Finalists Announced for Voices from the Margins Student Social Justice Film Contest

BY ISN STAFF | October 11, 2015

America Media and the Ignatian Solidarity Network announced six finalists for their co-sponsored student social justice film contest, Voices From the Margins’15. College undergraduates across the country were invited to create short films that engage social justice topics and illuminate voices on the margins of society. Over 70 submissions were received from more than fifty universities throughout the U.S. 

The general public is being invited to vote for their favorite video until October 12th.  Fan voting will comprise 15% of the finally tally which includes voting by a judges panel.  Panelists include WGBH Boston VP John Bredar, creator of the FOX hit series “Glee,” Ian Brennan, Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne, Jesuit priest and best-selling author James Martin, S.J., Pulitzer-winning journalist and human rights advocate Sonia Nazario, HBO documentarian Alexandra Pelosi, WNBC anchor Shiba Russell, NBC congressional correspondent Luke Russert, Emmy-winning journalist Maria Shriver, and Catholic Relief Services CEO Carolyn Woo.

The finalists are:

• My Eyes are Up Here depicts the story of a young woman named Sophie who seeks to overcome stereotypes surrounding her prosthetic leg, by Abigail Armstrong, The University of Alabama;
• Stones tells the story of the last man to be executed in the state of Nebraska and his prayer that he be the last one, by Nico Sandi, Creighton University;
• Black Tracked: an Auto-ethnography of Ifeanyi Ezieme explores Ieanyi’s experiences as an African American male in an urban school in America, being “tracked,” by Ifeanyi Ezieme, Pepperdine University;
• Hermandad en Ferguson examines the the struggles and peacemaking efforts of Ferguson’s Hispanic community, by Mary Dulle, Loyola University New Orleans;
• The Wind in the Trees explores the experiences LGBTQ youth and overcoming feelings of depression and suicide, by Steven Abriani, Loyola University Chicago;
• More Alike than Different, illuminates the relationship and friendship of a sister with her older sibling who has down syndrome, by Haley Labian, Loyola University Chicago.

The films can be viewed and votes cast here.

Winners receive prizes including camera gear from BlackMagic Design, and the top finishers will premiere their films at a new film festival at the Ignatian Family Teach-In for Justice (IFTJ) this November. The IFTJ is the largest annual Catholic social justice conference in the nation, attracting 1,500-plus attendees.

“The Margins ’15 finalists illuminate the broad range of justice issues that college students are engaged in today,” said Christopher Kerr, Executive Director of the Ignatian Solidarity Network. “We are delighted to partner with America to highlight their talents and the “voices from the margins” they have illuminated through their efforts.”