What Do We Want Films

Description

What Do We Want Films is a documentary production and educational distribution company led by independent filmmaker Annalise Ophelian. We offer educational licensing for award-winning documentaries that illuminate hidden histories, stimulate critical thinking, and inspire conversation. Our current offerings are all available for immediate digital download, to meet the changing needs of your classroom and on-line learning. 

What Do We Want Films. “We Bring Stories To Light,” n.d. https://www.whatdowewantfilms.com/.
Works in catalogue
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    Off World

    film/video, 2009

    Winner of the Best Canadian Feature Film at the 2010 ReelWorld International Film Festival Off World is an ethereal and eye-opening portrait of one of the Philippines' most notorious slums. Lucky, a Filipino adoptee, makes the emotionally laden journey from his home in Toronto to the Philippines to discover his birthplace: Smokey Mountain. Once known as the Kingdom of Tondo, Smokey Mountain is now a vast urban slum surrounding a mountain of garbage, named for the methane gases that visibly leak from refuse accumulated over the course of more than half a century. Guided by Julia, a worker at a local NGO, Lucky discovers he has a gay, genderqueer brother and grapples not only with the glaring poverty, but with the ramifications of queer life in the Philippines. In order to define himself and connect with his roots, Lucky immerses himself in the culture of Smokey Mountain and his brother's life, uncovering still more tangible links to his past.

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    You Are My Divine

    film/video, 2021

    A trans Chicane swells in love for trans and non-binary BIPOC community as he harmonizes with the tremble of his pre-testosterone voice.

  • The poster riffs on a handmade, collage, punk style. 5 members pose in front of a venue with 2 guitars. The title, Vulveeta, is written in large red lettering and drips a yellow liquid off it.

    Vulveeta

    film/video, 2022

    The riot grrrl movement is back—or maybe it never went away? New-ager and former frontwoman of the 90s band Vulveeta, Grrrilda Beausoleil is getting the band back together in time for her 50th birthday and hires a film crew to document the whole thing. But a lot has changed in the 20 years since she walked out on her bandmates: San Francisco’s dot com boom has edged art and music out of the city, and not everyone in the band is ready to trust Grrrilda to navigate it. Somewhat expectedly, the unresolved tensions between the band members themselves threaten to end their triumphant comeback before it begins. Set in San Francisco and made with a crowd-funded budget, this completely improvised mockumentary is directed by and stars Maria Breaux, whose short film Lucha won the Audience Award at Frameline33. In this tribute to folks who grew up in the punk, riot grrrl, and indie music scenes, Breaux, StormMiguel Florez, J Aguilar, Dakota Billops-Breaux, and Sarah Korda make up the cast with cameos from punk and local icons Lynn Breedlove, Allison Wolfe, Hilary Ronen, and Per Sia in this spirited local comedy.