"I stand upon my desk to remind myself that we must constantly look at things in a different way," declared Robin Williams's character John Keating in the 1989 film "Dead Poets Society." At the upcoming Social Justice Film Festival in Seattle, that philosophy is being emulated through path-breaking films and stories to change the world.

Running Oct. 18–30, the Seattle festival showcases bold visions on the screen, as 50 films challenge societal structures with creative perspectives and a critical eye. Rape as a weapon of war. The Occupy movement. Prisoner justice. Desmond Tutu and the ending of apartheid. The oppression of LGBTs in Uganda. Indigenous rights. Poverty and athletics. Police brutality. These are just a few of the themes the official selections of the festival explore.

Among the featured events at this year's Social Justice Film Festival:

Opening Night: A poignant tale of juvenile justice in "15 to Life: Kenneth’s Story." This film focuses on the 3,000 children across the U.S. who have been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Some declare such sentencing inhumane and unconstitutional. Many more remain passively silent and timid. "15 to Life: Kenneth's Story" examines a teenager's life in an adult penitentiary. What is revealed is a remorseful young man who desires redemption and a justice system that masquerades as rehabilitative. (Saturday, Oct. 18, 5:30 pm, UW Law School.)

Disability rights featured at film festival kickoff party. Join us for a celebration of this year's new films with light refreshments and a panel discussion on Invitation to Dance following the screening. Invitation to Dance is a film that reminds us why life is beautiful. It tells the story of a young woman, passionate about social justice, who suddenly finds herself paralyzed from the waist down. Simi Linton's motto: Equality, justice, and a place on the dance floor. (Sunday, Oct. 19, 6 pm, Northwest Film Forum.)

Preempting dissent and discussion on civil liberties with Will Potter. "Preempting Dissent" explores questions of overzealous protest policing, looking specifically at the expansion of the “Miami model” policing method implemented following September 11, 2001. The film shows how this style of protest policing is unwarranted and saturated with paranoia, and how it threatens to extinguish rights guaranteed under the First Amendment. Stay after the film for a discussion of civil liberties with journalist Will Potter, author of "Green is the New Red." (Monday, Oct. 20, 7:30 pm, UW Ethnic Cultural Center Theatre.)

Focus on immigration with Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. The journalist Jose Antonio Vargas will appear in person to discuss his remarkable journey from the Philippines to America as a young child; how he became one of America's most prominent activists and writers, and his hope that his self-outing as an undocumented immigrant can help emancipate the millions stuck in the disaster of American immigration policy. The evening will include illuminating features and shorts: Vargas's autobiographical film "Documented," plus The Vigil, Los Olvidados, and Floating Borders. (Friday, Oct. 24, 5 pm, University Christian Church.)

Seattle and Washington state themes. The festival features a host of local films, including the following:

"Return of the River" is about a group of Washingtonians striving to maintain nature's innate existence by persuading a community to bring a dam down.

"Oil and Water" looks into the lives of two boys wanting to change toxic environmental conditions, as Hugo struggles to survive in his Amazonian tribe and David seeks to revolutionize the oil industry.

"One Generation's Time" relates the tale of two Seattle Filipino-American activists, murdered for their involvement in labor reform and workers' rights.

"Honor Totem" explores the legacy of master carver, the Native-American John T. Williams, who was killed by Seattle police in 2010.

Other Seattle-themed shorts showing at the festival include: "We Do the Work," "Maikaru," "Dose for Dominic" and "LFOs & the Modern Day Debtors' Prison."

International films representing six continents will be shown, including from the countries of South Africa, Iran, China, Japan, Spain, Australia, India, Mexico, Korea, Venezuela, France, Canada and Israel/Palestine.

Women directors. More than 40% of the 2014 Social Justice Film Festival's selections have women directors. Seattle-area women directors include Francine Strickwerda and Laurel Spellman Smith ("Oil and Water"), Shannon Gee ("One Generation's Time"), Ruth Gregory ("Dose for Dominic"), Christy X ("Unified Struggle"), Jessica Plumb ("Return of the River"), and Amanda Harryman ("Maikaru").

Other women directors include Jenny Alexander ("The Vigil"), Simi Linton ("Invitation to Dance"), Tirtza Even ("Natural Life"), Lia Tarachansky ("On the Side of the Road"), Liz Marshall ("The Ghosts in Our Machine"), Dawn Gifford Engle ("Children of the Light"), Daffodil Altan ("Alone: Teens in Solitary Confinement"), Lisa Jiang ("Lie"), Luisa Gobel ("Pseudo Evolution"), Virginia Schwartz ("Remember?"), Shannon Kummer & Tatiana Samano ("Speechless"), Corina Maritescu ("A Stage for Size"), Anita Liao ("Strikers in Saris"), Brittany Washington ("Vanessa's Eight-Year Sentence"), and Tina Jacobson ("We Do the Work").

View the full Social Justice Film Festival schedule here. Purchase tickets here. Then come seize the day in Seattle, with exceptional films and their brave new take on the possibilities for social justice.

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