Driving the Green Book (Long Island 2024)
Dir. Mike De Caro, Alvin Hall, & Saro Varjabedian
Broadcaster and author Alvin Hall and his two young mentees Chrissy and Jaron travel across Long Island (NY) looking for locations once listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book. They retrieve hidden stories about how Black travelers endured segregation during the years the Green Book was published (1936 - 1967) while also uncovering new subtle ways in which the issues continue today. Location after location, our road-trippers create an exciting, emotional and inspiring travelogue.
Stoop Chat with Maani & Mr. Sweat (Brooklyn 2025)
Dir. Marj Kleinman & Christine Thomas Yoon
"Stoop Chat with Maani and Mr. Sweat" brings you to the Brooklyn stoops of Mr. Sweat, a dapper neighborhood elder and Vietnam veteran with old school swagger, and Maani, a young aspiring entrepreneur. Against the vibrant cultural backdrop of Bedford-Stuyvesant, this documentary captures the power of mentorship and the enduring spirit of Black identity. Through the simple act of playing stoop ball, wisdom is passed down, dreams take shape, and the lessons of the past help to guide the future. Exploring faith and masculinity, the short film tells the heartwarming story of the strength found in community, the lessons shared between generations, and the amazing transformative power of love.
LRSC (Land Rivers Spaghetti Catfish) (Chicago 2024)
Dir. Derek Anthony Holland
“Land Rivers Spaghetti Catfish,” is a short film and community centered research project done in conjunction with Fellows in the Black Midwest Initiative Fellowship. At its genesis, The fellows were asked to answer the question “What does the Midwest mean to you?” Fellow’s responses guided the form and narrative structure of the work configured by Derek with the use of only adapted footage from the midwestern United States. The film itself is an attempt to answer and further question the “midwest,” as a geopolitically, socially and culturally through people born and or raised there and those who recently migrated to or are transiting through the region. This project continues Derek’s research into modes of articulating fissures in everyday occurrences to question and criticize the modern world and identity.
Stay Out of the Sun (Los Angeles 2024)
Dir. Zola Franchi, Vivienne Ayres & Nidhi Kumar
A visual scrapbook of individuals' memories of colorism, recounting the messages they received about skin tone during their youth and examining how these experiences have left lasting imprints on their lives today.