Promise

David Alexander* - Writer/Director/Producer
UK Film Council Supported Alumnus

A young couple struggle to stop their family from falling apart.

“…I didn’t want to try and make a film that was overtly political. I had to bring the story home [ UK ] and tell it in and through the world around me. ..before long I stumbled onto a quote [from Mandela] that for me summed up the theme I was trying to express in my film ‘Promise’. “There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children.” My film is about the relationships between generations. 

Marriage Equality: Byron Rushing and the Fight For Fairness

Thomas Allen Harris* - Director/Executive Producer
Ann Bennett - Producer
Don Perry - Writer/Executive Producer

Byron Rushing, a Civil Rights Movement veteran and Massachusetts State Representative leads the charge to confront his own community of African American clergy who opposes same sex marriage; an emotionally divisive issue now legal in the state Rushing represents.

I felt that the Marriage Equality movement was a largely white movement that ignored the diversity of queer communities. But as I met and spoke with courageous African American leaders and activists, straight and gay, who I interviewed for the film, I was transformed and, as a filmmaker, saw the urgency of illuminating and highlighting the voices and perspectives of LGBT people of color in this movement for civil rights.

La Toma

Paola Mendoza* - Director
Juan Mejia Botero - Producer
Gabriel Noble - Cinematographer/Producer

A communities survival and a woman’s struggle.

When I arrived in La Toma, I was scared. Scared because I felt how precarious life was there. At any given moment violence could wreak havoc on us all. My fear soon transformed into admiration. Everywhere I turned the people of La Toma refused to live in fear and instead they lived proudly, happily and full of courage. Their bravery was not only contagious but inspiring and I can only hope that the film captures their fire to live.

Gerthy’s Roots

Marty Syjuco* - Producer
Michael Collins* - Director/Producer
Lynn True (Editor)

Gerthy’s Roots is the story of a strong and inspiring Haitian-born woman and her quest to make a difference in her beloved homeland.