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save our future - a documentary
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Save Our Future A Documentary
Thank you for attending our L.A. premiere on Sunday, May 1st at the Los Angeles United Film Festival. Your enthusiasm for the film earned us the Audience Award for Feature Length Documentary!! For more information, please visit http://www.theunitedfest.com/losangeles/schedule.htm
Poster by Ink Tank Boston
about the film
Save Our Future Founder Charlotte Austin Jordan began dedicating her life to reaching inner city teens after experiencing her own personal tragedies. Save Our Future was a different kind of a school, a charter (actually a site of the former California Charter Academy). Stephanie Young and I were intrigued and wanted to understand more. We had met for the first time earlier that year at Sundance and had connected over films, the French language, and the fact that we were both employed as substitute teachers.Initially, our intention was to feature students at various stages on their road to a high school diploma. We showed up on the first day of school to get acquainted with everyone. While we had our camera and boom in the trunk, it was not the plan to use them that day. When we arrived, however, there was a growing murmur. We grabbed our equipment and literally began shooting from the hip. The story took on a life of its own, and we happened to be there to capture it. I kept thinking about that saying, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Well, if a school shuts down in South Los Angeles...?We interview experts in the field of public education who help put events in context. They are the cerebral voice, whereas Charlotte is the soul of the piece, and the students are the heart.The topic of education has suddenly gone from overlooked to center stage. As we continue to make difficult decisions in very tough economic times, which will be of greater funding priority: schools or prisons? According to the U.S. Department of Justice (2003), 75% of state prison inmates are high school drop-outs. In 2008, the L.A. Times reported that California's high school drop-out rate is 1 in 4 students, and it’s reported to be 1 in 3 in Los Angeles. There remains a "not in my backyard" mentality, but when a child drops out of school it has an impact on us all. As U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings stated before Congress in 2005, "Drop-outs will cost our nation more that $260 million in lost taxes, wages, and productivity over their lifetimes." Can we afford to look away? Janine Foster McKenna
filmmakers
Janine Foster McKenna (Producer/Director)Inspired by her experiences on URBAN JUNGLE (SiTV), Janine, a first-time filmmaker, was compelled to share stories from within the school walls of Save Our Future. Her early training was in ballet. Janine's love of "story ballets" in particular led her to other storytelling mediums. After earning a Bachelor'’s degree in Theatre Arts, she worked both in front and behind the camera, as well as on professional stages throughout California. Her choreography appeared in television and on stage, including two episodes of the critically acclaimed PBS series AMERICAN FAMILY. In May 2010, Janine received an M.A. degree in Education Counseling and holds a Pupil Personnel Services credential for School Counseling. She is committed to the academic, career, and personal/social success of California students. Stephanie A. Young (Director/Producer)An award winning writer/director as well as the Chairman of the Alliance of Woman Directors, Stephanie's earlier work includes "The Roommate," which won a CINE Eagle award, was voted into Atomfilm.com's "Top 100 Films of USC Film School" and sold internationally. Stephanie has directed segments for Court TV and industrials for corporations, such as Girls Inc., LA. For USC-CNTV's 75th anniversary, her film was screened for an audience of Hollywood elite, including Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ron Howard, and Clint Eastwood. In 2007, Stephanie sat on the jury for the IDA Best Documentary awards. She has recently finished a new dramedy script, and her comedy/horror script has been optioned by a top LA production company. Stephanie is fluent in three languages and currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.M.R. Stiff (Editor)M.R. Stiff graduated from the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television with an MFA in Film Production in 2005, after receiving her BFA from New York University in Dramatic Writing in 2002. While attending USC, she was chosen as a participant of Film Independents Project:Involve. As a producer, Morgan has produced fiction and documentary films, as well as promotional videos. Producing projects include Porcelain (2004), which is currently being distributed by Iron Rod Motion Pictures, Inc.; Hip Hop Homos (LOGO Networks, 2004); and the award-winning Brooklyns Bridge to Jordan (Showtime, LOGO, BET J, 2005). As an editor, Morgan has worked on tributes, music videos, fiction films, and documentaries. Editing projects include Hopes Choice (Showtime, 2004) and the award-winning documentary One Bad Cat: The Reverend Albert Wagner Story (Ovation TV, 2009), which she also produced. In 2007, Morgan participated in the FIND Producers Lab with Mississippi Damned. Morgan went on to produce and edit the award-winning film. In 2010 she participated in the FIND Writers Lab with her new project, County Line. She is also the Chief Production Officer of Morgan's Mark, a production company dedicated to bringing marginalized stories to the mainstream. www.morgansmark.com
news
News
SAVE OUR FUTURE has been invited to the 2011 Tulsa United Film Festival. Catch it on Sunday, July 24th! SAVE OUR FUTURE won the Audience Award for Documentary Feature at the Los Angeles United Film Festival on May 1, 2011!! We had a successful world premiere at the San Diego Black Film Festival on January 30, 2011. The audience responded enthusiastically to the film, and a dynamic Q&A session with the filmmakers and Charlotte and Ken Jordan followed!The Los Angeles Cinema Festival of Hollywood granted SAVE OUR FUTURE an Award of Merit: "The film was of excellent quality and earned a well deserved honorable mention."
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