From the Director
This short film highlights the devastating epidemic of missing girls of color that has been plaguing the United States for decades.
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As a father to a young black daughter myself, this story resonates deeply. I cannot imagine the relentless anguish and helplessness that so many parents must experience when their child goes missing, often feeling as though the very institutions responsible for overseeing their safe return simply do not dedicate the same energy and resources because the child is not white.
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This film aims to finally give voice to the buried stories of missing girls of color, honoring their lives and the families left behind. My hope is that it will open a long-overdue dialog around this neglected crisis, examining the prejudices and lack of empathy that allow it to persist. The goal is to bring hope and visibility to affected communities and pressure leaders to dedicate the resources required to bring missing children of color home. Our daughters' lives matter. Their families matter. The time is now to confront this injustice.
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-Chris Anthony Hamilton
The Team
Writer/Director
Chris is an award-winning Director and Cinematographer living in Atlanta, GA. With an education in film from Hofstra University, Chris honed his skills in New York City working with giants including Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, Sesame Street and Ralph Lauren. His screenplay for Body and Son was a Finalist in the 2015 Harlem International Film Festival Screenwriting Competition and a Semi-Finalist in the 2016 Nashville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition among others. With the help of his tremendous team his short Something Bigger won the Audience Choice Award at the 2017 Atlanta Horror Film Festival and was an Official Selection at the 2018 Atlanta Film Festival. His most recent film Broken Branches won him the prize for Best Director at the 2018 Black Women Film Network Short Film Festival.
Producer
Carrie Schrader is an award-winning writer-director of short films, commercials, and feature-length films. She co-directed the short film “Don’t Mess With Texas” with Ethan Coen and directed the Netflix commercial “BatDad: Battle For Bedtime.” She also wrote and co-directed the feature-length documentary “The Founders” (Peacock, Amazon), and currently makes her living from multiple feature-length film write-for-hire contracts. She has a ridiculously expensive but surprisingly useful MFA in directing from Columbia University and will be forever proud of her early days as a theater nerd. A new-wave queer grounded in old-school storytelling, she is known for her edgey, subversive dramas and dramedies about crime, sex, and family.
Producer
Maria Niglio is a Metallica-loving musician who crossed over into screenwriting with her first feature screenplay, “Yogini” which sits in the Top 20% on Coverfly. She recently moved into producing short films, including her own short, “The Thing I Want to Say”. Underneath her seemingly shy exterior lies a vibrant spirit tinged with a delightful touch of goofiness. Maria's profound love for yoga intertwines effortlessly with her background as a Gulf War Veteran, shaping her unique storytelling style that centers around the transformative power of enlightenment and love. Through her narratives, she fearlessly charts the hero's journey, crafting stories that ignite the soul.
Producer
Shana Berger is a filmmaker with a background in art and activism. She founded the political artist group Your Art Here and ran a contemporary art and social justice organization in rural Alabama for over a decade. She is a former board member of the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and was named in Indiana University’s inaugural list of 20 under 40 distinguished alumni. After many years of using image making and storytelling in her work, Shana has returned to her lifelong dream of filmmaking and television. She has recently completed writing her first feature, These Little Fangs of Mine, and has produced 2 short films. Her directorial debut short, FIngers Up, will be shot later this year.
Producer
Nina Marinov has a Masters in business management received while working as a line producer at the largest science and documentary studio in Russia. Her passion for the stories she tells and the people she collaborates with to tell them is the engine behind the success of the projects she chooses. Along with that she exercises a deep commitment to diversity both in front of and behind the camera noting her memories of living in an environment where acceptance is a rare animal. In 2017 she produced Soul Fire, which one the top prize at the inaugural Gentleman Jack Real to Reel Short Film Competition. She then produced Chris’ most recent short film Something Bigger, which is currently screening at film festivals.
Become a Backer
Making a film, even a short film, is a complicated endeavor that requires a great deal of coordination and resources. Your contributions to the film will go towards everything from catering and crafty to paying our actors and crew. Our backers will receive a screen credit based on their level of contribution.
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