Last year, I went to Ferguson. Through the support of the School of Media and Public Affairs’ Manheim Sterling Undergraduate Research Prize, I directed and produced the documentary Hands Up which chronicles the #BlackLivesMatter movement – from Ferguson to Baltimore.
In fall 2015 #HandsUpDoc hit the road for a film festival tour, premiering at the St. Louis International Film Festival, Cucalorous Film Festival, Columbus International Film and Video Award – where it was the recipient of the Free Press Award. Since then, it has also screened at Traildance Film Festival, Women in Film and Television in Vancouver Awards, UrbanMediaMakers Film Festival and it was a semifinalist for the Student Academy Awards.
#HandsUpDoc screened at Brandeis University as a part of their Community Advisor Winter Training
Now, the film is travelling to colleges, community groups, and high schools to screen the documentary and discuss what #BlackLivesMatter means to different communities. In February, I screened the film for the current PAFs and PAF Advising Team as part of my Academic Presentation and in celebration of Black History Month (happy Black History Month, by the way!).
As a PAF pursuing my Masters in Media and Strategic Communication and graduate certificate in Documentary Filmmaking from GW’s Institute for Documentary Filmmaking, I could not be more grateful to be placed in the Global Women’s Institute (GWI), where my Preceptor is Policy Associate and PAF alumna Chelsea Ullman, CCAS BA ’12 MPP ‘14. Through GWI’s Arts for Gender Justice (A4GJ) Initiative, I’ve been able to engage my passion for the arts and film in the classroom and in my workplace. Through the AA4GJ, GWI hosts performance groups like the Bokamoso Youth Centre, original plays such as DC Seven and film screenings, including the Censored Women’s Film Festival (CWFF). In November 2015, GWI hosted CWFF.
The Censored Women’s Film Festival, hosted in partnership with Honor Diaries, was a two day summit and film festival featuring films by and for women whose voices have been censored. The event was spearheaded by GWI’s Policy and Outreach team, led by Chelsea Ullman. It was wonderful to have such great representation among the current PAFs at the event, including Katie Wynne, who kindly volunteered to support our staff.
Through filming in Ferguson, learning about the history of documentary in class, and hearing the stories of women who have been censored at CWFF, I have seen firsthand that documentary has the power to change the world. I hope you’ll join me in continuing to create, watch, and support.
If you’re interested in screening Hands Up to a group, please, feel free to contact me at HandsUpDocumentary.com.