NEW WORK
DISCUSSIONS ON THE U.N. DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES is a one hour long historic record on one of the most-discussed pieces of legislation in UN history. For over 20 years, governments and Indigenous Peoples have been discussing how to apply the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to the specific situations of Indigenous Peoples. This desperately needed Declaration, which articulates the most basic of needs, was nonetheless rejected in November 2006. In this film, governmental and Indigenous representatives present their issues of concern and the implications for the future - up to the day when the Declaration was finally adopted at the General Assembly.
HUNTED LIKE ANIMALS is an eye-opening documentary about an ongoing, but unknown, genocide
— against the Hmong people in the jungles of Laos. Coerced into joining the CIA’s
anti-communist efforts during the Viet Nam war, the Hmong in hiding are still mercilessly hunted,
attacked, raped, tortured and killed by the military. Since 2004, the military crackdown on the
Hmong has intensified and those who can escape seek refuge in Thailand. In this documentary, the Hmong Lao refugees speak for many
thousands of voiceless people still trapped in the jungle, surrounded by Lao and Vietnamese
soldiers.
WorldFest 2008 SILVER REMI Award; Official Selection Amnesty International Film Festival 2008
ELIMINATED WITHOUT BLEEDING is a one-hour documentary on the Khmer Krom indigenous peoples
from the Mekong Delta in Southern Vietnam. The Khmer Krom explain how they are oppressed and
eliminated as a peoples. There is no freedom of speech, religion or culture. Aggressively
Vietnam-ized, the Khmer Krom struggle to maintain their way of life and identity.
Received the New York Festivals International Film & Video Award, Documentaries 2008; OfficiaL Selection Lowell Film Festival 2008.
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE UNITED NATIONS, Vol.1 is a thirty-minute long documentary, to promote and raise-awareness on indigenous issues within the UN system, to politicians and diplomats. It was commissioned by the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII). English, Spanish, or French subtitles: Received the New York Festivals International Film & Video Award, International Affairs 2007; Official Selection 2008: Montreal Human Rights Film Festival; Oxford Brookes University Human Rights Film Festival; Human Rights Film Festival Aotearoa New Zealand
Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations, Vol. 1
Rebecca Sommer, for the Secretariat of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), 2006
Pueblos Indígenas y las Naciones Unidas, Vol. 1
Rebecca Sommer, película realizada para la Secretaría del Foro Permanente para las Cuestiones Indígenas de la ONU, 2006
Les Peuples Autochtones et les Nations Unies, Vol.1
Rebecca Sommer, film pur le Secretariat de l'Insstance Permanente sur les Questions Autochtones de l'ONU, 2006
ADOPTION OF THE U.N. DRAFT DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGNEOUS PEOPLES — GENEVA, a 8 minute long news reel video, about the historic adoption of the U.N. Draft Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
ADOPTION OF THE U.N. DECLARATION ON THE RIGHTS OF INDIGNEOUS PEOPLES — NYC, a 8 minute long news reel video, about the historic adoption of the U.N. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples at the U.N. Generel Assembly, September 17, 2007.
PROTEST AT THE PERMANENT FORUM ON INDIGNEOUS ISSUES — THE MAY 2008 REVOLT, a 10 minute long POINT OF VIEW News Reel. Indigenous Peoples representatives and organizations held a protest at the May 2 2008 conclusion of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) in New York. They were angered by the final Report of the UNPFII, which — in their point of view — ignored Indigenous Peoples' stated concerns about carbon trading projects (REDD), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other so called "good practice" initiatives. The special theme of the 7th session of the UNPFII was Climate Change.
REDWOOD FOREST, a 3-minute long Art/Dance video to promote the protection of the Redwood groves in the USA. Giant Sequoias are the world's largest trees in terms of total volume, and grow throughout the California redwood region. The oldest known Giant Sequoia was 3,500 old. 96 percent of the original old-growth coast Redwoods have been logged. The vast majority of Redwood groves are undergoing a gradual decline in density since the Europeans settlement days. Few groves, however, have sufficient young trees to maintain the present density of mature Giant Sequoias for the future.
As long as the entire forest is allowed to thrive, tall trees will survive the seasons and the centuries.
THARY: A DAY IN MY VILLAGE, a 2-minute video which was commissioned by Sesame Street, PBS, showing the life of a four-year-old Khmer Krom girl, in rural southern Vietnam.
Official Selection 2008: KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, Danville International Film Festival.
KHMER KROM BUDDHISTS, a 2-minute video showing the Khmer Krom Buddhist Moon ceremony in rural southern Vietnam.
DÉFILÉ, a 3-minute excerpt of 8 art videos, screened as a video installation on 99 monitors for the launching of Défilé makeup.
GIRL CHILD EARTH DANCE, a 3-minute video; belly dance performance at school by the children of my friends in the Ubatuba community in Brazil.
APSARA, a 3-minute video — Apsara dancer in Cambodia.
KINDING SINDAW, a 3-minute video — Indigenous Peoples dance group from the Philippines.