Rose and Nangabire

In the late 1990s, Rose Mapendo lost family and home to the violence that engulfed the Democratic Republic of Congo. She emerged advocating forgiveness and reconciliation. In a country where ethnic violence has created seemingly irreparable rifts among Tutsis, Hutus and other Congolese, this remarkable woman is a vital voice in her beleaguered nation’s search for peace. Now, Rose is confronted with teaching one her most recalcitrant students how to forgive—Nangabire, the daughter who remained behind.

When war came to Rose’s village, she was separated from her five-year-old daughter, Nangabire. Rose managed to escape with nine of her ten children and was eventually resettled in Phoenix, Arizona. Over a decade later, mother and daughter are reunited in the US where they must face the past and build a new future.

We follow Rose and Nangabire over the course of a year as they make up for lost time. Rose struggles to find balance in her life as a mother of ten and a full-time advocate for refugees. Nangabire, now seventeen, must adapt to America and discover how she fits into the sprawling Mapendo family. As mother and daughter get to know one another, they must come to terms with a painful past, and define what it means to be a survivor, a woman, a refugee and an American.

We are currently in production on this feature length documentary. The film has received funding from Chicken and Egg Pictures, New York State Council on the Arts and The New York Foundation for the Arts. If you are interested in learning more about this project, email us.

Asexuals: The Making of a Movement

An asexual is someone who does not experience sexual attraction. Unlike celibacy, which is a personal choice, asexuality is an intrinsic part of who asexuals are. It is their identity. There is considerable diversity within the asexual community. Each person experiences things like relationships, attraction, and arousal somewhat differently. With an unofficial online headquarters at AVEN (The Asexuality Visibility and Education Network), asexuals are pushing their way into the mainstream. Yet many are troubled by this community. Why? Because it turns the conventional perception of sexuality and how we relate to it upside down. It challenges tradition, ideology and our sense of normative behavior. Asexuality: The Making of a Movement will profile four people who are trying to live their lives as asexuals. Each of these characters’ stories are at the heart of the asexual movement, and the stories are universal: How do you deal with life as an outsider?

We are in pre-production for this feature length documentary and are currently looking for subjects. Please email us.

The Dishes

This intimately revealing story takes the viewer from the band’s local haunts of Chicago to life on the road during their US tour. Through interviews and vérité footage, the film captures the realities of The Dishes’s life on the road and what it takes to endure the feat of holding it all together, a side of the brass tacks of rock rarely seen. Learn more about the project here.

We are in post-production for this feature length documentary.