By Ben Lazarus and Nesib Shamah
Satterberg’s Moral Courage program is a vital part of the legacy of the late Kate Lazarus (Ben’s mother), a founding member of the Satterberg Board who is remembered for convening deep discussions on the moral consequences of choices and actions we take. Telling stories about moral courage is an important way to honor her and uphold that tradition. That is why since 2018, the Satterberg Foundation has been funding filmmakers with diverse experiences and viewpoints to bring untold stories of bravery and risk to life through their art.
For us, this program is a labor of love, honoring Kate with work that taps into our own personal connection to the film community. What began modestly under Ben’s leadership – providing a handful of local nonprofits with funds to produce videos about their work – has now grown into a full-fledged partnership (spearheaded by Nesib) with Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF). Each fall, through SIFF, a new crop of Moral Courage grants are awarded to support documentaries that touch on Satterberg’s mission of advancing justice and promoting sustainability.
Now for the exciting part: SIFF just unveiled this year’s Moral Courage grant awardees. This vibrant new crop builds on years of pioneering work to tell stories that urgently need to be told. And there has never been a more important time to showcase courage. “We are a country at an inflection point,” says Beth Barrett, SIFF’s Artistic Director. “We are supporting people who are standing up and saying, ‘this story matters’.”
These grants make a real difference. In the face of growing attempts to isolate and even erase trans Americans, last year’s SIFF/Satterberg awardee “Boys on the Inside” (directed by Elliat Graney-Saucke) revealed the long-term impact of incarceration on Latinx butch and trans masculine survivors, reclaiming their narratives through recovery and healing. Graney-Sacks told SIFF that the support is “an incredible testament to championing stories of queer/trans, prison and Latine experiences in this critical political and cultural moment.”
The ancient bond between native people and salmon takes on a very current resonance in a film series produced by Children of the Setting Sun Productions, and funded by Satterberg back in 2023. In the documentary films “Salmon People: Preserving a Way of Life,” and the more recent “The River Remembers”, they bring to life this deep connection that has been threatened by today’s environmental problems. The struggle to protect the salmon is “frontline when it comes to the climate crisis,” says Darrell Hillaire, a Lummi Nation elder who is the group’s Executive Director.
Filmmaker Jordan Riber, who directed The River Remembers, found his work on the project especially moving because “the leadership stands up for the resources that are the foundation for the people. Their moral courage is so clear and resolute.”
Moral courage is also at the core of Melody Starya Mobley’s searing story of surviving abuse as the first Black female forester to serve in the USDA Forest Service. “I’m trying to make a difference for the woman or person of color who comes after me,” she says. She is heartened by the “phenomenal” response to a promotional reel for The Dark White Forest, a forthcoming short film (supported by Satterberg) about her struggles for justice in what is “still a white male profession.”
“It started with me being immersed in grief,” says filmmaker JJ Gerber of “The Life We Leave,” a powerful documentary that was sparked by the loss of his mother and his “transactionall” encounters with the funeral industry. The film explores human composting, a new approach to death designed to “bring care and love back into this process,” Gerber explains. The film, also supported by a Satterberg grant, premiered at SXSW and was voted audience favorite at SIFF.
As our fellow Moral Committee and Satterberg Board Member Frank Helsell recently noted, “moral courage is so needed at this particular time.” Frank is very grateful for the opportunity to support this wonderful and diverse work in the film community – and so are we.
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Ben Lazarus and Nesib Shamah serve on the Moral Courage Committee and the Satterberg Board of Directors.