What happened to August ...

Feature Films I watched ... 
The Waiting City
Exit Through The Gift Shop
The Most Dangerous Man in America
I Love You Too
Mother and Child
I Am Love

TV Shows I raved about to others... 
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, as always

Books I read ... 
Stories of Eva Luna by Isabel AllendeSideways by Patrick O'Neill
Chasing Che: A Motorcycle Journey in Search of the Guevara Legend by Patrick Symmes
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson 


Music I added to my Iphone ... 
Original Soundtrack, Frida      (Somehow I added this album again, but I love it enough to pay for it twice!) 
To Be Free & Unemployed In Summertime by Emiliana Torrini
Until The Morning Rewound by Thievery Corporation


Blogs or Websites that I followed ... 
The Hidden Pousada
I spent July & August travelling around Chile, Brazil & Argentina. Whilst, looking for accommodation for our road trip I came across this website. I subscribed to the newsletter after falling in love with several properties they reviewed. 
Hostelworld
Whilst, travelling I also looked up and booked accommodation from this website.  Having said that I found the rate was better when I booked directly with the Hostel than the prices I found on Hostelworld. 
As I was booking only a few days prior, i got on the spot rates. 

Places I indulged in... 
Espirito Santo Restaurant  Santa Tereza, Rio De Janiero, Brazil
Our favourite meal in Brazil. 
We shared:
Bolinho crocante de quiejo coalho (White cheese croquettes served with a chutney made from the Amazonian fruit, Açaí.
Arroz com sete folhas e sete ervas (A rice dish with seven greens and seven herbs cooked with a hint of garlic and Sicilian Lemon)
Tilapa no pacotinho (Filet of San Pietro fish stuffed with heart of palm served with cream of banana scented with Amazonian ginger, accompanied with rice and fried banana. 




Random stuff ... 
My husband and I went travelling for 6 weeks to Chile, Brazil and Argentina. 

Films that convey a social message

Maybe you never thought of films as a platform for social change, but back in September 2004  Hildy Gottlieb of Help 4 NonProfits & Tribes,  started a thread on CharityChannel that asked for a list of 'recommended' films that were said to convey an important social message. 


The list is now being updated by Planned Legacy:
Last Updated: April 24, 2010

12 Angry Men - the justice system - Review
2008 Human Rights Watch International Film Festival - Film Reviews
A Beautiful Mind - mental illness - Review
A Civil Action - justice - Review
Ali - race and success - Review
All The President's Men - political corruption, investigative journalism - Review
Ann Jillian Story, The - cancer - Review
A Raisin in the Sun - family crisis, prejudice - Review
A Simple Twist of Fate - greed, adoption, human redemption - Review
A Time To Kill - vigilante justice, racism - Review
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - poverty, alcoholism - Review
American History X - racism, hatred, violence - Review
Antwone Fisher - child abuse - Review
An Inconvenient Truth - global warming, environment - Review
As Good As It Gets - health care system - Review
Avatar - environment, survival, culture, species - Review
Awakenings - biomedical research - Review
Away From Her - Alzheimer's Disease - Review
Bandit Queen - culture, India, pain, retribution, based on true story - Review
Beautiful Thing - coming out (young gay male) - Review
Benny and Joon - love, mental illness, tolerance - Review
Best Years Of Our Lives, The - war and its effect on family - Review
Beyond The Gates - genocide, failure to help - Review
Bicycle Thief, The - poverty, desperation - Review
Big Fish - father/son relationships - Review
Billy Elliot - gender role definitions - Review
Bird Cage, The - tolerance, love - Review
Blood Diamond - greed, poverty, family - Review
Bob Roberts - political satire - Review
Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The - The Holocaust, tragedy, friendship - Review
Boys Don't Cry - transgender, hate, intolerance, ignorance - Review
Born on the 4th of July - war, political protest - Review
Bowling For Columbine - violence - Review
Boyz 'N the Hood - poverty, crime - Review
Brians' Song - true story, friendship, race relations, courage, sports - Review
Bridge To Terabithia - the power of friendship - Review
Bus 174 - poverty, violence - Review
Calendar Girls - fundraising limits - Review
Candidate, The - politics, victory versus integrity - Review
Children Of A Lesser God - deaf student/teacher love story - Review
Children Of Men - the importance of children - Review
China Syndrome, The - the dangers of nuclear power - Review
Cider House Rules - youth development - Review
Cinderella Man - character, overcoming the odds, family values - Review
Cipher In The Snow - loneliness - Review
City of God - urban decay, poverty, slums, drugs, violence - Review
Color Purple, The - poverty, child abuse, social change - Review
Constant Gardener, The - politics, abuse of power, drugs, poverty - Review
Cove, The - animal rights, activism - Review
Crash (2004) - racism, culture clash, human behavior - Review
Crossing Guard, The - relationships, grief - Review
Cry Freedom - struggle against apartheid, courage, individual activism - Review
Dances With Wolves - native culture, intolerance - Review
Dead Man Walking - capital punishment - Review
Dead Poets Society - education/youth development - Review
Deer Hunter, The - ravages of war - Review
Defiant Ones, The, - race and relationships - Review
Dirty Pretty Things - illegal aliens, the struggle to survive - Review
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The - stroke victimsReview
Do The Right Thing - hatred, bigotry - Review
Driving Miss Daisy - relationships - Review
Easy Rider - nonconformity, search for freedom, counterculture - Review
Elephant Man, The - genetic impairment, prejudice - Review
Ellen Foster - child abuse, adoption - Review
El Norte - illegal immigration, poverty, discrimination - Review
Emperor's Club, The - education/youth development - Review
Erin Brockovich - fighting injustice - Review
First You Cry - cancer - Review
Finding Forrester - overcoming odds, education, mentorship, literature - Review
Finding Neverland - teaching children, family - Review
Flowers for Algernon - developmental disability - Review
Flow: For Love of Water - environment - Trailer and Info
Forrest Gump - developmental disability - Review
Freedom Writers - race relations, inner city, writing - Review
Frequency - righting a wrong, family, science fiction - Review
Fried Green Tomatoes - friendship, life, tolerance - Review
Fundi - The Story of Ella Baker - civil rights - Review
Gentleman's Agreement - anti-Semitism - Review
Get Real - coming out (young gay male) - Review
Glory Road - racism, the ability to overcome - Review
Goodbye Lenin - cultural change - Review
Ghandi - peaceful resistance, colonialism, ethnic strife, personal courage - Review
Girl, Interrupted - mental illness - Review
Good Night, and Good Luck - doing the right thing, power, politics, integrity - Review
Good Will Hunting - education, mentorship, coming of age - Review
Gone Baby Gone - child abduction, ethics - Review
Grace is Gone - war, love, family, loss - Review
Grapes of Wrath, The - poverty, injustice, social and political commentary - Review
Great Dictator, The - spoof against Hitler and what he stood for - Review
Grey Gardens - aging, family - Review
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner - race relations, romance - Review
Half Nelson - drug addiction - Review
Harold and Maude - aging, romance - Review
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - fighting for good - Review
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - fighting for good - Review
Hotel Rwanda - genocide, heroism - Review
Hurricane - racism, the ability to overcome - Review
I Am Sam - developmental disability - Review
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings - child abuse - Review
Imitation of Life - racial issues - Review
In America - family struggles, immigration, poverty, hope - Review
In The Gloaming - AIDS - Review
In The Heat of the Night - racism, the human condition - Review
Inside I'm Dancing - Muscular Dystrophy - Review
Insider, The - the cost of doing the right thing - Review
Insight in Mind - mental illness - Review
Iris - Alzheimer's Disease - Review
Iron Jawed Angels - women's rights - Review
It's a Wonderful Life - poverty, community - Review
Joshua - religion, values - Review
June Bug - family and small towns - Review
Juno - teen pregnancy, family, adoption - Review
K-Pax - the human condition - Review
King of Hearts - war - Review
King of Masks - Chinese culture, gender justice, tolerance - Review
Kinsey - human sexuality - Review
Latter Days - coming out (young adult gay male) - Review
Life of David Gale, The - capital punishment, passion and beliefs - Review
Life is Beautiful - The human spirit, war, family - Review
Little Big Man - Native American issues - Review
Little Man Tate - youth development - Review
Little Miss Sunshine - the importance of family - Review
Love Actually - love, life, relationships - Review
Mad Love - mental illness - Review
Magdalene Sisters, The - religion, abuse - Review
Malcolm X - race and success - Review
Maria Full of Grace - exploitation of the poor to satisfy the rich, desperation - Review
Mask - deformation, the ability to overcome - Review
Matewan - labor and violence - Review
Men of Honor - prejudice, tenacity, the ability to overcome - Review
Milagro Beanfield War, The - community development - Review
Miracle - team work - Review
Miracle Worker, The - story of Helen Keller - Review
Million Dollar Baby - family, relationships, courage, disability - Review
Mindwalk - scientific, social, ecological challenges - Review
Mississippi Masala - racial tension, class struggle, political exile - Review
Monster's Ball - racism - Review
Mr. Holland's Opus - helping the deaf, pursuing one's dreams, mentoring students - Review
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington - values, fighting the system, govt. corruption - Review
Music of the Heart - poverty, youth development - Review
My Left Foot - cerebral palsy - Review
My Man Godfrey - life lessons, having faith in yourself, social commentary - Review
My Name is Bill W. - alcoholism, support, history - Review
My Sister's Keeper - mental illness - Review
Norma Rae - fair working conditions - Review
Normal - coming out (transgender male to female) - Review
North Country - women's rights, sexual harassment, abuse - Review
Notebook, The - life, love, relationships - Review
Omega Code, The - religion, good vs. evil, values - Review
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - developmental disabilities & the health system - Review
Other Sister, The - developmental disabilities, love - Review 
Ordinary People - family tragedy - Review
Outsiders, The - fitting in - Review
Passion of Christ - religion, controversial - Review
Patch Adams - mental health, compassion, healing with spiritual zeal - Review
Paths of Glory - war - Review
Pay It Forward - making a difference - Review
Philadelphia - HIV/AIDS discrimination - Review
Pianist, The - the Holocaust - Review
Planet Earth - documentary - Review
Pleasantville - general diversity - Review
Priest - coming out (adult gay male) - Review
Prince of Egypt, The - religion, leadership - Review
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, The - forgiveness, family, social commentary - Review
P.S. I Love You - love and loss - Review
Pursuit of Happiness, The - father-son relationships, breaking the cycle of poverty - Review
Qatsi Trilogy - environment, social, third world, cultural issues - Review
Radio - developmental disability - Review
Rain Man - autism - Review
Ray - overcoming disability and racism - Review
Remember The Titans - racism, teamwork - Review
Rabbit Proof Fence - racial prejudice - Review
Roger and Me - downsizing, community pressures - Review
Roots - racism, slavery, history - Review
Rosie the Riveter - women's labour, race, patriotism, war - Review
Rumble Fish - peer pressure - Review
Schindler's List - racism - Review
Salt of the Earth - labor strife, prejudice - Review
Save The Tiger - the high cost of success, morality - Review
Sea Inside, The - euthanasia - Review
School Ties - religious diversity - Review
Shawshank Redemption, The - hope, unjust treatment, prison - Review
Shine - pressure, mental illness, based on true story - Review
Shirley Valentine - self actualization - Review
Silkwood - whistle blower - Review
Skulls - peer pressure - Review
Sleepers - child abuse - Review
Smoke Signals - Native culture, family, alcoholism - Review
Sounder - loss, family, poverty - Review
Stand and Deliver - impact of good teaching on children - Review
Stanley and Iris - literacy - Review
Station Agent, The - grief, diversity, loneliness - Review
Stepmom - family, relationships, dealing with grief - Review
Strangers in Good Company - courage, bonding, friendship, aging - Review
Swing Kids - racial diversity - Review
Tender Mercies - the human condition - Review
To Kill a Mockingbird - racism - Review
Vera Drake - abortion, poverty - Review
Veronica Guerin - exposing corruption - Review
Visitor, The - immigration, war, scoial commentary - Review
Waiting to Exhale - relationships - Review
We are Marshall - true story, loss, tragedy, teamwork, spirit, sports - Review
What's Eating Gilbert Grape - poverty, disabilities, fate - Review
Woman Thou Art Loosed - sexual abuse, forgiveness, redemption - Review

These tend to be all English speaking films. If you have any films that are non-english speaking that you believe should be on the list, please email me at closesteves@gmail.com with the subject: Social Films