Films
Watch over 200 films curated from 140 countries around the globe, and featuring over 40 languages. SIMA Academy offers you unprecedented access on any device to authentic global perspectives and visually engaging current affairs media. Plus a constantly refreshed selection of international productions from independent distributors.
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Freedom
Brazil’s African slave descendants, the Quilombola, have fought a long and hard struggle for recognition. After the abolition of the slave trade they were left abandoned and ostracised, devoid of rights and outside of Brazilian mainstream society. But things are slowly changing amongst rural comm...
Extras
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Hope
The indigenous people of Sungai Utik, a Dayak Iban community in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, have maintained a strong traditional connection to their forests despite continuous pressure from logging and palm oil companies intent on taking their land. Their forests remain intact and their tradition...
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Pana-Pana
On the 12th September 2013 the Honduran government granted almost 7% of its territory to the indigenous Miskito people who have lived traditionally on this land for centuries. We follow the leadership of the indigenous organization, MASTA, as they speak to their elders and explore solutions to be...
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Dayaks and Drones
Even a well-managed, recognised forest faces constant challenges but innovative drone GPS technology, cooperative campaigning, local government support and eco-tourism are helping the Setulang people thrive. They have shown that community rights, the environment and development go hand in hand.
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The Reunion
Indigenous Harakmbut leaders lead journey to rediscover ancient sacred site to connect with their cultural past and protect their future.
Director: Paul Redman
Producer: Tim Lewis2014 | 9 min
Latin America | Peru
Languages: Spanish
Subtitles: Portuguese, English, Indonesian, Spanish -
Stories From the Field: Rural Innovations, Food Security and Women's Empowerment
In Stories From The Field we see both the challenges and innovations for grassroots development programs and resource-poor farmers in Bangladesh. Meet farmers introducing a unique and sustainable seed selection method that empowers women and could impact global food security.
Director: Daniela K...
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Protecting Panama
Guna communities have long been recognized for protecting the forests along their coastline; despite significant threats from farming and industrial logging, they are proven protectors of their ancestral forests.
Today they face uncertainty over the sea that surrounds their island homes. Increas...
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Brazil's Warrior Women
The humble babassu palm provides a livelihood for communities of women across North Eastern Brazil. Bread, charcoal, oil and soap are produced from the nut and husk; the surplus is sold on. But production has not always been so peaceful. Babassu: Brazil’s Warrior Women tells the story of the hard...
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Owners of the Forest
A new model of conservation is emerging. It is one that values the role of local communities and reconciles protecting biodiversity with the use and management of resources. In the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Michoacán, communities play a vital role in conservation efforts and several ...
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The Super Salmon
Proponents of a plan to construct a $5.2 billion hydroelectric mega-dam on Alaska’s Susitna River say it wouldn’t affect the watershed’s famous salmon runs because of its location – upstream of where fish usually swim. Tell that to The Super Salmon.
Director & Producer: Ryan Peterson
2016 | 25 m... -
Forced: Child Labour and Exploitation *Viewer Discretion Advised*
[Trigger Warning] FORCED sets out to capture the complexity and prolific occurrence of child labour and exploitation in Bangladesh. This film takes you into the streets of Dhaka, where children form part of the visual landscape: an integrated part of the work force, they work because society acce...
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Big Damage
Big Damage reveals the human face of logging in Papua New Guinea. It is a tale of exploitation and broken promises, where local people are treated as second-rate citizens in their own country by Malaysian logging companies and corrupt politicians.
Director: David Fedele
2011 | 23 min
Papua New ... -
Welcome To Canada
This short film tells the story of Mohammed Alsaleh, a young Syrian refugee granted asylum in Canada in 2014. After fleeing torture and imprisonment by the Assad regime, he is rebuilding his life. Mohammed counsels newly-arrived Syrian refugee families with the same Vancouver-based NGO that aided...
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Walking 2.0
After a construction site accident, Robert Woo was paralyzed from the chest down. Woo spent the next four years in a wheelchair. But even as he learned how to live his new life, he couldn’t stop asking one very simple question: How could humans build skyscrapers, but not something better than a w...
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The Poll Dance
The Poll Dance is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections....
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The Promise of Gene Therapy
When doctors told Karen Aiach there was no cure for her daughter’s brain disease, she took matters into her own hands. With no scientific background, she created a gene therapy business that can fix the faulty genes in patients like her daughter. Now she’s racing against the clock to extend her d...
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Run Rep Run
Run Rep Run is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections, and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections. I...
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So You Think You Can Vote
So You Think You Can Vote is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections, and governance in the lead up to the 201...
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Foreign Entanglements
Foreign Entanglements is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections and governance in the lead up to the 2016 ele...
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Break Free Newcastle
On the day the 2016 Australian election was called more than 2,000 people shut down the world’s largest coal port for a day. Kayakers blocked the Newcastle harbour entrance while others blocked a critical rail crossing. These protests were part of a global movement of people standing up to say no...
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Don't Frack Around in Florida
Food & Water Watch is a lead organization on the steering committee of the statewide coalition, Floridians Against Fracking. Fracking and drilling associated with unconventional extraction of oil and natural gas poses a direct and immediate threat to the drinking water, air, food, health, wildlif...
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Citizen Next
Citizen Next is part of “We the Voters: 20 Films for the People” which is a nonpartisan digital slate of 20 short films designed to inform, inspire and activate voters nationwide with fresh perspectives on the subjects of democracy, elections and governance in the lead up to the 2016 elections. W...
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Vibrations
Vibrations is a (partially) silent short film that gives an insight to the life of young girl who is profoundly deaf. The girl who remains anonymous identifies her struggles and experiences of living her lifestyle.
The film concludes with the message that being deaf - doesn't mean that you can't ... -
A Gentle Giant
Known to grow to the size of a small dog and live to 40 years old, the giant Tasmanian freshwater lobster is the largest of its kind in the entire world, but its home is being destroyed by sediment runoff from logging. However, there is hope – Todd Walsh the lobster man has grown up with this cr...
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Fortune's Gift: Faiza Bajalan
Fortune's Gift is an interactive web documentary. It captures 14 positive stories of refugees and ordinary Danish citizens who seek to strengthen our common humanity. In the wake of the refugee crisis that has swept across Europe, and the negative sentiments expressed through our politics and med...