Social justice topics often make it to the big screens and sweep Academy Award nominations, like The Help or CODA, but beyond this noise, it’s indie cinema that frequently dares to go deeper and shed light on issues in the places we’ve never heard of, or happening to the people in unique circumstances, the word on which don’t spread outside local news.
Whether fictional or documentary, this collection of movies about social justice humanizes social issues, making them not just topics, but lived experiences.
Racconto Сalabrese
#Drama #Family #Italian
Directed by: Renato Pagliuso
A road movie, with an Italian flair to it, speaking on complex family dynamics? Racconto Calabrese provides both entertainment and food for thought.
A man named Pasquale is returning to his hometown in Calabria after years away, mainly due to his Racconto Calabrese struggles with gambling. He’s lost his family, his community, and his sense of belonging. When he crosses paths with Nicola, an older man who’s been wrongfully accused of something he didn’t do, and has been cut off from his daughter, Pasquale decides to help. This sequence of events sets off a road trip that will ultimately serve as a journey of personal redemption for both of them.
Racconto Calabrese digs into the human side of things – the messy relationships, the quiet regrets, and the emotional baggage that comes with making big mistakes in life.
The film does a great job of showing the beauty of Calabria, while asking how we move forward when the past is holding us back, and whether we can ever make things right with the people we’ve hurt.
Melawan Stigma
#Drama #Shortfilm #LGBT #Indonesian
Directed by: Herlambang Hashemi
How do you break the stigma while sticking to your cultural gender norms? Is it worth it?
Gilang is a young man grappling with his gender identity in a conservative Muslim society. After a breakup, Gilang struggles with his emotions and begins dressing as a woman, believing that embodying femininity will help him reclaim what he’s lost. This journey leads him to a transformative conversation with a woman who challenges his perceptions. The film’s minimalist approach, focusing on intimate dialogues and expressions, allows viewers to connect deeply with the protagonist’s experience.
Melawan Stigma was produced by a small team of student filmmakers, with only five crew members involved in its creation in a period of over three years. Despite its modest production scale, Melawan Stigma has garnered international attention and was featured at the Garofano Rosso Film Festival in 2023.
Defenders of Life
#Drama #FemaleProtagonist #Spanish
Directed by: Dana Ziyasheva
Within the indigenous Ngäbe tribe in the quiet hills of Costa Rica, a girl named Esmeralda is pushed into an arranged marriage after becoming pregnant. While this particular cultural practice could already cause recoil among certain audiences, the reality spares no one: Esmeralda is 12 years old.
The film doesn’t preach, but it definitely makes you think about how cultural practices can sometimes clash with basic human rights. The film just shows you what’s happening and gently asks: “What would you do?”
Many of the people in the film aren’t actors at all. They’re real members of the Ngäbe community. Dana Ziyasheva, the director, worked closely with them and even premiered the film in their village before it screened elsewhere. After the film was shown at the Costa Rican Presidential Palace, it helped push forward a law to ban child marriage in the country.
Il dono
#Drama #Fantasy #Mystery #Thriller #ShortFilm #Italian
Directed by: Michelangelo Frammartino
Il Dono (The Gift), directed by Michelangelo Frammartino, in his ancestral hometown, lends authenticity to the portrayal of rural life. It is a minimalist film set in a slowly vanishing Calabrian village.
Without any dialogue, the film shows the simple, day-to-day lives of the villagers, capturing their routines and their connection to the land. Through these quiet moments, the film paints a picture of a way of life that’s slowly disappearing, offering a glimpse into the challenges of holding onto tradition while the world around you changes. The slow pace might not be for everyone, but if you’re in the mood for a film that’s more about feeling and atmosphere than plot, this one nails it.
The Venus Chained
#Documentary #French
Directed by: Guillaume Gevart
With an estimated 30,000 people caught in its grip—many of them minors—the film opens a necessary and unflinching conversation about exploitation that too often remains in the shadows.
What makes this documentary stand out is its humanity. Through candid interviews with survivors, activists, and advocates like departmental councilor Myriam Bigeard and the organization Mouvement du Nid, it doesn’t just present facts—it gives voice to the people fighting for change and those who’ve lived through the trauma. There’s no sensationalism, no preaching, just a clear-eyed look at the lives impacted and the systems that allow this to continue.
The Venus Chained doesn’t claim to have all the answers. Instead, it invites viewers to sit with the discomfort, to listen, and to reflect on how a society can better protect its most vulnerable. It’s a film about dignity, about truth, and about the urgent need for change.
Transhumance
#Documentary #EnviromentalIssues #Spanish
Directed by: Maria Bagnat
Transhumance takes you deep into the heart of Patagonia to see the ancient practice of seasonal livestock migration. This migratory lifestyle involves traversing the Andean valleys, moving from arid lands to temperate forests. The practice not only supports livestock but also implies the gathering of wild edible plants, essential for the community’s diet and cultural heritage.
The film focuses on indigenous Mapuche and criollo herders as they navigate the seasonal ordeal of moving their herds from the mountain pastures in the summer to the lower slopes during the winter. The high points of the trek are exhilarating, but there’s also a palpable sense of loss as you realize that this 2,000-year-old practice is hanging by a thread.
Ultimately, Transhumance is a social justice movie that thoughtfully explores how much of our world is truly sustainable in the long term. Can these age-old traditions survive in a world of unavoidable development and change?
Cold Love
#Action #Drama #Crime #English
Directed by: Lonnie Dupre, Deia Schlosberg
If you’re into both adventure and environmental issues, Cold Love follows Arctic explorer Lonnie Dupre on his incredible expeditions across some of the most remote and challenging regions on Earth. The film takes you through his solo adventures, like his historic non-motorized journey around Greenland and his treacherous solo climb of Denali in January.
It’s a perfect mix of awe-inspiring adventure and serious reflection. Lonnie Dupre’s passion and commitment to exploring these frozen places are contagious, and as he faces both the physical and emotional challenges of his expeditions, you can’t help but feel deeply moved. It’s not just about extreme feats—there’s a real human connection to the land and the people, especially the Inuit, who have lived in harmony with this landscape and fragile ecosystems for centuries.
Dying to Learn
#Drama #ShortFilm #English
Directed by: Leroy J. Barrett III
Dying to Learn is an emotionally charged short film set entirely within what begins as a typical day in an 11th-grade math class. Awkward glances, side conversations, and the usual teenage drama. Just a few moments later, the students find themselves caught in an active shooter situation.
Dying to Learn challenges audiences to reflect on the tragic normalization of school shootings and the systemic failures that surround them. In a country where access to firearms is so easy, is this short about survival, or about school safety, about how people process trauma? And about whether the systems’ citizens are supported to trust and protect them.
Featured at the 9th Annual San Diego Film Awards, this film resonates as a rallying cry for reforming school safety regulations, youth mental health, and the efficacy of institutional protocols.
Continuing the Conversation: Explore Movies About Social Justice on UVOtv
The power of social justice movies is that even as fiction, they can tell a true story, whether set in the U.S. or on distant islands in Oceania. On UVOtv, you’ll find a wide selection of compelling movies on human rights, and films exploring social issues – all available to stream for free.
Browse the collection and discover stories that matter.
