Screening I “Swift Justice” : Victor J. Blue, Kate Emerson & Paul Moakley

After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, filmmakers Victor J. Blue and Ross McDonnell returned to Afghanistan to film a documentary about women’s rights under the Taliban. Granted rare access to a Sharia court in Helmand Province, their film Swift Justice follows the story of a Afghan widow fighting for her rights in the Taliban’s heartland. The film was nominated for two Emmy awards, in the Outstanding Short Documentary and Outstanding Cinematography in Documentary categories.

Join Victor J. Blue, editor Kate Emerson and producer Paul Moakley of The New Yorker for a screening of the film, including deleted scenes. A panel discussion and audience Q&A will follow the screening.

Victor J. Blue (@victorblue) is a Brooklyn-based photojournalist and filmmaker whose work is most often concerned with the legacy of armed conflict, human rights and the protection of civilians in war. He covers national and international news stories and social issues for major newspapers and magazines. His documentary photo projects have focused on the US surge and Taliban rule in Afghanistan and the reclamation of historical memory in post-conflict Guatemala. He has an MA in Visual Communication from Ohio University and is a 2024 ASU Future Security Fellow at the New America Foundation.

Kate Emerson (@kate_emerson) is a video editor working on documentary, narrative and commercial projects. She has edited short films for The New Yorker, Magnum Foundation, TIME, and National Geographic. Her work has received recognition from World Press Photo and POYi. Kate's projects have premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and DOC NYC, and have been shown at the International Center of Photography and SFMOMA.

Paul Moakley (@paulmoakley) is the executive producer of video at The New Yorker, where he curates and produces the magazine’s award-winning short-film program. He also produces and directs original short films and video content for The New Yorker. He won an Emmy for his role as a producer and reporter for the interactive project and HBO documentary feature Beyond 9/11: Portraits of Resilience, an ASME award for the short film Life after Addiction, and first place in World Press Photo for the short film Behind the Video of Eric Garner’s Deadly Confrontation with New York Police. In 2020, he produced and reported the short documentary When the News Hits Home, about the trauma that reporters faced after the Capital Gazette newsroom shooting in Annapolis, Maryland.

Host or Publisher Bronx Documentary Center