Impact // Filmmaker’s Statement

We made this film for two reasons. 1) to educate people on the nuances of bipolar disorder, and in doing so, help to  eradicate the stigma and 2) in the hopes that it’ll bring comfort to someone watching, even if that’s just one person — to make them feel less alone.

After suffering a miscarriage in prison due to shackling, Pamela Winn becomes an inspiring activist, leading millions to support the Dignity Bill and her mission to end shackling and prison birth.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

We hope audiences empathize and feel moved by this crucial human rights issue through Pamela Winn’s compelling personal story. We hope audiences feel inspired by Pamela’s story of resilience, strength and ultimate triumph and by the power one person can have in shaping laws that forward justice and dignity. We also hope audiences feel stirred to become advocates in their own right: to vote people into office who care about and will fight to pass laws protecting incarcerated pregnant people.

Pamela is actively working in states across the country to enhance the lives of directly impacted women. You can support Pamela’s work through her non-profit organization RestoreHER: www.restoreher.us

The story of a group of pilots dedicated to keeping alive the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen while pursuing their dreams of becoming professional aviators and inspiring the black community to change the racial imbalance in aviation.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

Relationships provide answers. There is opportunity everywhere if we are willing to see the world through a different lens. We encourage the audience to visit Tuskegee and meet the pilots. Take a flight and see history from the air!

An ode to the mundanity and madness of the high street in London, told through the window of an African hair salon.

Dani’s Twins captures the high-risk pregnancy and dynamic early parenting journey of Dani Izzie, one of the world’s few quadriplegics ever to give birth to twins.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

Our aim is for this film to be part of the current cultural moment that is seeing disabled people take ownership of disability narratives. When our experiences are authenticated through honest representation and the reappropriation of our own voices, we can catalyze change and foster inclusion. We’d like audiences to translate their deeper awareness into positive change, specifically:

–Improving access to reproductive healthcare for disabled people
–Eliminating discrimination affecting parental rights for people with disabilities
–Providing access to comprehensive caregiving and a functional care ecosystem
–Incentivizing companies to manufacture products and services that are universally designed and accessible

There is a dearth of information about disabled pregnancy and parenting. We are trying to help fill that gap through our film and impact campaign. Here are a few resources:

https://heller.brandeis.edu/parents-with-disabilities/
https://www.christopherreeve.org/blog/daily-dose/pregnant-while-living-with-paralysis
https://www.christopherreeve.org/living-with-paralysis/health/parenting-with-a-disability

Dani’s blog: http://daniizzie.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/daniizzie

A profile of Aunofo Havea, a Tongan seafarer, who trail-blazes a place for women in the maritime industry and revolutionizes how the Tongan people interact with the whales that inhabit their waters.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

I hope that audiences are inspired by Aunofo’s story, particularly in the way she took a hostile relationship that her people had with the whales into a positive and mutually beneficial one. Her innovation in this area can be an inspiration to people around the world to create better relationships with the natural world and preserve it for generations to come. – Jack Gordon

A wickedly dark comedy about a newly married couple whose quest to outdo each other with pranks leads to an unexpected and outrageous calamity.

Followed by the feature narrative, Everybody Loves Jeanne

This coming-of-age story follows four black teenagers from adolescence to adulthood who tap dance for tips in New Orleans, showing the joys and pains of growing up fast in the incarceration capital of the world.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

Witnessing firsthand the disparities of our city, I’ve become passionate about shining a light on the crushing impact of carceral policies on Black communities. At its core, the goal of this film was to tell a coming-of-age story singular to New Orleans. In doing so, we give a face to the individuals most affected by the systemic injustice of Louisiana, where 95% of the youth arrested are Black. We watch the hopelessness and anger that flows directly from seeing authority figures presume them a threat to society (and punishing them as adults). For many Black youth here in New Orleans, being incarcerated is almost treated as an inevitability. As Deymond says in the cold open: “There’s two things to do down here: go to jail or die.” One Buck Won’t Hurt is an unambiguous affirmation of just how much Black lives matter and exactly why we still need to say so. – Christopher Stoudt

Wood Hood follows DeVaughn, a 15-year old kid from New York City as he takes a weekend trip with Camping To Connect, a BIPOC-led mentorship program that teaches leadership, brotherhood, and inclusion in the outdoors.

Impact // Filmmaker’s Voice

We hope that [audiences] come away believing that nature belongs to everybody, and that more access, diversity and representation in the outdoors is critical for a more just and equitable society (and critical for the health and well-being of urban youth). We’d like for them to support our efforts at Camping to Connect. www.campingtoconnect.com

– Alex Cullen

A Syrian migrant working as a crane operator in Beirut volunteers to cover a shift on one of the most dangerous cranes, where he is able to find his freedom.