BDSM (short for bondage, dominance, submission, and masochism) is being used by some in the kink community as a tool for healing trauma. We meet Rebecca and Steph, a couple who uses BDSM to process their individual traumatic experiences and heal from their painful past.
Tag Archives: community
Dying Young on TikTok
Kasey Altman lived an almost ideal life in NYC before she was diagnosed with a rare form of juvenile cancer, rhabdomyosarcoma. Instead of choosing to battle this cancer alone, she created a Tiktok account to document her journey and find community. Through the cancertok community, Kasey became a leading advocate and activist for the cancertok community.
Big Fight in Little China Town
Big Fight in Little Chinatown is a story of community resistance and resilience. Set against the backdrop of the unprecedented rise in anti-Asian racism, the documentary takes us into the lives of residents, businesses and community organizers whose neighborhoods are facing active erasure.
Coast to Coast the film follows Chinatown communities resisting the pressures around them. From the construction of the world’s largest vertical jail in New York, Montreal’s fight against developers swallowing up the most historic block of their Chinatown, big box chains and gentrification forces displacing Toronto’s community, to a Vancouver Chinatown business holding steadfast, the film reveals how Chinatown is both a stand-in for other communities who’ve been wiped off the city map, and the blueprint for inclusive and resilient neighbourhoods of the future.
The Opposition
The Opposition is a 2016 investigative documentary directed by Hollie Fifer. The film follows Joe Moses as he struggles to save his community from policemen wielding machetes and guns descending on the Paga Hill Settlement in Papua New Guinea to bulldoze their houses to the ground in order to build a five-star hotel.
Unpaved: Respite from the World
In the mist-shrouded mountains of Oregon, a tiny community lives quietly, seeking comfort in nature and one another while struggling with life’s challenges. This hauntingly beautiful farmland, hidden and isolated, is home to horses and dogs, ex-cons and ex-addicts, drummers, dreamers and Bigfoot hunters.
Steve is a kind-hearted landlord who allows his renters to be late with the rent – or not pay rent at all. Amber is the woman Steve can’t stop loving, even when she betrays him. Buzz isolates himself in a tent, nurturing dreams of an expedition with his mule. Ron spent a decade in prison and now dwells in a forest cabin with Gale, whose father is suddenly rushed to hospital. Tom Junior has conquered the meth-addiction that killed his brother and is now patiently cooking food for Tom Senior. The passionate drummer Sky is convinced that Bigfoot hides in the woodlands.
Mikael Lypinski approaches this nonconformist village with curiosity and a deeply felt humanism. Unpaved: Respite from the World weaves the stories and destinies into a moving insight into off-grid America, where people have turned their backs on society to live in sync with nature.
Desert Coffee
In California’s poorest desert region, a colourful group of regulars and their dogs gather at Rob’s cafe for coffee in ‘the last free place in America’.
Slab City is a squatter community in the Sonoran Desert, Southern California. The inhabitants, Slabbers, live in broken trailers or old school buses. Their closest neighbors are the United States Navy and Marine Corps, who practice aerial bombing in the area. Despite living off-grid in extreme weather conditions with no running water, electricity, sewage system or trash pickup, the residents enthusiastically embrace their freedom in the beautiful badlands of the desert.
Rob hates coffee but as soon as dawn breaks he meticulously brews ‘the best coffee in the county’ for the customers of his makeshift cafe. Desert Coffee sketches an intimate, warm portrait of Rob and his friends – an unforgettable bunch of troubled characters and left-behinds.
Escaping Brazil’s Deadliest Gangs
In the middle of the most violent regional capital in Brazil, a brutal gang war is being fought over control of the drug supply routes of the Northwestern Amazon region. Poverty and coercion force many young men into a life of crime where the only ways to escape are incarceration or death.
But amidst the carnage, there is a glimmer of hope – the “91” is a group of former gang lords turned pastors, who offer salvation to gang members who want to leave the criminal life. Their standing in the gang community, forged out of years of service and hard-fought respect, mean that only they can vouch for criminals looking to trade crime for the path of God.
Escaping the FLDS Polygamy Cult
The FLDS broke away from mainstream Mormonism in order to continue the practice of polygamy. They established the community of Short Creek along the Utah/Arizona border to follow their beliefs in isolation. In 2011, their prophet Warren Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison (plus 20 years) for sexual abuse of two of his child brides, ages 12 and 15.
United We Fan
For most viewers, it’s simply a disappointment when their favourite television series is cancelled. But the fans of some series take the loss a lot harder. And they fight back.
United We Fan explores the inspiring true stories behind these unique save-our-show fan crusades – from the letter writing of yesterday to the social media and crowdfunding campaigns of today. Following the stories of fans, stars, creators and more, the film goes far beyond the headlines to give you deeper insights into fandom, identity and community.
Groundswell Rising
Groundswell Rising shows how Fracking – an untested energy extraction process – has contaminated drinking water and jeopardized health. We meet scientists, doctors and farmers across the political spectrum engaged in a David and Goliath struggle against Big Oil and Gas, decrying a process that puts profits over people.
Homeowners near wells suffer from respiratory ailments and property devaluation. A former industry employee shows skin lesions and edema, a result of working on drilling rigs, while others witness mistakes (5% of all wells leak) and explosions, against a back drop of rising ill health, as more and more suffer, from nose bleeds to asthma.
But there is cause for hope.
Local mothers groups unite to win some protections, while lease holders outraged by the corporations strong-arm tactics win local bans. Common Cause uncovers corruption as corporations buy influence to evade environmental protection laws, and the movement begins to gather momentum as actor Mark Ruffalo and singer Natalie Merchant support—and sometimes lead—their efforts.
Grassroots efforts have achieved bans, moratoriums, and referendums on Fracking, giving hope to others worldwide faced with the same nightmare. Transcending the genre of environmental film, Groundswell Rising’s passionate stories inspire and empower.
“Groundswell is ultimately a rousing, convincing rallying cry that the little guys, working in numbers, can triumph” LA Weekly
“But however you stand on the issue, you’re likely to be moved by the film’s portraits of grassroots activists managing to make their voices heard despite the opposition of major corporations and the big money at their disposal.” The Hollywood Reporter