discrimination have displaced thousands of families leaving them with no means of livelihood. This film, through interviews with the girls, examines the social, cultural and economic forces at work in the trafficking of Burmese girls. A film by Ellen Bruno. 1998. 48 min. Video/C 5580

Sanamacha's Story.

Since the 1950s in the state of Manipur in Northeastern India, several secessionist movements have defied the Indian government. In response, India has militarized the region. This documentary looks at the kinapping of a 15-year-old boy, Sanamacha, who was taken from his home by the Indian military. Presents testimonies of witnesses and family members providing insight into the advocacy work grassroots groups in Manipur have done to bring the military's actions to justice. A production of the Witness Project which uses video technology to investigate human rights abuses. 1999. 11 min. DVD 3250

Seeing is Believing.(Life, Part 37)

Health experts have long known that a lack of Vitamin A can lead to serious diseases during childhood, as well as increasing the risk of child and maternal mortality. This segment looks at the country of Zambia as it begins a nationwide program to deliver Vitamin A to its population through sugar fortification as just one part of a multi-pronged strategy. Video/C 9846

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Sexy Inc.: Our Children Under Influence /

Analyzes the hypersexualization of our environment and its noxious effects on young people. Experts criticize an unhealthy culture created by advertising and the media, and the many examples shown illustrate how children are reduced to consumers bombarded with images of girls treated as purely sexual objects. Dist.: National Film Board of Canada. 2007. 36 min. DVD 8891

Sin City Diary

Examines the wretched lives of Filipina women who work as prostitutes in Olongapo City, near the U.S. Naval Base at Subic Bay, Philippines, and the plight of the Amer-Asian children who've been deserted by their American fathers. 1992. 29 min. Video/C 7752

Sisters and Daughters Betrayed: The Trafficking of Women and Girls and the Fight to End It

A report on the practice in Southeast Asia of illegally transporting millions of women and young girls from rural to urban areas and across national borders for the purposes of prostitution. This compelling video explores the social and economic forces that drive this lucrative underground trade, and the devastating impact it has on women's lives. A hopeful note is sounded by the actions of women's organizations working against sex trafficking in their native countries. 1995. 20 min. Video/C 5521

Soldier Child: Kidnapped Innocence

Since 1990, the people of Northern Uganda have watched in horror as tens of thousands of children have been kidnapped from their homes, marched to the Sudan, and then trained as child soldiers in a rebel army. Acholi rebel-leader and religious fanatic Joseph Kony abducts Acholi children indiscriminately, brainwashes them, and then forces them to commit indescribable atrocities against their own families and friends. This documentary reveals the efforts put forth by the Northern Uganda people to rehabilitate the children fortunate enough to escape Kony's army. Directed and photographed by Neil Abramson. 1998. 55 min. DVD 8782

Sowing Seeds of Hunger. Life, Part 41

This segment looks at the AIDS epidemic in Zambia and other sub-Saharan African nations which has crippled the agricultural community, forcing children to undertake the responsibilities of farming. Video/C 9850

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Spoils of War (Botin de guerra)

Presents first-hand accounts from the Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo, who dared to challenge the ruthless dictatorship of Argentina from 1976 to 1983 and have sought to find their missing grandchildren. Children now reunited with their families, and some who still hope to be, contribute. SEE ALSO: Las Madres: The Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo. 1999. 112 min. DVD 2481

Stop the Traffic.

Thirty years of war have left Cambodia ravaged and poverty-stricken, making it particularly vulnerable to the child labor industry. Children as young as 10 years old are trafficked into cities from rural areas to become sex workers or trafficked out to Thailand to work as beggars, domestic laborers, or laborers on construction sites. This program examines the trade and new efforts by the International Labor Organization and local groups to rescue the children and stop the traffic. Video/C 8946

Bullfrog Films catalog description

Take This Heart

Follows the daily lives of three Seattle boys in foster care who struggle to make sense of their harsh fates, each in his own way. Their stories reveal the remarkable resiliency and the tough-minded will with which they go on with their lives, not utterly consoled, but not broken, either. Directed by Kathryn Hunt. 1997. 55 min. Video/C MM595

Thanh's War.

The long-term effects of the Vietnam War are examined through the eyes of Thanh, injured and orphaned by a grenade as a 12-year-old in 1968, brought to the United States for treatment, and raised by an American foster family. After several visits to Vietnam as an adult, he marries a young woman from his village. This extraordinary documentary illuminates Thanh's courageous story as he grapples with the emotional legacy of the war and tries to make his way in two vastly different cultures. Directors, Elizabeth Farnsworth, John Knoop. 58 min. Video/C 5079

That's Why I'm Working

Families living in the slums of Dacca, Bangladesh are so poor that any income, even the pittance paid to child workers, is necessary for survival. Since today's child laborers are tomorrow's uneducated adults, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) started a 3-year primary course for Dacca's disadvantaged in 1996. The small schools with a 3-hour school day, are free and provide a first step away from the vicious cycle of poverty. c1999. 53 min. Video/C 7900

Description from First Run Icarus catalog

They Shoot Children, Don't They?

Bruce Harris of Covenant House works to help the 5,000 street children in Guatemala City, Guatemala, who are daily subjected to violence and murder by the police. 199-?. 55 min. Video/C 4374

Trafficked: Children as Sexual Slaves

Follows private investigator and former Australian police officer, Chris Payne, as he investigates the trafficking of women and children for prostitution. Haunted by the case of "Nikkie", a young Thai girl found working in a brothel in Sydney, Payne travels to Thailand to find out what has happened to her since her deportation. Director, Luigi Acquisto. 2005. 52 min. DVD 6976

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

UNICEF, The First Forty Years

Archival footage traces the history of UNICEF from its earliest work in post WWII Europe through its efforts to lower infant mortality rates in the developing world. Chronicles the ethic of a global partnership on behalf of children. 1988. 28 min. Video/C MM911

War in Children(Human Rights & Wrongs)

Children's impressions of the war in Sarajevo Produced by Ademir Kenovic and the SAGA film company. Broadcast May 24, 1995. 27 min. Video/C 6724

Who Killed Pixote? ( Quem Matou Pixote?)

Fernando Ramos da Silva gained worldwide recognition at the age of 11 when he starred in Hector Babenco's film "Pixote" (in MRC: DVD 737; VHS 999:2062). A child from the San Paulo slums, da Silva was prevented from developing an acting career by his near-illiteracy and scarcity of roles. This film depicts the context of poverty and injustice that still controls the destiny of the "pixotes," the street children of Brazilian slums. 1996. 120 min. Video/C 5849

Whose Children?

A documentary that raises basic questions about child labour in India's glass factories in Firozabad, Uttar Pradesh exploring social, economic, legal and moral aspects of the issue. 2003. 30 min. DVD 4267

The Young Workers.

Looks at the emergence of child labor in India within a historical, societal context. Covers the history of child labor, legislation, alternatives and attempted intervention and concludes with case studies of the match industry in Sivakasi and powerloom industry in Bhivandi. 1987. 68 min. PAL format Video/C 473

Youth Interrupted.

Aresses the need for justice and rehabilitation for juvenile participants in the Rwandan genocide through interviews with child soldiers and men who as children were forced to fight in the conflict. Dist.: Witness Project. 2001. 6 min. DVD 3240

Zoned for Slavery: The Child Behind the Label

Looks at the operations of off-shore corporations contracted by American businesses, investigating the long and difficult hours that children are working in developing countries to produce brand name American products such as Gitano, Gap, Osh Kosh, and Eddie Bauer. Includes information presented by Charles Kernighan from the National Labor Committee. 1995. 23 min. Video/C MM1000

Child Abuse

Boys Beware

A film produced in the 1960's warning children against homosexuals, claiming that they are pedophiles preying on young school children. A police officer explains the many techniques homosexuals (sexual predators) may use on children such as praise, companionship, money, presents and becoming over personal to win over a child's trust. Originally produced in 1961. 10 min. DVD 8290

Broken Child

A documentary exploring the effects of early childhood deprivaton and abuse and its socially destructive impact on children and young adults who have been victimized by early life trauma. Filmed on location in Baltimore, Atlanta, Houston, and Seattle, this cautionary program examines the cycle of child abuse. Case studies include children with developmental difficulties caused by maternal drug addiction, post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by scenes of extreme violence in the home, and life-threatening injuries from beatings. Dist.: Films Media Group. c2003. 61 min. DVD 7147

Capturing the Friedmans

The Friedman's seem to be a typical family from affluent Great Neck, Long Island. One Thanksgiving, as the family gathers for a quiet holiday dinner, a police battering ram splinters the front door and officers rush inside. The police charge Arnold and his son Jesse with hundreds of charges of molestation, rape, and sodomy against young boys to whom they taught computer classes in their basement. As police investigate, and the community reacts, the fabric of the family begins to disintegrate, revealing questions about justice, family and finally the truth. Special features: Disc 1: Audio commentary by Andrew Jarecki ; Disc 2: Unseen home movies from the Friedman house after the police arrived; an altercation at the New York premiere; the original short film that led to the discovery of David Friedman's secret story; Great Neck outraged; new witnesses & evidence; uncut footage of the prosecution's star witness; Friedman family scrapbook and hidden audio tape; Jesse's life story; the judge speaks out at the Great Neck premiere. Directed by Andrew Jarecki. 2003. 108 min. DVD 2277

Child Protective Services

This sensitive and sometimes anguishing documentary ventures behind the closed doors of America's child-protection system chronicling the raw and powerful day-to-day operations of one child-protection office in San Diego County, California. The film follows frontline workers in an Emergency Response Unit, shows social workers helping to re-unite torn families, and sits in on emotionally charged final courtroom decisions. 2002. 57 min. Video/C 9523

Defending Our Lives.

This film takes a hard look at boys and girls who are being exploited in the fast-growing business of selling children for sex in North America. Here are stories, compelling and poignant, diverse and courageous, that expose the realities of children in the sex trade. 1999? 47 min. Video/C 6531

Cambridge Documentary Films catalog description

Deliver Us From Evil

A documentary on confessed pedophile priest Oliver O'Grady and attempts by the Catholic Church to cover up his actions. Includes interviews with O'Grady and his victims. Written and directed by Amy Berg. 2006. 104 min. DVD 4055

Early Misgivings: A Film About Child Abuse

Documentary about the causes of child abuse, showing current methods of treatment and prevention. Includes interviews with parents, doctors, counselors and other professionals, as well as former victims of child abuse. Produced and directed by Leonard Kurz. 1983. 29 min. Video/C 743

Healing Years

Takes a bold look at the profound effects of child sexual abuse on individuals, families and society, and the importance of recovery as a key to ending the cycle of abuse. Producer/director, Kathy Barbini. 1999. 52 min. Producer/director, Kathy Barbini. Video/C 6620

Hungry for Monsters

This gripping documentary captures the nightmare that one family endures after a teenage girl confessed to a teacher that her father molested her. During therapy sessions to recover "repressed memories," the daughter exaggerates and embellishes her accusations as social workers, therapists, and officers of the court inadvertently egg her on. The girl's tales of satanic rituals and wild orgies eventually lead to arrests, years of turmoil and heartache for all. A sharp and unrelenting portrait of the American system of justice run amok. Produced, directed, and edited by George Paul Csicsery. 2006. 69 min. DVD 6526

In the Shadow of Eden

The director comes to grips with the abuse she suffered at the hands of her religion-fixated father. Written, directed, narrated and edited by Rachael Romero. 2004. DVD 5977

Mothers on Trial

Examines the issues surrounding the prosecution of pregnant women and mothers in the U.S. who are drug addicts. Debate centers around the issues of jail vs. treatment for substance dependent mothers who take drugs during pregnancy. Includes interviews with women prisoners, recovering women addicts, relatives and medical personnel who care for their drug damaged infants. 1990. 30 min. Video/C 6794

Sandra's Garden.

This program is a powerfully honest and intimate look at one woman's struggle to overcome the trauma of incest. It is a story of healing; of how women can work together to reshape and rebuild their lives. It is a testament to the courage, beauty and hopefulness of all survivors who are struggling to overcome the emotional devastation and physical pain of their childhood. 1993. 34 min. Video/C 2267

ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries

Speak out!

Sexual violence has been recognised as a major problem in and around schools in sub-Saharan Africa. Evidence shows that it is a major barrier to accelerating progress in girls' education. This documentary captures the voices of young people in Swaziland speaking out against sexual abuse and highlights their efforts to combat gender-based violence. 2004. 17 min. DVD 6642

A Stranger in Our Home

Follows the experiences of two teenagers who met sexual predators online and came very close to dangerous entanglements. The teens talk about their experiences, a member of the group Cyber Angels talks about their work in identifying predators, and detectives talk about their work on these and similar cases. 2000. 40 min. DVD 6995

Description from Filmakers Library catalog

Tarnation

A multitude of family snapshots, Super-8 home movies, old answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, snippets of '80s pop culture, and dramatic reenactments are used to create an epic portrait of an American family travesty. Begins in 2003 when Jonathan learns that his schizophrenic mother, Renee, overdoses on her lithium medication. He is shot back into his real and horrifying family legacy of rape, abandonment, promiscuity, drug addiction, child abuse, and psychosis. He grows up on camera and finds his escape in musical theater and B-horror movies. A look into the future shows Jonathan as he confronts the almost unbearable love he shares with his tragically damaged mother. Written and directed by Jonathan Caouette. 2005. 88 min. DVD 4079

Veronica's Story

Based on an actual letter by a teenager, this brief but poignant film tells the tragic story of a victim of sexual abuse. A much-honored film, it reverses many cultural stereotypes about at-risk children as Veronica's words demonstrate her courage, her emotional honesty, and her intelligent strength in writing her way out of trauma. Director, Deeds Rogers. c1996. 6 min. Video/C MM777

The Vicious Cyle of Abuse.

A personal interview with Jane, a victim of child abuse and domestic violence clearly shows that this vicious pattern is difficult to break. Produced and directed by Joanna Maria Gonzales Siefert. 2005. 35 min. DVD 5047

The Virgin Trade

Looking at the dark underbelly of Thailand's sex trade, this documentary unravels the complexities of Western sex tourism and its relationship with Asia's home grown trade. With accounts from travellers, male holiday makers and Thai girls the investigation turns expectation on its head in a shocking journey that is brutally honest, dark, humorous and surprisingly touching. Written and directed by Stuart Kershaw. 2007? 54 min. DVD 8834

When Girls Do It.

This documentary reveals the human reality behind sexual abuse by women, the healing process for those who have survived abuse, and the need for treatment programs for female offenders. Powerful interviews with female sexual offenders and survivors of abuse, therapists, and psychologists reveal the devastating effects on the victims, acknowledge the enormity of such offenses and encourage victims to speak out against this under-reported crime. The documentary also delves into related issues including the long-held misconception that sexual abuse of children is exclusively a male crime. 2001. 46 min. Video/C MM360

Working with Children Who Have Experienced Neglect or Abuse

Demonstrates Dr. Crenshaw's approach to recontextualize the act of injustice that has occurred in the client family. The offender must come to think of his or her behavior as wrongful, and the victim must come to see what has happened as just a small part of a larger life picture. This restorative justice model helps children and families come to a new understanding of what has happened to them. 105 min. DVD 6546

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