Self-Study Movies, Videos and Shows
Videos often speak louder than words. Below is a curated list of movies, videos and shows that you can choose to watch to fulfill Marin CASA Continued Education. These are worth 2 hours of continued education unless otherwise noted. Titles can be found on various streaming services - Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime and elsewhere. Google "Where can I watch ____" to find the best option. Titles with an asterisk* qualify for the Cultural Competency Requirement. Please remember to log your hours in Optima for credit.
The Storm Makers
Featuring brutally candid testimony, The Storm Makers is a chilling expose of Cambodia’s human trafficking underworld and an eye-opening look at the complex cycle of poverty, despair and greed that fuels this brutal modern slave trade. More than half a million Cambodians work abroad and a staggering third of these have been sold as slaves. Most are young women, held prisoner and forced to work in horrific conditions, sometimes as prostitutes, in Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.
Earth Mama
An intimate coming of age story of a pregnant single mother who embraces her Bay Area community as she determines the fate of her family.
A Thousand and One
After unapologetic and fiercely loyal Inez kidnaps her son Terry from the foster care system, mother and son set out to reclaim their sense of home, identity, and stability, in a rapidly changing New York City.
I Just Killed My Dad
Anthony Templet shot his father and never denied it. But why he did it is a complex question with profound implications. Explore Anthony’s psyche prior to the events of June 3, 2019 and the journey of his mental and emotional aftermath.
Dopesick 2021
The series takes viewers to the epicenter of America’s struggle with opioid addiction, from the boardrooms of Purdue Pharma, to a distressed Virginia mining community, to the hallways of the DEA.
Antwone Fisher
Antwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.
Foster
Looking to adopt a child and unable to conceive a child of their own, the Morrisons’ lives are turned upside down when a seven-year-old boy unexpectedly shows up on their doorstep.
Three Identical Strangers
In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they’re triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.
The Dark Matter of Love
Documentary on the psychological aspects of growing up with and without parental love. It centers around the Diaz family, who chooses to adopt three orphans from Russia, and how their new and old kids handle family together.
Short Term 12 *
A 20-something supervising staff member of a residential treatment facility navigates the troubled waters of that world alongside her co-worker and longtime boyfriend.
The Unloved
A film that gives a child’s eye view of the U.K.’s government-run care system for orphans and children in danger.
Finding Home: A Foster Story (PBS)
The remarkable story of four foster youth preparing for life outside the foster care system. Summer, 17 and transgender, yearns to be adopted. Glorianna, 19 an artist, struggles to live on her own after spending 12 years in a group home. Jaloni and Kalonji, 18-year-old twins, grew up in poverty, but become star athletes and scholars with the help of two loving adults.
13th *
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality.
Rewind
Digging through the vast collection of his father’s home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.
Frontline (PBS) – Growing up Poor in America
Children and their families navigate poverty, homelessness, race, and new challenges brought on by COVID-19 in Ohio.
Crack * : Cocaine Corruption and Conspiracy
In the early 1980s, the crack epidemic tore through America’s inner cities like a tsunami, ravaging all in its wake.
Between the World and Me *
The special will include powerful readings from Ta-Nehisi Coates’ book, it will also incorporate documentary footage from the actors’ home life, archival footage, and animation.
Maid : Max 4 hours credit
After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future.
Each year, over 600,000 people are reported missing in the United States. Gabi Mosely and her crisis management team use unorthodox methods to find the forgotten people.
Independent Lens is an award-winning PBS documentary series that streams on the PBS App and airs on public television. Independent Lens documentaries focus on stories of underrepresented communities and universal challenges found across America. The series has been awarded numerous Emmys and Peabodys, and has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards.
Fruits of Labor follows the day-in-a-life of a young farm and factory worker in California, who dreams of being the first in her family to graduate from high school and go to college.