What do you think of the state of free speech and democracy in the United States?
1st Place: “C: None of the Above” A narrative film by the 2004 Youth Sounds Factory Summer Program in Oakland California. After a series of intense discussions on the various forms of censorship that affect their lives, nine youth created a blocked-out world that delves into issues of diversity, dissidence and societal rejection.
2nd Place: “If this is the will of God… who needs God?” A documentary about a censorship incident at Clarkstown High School in New City, New York involving a piece of student artwork. Filmmakers Carly Wolff and Laura Caccavo noted “Even if a person’s beliefs are controversial or unpopular, they should still be allowed, by basic human right, to make them known. We hope that the story we tell in our documentary will motivate students whose artwork, as well as other forms of expression, has been censored to protest, and not take no for an answer.”
3rd Place: “The Censor” An experimental music video in which director Joseph Holliday of Granada Hills, California examines the concept of free speech and free thought in the information age. According to Joseph, “The so-called ‘news’ television channels offer little more than the point of view of the CEOs of the company and these days even newspapers are largely pointless drabble. I think that we as a society need to voice what we believe, and that isn’t going to be handed to us by a television station or be in a commercial.”
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