Lockdown
In elementary schools nationwide, students and teachers rehearse for the possibility of a violent intruder through lockdown drills.
Documentary
Tied to the System
A poetic protest against police brutality. Last year I began my thesis project to do my part in heightening awareness of police brutality. With that I’ve been waiting for the right to release it which is foolishness, the time is now. Please pass it along.
Fairness Rising
Washington D.C.’s Franklin Square is famous for its hundreds of unhoused patrons who congregate there daily. Less known is the stately building that haunts its eastern end: Franklin School, the shelter that used to house them. Formed in response to the shelter’s closing, People for Fairness coalition – an advocacy group made up of unhoused and formerly unhoused men and women – sought to stand up for themselves and the city’s most vulnerable, when they realized no one else would. Experience a year with these amazing men and women as they architect two powerful events that silently shake the city, portending an imminent political quake. They will stop at nothing short of housing for all, but will the brutal winters that increasingly claim the lives of their friends, family and those they serve silence their stride?
Raise to Rise
Experience D.C. General from the inside as a brave mother raising her two-year-old maintains a secret iPhone diary of their time at a shelter notorious for its uninhabitable conditions and structural neglect. This intensely intimate film looks at how one’s own childhood can lead to parenting a child under equally harrowing circumstances – and how one mother puts a stop to this suffocating feedback loop.
Late Show
A rented SUV departs the nation’s capital at midnight on Halloween. Its destination: Ed Sullivan Theater. The 55 year-old Morgan Jones is on a quest to become an intern on the Late Show in David Letterman’s last season on air, a bold effort by a hospitality management student to extricate himself from two decades stuck in transitional housing. In Letterman, Morgan sees a way out. Joined by six peers all struggling to survive in one of the nation’s most expensive cities, bent on helping their friend fulfill a dream, these 24 hours in the Big Apple result in an experience you won’t soon forget…
I am Levester Joe Green II
We begin at a crossroads. During a pounding snow, amidst record colds, Levester Green finds himself inside a hotel room on his last dollar. Levester must decide whether to once more attempt to navigate the labyrinthine social service system that has seen him homeless for nearly a decade, or to shun convention permanently and rely solely on his poetry to keep himself alive (if in spirit alone). Tonight an artist decides the rest of his life, but not before confronting his past…
Doc in a Day: City Dogs Rescue
City Dogs Rescue & City Kitties rescues adoptable cats and dogs in overcrowded and high-kill shelters, where resources are severely limited. We offer a lifeline to as many of these wonderful animals as possible. Sadly, many of the cats and dogs that City Dogs Rescue & City Kitties takes are just days — and sometimes hours — away from being euthanized for no reason other than lack of space. By finding these animals permanent and loving homes in the DC metropolitan area, we can enrich lives of humans and their pets. We welcome your help in any capacity, through volunteering, fostering, adopting, sponsoring and/or donating.
Doc in a Day: DC Scores
A national nonprofit, America SCORES serves 10,000 students at more than 175 public and charter schools in 13 major cities. Our mission is to inspire urban youth to lead healthy lives, be engaged students, and have the confidence and character to make a difference in the world. We achieve this mission through daily after school and summer programming that combines soccer, poetry, and service-learning. Our holistic, team-based approach works – America SCORES students, 85 percent of whom live below the poverty line, improve academically, increase physical fitness, and have a greater sense of confidence and belonging.
Doc in a Day: Tzedec DC
Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights of low-income DC residents dealing with often unjust, abusive, and illegal debt collection practices, as well as other consumer protection problems like credit reporting issues, identity theft, and predatory lending. The consequences of adverse court judgments in debt-related cases can be devastating for a family’s well-being and stability. Therefore, drawing upon a central tenet of Jewish teachings – “Tzedek, tzedek tirdof,” or “Justice, justice we shall pursue,” – Tzedek DC aims to level the playing field for low-income DC debtors by facilitating access to the civil justice system. By addressing debt-related legal issues before they become irreversible, catastrophic crises, Tzedek DC can enhance the overall stability and financial health of low-income DC families.
Doc in a Day: Washington Area Bicyclist Association
The mission of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association is to create a healthy, more livable region by promoting bicycling for fun, fitness, and affordable transportation; advocating for better bicycling conditions and transportation choices for a healthier environment; and educating children, adults, and motorists about safe bicycling.
