Carole Lee Dean – Curriculum Vitae
Carole Lee Dean
Curriculum Vitae
From the Heart Productions
1013 Harbor Blvd #53
Oxnard, CA 93035
www.fromtheheartproductions.com
caroleleedean@gmail.com
Updated April 28, 2021
Non-Profit
From the Heart Productions, Inc.
Carole Dean is Founder and President of From the Heart Productions Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit. From the Heart’s mission is to help indie filmmakers and creatives, with unique projects that contribute to society, get funding. From the Heart accomplishes this through the Roy W. Dean Film Grant, fiscal sponsorship, education, mentorship, and free resources. Since 1993, From the Heart has assisted thousands of documentaries, features, short films, and web series in getting their films funded. From the Heart has helped filmmakers raise over $30,000,000 for their films.
www.fromtheheartproductions.com
Awards
2012 WIFTS (The Women’s International Film & Television Showcase) Lifetime Achievement Award
Academic
Advisory Council, Viridis Graduate Institute (2018-present).
Intentional Filmmaking Class (2015-2021)
The Intentional Filmmaking Class has helped many filmmakers, anxious and confused about how to finance their projects, get on track to have their films funded and completed.
Actor/Writer/Producer Tom Malloy raised over $23,000.000.00 for films and Carole Dean, Author/Producer/Grantor, teach class members the elements of raising money with crowdfunding, one on one asks, winning grants, and how to develop your proposal/pitch deck, pitch and trailer.
www.fromtheheartproductions.com/intentional-filmmaking
Education
Various film courses at UCLA
Supercharge your Distribution by Peter Broderick (Completed Sept 2020, currently enrolled in 2nd course)
Studio Film & Tape
In 1970, Carole Dean created a business in Hollywood of buying and reselling short ends of film stock to emerging filmmakers. It revolutionized and helped grow the independent film industry by giving aspiring filmmakers affordable film to make their movies. Roger Corman and John Cassavetes are just two of the filmmakers whose careers took off using the film supplied by her company Studio Film & Tape. The company eventually grew to three offices in NYC, Chicago, and Hollywood with sales of near $10 million annually. It became one of the largest privately woman owned businesses in the U.S. Carole was given the national distribution for Fuji Motion Picture Film and she guided Studio Film & Tape to becoming an award-winning distributor of Maxell, Fuji, Agfa Geavert, Kodak video stocks. Carole also pioneered the recycling of video tape and led her company to become the largest video reprocessing organization in the US.
Community Work
Free Consultations
Under Carole’s leadership, From the Heart Productions provides over 500 free consultations annually to their fiscally sponsored filmmakers. Every applicant to the 4 Roy W. Dean Grants, over 1,000 each year, are offered free consultations on their projects.
Documentary Emergency Relief Fund
From the Heart established a Documentarian Emergency Relief Fund for documentary filmmakers who are experiencing personal and professional challenges as a result of COVID. Carole Dean is co-founder and judge of the of the grant. The fund gives $1,000 each month to a help documentary filmmaker with rent, car payments, medical expenses, or whatever is affecting them from completing their projects.
Books
The Art of Film Funding, 2nd Edition: Alternative Financing Concepts (2012)
The Art of Film Funding is written for makers of documentaries, short films, and feature producers for funding via grants, individual investments/donations, online crowdfunding, and distribution through streaming video. It is a comprehensive book covering both established financing to new online financing.
www.amazon.com/Art-Film-Funding-2nd-Alternative/dp/1615930914
Ranked #93 in Movie Industry Category on Amazon
Ranged #123 in Performing Arts Industry Category on Amazon
Ranked #173 in Film & Television Category on Amazon
The Art of Manifesting: Creating Your Future (2006)
This book fully explains the law of manifestation and outlines how to use the law of attraction to accelerate manifestation. People can turn dreams into reality and this book shows readers how. We are manifesting every day, whether we know it or not the trick is to manifest what we want, not what we don’t want. Through the concepts in this book, readers will be able to clearly define their goals and create a comprehensive plan to achieve them. They’ll discover the ancient laws of manifestation and attraction and learn exactly how to make them work.
www.amazon.com/gp/product/0974317357
How to Fund Your Film eBook, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (2020)
How to Fund Your Film is a fun, easy-to-follow guide, filled with lessons and advice that gives filmmakers the tools and knowledge to get your documentary, feature film, short film or web series finally funded. This is the companion eBook for the How to Fund Your Film Online Course.
Volume 1 www.amazon.com/How-Fund-Your-Film-Filmmakers-ebook/dp/B0885XY5TS
Volume 2 www.amazon.com/How-Fund-Your-Film-Filmmakers-ebook/dp/B0885XYSF5
Volume 3 www.amazon.com/How-Fund-Your-Film-Filmmakers-ebook/dp/B0886HCWGT
23 Blogs to Enlightenment – Volume 1 and 2 (2015-2020)
A collection of essays and blogs from Carole Dean’s archives around the concept of manifestation. The books are presented through the lens of Carole’s filmmaking and film funding experience, but the writings are also applicable to a non-film industry readership. These books are currently offered as free eBooks as incentives for From the Heart newsletter subscribers.
Part 1 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OVtJDz6d1P2T2K1gmzFRXshB9H15dCjwMssC5XKgVeY/edit?usp=sharing
Part 2
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kXbNl0IAk3JU_h2UfoPWkM-7vFxnolcG7DeQtZ-cBMc/edit?usp=sharing
Podcast
Carole Dean is the Host of The Art of Film Funding Podcast, which serves to educate, inform and inspire filmmakers. Carole Dean interviews top professionals from the film industry for up-to-date information on film funding, production, marketing, hybrid distribution, and much more. Listeners learn how to crowdfund, make an ask for funding, save money on budgets, hear top attorneys discuss new US and state tax funding and stay abreast of current trends in the industry.
www.blogtalkradio.com/the-art-of-film-funding
Statistics
304 Episodes
95160 Listens
Carole Dean Blog
Carole Dean writes a maintains a regular blog on her website covering a wide range of topics related to film funding, including fiscal sponsorship, hybrid distribution, marketing, crowdfunding, writing proposals, and creating budgets. Carole also writes about principles of manifestation. Carole’s website also includes regular blog contributions from film historian and journalist Don Schwartz, crowdfunding expert and filmmaker Elizabeth England, and other film industry professionals and thought leaders.
https://fromtheheartproductions.com/recent-blogs
Statistics
285 Blogs
6,000+ Readers
Courses
How to Fund Your Film (2020)
Taught by Carole Dean, How to Fund Your Film is a 3 hour online course that teaches independent filmmakers the essentials of film funding. Topics include crafting scripts and proposals, budgeting, winning grants, tax laws, fiscal sponsorship, and crowdfunding.
www.fromtheheartproductions.com/how-to-fund-your-film/
Filmography
Production Credits
Health Styles (1992-1996)
Produced over 120 cable shows entitled HealthStyles interviewing Deepak Chopra, Andrew Wield, Carolyn Myss and other creative talents, thought leaders, and doctors. The show was sold to Oasis TV.
Filmmaker Interviews (1993-1996)
Created and shot 23 Filmmaker interviews with guests including the producers of Swingers, Jackie Chan’s stunt man, and other notable filmmakers and industry professionals who work behind the lens. These shows are now housed in the National Archives.
Additional Production Credits
2021 Pictures of Infinity (Documentary) (co-producer) (filming)
2018 Sedona Tom (Documentary) (executive producer) (completed)
2013 Welcome to the Dream (Documentary) (consulting producer)
2010 Step Away from the Stone (executive producer)
2008 Shooting Women (Documentary) (executive producer)
1999 American Chain Gang (Documentary) (executive producer)
Consulting Credits
2016 Voices of Grief, Honoring the Sacred Journey (Documentary short) (project consultant)
2016 Sands of Silence (Documentary) (advisor)
2014 Love Thy Nature (Documentary) (advisory board)
2011 Building for Life: Moving AIDS to the Positive Life (Documentary) (project consultant)
Miscellaneous Credits
The Charles Broden Story (special thanks) (announced)
The Legacy of the Parent Trap (Documentary) (special thanks) (filming)
2018 How Far (Short) (very special thanks)
2018 From the Ground Up (Documentary) (special thanks)
2018 Pea Pod (Short) (special thanks)
2018 FTX (Short) (very special thanks)
2018 An Egg (Short) (special thanks)
2017 [in]visible (Short) (thanks)
2017 Proper Binge (very special thanks)
2017 E*M*M*A (Short) (special thanks)
2017 The Not So Great Escape … Plan (Short) (special thanks)
2017 On Celebrity Death (Short) (special thanks)
2017 The Charles Broden Story: Pitch Video (Short) (special thanks)
2017 I Am Evidence (Documentary) (thanks)
2016 Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story (Documentary short) (very special thanks)
2016 Fair Haven (special thanks)
2016 Labyrinth (Short) (special thanks)
2015 Burning Down (Short) (special thanks)
2015 No Letting Go (the producers wish to thank)
2015 The Bomb Hunters (Documentary) (very special thanks)
2013 A Life for a Life (Short) (special thanks)
2012 Love or Whatever (special thanks)
2011 Building for Life: Moving AIDS to the Positive Life (Documentary) (special thanks)
2011 Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? (Documentary) (very special thanks)
2011 The LuLu Sessions (Documentary) (special thanks)
2010 Chow Down (Documentary) (with gracious support and advice from – as Carole Lee Dean)
2007 Independent Lens (TV Series documentary) (thanks – 1 episode, 2007)
(special thanks – 1 episode, 2005)
2007 Miss Navajo (thanks)
2005 Stolen (special thanks)
2005 Texas Gold (Documentary short) (special thanks)
2004 Vern (Documentary short) (thanks)
2004 David & Dee (Short) (special thanks)
Roy W. Dean Grant (1992-Present)
Carole Dean is founder and CEO of the Roy W. Dean Film Grant, which she has been offering for 30 years through her non-profit From the Heart Productions. The Roy W. Dean Film Grants fund independent feature films, documentaries, web series, and short films with budgets of $500,000 or less that are unique and make a contribution to society that, without its help, might otherwise never get made.
There are three Roy W. Dean Film Grants available each year for documentaries, narrative features, web series, and short films. One for Spring, Summer, and Fall. It has helped create a number of award-winning films.
http://www.fromtheheartproductions.com/roy-w-dean-film-grants-and-awards
Grant Winners
Nelly Queen is the story of Jose Serria who was the first gay man to run for office in San Francisco and he ran in high heels. This film is in festivals as of April 2021.
La Recua is a historical recreation of a pack of donkeys carrying cheese, dates, and wine down the Baja trail to La Paz. In Spanish with English subtitles. Premiered in the Santa Barbara Film Festival in April 2021.
Keeper of Time contemplates the theoretical and psychological notions of time, aging, and human mortality. It is currently in postproduction and releasing in fall of 2021.
How to Have an American Baby is a voyage behind the closed doors of the Chinese birth tourism industry in southern California. Expected release in early 2022.
999 is the hidden story of the first women transported to Auschwitz. Expected release is 2023.
Cadejo Blanco in Spanish with English subtitles is a feature on how in barrios, gangs take the place of missing family. Expected release in fall of 2021.
The Advocates is the story of heroes in Los Angeles, who are caseworkers finding homes for the homeless. Released in 2019, now in international and domestic distribution.
The Love Bugs documents two of the world’s foremost entomologists as they give away their 1,000,000 specimens including their 1,000 newly discovered specimen collection. Picked up by PBS in 2020.
Triple Threat is a web series featuring mature women who become detectives because their age makes them invisible. Currently online.
Belly of the Beast by Erica Cohen chronicles of journey of women fighting reproductive injustice in prison. Released in 2020 and received many awards and recognition for Erica.
Stranger at Home asks the U.S. government to require branches of the service to follow their own guidelines and to not send soldiers repeatedly to war zones which causes PDSD in our troops.
Restoring Balance is a film about autism recovery told through the eyes of doctors and parents who promoted diet and lifestyle changes.
The Cover Up reveals the dangers of lack of regulation over the $250 billion a year cosmetic industry.
The Need to Grow is a documentary following the innovators of high-tech solutions to localize food and regenerate our planet’s dying soils. Released in 2019 via community screenings.
Do No Harm exposes how young physicians and medical schools have the highest rate of suicide in any profession.
Girl from God’s Country is a documentary about Nell Shipman who was a pioneer woman in directing, writing, and producing films. She produced her own stunts with her own animal actors. This was sold to Turner classics.
Sands of Silence: Waves of Courage exposes the underworld of sexual exploitation and trafficking. Multi award-winning film now screening Internationally.
Generation Zapped is a documentary revealing serious health risks from infertility to cancer from wireless technology.
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins – A Texas maverick who was one of the most courageous journalists of modern times and one of the funniest. Released at Sundance 2019
A Photographic Memory is a personal story of director Rachel Seed as she uncovers her world-famous mother’s voice and images from audio reels and photographs. Just won Sundance support and is in editing with release date spring of 2022.
The Weight of Honor reveals the struggles of military families caring for their wounded veterans of the Iraq and Afghan wars.
Stolen is the story of the world’s largest art heist from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston where Vermeer’s The Concert, one of only 35 remaining works along with Rembrandts and major artist work were stolen. Made first for Court TV before Rebecca Dreyfus reworked it and sold to PBS. Now available online.
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? This documentary tells the story of how the systemic transformation of America’s well-regulated economy was transferred into a battlefield of foreclosed homes, runaway jobs and broken dreams.
A Girl and A Gun is an exploration of the complex relationship between American women and their guns.
The Winding Stream a documentary about how the Carter family and a black musician brought us our folk music from the Appalachian foothills in Virginia. It documents AP going into the hills with his friend and musician. AP brought back the words and the friend brought back the music. Then the Carters brought this music into the American public. Released in 2014 and available for download.
Unlikely Friends explores how the power of forgiveness between victim and perpetrator can affect change within the criminal justice system by paving roads to reconciliation and rehabilitation.
Salvaged Lives is a compelling documentary on a rehabilitation program which trains prison inmates to become deep-sea divers. This was Barbara Leibovitz’s first documentary and helped move her to create her own company which has produced many excellent documentaries.
Kusama: Infinity is the life story of Yayoi Kusama, called Japan’s greatest living artist. She was awarded the Praemiun Imperiale Laureate for painting, the world’s largest and most prestigious arts prize. Due to overwork during her stay in the USA, she returned to Japan and lived on the grounds of a mental health organization where she worked on her art daily until 2020 when she retired. This premiered at Sundance and is distributed by Submarine.
Ground Operations: Battlefields to Farmfields screened at conferences, colleges/universities, community centers, film festivals, military bases and several barns! Ground Operations screened in communities for seven consecutive years, then on Zoom to California Libraries during COVID and continues to be streamed online. What began is one woman’s vision and a dozen vets on a weekend farm tour, has blossomed in a national coalition of over 25,000 farmer-veteran members.
Miss Navajo follows one Navajo woman’s quest for the Miss Navajo National Crown. This pageant qualifies women by Navajo skills: rug weaving, fry bread making, and sheep slaughter. It is in fact one Navajo woman’s search for a better life.
Women Behind the Camera is a documentary about women cinematographers from around the world: the pioneers who were the first to film from mountaintops, from helicopters, in war zones, underwater, and on Hollywood sets. Many of the women interviewed have won Emmy’s, Cannes Film Festival Camera d’Or’s, and major awards.
Shakespeare Behind Bars is an award- winning documentary about an all-male Shakespeare company working within the bars of a Kentucky prison. They are all men who have committed the most heinous crimes and are now confronting these crimes on stage. This was screened on PBS and is now on Amazon.
Running Wild is the story of Dayton O. Hyde. It is a cinematic adventure that examines the life of a man who through prose, poetry, and wildlife conservation, extreme perseverance and enormous grace and wisdom has preserved part of American History. This covers his life on his 12,000 acre not-for-profit wild horse sanctuary located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Now available on Amazon.
The Flute Player is about the Khmer Rouge military regime and the story of Arm Pond who was imprisoned in a death camp for four years. He survived and he brought music back to Cambodia where all known musicians had been slaughtered. Released on POV.
In My Corner is a portrait of two teenagers seeking refuge and respect in a neighborhood gym in the South Bronx. This film went on to air on national television in PBS’s P.O.V. series.
Double Dare is a film about Hollywood’s stunt women. Jeannie Epper and Zoe Bell have been set on fire, thrown off buildings, dragged by wild horses, and hit by cars. They are the salt-of-the-earth professionals behind the high-flying scenes in your favorite movies. Double Dare was distributed worldwide. In the US by Independent Lens for PBS broadcast and by FilmBuff for digital streaming. Internationally it was distributed by NBC/Universal. It is still out there playing digitally!
Pictures of Infinity explores Tesla’s concept of a universe that is alive and breathing. More than a century ago scientist Nikola Tesla predicted the current environmental crisis and knew we would need a radical solution. He devoted the last part of his life to providing one with his discovery that the earth produces an unlimited reservoir of natural energy. This film covers this discovery and some of his original experiments are recreated. Still in production.
Overburdened is an award-winning documentary, the story of a symbol: one mountain destined to be destroyed by the coal industry and a grandmother’s struggle to save that mountain by creating the first sustainable green collar jobs project in the Appalachian coalfields called the Cold River Wind Farm.
Penny: A Documentary Film is the story of Penny Cooper whose life as a celebrated criminal defense attorney, art collector, Feminist and philanthropist mirrors the transforming decades during which she lived. She has the courage to come out as a lesbian when it was still difficult to do so. She and her partner have built a world-class art collection which focuses almost exclusively on women artists.
I Voted? – A Non-Partisan Documentary – In American elections, we mark our ballots and away they disappear for counting by reliable systems. Or so we hope. Few citizens realize that today’s elections offer scant guarantee that votes are recorded as intended. This offbeat documentary explores the specific assurances of accuracy and security within our elections. How does it all work? The answers are both surprising and disturbing. This film premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is now streaming online.
The Money Stone – 400 feet below the red soil of Ghana, West Africa, men with pickaxes and shovels follow a stream of gold like ants in a mound. Most of these miners entered the dangerous profession of illegal gold mining for the same reason – poverty and perpetual search for work in a nation stricken by poverty. Today nearly one quarter of the world’s gold output is estimated to originate from small scale mining, yet few in the West know the story behind how this precious metal is obtained an at what personal and environmental cost. This film is now online streaming.
Mia – A Dancer’s Odyssey – A daughter’s promise to tell her mother’s story becomes the unfolding of more than the life of a celebrated 20th century dancer. It is a story of a lost time and dance, of exile and return, and the triumph of art over politics. Winner of the 2015 Los Angeles area Emmy Award in arts and culture. This film was screened with the Croatian National Television and is currently downloadable online.
The Mosaic of Life is an inspirational and uplifting documentary depicting the life and positive philosophy of Dr. Jack Brauns, a Holocaust survivor who reveals how even the worst circumstances can still allow life’s colors to shine and illuminate even the most hopeless among us. Forgiveness is the theme of this film. It is the emotion that allowed Dr. Braun to put himself through medical school and begin healing people not only physically but mentally with his love of life philosophy. Still in production.
While Time Stands Still – This poignant film tells the story of service wives that are left behind and exactly how war affects the family of our soldiers. It explores the themes of struggle, courage, and resilience uniting military families who overcome isolation and panic to discover self-reliance and determination. Screened for service personnel and local communities and now streaming.
Changing Face of Harlem – This 2013 documentary examines the revitalization in Harlem told from deeply personal stories of residents, small business owners, developers, and clergy. The neighborhood attracted new residents and new commercial corporate entities. This lasted over 20 years and revealed the larger complex paradigm of gentrification. Present day Harlem represents economic prosperity, investment and promising future, but for whom? Distributed in the US and currently online.
Shakespeare High – This documentary is about a group of teens in Southern California whose lives are profoundly changed by learning, and then performing Shakespeare. The film follows several students mainly, underserved and from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, and explores how their dedication to drama provides them with the purpose and passion to overcome great challenges.
Women At War: Forgotten Veterans of Desert Storm is an intimate look at women soldier’s wartime experiences during the 1991 desert storm and their battles with Gulf War illnesses since they have returned home. These women found that the VA dismissed their illnesses and refused them benefits and pensions. Our government has constantly denied them proper testing treatment and compensation.
The Tomato Effect – A daughter of a well-known doctor takes the camera to end the conspiratorial whispers about the suspicious circumstances of his death. What she uncovers is that her father was a great enemy of the chemical industry because he was diagnosing people with multiple chemical sensitivity. In the end she found that her investigation only led to more questions.
The Desert of Forbidden Art – This is the story of the Islamic world and the West coming together to save a common art legacy. It is an invigorating a positive story of a remote Central Asian desert in Uzbekistan where there was a unique hidden treasure. These 50,000 paintings were censored during the Soviet era and hidden away from the Soviets. These are paintings of the Russian Avant Garde, a movement that re-defined the nature of modern art.
Red Dust is a short film about nickel-cadmium batteries where the red dust of cadmium drifts freely in the Chinese factories where the batteries are manufactured. Many of the workers exposed to cadmium suffer from chronic pain and difficulty breathing. The access to film red dust achieves a rare glimpse into Chinese labor activism that Americans have not yet seen. The audience discovers the horrors of the global assembly line.
Freeing Sylvia Baraldini is the story of a political prisoner. After 15 years as a political activist, she was arrested by the FBI and sentenced to 43 years in prison. In 1999, after a 10-year campaign and 1,000,000 Italian signatures pressing the US government, she was transferred to a prison in Rome. In April 2001, the Italian government granted Sylvia house arrest to undergo treatment for cancer the Bush administration is insisting she be returned to prison. This documentary shows that Sylvia’s political beliefs were important, and her objective was noble and not criminal.
Bad Boys of Summer – San Quentin baseball – A Field of Dreams in the toughest prison in America. This film follows a group of prisoners through a season of baseball at San Quentin state penitentiary where all games were played at home. This is an unflinching look at life in maximum security. These inmates are called “the most ruthless fans in baseball.”
Hempsters: Plant the Seed – This film is on the industrial use of hemp. HEMP is not a drug; it is related to cannabis but due to our federal drug laws they are lumped together in the same category. HEMP was a major crop for the Indians and a source of oil, rope and paper and many usable daily items came from hemp.
Lillie & Leander: A Legacy of Violence – This film examines the case of a black man suspected of sexual assault and murdering of white women at the turn of the 20th century in Pensacola FL. In investigating the sexual assault and murder of her great aunt Lily, our filmmaker stumbles upon an explosive family secret. Men in her family had exacted their own 25-year long system of revenge against black people this came out accidentally in an interview with him and the Assistant State Attorney to get involved and investigate.
Bam 6.6 – This is a story of an Israeli woman and man who were in Bam during the massive earthquake. They were both trapped in the rubble of their hotel until the Iranian tour guide brought men to unearth them. She rushed them to the hospital where she found a long line of injured people. By telling them that these were visitors who America she went to the front of the line. The doctors took them both into surgery immediately. The man died but the woman lived. When the mother came to take her home, she found that her daughter had received excellent care. There was no bill to pay. The surgeon said how could I bill you for being a guest in our country? This film was to show the compassion of Iranian people. We may disagree with their ruler and their politics, but the people are loving and kind. This was screened across America and in temples, churches, and community screenings. It is now available on DVD.
Independent Intervention – A documentary about the importance of independent media in a time of war and corporate control of the media. It focuses on the human cost of war.
Tahara – This word in Arabic means purification and it describes the tradition of female genital mutilation or FGM. Cutting the sexual organs of a girl is meant to cleanse her and prepare her for marriage. Today it has been declared illegal, but it continues in some countries. It is on DVD and was screened in communities.
A Chance to Grow – This film follows three families in the neonatal intensive care unit at St. Vincent Hospital in New York. The film was an 8-year project, released on Discovery Channel as A Baby’s Battle for Life and has been playing via National Geographic abroad. It was awarded the City Golden Eagle, and an American Academy of Nursing Media Awards.
Homeland – This is the story of four Lakota Indian families living on the beautiful Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota. Filmed over three years, it weaves an intimate portrait of contemporary Native American life through the personal stories of a spiritual leader, a grandmother, a community activist and an artist . This film invites us to remember the value of humor, family, spirituality and the natural world. Jilann Spitzmiller the filmmaker took a chance and followed one of the many Indians that asked for a house and filmed this grandmother praying for the house on her hill. Jilann’s instincts were right and this woman was the right one to follow, she was given a home for her hill and this was picked up by ITVS.
American Chain Gang – This documents the experiences of the prisoners and officers of the recently revived male chain gang and the world’s first female chain gang. This was screened by the 1999 Human Rights Watch International Festival. It was nationally screened on PBS. This film helped
Alabama to do away with the Chain gangs.
Free A Man to Fight – This important film uncovers the hidden stories of women veterans of World War II. Many of us are not aware that women in the service were more than just nurses, they were mechanics and even pilots. This award-winning film went on to be aired on The History Channel and was screened at the Women’s Veteran Memorial where it is now part of the permanent archive. These courageous women flew plains towing a target and the men learned to shoot by firing live ammunition at these planes. We heard the report from a woman who had her tail shot off! Once home, they were forgotten with no retirement pay and no benefits.
All Power to the People – This film uses the history of the Black Panther Party to examine the civil rights movement of the 1960s and how the politics of racism, violence, poverty, drugs, and fear continue their legacy in the 1990s. This film contains archival footage and interviews including seminal figures as Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Leonard Peltier, Bobby Seale, Huey Newton, Eldridge Cleaver and Mumia Jamal. It has been broadcast in 24 nations on 12 networks and viewed by millions globally.
Halsted Street, USA – Nowhere in America does a stretch of pavement slice through a more vibrant and diverse cross section of humanity than Chicago’s Halsted St. Along its length one can view a dozen nationalities, 1000 lifestyles to find the American melting pot at full boil. Halsted St. traces this uniquely American thoroughfare nearly 400 miles from its origin in the cornfields to its terminus in the city’s boisterous soul. It is a kaleidoscopic road movie. Voice over by Studs Terkel this film was seen on PBS.
Isabel Rosado – Nacionalista – This documentary chronicles the life of 102-year-old Puerto Rican revolutionary, Isabel Rosado, who dedicated her life to the Puerto Rican independence movement. She became a revered symbol of colonial resistance. She takes us through a century of this historic struggle uncovering over six decades of political history and analysis of the status of the free Association State of Puerto Rico.
The Factory Women of Juarez – This film is about the mysterious brutal murders of 200 young female assembly line workers. Foreign owned companies in Mexico were bringing women from the rural areas into the city to work for them. This project aims to shed light on these unsolved murders and a SoC struggling to define itself.
Truth Has Fallen – This film is a one hour animated/live action documentary about James McCloskey’s mission to free wrongly convicted prisoners who are serving life sentences or are on death row for life. Images from the prison, courtrooms and police interrogations melt into one another. It examines three cases that McCluskey worked on and investigates the circumstances which allowed these injustices to occur.
New York Spirit – This film depicts NYC’s spirit in a composite day through rich and colorful images of New Yorkers choosing a moment to connect to God or spirit. The soundtrack has sacred music from around the world and is performed by local New York artists.
Matter in the Making – This is about the ground-breaking healing science called radionics. Radionics treats your etheric body. This documentary leads you through the process by reenacting the exciting moments of discovery in the works of early pioneers, Albert Abrams and Ruth Down. Why does it work? Scientists show that our brain is the key retrieval and readout mechanism for accessing this critical information, meaning that the mind can affect reality. The mind can be used to focus on healing the body. With amazing results.
Burned – This is the story of Cameron Todd Willingham who was sentenced to death through a lightning-fast trial and years of hopeless appeals while on death row. He was charged with the murder of his three children in a burning house. Ultimately it is proven that the fire was caused by a faulty stove only a month before his execution, but Texas decided to execute him anyway. How many men are on death row that do not belong there?
Alma – This film portrays a teenage Chicano migrant worker who discovers she is not a U.S. citizen and is jailed in a maximum-security prison for holding false papers. Alma’s father lied to her about her birthplace in an effort to protect her from his political past in Mexico but when she discovers her true identity, she rebelled against the limitations imposed by her father and becomes a doctor. Ultimately Alma struggles to disentangle herself from her father and his pattern of deception to find her independence.
In My Corner – Filmmakers Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg deliver a knockout punch in a portrait of two teenagers seeking refuge and respect in a neighborhood gym in the South Brooks. This winning film went on to air on national television PBS POV series.
Behind the Chutes – For several years, we travel with rodeo bareback riders to understand their passion for riding bucking horses. These Cowboys tell us in their own words about the demands they face, their beliefs and their lifestyle. Cowboys are always there for each other to offer a helping hand and support. That is the spirit of the rodeo. A cowboy doesn’t compete at rodeos much as he lives it.
Wakefield Convicted, Sentenced to Die – Charles Wakefield, Jr. has been languishing all but forgotten in a South Carolina prison for the past 30 years branded a vicious killer by the men who put him behind bars. This film represents a reinvestigation of Wakefield. Four days into production the prosecution star witness quiet Harper recants his trial testimony claiming investigators coerced him into testifying falsely against Wakefield in 1976. The man who process dictated the case is now Chief Justice of the United states Court of Appeal. On president versus short list for Supreme Court. This film chronicles my efforts to uncover the truth behind the Wakefield case. He was finally released and re imprisoned within the week on trumped up charges.
Hopilavayi – This was our first film grant. We gave Bart Hawkins $2500 worth of 16-millimeter film and he moved to the Hopi reservation to produce this film about the demise of the Hopi language and their way of life. This is dedicated to the intuitive and spiritual in all forms. Bart gave all rights to the Hopi Nation. In appreciation for the film and its message, Brooks Institute of Photography offered a full scholarship to a Hopi student willing to attend the school. Bart’s incite, boldness, and sensitivity caught the attention of the film industry. The Dean grant got him the film to live on the reservation and he won the Cine Golden Eagle Award and the Townsend Tenacity Award. This was shown in national and International film festivals and the Hopi Nation now owns it.
