POV: Unapologetic | American Documentary

POV

Feature Film
2021
90 Mins

Unapologetic

Feature Film

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot. Official Selection, DOC NYC Film Festival.

Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

Chez Jolie Coiffure

Feature Film
2020

Trailer

Sabine is a charismatic, larger-than-life personality crammed into a tiny shop in the immigrant Brussels district of Matonge. Here, she and her employees style extensions and glue on lashes while sharing rumors about government programs to legalize migrants and talking ...

Where the Pavement Ends

Feature Film
2020

Trailer

Where The Pavement Ends transports viewers to Missouri towns Kinloch and Ferguson, examining the shared histories and deep racial divides affecting both. Through archival audio recordings, photographs and the recollections of residents from what was then all-Black Kinloch and the ...

I'm Free Now, You Are Free

Short Film
2021

Short Film

A story about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr and his mother Debbie Africa—a formerly incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE9.

Let the Little Light Shine

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

National Teachers Academy (NTA) is considered a beacon for Black children: a top-ranked, high-performing elementary school in the fastest growing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. As the neighborhood gentrifies, a wealthy parents’ group seeks to close NTA and replace it ...

Softie

Feature Film
2020

Clip

After years of fighting injustice in Kenya, daring and audacious political activist Boniface “Softie” Mwangi decides to run for political office. But running a clean campaign against corrupt opponents with idealism as his only weapon proves challenging. Special Jury Award ...

Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

Pier Kids

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

On the Christopher Street Pier in New York City, homeless queer and trans youth of color forge friendships and chosen families, withstanding tremendous amounts of abuse while working to carve out autonomy in their lives. With intimate, immersive access to ...

The Neutral Ground

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

The Neutral Ground documents New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause. In 2015, director CJ Hunt was filming the New Orleans City Council’s vote to remove four confederate monuments. But when that ...

Sapelo

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

On the barrier island of Sapelo off the coast of Georgia, two brothers, JerMarkest and Johnathan, are growing up in the last remaining enclave of the Saltwater Geechee people. Their greatest joy is exploring the island like their adoptive mother ...

I'm Free Now, You Are Free

Short Film
2021

Short Film

A story about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr and his mother Debbie Africa—a formerly incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE9.

Let the Little Light Shine

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

National Teachers Academy (NTA) is considered a beacon for Black children: a top-ranked, high-performing elementary school in the fastest growing neighborhood on Chicago's South Side. As the neighborhood gentrifies, a wealthy parents’ group seeks to close NTA and replace it ...

Chez Jolie Coiffure

Feature Film
2020

Trailer

Sabine is a charismatic, larger-than-life personality crammed into a tiny shop in the immigrant Brussels district of Matonge. Here, she and her employees style extensions and glue on lashes while sharing rumors about government programs to legalize migrants and talking ...

Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

Standing Above the Clouds

Short Film
2021

Short Film

Native Hawaiian mother-daughter activists stand to protect their sacred mountain Mauna Kea from the building of the world’s largest telescope.

I'm Free Now, You Are Free

Short Film
2021

Short Film

A story about the reunion and repair between Mike Africa Jr and his mother Debbie Africa—a formerly incarcerated political prisoner of the MOVE9.

Chez Jolie Coiffure

Feature Film
2020

Trailer

Sabine is a charismatic, larger-than-life personality crammed into a tiny shop in the immigrant Brussels district of Matonge. Here, she and her employees style extensions and glue on lashes while sharing rumors about government programs to legalize migrants and talking ...

Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

Late Blossom Blues

Feature Film
2019

Trailer

Born in Mississippi, Leo “Bud” Welch’s recording and touring career begins at the age of 81. With the support of his dedicated manager, Gulf War veteran, Vencie Varnado, Leo’s Blues career takes him to festivals across the South ...

Things We Dare Not Do

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

In the small Mexican coastal village of El Roblito, 16-year-old Ñoño lives what seems to be an idyllic existence with his loving family. But he holds a secret. Defying gender norms, Ñoño works up the courage to tell his family ...

Stateless

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Director Michèle Stephenson’s new documentary follows families of those affected by the 2013 legislation stripping citizenship from Dominicans of Haitian descent, uncovering the complex history and present-day politics of Haiti and the Dominican Republic through the grassroots electoral campaign ...

The Neutral Ground

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

The Neutral Ground documents New Orleans’ fight over monuments and America’s troubled romance with the Lost Cause. In 2015, director CJ Hunt was filming the New Orleans City Council’s vote to remove four confederate monuments. But when that ...

Fruits of Labor

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

Ashley, a Mexican-American teenager living in California, dreams of graduating high school and going to college. But when ICE raids threaten her family, Ashley is forced to become the breadwinner, working days in the strawberry fields and nights at a ...

Landfall

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Through shard-like glimpses of everyday life in post-Hurricane María Puerto Rico, Landfall is a cautionary tale for our times. Set against the backdrop of protests that toppled the governor in 2019, the film offers a prismatic portrait of collective trauma ...

La Casa de Mama Icha

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Decades earlier, Mama Icha moved to the United States to help her daughter with the care of her grandchildren. However, she never lost sight of her hometown of Mompox, spending years sending money to build her dream house there. Now ...

Mayor

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Musa Hadid is the Christian mayor of Ramallah, the de facto capital of the Palestinian Authority. As he tries to keep his city running while paving sidewalks, planning holidays and building a new fountain, his job is made increasingly difficult ...

Pier Kids

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

On the Christopher Street Pier in New York City, homeless queer and trans youth of color forge friendships and chosen families, withstanding tremendous amounts of abuse while working to carve out autonomy in their lives. With intimate, immersive access to ...

The Song of the Butterflies

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Rember Yahuarcani is an Indigenous painter from the White Heron clan of the Uitoto Nation in Peru. He left to pursue a successful career in Lima, but when he finds himself in a creative rut, he returns home to his ...

Not Going Quietly

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

A rising star in progressive politics and new father, Ady Barkan’s career and family are upended when he is diagnosed with ALS at age 32. After a chance encounter with a powerful Senator on an airplane catapults him to ...

On the Divide

Feature Film
2022

Trailer

On The Divide follows the story of three Latinx people living in McAllen, Texas who, despite their views, are connected by the most unexpected of places: the last reproductive health clinic on the U.S./Mexico border. As threats to ...

Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

North By Current

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Filmmaker and artist Angelo Madsen Minax returns to his rural Michigan hometown after a family tragedy. Weaving vignettes of VHS and Super 8 home movies with the present day, Madsen creates a poetic, nuanced portrait of a family navigating grief ...

Unapologetic

POV

Feature Film
2021
90 Mins

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of Rekia Boyd to the election of mayor Lori Lightfoot. Official Selection, DOC NYC Film Festival.

Trailer | Unapologetic

Feature Film
2021

Trailer

Meet Janaé and Bella, two fierce abolitionists whose upbringing and experiences shape their activism and views on Black liberation. Through their lens, Unapologetic provides an inside look into the ongoing movement work that transformed Chicago, from the police murder of ...

Reading List

Unapologetic Delve Deeper

Lesson Plan

Grades 9-10,
Grades 11-12

Unapologetic Lesson Plan: An Introduction to Radical Black Women-Led Activism

Discussion Guide

Unapologetic Discussion Guide

Film Credits

Ashley O'Shay Director
Morgan Elise Johnson Producer

Related events

Screening

Women's Equity Center and Action Network (WE CAN) Movies to Movements' Virtual Screening of 'Unapologetic'

Virtual Screening

Screening

House of Djeli's Screening of 'Unapologetic'

House of Djeli Virtual Events

Press Room

POV: Unapologetic | Press Kit

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