Kathleen Foster

Last Name: 
Foster
First Name: 
Kathleen

Since 1992, British born filmmaker Kathleen Foster, has produced videotapes for various community organizations and independent documentaries such as: 2004: Point of Attack 46 mins. Distributor, Cinema Guild Point of Attack chronicles the post-911 racial profiling, large-scale round-ups, detentions and mass deportations of Arab, Muslim and South Asians as part of the government's "War on Terrorism," framing the plight of these immigrant communities within the broader context of the government's "other war" against civil liberties being waged via the USA Patriot Act. PRESS "This important film is a damning indictment of how the government over-reacted after 9/11, singling out and targeting people who had nothing to do with terrorism. It should have the Widest possible distribution and viewing by the American public." Abdeen Jabara, Civil Rights Attorney, Past President American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee Currently in production: Afghan Women (working title) 60 mins. A film about Afghanistan over the last 25 years told from the point of view of Afghan women, who were mostly excluded from public life but whose situation and opportunities rise and fall in direct relation to the changing political climate. The story of the courage and commitment, that passes from one generation to the next, of a remarkable group of women, is both a disturbing and amazing chronicle of the recent history of this Central Asian country. 2001: Nicaragua: Reclaiming the Revolution, 49 mins (Also in Spanish) Distibutor, Latin American Video Archives A stark portrait of conditions in Nicaragua, tracing the 20yr. history since the Sandinista revolution. PRESS Nicaragua: Reclaiming the Revolution " has captured complexities of the political evolution of the FSLN that have eluded some academic writers. Stills and video are used deftly to show the tumultuous history of Nicaragua in the 1980's." Matilde Zimmermann, author of Sandinista: Carlos Fonseca and the Nicaraguan Revolution (Duke University Press 2000) "Clearly articulating the devastating effect of the global economy on local communities, this powerful film demonstrates the value of cross-cultural relationships and shows one community's desire to make a difference beyond charity towards change." Rev. David Dyson, Lafayette Ave. Presbyterian Church, People of Faith Network. 1998: Lessons in Class Struggle, 53 mins Distributor, Third World Newsreel A film about the battle waged by parents, students and teachers to stop budget cuts to New York City's already devastated public schools. PRESS "A powerful film that forces all the basic issues about racial justice. Students and teachers speak with eloquence and urgency about realities they know first hand. No euphemisms. No evasions. No clichés. It has the ring of truth." Jonathon Kozol, educator, author of Savage Inequalities, Death At An Early Age. "Kathleen Foster has produced and directed a video that focuses on a REAL issue of public import . . . that the belief in justice and equality and resistance to their absence did not die with the movements of the 1960's." Nancy Bunch, Dean Empire State College, SUNY 1992: Coal Wars: The Battle in Rum Creek, 28 minutes. Distributor, Filmmakers Library Filmed in an isolated hollow of West Virginia, this documentary shows the violent clash between miners and the two giant coal companies that dominate their lives during a 1989-90 strike. PRESS "Kathleen Foster blends echoes of the 1921 Blair Mountain strike with a contemporary sense of the declining strength of national unions." D. Ledbetter, Village Voice. Member: New York Women in Film & Television, Association of Independent Video & Filmmakers.