em·pa·thy (noun): the ability to recognize, understand and share the thoughts, emotions and perspectives of another person.
It is a means of connection, a path to understanding. Can you see where I’m coming from? Walk a mile in my shoes.
Empathy is the keyword for the 2026 Todo Cambia Human Rights Film Festival, scheduled for March 2-6. Through moving pictures, multimedia creations and the words of UC Merced academics and special guests, the festival, as its flyer states, will remind us “that seeing one another can transform the world within and around us.”
“In a world where media and cinema are dominated by crisis, we can easily lose sight of one another, of our shared humanity, of art and culture, of our potentialities and vulnerabilities,” said festival organizer and filmmaker Yehuda Sharim, a UC Merced professor of media and performance studies. “Todo Cambia invites us to look into that mirror of self, our personal and collective crossroads, where cinema and art offer an antidote that invites us to reflect, heal and act.”
Here is Todo Cambia’s full schedule; attendees are encouraged to register in advance. There is no cost to attend.
The festival’s first two days include three Merced premieres:
Monday, March 2
Filmmaker and UC Merced global arts studies lecturer Shammi Samano will present her short film, “Doorways,” which portrays the Pakistani immigrant experience in Lisbon, Portugal. In addition, artist and UC Merced graduate student Mariam Ohan will present a multimedia work that documents challenges faced by Assyrian women who migrated to Turlock.
Tuesday, March 3
Writer and activist George Lipsitz, a UC Santa Barbara sociology professor emeritus, will discuss issues raised in his upcoming book “Ethnic Studies at the Crossroads” with UC Merced critical race and ethnic studies professors Nicosia Shakes and Christina Baker.
Wednesday, March 4
Two films will be screened. With footage filmed by incarcerated men, “The Alabama Solution” documents evidence of violence, corruption and humanitarian crises in Alabama’s prison system. “All That’s Left of You” tells the story of a young woman who returns to the Middle East after her father’s death and faces grief, identity issues and cross-cultural family ties.
Thursday, March 5
Two films by Hungarian director Béla Tarr, “Werckmeister Harmonies” and “The Turin Horse,” will be shown. Tarr, who died in January at age 90, had a signature style that included black-and-white cinematography, dark themes and exceptionally long, choreographed single shots.
