Film Sampler Series: “Sir! No Sir!” and “19”

Join us for Film Sampler, a series of film screenings focused on themes of protest and resistance. Snacks! Signed posters and DVD giveaways! Come for one screening or come for all.

Watch screenings of 19 (2025, 8 min) and Sir! No Sir! (2005, 90 min), followed by a Talk Back with Directors David Zeiger and Galileha Calario-Zavala. Then, stick around for an intermission snack break and a screening of Passin’ It On (1993, 60 min).

19 is an experimental autobiographical documentary that opens with a failed suicide attempt. After enduring Marine Corps training, a career-ending injury, declining mental health, and the silent weight carried by first-generation children in order to justify sacrifice. The film interrogates resilience and survival in a system that leaves little room for either. Winner of Best Documentary at the Light Works Film Festival in Winter 2025.

Sir! No Sir! is the story of one of the most vibrant and widespread upheavals of the 1960’s–one that had profound impact on American society, yet has been virtually obliterated from the collective memory of that time. The film premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2005 where it won the Audience Award for Best Documentary. It was nominated for Independent Spirit, International Documentary, and Gotham Awards. The film garnered rave reviews during its 80-city theatrical run, including “Two Thumbs Up” from Ebert and Roeper. Manohla Dargis called it “Smart and timely” in the New York Times, and the New York Daily News wrote “This is powerful stuff, offering us not only a new look at the past, but unavoidably relevant insights into the present.”

These screenings are free and open to the public, no registration or ticket required.

Film Sampler, organized in partnership with the U-M Department of Film, Television, and Media (FTVM), is offered in conjunction with the UMMA exhibition American Sampler: Activating the Archive.