Category Archives: Commemorative Months

Commemorative Months in May

April 28, 2016 Heather Courtney

Mental Health Month raises awareness about mental illnesses, such as depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. New Day has a rich collection of films that lift the veil of silence over mental health issues. In Mind/Game: The Unquiet Journey of Chamique Holdsclaw, the WNBA’s “female Michael Jordan” battles personal setbacks and stigma to become an outspoken mental health advocate. In Split, children weigh in on the emotional and psychological impact of living through their parents’ divorce. View New Day’s entire collection of mental health films here.

Older Americans Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of older adults to our nation. Several new additions to the New Day catalogue highlight such achievements. In Nine To Ninety, a family’s matriarch boldly leads her family in making difficult end-of-life decisions. In States of Grace, a celebrated doctor recovers from a devastating accident to create a holistic pain clinic. Tracing Roots follows the adventures of a native elder as she strives to find the origins of a curious relic in a retreating glacier. For more New Day films on aging and gerontology, click here.

Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month honors the culture, traditions, and history of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Two new films in the New Day collection shed new perspective on the Asian-American experience. In Top Spin, Chinese-American ping-pong prodigies set their eyes on Olympic gold. In Making Noise in Silence, two high school students must balance being both Korean immigrants and members of the Deaf community. For more titles exploring Asian-American and Pacific Islander life, click here.

Commemorative Months

Commemorative Month – Earth Day

March 21, 2016 Heather Courtney

REBELS Photo Alan Majchrowicz_sq-wm — Rebels With a Cause

This April 22 marks the 46th anniversary of Earth Day. In the past half century, a powerful global movement centered on the protection of our environment has arisen. New Day is an active voice in the movement, with films like Catching the Sun, There Once Was an Island: Te Henua e Noho, and Rebels With a Cause. Check out our full collection of films on the Environment and Sustainability here.

Commemorative Months

Black History Month

January 30, 2016 Heather Courtney

tremedoc_kingdavid — Faubourg Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans

February is Black History Month, celebrating the lives, innovations, and struggles of African American individuals and communities. New Day has an excellent collection of films for Black History Month, including Faubourg-Treme: The Untold Story of Black New Orleans; Silent Choices, a history of African American women and abortion; and Beauty in the Bricks, about four African American teenage girls growing up in an urban housing project 20 years ago. To see the full collection, click here.

Commemorative Months

New Day Films for January

December 22, 2015 Heather Courtney

The third Sunday in January is annually celebrated as World Religion Day. New Day has a wide collection of films dealing with religion, including the new release Call to Witness, a moving depiction of three pastors fighting for LGBT ordination in the Lutheran Church. View our whole collection here.

Commemorative Months

New Day Films for November

October 29, 2015 Heather Courtney

Native American Heritage Month

Tracing_Roots_Delores_hat_Anderson — Tracing Roots

November is Native American Heritage Month, and New Day has many films that celebrate the cultures and histories of those who were here before the colonization of Turtle Island (aka North America), and those who survive and continue to build futures for themselves and their children. Tracing Roots follows master weaver and Haida elder Delores Churchill on a journey to understand the origins of a spruce root hat discovered alongside a 300-year-old traveler in a retreating glacier. Shellmound is the story of how one Bay Area location changed from a sacred burial ground to a toxic late-stage capitalist consumer zone. In Whose Honor? follows the story of Charlene Teters, a mother and activist who went up against the University of Illinois to ban the use of a racist mascot. Check out these films and more here.

Transgender Awareness Month

November is also Transgender Awareness Month, a time to celebrate, raise the visibility of, and expose the challenges faced by transgender and gender non-conforming people. New Day’s catalogue includes a number of films about trans people. Prodigal Sons reveals a surprisingly universal story about identity, gender, adoption, and mental illness. Trinidad acquaints viewers with three trans women whose paths cross in Trinidad, Colorado, the “sex-change capital of the world.” The Year We Thought About Love is a story about a queer youth theater project, and includes the coming out process of a young black trans woman. Check out these films and more here.

Commemorative Months

Special Promotions

September 29, 2015 Heather Courtney

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In hopes of helping victims through their pain and moving forward in the fight to eradicate domestic violence from our world, two New Day filmmakers are making their films available for free streaming the entire month. Kimberly Bautista‘s feature documentary Justice for My Sister is a feature-length documentary that follows one Guatemalan woman as she pits herself against her country’s notoriously machista justice system in search of answers to her sister’s brutal murder.

Peter Cohn‘s Power and Control: Domestic Violence in America is a powerful and dramatic exploration of family violence in the US. The feature documentary is accompanied by two shorter, more specialized companion pieces: Domestic Violence in Law Enforcement and Domestic Violence and Health Care.

Commemorative Months

New Day Films for October

September 28, 2015 Heather Courtney

National Child Awareness Month

During National Child Awareness Month, we address the growing challenges and needs of children. New Day is proud to host a collection of award-winning films on youth, including our latest acquisitions The Land, a short documentary about an unusual “adventure” playground, Top Spin, a feature documentary about three teenagers coming of age in the competitive world of table tennis, and The Year We Thought About Love, a diverse theater troupe of LGBTQ youth.

MNIS_film_still — Making Noise in Silence

Disability Awareness Month

Disability Awareness Month is a time to foster a greater understanding of disability in society, and to dismantle stereotypes and stigma.  New Day Films has a wide range of films about disability that offer diverse perspectives challenging ableism and redefining “normal.” New additions to the New Day catalogue, such as E Haku Inoa: To Weave a Name, a filmmaker’s personal exploration of mental illness in her family, and Making Noise in Silence, a short documentary about Deaf immigrant teens, expand the dominant narrative of disability.

Commemorative Months

Hispanic Heritage Month

August 17, 2015 Heather Courtney

LifeontheLine_Signature_Square — Life on the Line

Each year, Americans observe National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 to October 15) by celebrating the histories, cultures and contributions of people whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America. New Day has a wide range of award-winning films on Latinos in the US and beyond, including two new titles: Abrazos, a feature documentary about the children of undocumented Guatemalan immigrants visiting their parents’ homeland for the first time, and Life on the Line, a short film about a girl coming of age along the US-Mexico border.

Commemorative Months

New Day Films for the Summer

June 6, 2015 Kathy Huang

Immigrant Heritage Month

June is Immigrant Heritage Month! Celebrate our rich diversity as a nation by watching one of New Day’s award-winning films on immigration.

World Day for International Justice

Every July 17, people around the world host events to promote international criminal justice, especially support for the International Criminal Court. Check out New Day’s robust collection of films on international relations and global issues.

Commemorative Months

New Day Films for May

March 23, 2015 Kathy Huang

May is Mental Health Month, which seeks to lift the stigma of and raise awareness about mental illness in the United States. Check out New Day’s selections of films on Mental Health and Psychology for your events this year.

Older Americans Month was established in 1963 at a meeting between President John F. Kennedy and members of the National Council of Senior Citizens. Celebrate the contributions of older Americans to our nation and our communities this May with these New Day titles.

Asian American Pacific Heritage Month is a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. New Day has a robust collection of films about Asians, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders.