Julie Mallozzi’s documentary films explore the ways cultural traditions from around the globe intersect, hybridize, and are turned to new social purposes far from their original context.
UNTITLED ALTERED STATES FILM
Five traditions from around the world transport patients into an altered mental state to treat medical conditions, mental illness, and chronic pain. Intertwining ancient practices and their modern offshoots, this experiential film reveals the possibility of deep healing when we allow our brains to depart from their ordinary functioning. (work in progress, co-directed with Emma Meyers)
CIRCLE UP
A mother is devastated by the murder of her son. Instead of being vengeful she reaches out to her son’s killer and offers a chance at restorative justice. They team up with trauma survivors, criminal justice leaders, and Native American peacemakers to divert at-risk-youth from more violence – turning pain and anger into positive community change. (69 minutes & 14 minutes, 2017)
Frustrated by decades of electing governors without a majority, Maine's citizens fight for an electoral reform called ranked-choice voting that enables more nuanced expressions of voter preference. They face fierce opposition from entrenched politicians but manage to triumph and inspire other movements around the country. (16 minutes, 2018)
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An Indian woman completely loses her skin pigment as she migrates from Bombay to Paris to Montréal. Now 60 and appearing White, Lalita copes with a changing identity as she battles ovarian cancer, breast cancer, and heart failure – ultimately realizing that her body is just a temporary vessel for her spirit. (71 minutes, 2012)
Three Cambodian-American teenagers come of age in a world shadowed by their parents' nightmares of the Khmer Rouge. Traditional Cambodian dance links them to their parents’ culture, but fast cars, hip consumerism, and new romance pull harder. Gradually coming to appreciate their parents’ sacrifices, the three teens find a sense of themselves and begin to make good on their parents’ dreams. (65 minutes, 2004)
A short follow-up to our 2004 documentary Monkey Dance. Linda, Sochenda, and Samnang have returned to their Cambodian-American community in Lowell, Massachusetts, and are helping the next wave of immigrants and refugees. They reflect on the transformative nature of dance and the grounding support of their family-oriented culture. (12 minutes, 2017)
A young filmmaker travels to China to meet her mother's family for the first time, and gets caught in a web of politics and history. Weaving together dreams, archival footage, and scenes from her relatives' lives, she meditates on the complications of remembering and forgetting the past. (52 minutes, 1999)
ORPHAN TRAIN
From 1850 to 1930, over 200,000 orphan children were sent from New York and Boston to find homes in the Midwest. Trains full of kids would stop at small towns where local farmers came to indenture or adopt them. Julie's 16mm student film explores this little-known history through the eyes of the last surviving orphan train riders. (15 minutes, 1992)
OTHER CREDITS
Julie Mallozzi has been active as a freelance producer, cameraperson, and editor in Boston’s lively documentary community since 1992.
MY LOUISIANA LOVE
A young woman returns to her Native American community in Southeast Louisiana to find a man-made environmental crisis threatening her people’s way of life. She must overcome the loss of her house, her father, and her documentary partner – and redefine the meaning of home. By Sharon Linezo Hong and Monique Michelle Verdin. (Editor / Co-Producer, 2012)
IN PARAGUAY
Acclaimed filmmaker Ross McElwee chronicles his family’s trip to Paraguay to adopt his daughter Mariah. Premiered at Venice International Film Festival. (Editor, 2008)
SIX BILLION AND BEYOND
Nationally broadcast public television documentary explores population policy, reproductive health, and women's empowerment. By Linda Harrar Productions (Field Producer, 2000)
BORN UNDER THE RED FLAG
Third film in PBS series A Century of Revolution tells the story of China’s remarkable transformation after Mao Zedong’s death in 1976. By Ambrica Productions. (Production Assistant, 1999)