Roger Sorkin studied anthropology at The Johns Hopkins University, then worked for three years as the producer of a public affairs call-in program on NPR member station WJHU in Baltimore. He lived in Spain for a year teaching English while producing a low-budget, hi8 video on the conflict between the European Commission and Spanish olive oil producers in Andalucia. His thesis project, For Which It Stands, examines Americans' deep emotional attachment to the flag.

For Which It Stands
video
18 minutes

In 1989 the Supreme Court ruled flag-burning a form of political speech protected by the First Amendment. Since then members of Congress have tried to overrule the Court's decision. For Which It Stands explores the ironies that surface when symbolism is confused with substance, introducing viewers to characters as diverse as flag drycleaners, Vietnam veterans, flag artists, and Boy Scouts.

At Sea
16mm, color
7 minutes

At Sea provides a glimpse of the challenging, disappearing lifestyle of independent commercial salmon fisherman on the Pacific near San Francisco.

The Company Lawn
Digital Video
8 minutes

The Company Lawn is the story of the human and environmental damage caused by semiconductor manufacturing in Silicon Valley, California. Co-produced with Anne Alvergue.

Media That Matters Online Film Festival, presented at the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival at Lincoln Center, New York, 2001.

Blue for Girls
16mm, black and white
3 minutes

Blue for Girls is a portrait of police officer Tammy Gage, a single, working mother, who discusses the advantages of women in police work.