May 8-9, 2026
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Some stories demand to be seen.
This film festival brings together powerful documentaries and honest, courageous dialogue on the most pressing issues of our time. This is not passive viewing; it’s an invitation to be disturbed, moved, and ultimately galvanized.
Over the course of Friday and Saturday, we will screen a curated selection of films confronting the realities that too many Americans live every day and that too many others look away from.
Each screening will be followed by a discussion panel led by local leaders working on the front lines of these issues, guiding honest conversation about what we’re seeing on screen and, more importantly, where we go from here.
Join us to bring community together, sit with hard truths, and start charting a path forward.
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May 8th
- 7:00 PM: Trouble the Water (Working Title) with discussion panel (Auditorium)
- (Preview of the New Edit of ) Trouble the Water: Conversations to Disrupt Racism and Dominance is not a comfortable watch, and it’s not meant to be. Originally released in 2020 as a four-part series, the film has been re-edited into a feature-length documentary with new footage added to reflect the reality of America in 2026. It is a direct, unflinching examination of race, racism, and the systems that sustain them. This screening will be followed by a facilitated discussion to process, reflect, and figure out what we do next.
Discussion Panelists:
Nicole Hines, Regional Director of the Mid-Hudson Valley & Westchester NAACP
Rev. Dr. Brandon McLauchlin, Pastor, St. Charles AME Zion Church,
Diana Wilkins, Director of Strategy & Impact at Center for Safety & Change
May 9th
- 9:00-11:00 AM: Flint with discussion panel (Auditorium)
- Flint: The Poisoning of an American City: 100,000 people poisoned by lead. A city’s water supply is deliberately neglected. And somehow, the country moved on. This film follows the environmental history of the Flint River and the residents who still live with its consequences. But this isn’t just Flint’s story: 5,300 American cities are currently in violation of federal lead rules. Excessive lead has been detected in nearly 2,000 public water systems across all 50 states. This film asks how it happened, and demands we pay attention before it happens again.
- 11:00-12:00 PM: Locked in a Box with discussion panel (Auditorium)
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Locked in a Box: They fled violence and persecution in search of safety. They found a prison cell. Locked in a Box follows immigrants held in U.S. detention facilities, a system that has ballooned since the 1990s to hold up to 34,000 people on any given day across roughly 200 facilities, many of them for-profit. Behind the political rhetoric are real people, real stories, and a mandatory bed quota that treats human beings as inventory. This film was released in 2015. The system it documents has only grown more funded, more expansive, and more brutal. Watching it now isn’t history: it’s a briefing.
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Discussion Panel: Nelcy Garcia DeLeon, Board Chair Proyecto Faro
- 12:00-1:00 PM: Lunch
- 1:00-2:30 PM: Trigger with discussion panel (Auditorium)
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Trigger: The Ripple Effect of Gun Violence: When Trigger was released in 2017, 30,000 Americans were dying from gun violence every year. Today that number is 47,000, a 57% increase in nine years. Since the inception of gun violence stats being formally tracked, more Americans have been killed by guns on home soil than died in every U.S. war combined. This film stays with the stories the headlines don’t. Through conversations with ER surgeons, trauma chaplains, survivors, families, students, and law enforcement, the film tracks what a single shooting does to a person, a family, a community – long after the cameras leave.
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Discussion Panel: Susan Bloom and Kris Sweeney, Moms Demand Action Rockland Chapter
- 3:00-5:00 PM: American Agitators with discussion panel (Auditorium)
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American Agitators: Fred Ross Sr. spent his life in the background by design. Starting in the 1930s, he organized Dust Bowl refugees, helped Japanese Americans find jobs and housing after they were released from internment camps, and built voting power among Mexican American and African American communities to dismantle school segregation across California. He wrote the playbook that organizers are still using today. His definition of the job: “A good organizer is a social arsonist who goes around setting people on fire.” American Agitators tells the story of what that fire built, and what it’s still building. The tactics Ross pioneered are alive in movements happening right now. This is the film for this moment.
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- 7:00 PM: Trouble the Water (Working Title) with discussion panel (Auditorium)
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David Barnhart Director – Counter Stories ProductionsBarnhart is an award-winning documentary filmmaker for Counter Stories Productions (CSP) and is committed to story and film as a resource for wider community engagement around justice issues.
Flint: The Poisoning of an American City, Trigger, To Breathe Free, and Locked in a Box have received awards and become resources for justice movements across the country.
“Filmmaking is deeply rooted in listening and relationships, and in this collective process, we are invited to work alongside communities and amplify voices/counter stories that challenge dominant narratives.”
Michelle Muñiz – Resource Development and Outreach Associate at Presbyterian Disaster AssistanceMuniz’s work focuses on expanding the reach of PDA’s efforts through educational materials and communication tools. She collaborates with Counter Stories Productions by supporting documentary production.
She brings over a decade of experience managing short and long-term volunteer opportunities in Puerto Rico and Miami FL, including developing educational resources to support the volunteer work.
Michelle also has a background in journalism, particularly through photography and video, which has strengthened her ability to document stories, amplify community voices, and support recovery work.
Raymond Telles Director – American AgitatorsTelles’thirty-five-year career in film and television includes numerous documentaries and segments for PBS, ABC, NBC, Nat Geo, Discovery and Univision. Documentaries produced and directed include: Pedro E. Guerrero: A Photographer’s Journey (American Masters), The Storm that Swept Mexico (PBS), The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle (PBS), Children of the Night (Frontline/PBS) Inside the Body Trade (National Geographic) and The Peril and The Promise-and PBS series “Latino Americans.” Among the honors these programs have received are the Columbia DuPont, Peabody, Emmy and Alma awards. Telles is an Associate Adjunct Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies and Artis tin Residence at the Latinx Research Center and Affiliated Faculty at the Center for Latin American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2018 he was awarded the Distinguished Teaching Award, Division of Social Sciences, College of Letters and Science.
John Heffernan Executive Producer – American AgitatorsHeffernan has over thirty years of experience in leadership roles in human rights, rule of law, democracy and governance, humanitarian relief and post-conflict reconstruction projects in the United States, Africa, South America, Asia and Europe. He has served as executive director of Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights’ Speak Truth To Power; director of the Genocide Prevention Initiative at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum; senior Investigator with Physicians for Human Rights; chief of party for the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs in Guyana, South America; founder and executive director of the Coalition for International Justice; and country representative for the former Yugoslavia and Sudan for the International Rescue Committee. He was trained as a community organizer by Fred Ross. He serves as the board chair for Disability Rights International and the Educator’s Institute for Human Rights and is on the board of Social Documentary Network.
Margo Feinberg Executive Producer – American AgitatorsFeinberg is a labor union attorney with the law firm of Schwartz, Steinsapir, Dohrmann & Sommers (SSD&S). For over 40 years, she has served both as counsel and as a strategic advisor to several of America’s major unions, tenaciously pushing boundaries to redefine laws and strengthen the rights of private and public sector employees. Married to Fred Ross Jr. until his death in 2022, as Executive Producer of American Agitators, Margo is carrying forward Fred’s legendary dedication to organizing for social and economic justice. Through her role in producing American Agitators, Margo honors Fred’s lifelong commitment to change and his extraordinary ability to inspire others, through powerful storytelling, to take action.
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May 8th – (Preview) Trouble the Water: Conversations to Disrupt Racism and Dominance
Nicole “Nikki” Hines is a lifelong resident of Nyack, New York, and a tireless advocate for racial, gender, and social justice. She currently serves as the Director of Community Engagement for Racial/Gender Justice & Social Change at the Center for Safety & Change in New City, NY, where she works to empower communities, amplify marginalized voices, and advance equity through education, advocacy, and action.
In 2015, Nikki founded the Teen Council, a social justice-centered youth leadership group that provides a safe and empowering space for young people to explore activism, advocacy, and community building. Under her leadership, the Teen Council became a model for youth-led change.
In June 2020, following the murder of George Floyd, Nikki and the Nyack Center Teen Council organized the largest protest in Nyack’s history, drawing more than 1,500 participants. Their collective action sparked daily demonstrations in the Village of Nyack and led to the bold public declaration of “BLACK LIVES MATTER” painted on Main Street. That same year, Nikki co-founded the Rockland Peoples Panel on Policing, a grassroots coalition formed in response to New York State’s Executive Order 203 to address systemic inequities in policing.
Nikki’s leadership and unwavering commitment to justice continued as she was elected President of the Nyack Branch of the NAACP in 2020, where she has strengthened coalitions between local organizations, youth, and community leaders.
In 2023, Nikki realized a lifelong dream when she not only met but also hosted Dr. Angela Davis, the renowned activist and scholar, at a historic community event in Rockland County. Despite initial resistance to Dr. Davis’s presence at a local school, Nikki mobilized partners—including the NAACP, Pilgrim Baptist Church, and other grassroots organizations—to ensure that students and community members could experience Dr. Davis’s powerful message of liberation and justice firsthand.
Her transformative work has earned her induction into the Rockland County Civil & Human Rights Hall of Fame (2024) in recognition of her outstanding contributions to equity and justice. Under her leadership, the Rockland County Legislature also voted unanimously to ensure the visibility and replacement of the Thurgood Marshall statue, reaffirming the county’s commitment to honoring Black excellence and civil rights history.
On January 1, 2026 Nikki was appointed by NAACP NYS President L Joy Williams to be the Regional Director for Mid-Hudson & Westchester
Beyond her activism, Nikki finds her greatest joy and purpose in family. She is a proud partner to her junior high school sweetheart, Anthony Rodriguez, and a devoted mother to three amazing children: DaShawn (30), Justen (25), and Jazlyn (10).
At the heart of all she does, Nikki believes in the transformative power of community, youth leadership, and the ongoing struggle for racial and gender justice.
Rev. Dr. Brandon D. McLauchlin is a devoted pastor, educator, and community leader currently serving as pastor of St. Charles AME Zion Church. Called to ministry at an early age, he began preaching at just 17 years old and has remained committed to proclaiming the Gospel, teaching truth, and serving God’s people with compassion and excellence.He earned a degree in General Music from Fayetteville State University, a Master of Divinity from Campbell University Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from Drew Theological School. His academic and spiritual training have equipped him to lead both in the church and in the broader community.
Throughout his ministry, Dr. McLauchlin has served in numerous leadership capacities, including Prayer Coordinator for the North Eastern Episcopal District, Chair of District Studies, and Director of Evangelism for the Westchester District. Prior to relocating to Rockland County in 2017, he faithfully served as both assistant pastor and pastor in Fayetteville.
Under his leadership, St. Charles AME Zion Church has embraced the mission of “Loving God, Loving People,” while actively serving the community through food drives, diaper drives, school supply collections, and outreach partnerships with local nonprofits.
In recognition of his impact, Rockland County proclaimed The Reverend Doctor Brandon D. McLauchlin Day in 2021. In addition to his pastoral work, he serves as an educator at St. Thomas Aquinas College, where he teaches Race, Religion, and Social Justice. He is married to Nicole McLauchlin.
Diana Wilkins is the current Director of Strategy & Impact at Center for Safety & Change. Diana also works with Social Justice Initiatives LLC, a consulting agency that thinks differently, infusing leadership and marketing strategies through an anti-racist, social justice lens.She has worked in leadership, development, strategic planning, and other avenues of nonprofit succession, as well as in graphic design and marketing, and special events and fundraising initiatives.
Diana was co-founder and Deputy Director of the Rockland County Pride Center, an LGBTQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer) organization with an anti-racist, social justice mission. She utilizes best practices while providing services, resources, and programming for the LGBTQ+ and TGNCNB Community, ensuring that everyone is treated equally and with affirmation and authenticity.
Diana has a wide and vast knowledge in program development, leadership accountability and growth, development and strategy and education, training initiatives. In her professional career, Diana fought on the front lines for Marriage Equality in New York State as well as for GENDA in New York State, teaches college level literature and writing, and is a team member of Social Justice Initiatives, LLC.
Diana attended the College of New Rochelle where she studied English and Journalism and has her Master of Arts in Literature from Queens College and her Master of Fine Arts in Poetry from Lesley University. Diana teaches literature and writing at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Diana loves literature, poetry, and advocacy and has had the opportunity to run retreats for women to tell their stories and collaborate on writing, storytelling, and creative space development for women in Rockland County, NY. Diana has two poems, and one piece of photography published in Newtown Writers anthology “Off the Rocks”. She is currently writing her forthcoming memoir, The Cartographer’s Maps.
May 9th – Coming Soon!
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This event is FREE to attend. Anyone interested in donating to our programming scholarship fund so we can keep our programming accessible can do so at the event.
- Commuter Friday and Saturday – (includes lunch on Saturday)
- Commuter Friday Only
- Commuter Saturday only – (includes lunch)
You MUST register for this event, as spaces are limited. Please use the registration link below. If you need help registering or would like to stay overnight, contact our programs team at 845.786.5674 x1107 for details.
Accessibility Information
Stony Point Center is committed to making the Reel Justice Film Festival accessible to all attendees.Parking & Entry: Accessible parking spaces are available on site. The building entrance is accessible via ramp with handrails, and the hallway leading to the auditorium is also ramped with handrails.
Restrooms: A large accessible, gender-inclusive restroom is located just outside the auditorium.
Health & Safety: Hand sanitizing stations are available at every entrance. Masking is welcome but not required; masks are available on site for anyone who needs one.
