Student Documentary Projects

Title	Project Type	Semester	Producer(s)
The Block The Block will take you on a journey to the streets of Oakland, where gangs make the rules. Through an examination of gang life and culture, this production will seek to answer: Is it possible for gangs to be a positive force in our communities? This work is licensed under a...	Documentary	Fall 2011	Anna Seifert, Colman Lee, Carlos Madrigal
Diving for Change Just when does food go bad? How much waste are we generating that could be used to sustain our communities? This film explores dumpster diving as a way to reduce food waste and rebel from a culture of consumption in the U.S.	Documentary	Fall 2011	Hiwot Misker, Madeline Artibee, Mandy White
Pill Popper Generation Who are the young people behind the pills and why do they consider them to be a “necessary evil”? This movie seeks to examine the unprecedented rise in the amount of youth taking prescription drugs for anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorder.	Documentary	Fall 2011	Tashi Altman-Berger, Ilana Warner, Lucy Scanlon
Spectrum Nation Queer youth today are bombarded with negativity from the media, their peers, and society. This Woolman Documentary hopes to inspire and advocate for this oft discriminated against group.	Documentary	Fall 2011	Tess Eliza Solenberger, Jessie Cooper, Chloe Johnson
Stacking Functions Stacking Functions takes a look at the way Permaculture is subverting the dominant paradigm of unsustainable agriculture with interviews from local and international Permaculturists. The film captures the beauty of Nevada County with stunning cinematography.	Documentary	Fall 2011	Graeme Waring-Crane, William Armstrong
Peak Oil A quick tour of issues surrounding our oil-centric society.	Documentary	Spring 2011	Francis Leary, Ian Adair, William (Will) Reich
Oakland Gang Injunction Exploring gang injunctions in North Oakland, California.	Documentary	Spring 2011	Dejanne Taylor, Rebecca Levine, Hannah Plowright
Women Power in Religion How do religions oppress and empower women?	Documentary	Spring 2011	Annelise Hildebrandt, Hanaa Butcher, Afiya Cousins
Subjective Morality of Violence A provocative student documentary not intended to tell you something, but to ASK you something.	Documentary	Spring 2011	Mira Brown, Laura Farley, David Hersh
Homelessness in America What is homelessness, and how do individuals and families become homeless? With interviews from formerly homeless men and women as well as advocates, this doc is interview-rich and focuses on services available.	Documentary	Fall 2010	Megan Bernstein and Marie Vastola
Ableism What is ableism, and how does it effect our lives and the lives of disabled and differently abled people? This Woolman Doc explores that question and many others as students interview disability rights activists and use original art work to illustrate their stories.	Documentary	Fall 2010	Dennis Johnson & Chloe Grubbs-Saleem
Fear in the Media This Woolman Doc focuses on fear and sensationalism in the media, with an emphasis on the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake and corporate media conglomeration.	Documentary	Fall 2010	Sage Po, Keith Runyan, and Max Sparkles Russo
Your Energy Independence This Woolman Doc focuses on renewable energy options, peak oil, and consumer-driver microgrids as one piece of the sustainable energy puzzle.	Documentary	Fall 2010	Annabelle Marcovici, Hezekiah McGiver, and Marijke Wijnen
Food waste in America This Woolman Doc explores hunger, malnutrition, food waste and gleaning in the Sacramento area.	Documentary	Fall 2010	Anna Quick and Patricia Tapia
Consent! Woolman students take on the media and its often skewed portrayal of sex and gender roles.	Documentary	Spring 2010
Open Ears: The Fate of Music Education All across America, music education is being cut from High School budgets. This documentary looks at the repercussions of this troubling trend.	Documentary	Spring 2010	Ruthie Hawley and Katherine Stone
New Americans: Refugees in the United States Woolman Semester Students look at the hard realities of coming to the US as a refugee. They interview refugees about their experiences, as well as people who are working to help.	Documentary	Spring 2010
Violence and Change in the LGBT Community Woolman semester students look at health trends and services available to the LGBTQ community.	Documentary	Spring 2010	BJ Miller and Jordan Smith
California: Prison Capital of the World? Woolman Semester students investigate California's overwhelmed prison system, the nation's most expensive at $9 billion per year, and the highest per-capita with 1 of every 31 Californians in the prison system. Is this system spiraling out of control? Is it destroying more lives than it protects? Hear from ex-inmates, community leaders and others in this jail documentary by our students.	Documentary	Spring 2009
Will Gold Mining Turn this California Town into a Pit? Woolman Semester students investigate this town's most controversial issue: Grass Valley, California may face environmental disaster if the gold mining company gets its way... they want to re-open an old gold mine in the middle of town, bringing in noise, pollution, and earth-shaking explosions, but also the possibility of jobs and economic growth. Hear both sides of the story in this documentary by Woolman Semester students.	Documentary	Spring 2009
Eating Local - Can it be done? The Locavore Movement and 100 mile diet Woolman Semester students search near and... well, near, for healthy, sustainable eating from csa farms to the cows in the back yard. Find out what it means to be a locavore, and why it isn't always easy to stick to the 100-mile diet.	Documentary	Spring 2009
Corn Monocultures and Michael Pollan's Omnivores' Dilemma A wild romp through the weird world of corn monocultures. Is your food really just processed corn in disguise? Find out! Presented by students at the Woolman Semester, and inspired by The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan.	Documentary	Spring 2009
Can Our Broken Prison System Be Fixed? Woolman Semester students look at the causes, repercussions, and possible alternatives to a broken prison system in crisis, interviewing prisoners, prison guards, crime victims, and visionaries who see a way out of this mess.	Documentary	Fall 2008
Bringing the Darfur Crisis Home - Genocide Solutions A terrible crisis and genocide in a distant land... what can ordinary Americans do about such a far-off, complex problem? Woolman Semester students take to the streets to try and find ways to be part of the solution, remembering that "what you do may seem insignificant, but it is vitally important that you do it."	Documentary	Fall 2008
US-Mexico Border Fence: The New Berlin Wall? Join Woolman Semester students on both sides of the US Mexico border fence. Although every year the border wall gets bigger, higher, and more militarized, immigrants desperate for better lives for their families continue to risk the crossing. Hear from a border patrol guard, a border park ranger, and a mother who was just deported to Mexico while her kids were at school in the US.	Documentary	Spring 2008
Big Box Store Invaded by Shopping Zombies! Calling themselves the CIA (Consumer Impact Awareness), Woolman Semester students play dirty with consumer culture: jumping into a dumpster to see what gets wasted, climbing a mountain of trash at the Tiajuana dump, and invading a Big Box store dressed as shopping zombies! Dumping garbage dumpster.	Documentary	Spring 2008
Utah Phillips: Homeless Shelter a Real Lifesaver Woolman Semester students interview Utah Phillips on homelessness (along with other founders of Hospitality House). Hear the story behind this amazing asset to Nevada County, CA.	Documentary	Fall 2007
Makeup: It's not pretty! Woolman Semester students take on the cosmetics industry in this quick quip about the bad stuff in your makeup, and what it does to your, um, well, you'll see. An uncommercial on the side effects of makeup in the Adbusters tradition. Cosmetics cause birth defects; why makeup is bad for you.	Documentary	Fall 2006