In Production
When the Drum is Beating
Septentrional is to Haiti as the Yankees are to New York City, an institution that is an integral part of a collective identity. For six decades Septentrional has been making beautiful music -- a fusion of Cuban big band and Haitian vodou beats -- that turns out thousands of fans each time they play. At 59, Septentrional has already survived nine years longer than the average Haitian lifespan. Led by 80-year-old Maestro Pierre-Louis, its trumpeters, drummers, sax players and guitarists have been making music through dictatorships, democratic interludes, coup d’états, and chaos. It has navigated the country’s complex politics and race relations, its deteriorating economy, crumbling cities and a musical environment where few groups last. "When the Drum is Beating" was filmed over five years as during President Jean Bertrand Aristide's second term during which he was violently driven from power. website
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For Whites Only
White Americans are the least examined ethnicity. In a country consumed by race, the discussion is always about the relationship between whites and other ethnicities, or more precisely, blacks. Rarely is the question of whiteness raised without putting it in opposition with something else. What does it mean to be white? What are the benefits, drawbacks, fears and exoectations? How do we feel about our skin? Do we notice at all? And how does it define us? "For Whites Only" is a film to help white people better understand themselves. A combination of direct interviews with people across the economic spectrum, mixed with music and animation, the film will look at how white skin color affects the everyday lives of people who's most distinctive characteristic is that they are white.
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Untitled Immigration Project
THE UNTITLED IMMIGRATION PROJECT is a 90-minute documentary that will examine the state of the United States’ immigration policy by documenting three facets of the immigration story: the deaths along the border and the effort to identify and repatriate the bodies, the trend of local municipalities creating laws to confront the influx of Latinos, and the impact of deportation of those with working papers who have committed a violation of law.