“We’re Taking Our Country Back” is a short documentary Columbia College alum Parson Brown and senior documentary student Kevin Gosztola worked on for the “One Chicago, One Nation” Online Video Contest. It takes a look at the challenges communities face culturally, politically, and socially as a result of a growing faction in America known as the Tea Party. It asks communities to consider how they plan to confront the growing threat to public services and social safety nets in communities as a result of an agenda that cries out against Big Government, which is being pushed by Americans who despise America’s first African-American president.

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Also, International Student Documentary Competition (ISDC) coordinator and Viva Documentary advisor Anuradha Rana and Columbia television instructor Laurie Little have a short, “Disability Pride” in the contest.

Their film:

“…weaves ‘on the street’ interviews with verite footage of the 6th Annual Disability Pride Parade in 2009, to convey human experiences that promote pride through the belief that disability is a natural part of human diversity, and should be celebrated. The parade, held every year in Chicago, is the first of its kind in the world and people travel far and wide to attend the event. The next parade is on July 24, 2010 and the filmmaker’s hope that this film can persuade more people to attend and show their support for Disability Rights.”

The two filmmakers have already received pages of comments and many, many votes making it highly likely they will be one of the finalists in the Documentary category. And, if you haven’t voted and left a comment yet, please do.

The contest ends April 30th. If anymore Viva Docsters post videos, they will be posted here.

A post on AlterNet.org details the new documentary, “The Coca-Cola Case,” which “chronicles the relentless efforts of American lawyers trying to take the soft drink giant to court over the killings of 10 union leaders, who represented workers at Coke bottling plants in Colombia.”

The post says of the film:

The documentary splits its time nicely between two battles: the court fight waged by Daniel Kovalik, lawyer for the United Steelworkers union, on behalf of Columbian union members, and the public awareness crusade of Ray Rogers, who directed the Campaign to Stop Killer Coke.

Well-shot and polished, this social justice procedural can sometimes lag — primarily because it relies on talking heads and doesn’t delve enough into the lives of Coke workers and those of the brave union activists in Colombia. Of course, the directors — German Guiterrez and Carmen Garcia — would have made many editorial decisions regarding their focus. I just would have appreciated just a little more on the daily struggles of the unionists.

That aside, “The Coca-Cola Case” is a fascinating portrayal of corporate irresponsibility and greed. Kovalik himself is a great character, one who tirelessly pours himself into the cause as he spearheads the legal battle to get compensation for the families of the dead unionists.

For more, click here.

*Here’s the trailer: