Documentary Educational Resources

09/22/2026

Join us on Wednesday, September 23, in conversation with filmmakers Nellie Kluz (Young Bird Season, The Dells) and Tyler Zoanni (The Ladies) as we explore the beauty and strength of the short film form, both from the perspective of filmmakers and through the lens of educational distribution. Watch the films in our showcase and come share your perspectives!

Register here:
https://events.humanitix.com/filmmakers-in-conversation-distilling-the-short-form

📅 Wednesday, September 23
🕥 10:00am ET / 4:00pm CET
💻 Online

09/22/2026

COMING SOON: RASPUTIN'S SHADOW is a sensorial ethnographic exploration of the interrelationship between humans, other-than-human beings, and technologies that shape social life in communities across the province of Piacenza, Italy.

The film traces efforts of care and conservation, while also exposing the tensions and complexities of coexisting with wildlife. This is conveyed audiovisually through an experimental layering of conversation fragments with environmental and animal sounds, unfolding across fields, forests, the Trebbia River, and the industrial outskirts of the city.

Acknowledging the deep interdependence of all beings, the film invites viewers to reflect on what it means—and what it might take—to live alongside wolves and other forms of life.

Pietro Francesco Pingitore
27 min, 2025

https://store.der.org/rasputins-shadow-p1097.aspx

09/22/2026

Now available for classroom use and campus screenings
https://store.der.org/until-the-sun-dies-p1099.aspx

UNTIL THE SUN DIES is an award-winning documentary exploring human rights, indigenous land sovereignty, and state violence in contemporary "post-conflict" Colombia. The ongoing struggles for justice and self-determination among the country’s marginalized communities are illuminated through the stories of two community leaders––Nobel Peace Prize nominee Luz Marina Bernal, who is seeking justice for her son and other victims of extrajudicial killings by the Colombian Army, and Albeiro Camayo, a Nasa Indigenous leader defending ancestral lands from armed groups and multinational encroachment.

Jonas Brander, Catalina Flórez
88 min, 2023
in Spanish and Nasa language

09/22/2026

Our latest Circle Cinema film program, Everyday Devotions is online.

https://www.der.org/circle-cinema/

Each of these six short films featured in this is a patient window into a small world. These glimpses honor the everyday, the easily overlooked, and the ordinary: beliefs held, crafts mastered, pastimes played, passions shared, rituals kept, and knowledge transmitted. These films remind us that these small acts matter - they are humorous, beautiful, and telling - and that attention to details is sometimes more than it seems, connecting the intimate to the wider currents of our time.

Also still available:

Circle Cinema 2: American Belonging offers intimate glimpses into families and communities across the US: intergenerational bonds, hyphenated identities, and the quiet ways people pass down who they are.

Circle Cinema 1: Our inaugural Flagship Program offers a first glimpse into our catalog. Together, these films offer a rich and varied exploration of how people live, remember, adapt, and connect across cultures.

Our newest Circle Cinema film program, Everyday Devotions is now online.

https://www.der.org/circle-cinema/

Each of these six short films featured in this is a patient window into a small world. These glimpses honor the everyday, the easily overlooked, and the ordinary: beliefs held, crafts mastered, pastimes played, passions shared, rituals kept, and knowledge transmitted. These films remind us that these small acts matter - they are humorous, beautiful, and telling - and that attention to details is sometimes more than it seems, connecting the intimate to the wider currents of our time.

Also still available:

Circle Cinema 2: American Belonging offers intimate glimpses into families and communities across the US: intergenerational bonds, hyphenated identities, and the quiet ways people pass down who they are.

Circle Cinema 1: Our inaugural Flagship Program offers a first glimpse into our catalog. Together, these films offer a rich and varied exploration of how people live, remember, adapt, and connect across cultures.

06/24/2026

COMING SOON! UNTIL THE SUN DIES (Hasta que se apague el sol) follows two Colombian community leaders in their pursuit of justice: Albeiro Camayo, a Nasa Indigenous leader defending ancestral lands from armed groups and multinational encroachment, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Luz Marina Bernal, seeking justice for victims of extrajudicial killings by the Colombian Army, including her son. Their intertwined stories embody the enduring resistance and quest for peace and dignity among Colombia’s marginalized communities.

Jonas Brander
88 min, 2023
in Spanish and Nasa Yuwe
with English, Spanish, French, and German subtitles

06/12/2026

📣 DER is hiring a Sales & Outreach Lead for institutional film distribution. We’re looking for a relationship-oriented sales specialist to grow our reach across institutions and expand our sales of DER films. Familiarity with academic or educational spaces is a plus. If this sounds like you, we’d love to hear from you.

Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/ew82JtaY

📍 Massachusetts
📅 Application deadline: June 30th
🕛 20h/week

05/29/2026

Coming Up! Our Community Circle event series continues with a conversation with filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi, director of GOOD LUCK SOUP on Thursday, June 4th. We hope to see you there! Get your ticket at the link in the comments.

ABOUT THE FILM
For filmmaker Matthew Hashiguchi, growing up half Japanese/half Italian in a white Irish-Catholic neighborhood in Cleveland, Ohio, was a difficult experience. In "Good Luck Soup," Hashiguchi sets out on a journey to discover how the rest of his multi-racial family made sense of their lives and their Japanese American heritage.

This event is presented by the DER Community Circle membership program. To learn more and become a member visit our website: https://www.der.org/membership

05/29/2026

NEW RELEASE! GOODBYE, CAPTAIN (ADEUS, CAPITÃO) relates the story of Brazil's indigenous Gavião people and their efforts to maintain their language, livelihood, and identity throughout a half-century of upheavals. At the center of this historical narrative is "Captain" Krôhôkrenhum Jopaipairé, leader of the Gavião community in the south of Pará. Krôhôkrenhum shares the history of his people and details his commitment to restoring the community’s cultural traditions.

Woven throughout this history is the relationship between the captain and Vincent Carelli, who began filming the community using a VHS camera in 1987. The film opens with Carelli’s return of an audio-visual archive to the Gavião community and the promise of fulfilling Krôhôkrenhum’s wish to maintain the memory of his people.

LINK IN COMMENTS

Vincent Carelli
178 min, 2022
in Gavião and Portuguese
English, Spanish, Portuguese and French subtitles

05/09/2026

Don’t miss the next event in our Filmmakers In Conversation series!

From Research to Community in THE INTERSECTION
Tuesday, May 12 at 4:00pm ET / 1:00 pm PT
https://events.humanitix.com/in-conversation-the-intersection

Jessamine Irwin, director of THE INTERSECTION and NYU Assistant Professor, and film protagonist Cecile Thornton, will be joining us in conversation on the role language plays in shaping belonging and community for minorities and newcomers, as explored through Cecile’s story and the living culture of Maine French.

THE INTERSECTION is streaming now as part of our latest Circle Cinema program, "American Belonging." This event is presented by the DER Community Circle. Become a member today!

https://www.der.org/membership/

05/09/2026

NEW RELEASE!
https://store.der.org/the-song-of-aida-p1092.aspx

THE SONG OF AIDA (LA CHANSON D'AIDA) is a decades-spanning coming-of-age film. This intimate portrait follows Aida, a young Romani woman on the outskirts of Bari, Italy, as she grows from adolescence into adulthood. Over twenty years, we witness her pursuit of independence and her voice against the obstacles she faces both from her traditionally patriarchal community and an Italian society marked by strong anti-Roma sentiment.

Giovanni Princigalli
color, 90 min, 2024
in Romani, Romanian, and Italian

Particularly relevant for: European Studies, Minority Studies, Romani Studies, Gender & Women’s Studies