ABEPSS 70 anos

Thomas Hirschhorn – Gramsci Monument

January 2015 •English

Thomas Hirschhorn, one of the few Swiss artists of world renown, often touches on social wounds with his provocative works. In 2013, Hirschhorn built a monument for Italian philosopher and communist Antonio Gramsci in a public housing project in the Bronx. The contentious artist collaborated with neighborhood residents whose everyday life is impacted by poverty, unemployment and crime. Conflicts and misunderstandings are bound to arise as Hirschhorn’s absolute devotion to art is confronted with the resident’s lack of prospects and fatalistic outlooks. The «Gramsci Monument» becomes a summer-long experiment where diverse worlds collide: blacks and whites, the art elite and street kids, party people and poets, politicians and philosophers. A nuanced film about art, politics and passion.

Joe Swash: Teens in Care

July 2023 •English

Over the years, Joe Swash’s magnetic personality has endeared him to millions of TV viewers, but now he is delving into something more serious, and more personal. This documentary follows Joe as he explores the stories of teens in care over the age of 16, the largest-growing cohort in both child protection and care.

The City Where Children Disappear

May 2019 •Danish

Documentary film by the Danish TV channel DR about sexual abuse and suicide in Tasiilaq, Southeastern Greenland.

Boys without a home

June 2024 •Dutch

Young people who have to survive without a home base are helped on their way to a life on their own two feet at Wonen Met Kansen. Little by little, with trial and error, but with the rock-solid confidence that the supervisors have in them.

Agent of Happiness

July 2024 •Dzongkha

The documentary team follows two happiness agents in their forties who spend a month and a half on the road twice a year, going door-to-door with their questionnaires in isolated villages in the Himalayas. The filmmakers undertake to provide an intimate insight into the daily lives and desires of Bhutanese people, and also seek the answer to the universal question of whether happiness can really be measured. Gross National Happiness promises a heart-warming journey into a mysterious, fairytale-like world, which is the exact opposite of the social order dominated by consumption and desires.

The Interrupters

July 2011 •English

The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters — former gang members who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once caused.

Toubib

August 2024 •French

Pactes de silenci

November 2018 •Catalan

Due to the increasing privatization of basic public services in Spain, companies such as BB Serveis are accused of misappropriating several million euros of public money intended to finance care for the elderly and other dependent persons.

The Typewriter and Other Headaches

April 2024 •French

This third opus will take us into the homes of some of the ADAMANT and AVERROES & ROSA PARKS’ protagonists, during the visits led by their caregivers.

Where's Foster?

January 2021 •English

Social workers dispel myths about why children are removed from their biological parents, breaking down their overwhelming workload. Lawyers uncover the harsh reality of young children navigating the legal system. Advocacy organizations try to keep children safe and away from predators. An eclectic array of interviews from foster care alumni explore their connections (or lack thereof) with social workers, the fragile bond with each foster home, how trust can fall apart, and how those unable to adapt spent time in group homes. The film concludes with alumni success stories, working to remove the stigma of foster care.

Goeie mensen

July 2025 •Dutch

Sjaak and Clara founded the very first food bank in the Netherlands in 2002. Since handing over their responsibilities at the food bank, they have continued their mission unabated. They still run a soup kitchen and the Social Café Onder de Oranjeboom (Under the Orange Tree), where vulnerable members of society can find a hot meal, support, and a good conversation. For many years, this dedicated couple has been committed to helping people in Rotterdam living in poverty.

DPJ

December 2017 •French

A direct, uncompromising look into the complex machinery of Quebec’s youth protection services (known as the DPJ). https://lustitia.com/en/productions/dpj/

Rhymecology: Write Better Rhymes

May 2021 •English

The world of hip-hop lyrics has changed, simple rhyme schemes just don't cut it. Rhymes are put under a microscope, and there is no lyrical leeway for emerging artists. This gripping documentary tells the story of Jeff Walker.

American Winter

March 2013 •English

Documentary feature film that follows the personal stories of families struggling in the aftermath of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Filmed over the course of one winter in one American city, the film presents an intimate snapshot of the state of the nation's economy as it is playing out in millions of American families, and highlights the human consequences of the decline of the middle class and the fracturing of the American Dream

Schuld en boete

August 2024 •Dutch

Five people talk about how easy it is to build up and how difficult it is to get out of it again. They fall ten prey to the powerful industry. Fines and extra costs make them so aware that they can no longer be solved on their own.

Chasing Bonnie & Clyde

November 2015 •English

'Don't build prisons, they cost too much!' In this era of Great Recession, the conservative and tough-on-crime State of Texas takes an unprecedented path by becoming a social justice leader with programs that rehabilitate offenders. Looks like rape, abuse and death are no longer parts of the solution for modern-day Bonnie and Clyde...

Soldat for frelseren

January 1982 •Danish

Hotel Laide

May 2017 •Portuguese

Les Enfants de la Bonne Mère : Rue d'Aubagne

August 2024 •French

50 anni di CLU

March 2024 •Italian

It's December 16, 1972, 50 years ago. The first social cooperative in the world is born in Trieste. It was formed by 28 people: two sociologists, two psychologists, five nurses, a healthcare assistant, two doctors and sixteen private individuals who all have the same residential address: via San Cilino 16, Trieste. They are interned in a psychiatric hospital and therefore have no civil and political rights: they cannot vote, marry or make a will. Imagine founding a cooperative. Thus the Court of Trieste rejected the request to establish the cooperative. It would have been a long march through the institutions.