About the Film
The Project
100 years ago we were just one generation out of slavery. There were no cars on the road, no planes in the sky, no computers on our desks. Since then the world, and our country, have changed in immeasurable ways. We have lived through two world wars, the introduction of the radio, television, segregation, the birth of Civil rights, race riots, a walk on the moon, the beginning of the Information Age and now, the election of American's first black president. Can you imagine living through all this in one lifetime? What can we learn from remembering the past directly through the eyes of someone who has been there to see it all? How can we celebrate where we are today, and where we will be tomorrow - especially in this unique moment in history?
100 YEARS is a project that aims to shed light on some of these questions. The project begins with a documentary that will recount out country's past through the eyes of five African Americans over the age of 100 who have lived through all of these changes. The film will look at our country's racial history the past 100 years through the eyes of these unique individuals --and of the contributions and sacrifices that have been made by all African Americans -- and will celebrate how far we have come while recognizing how far we still must go.
The Need
The advent of the new presidential administration finds us at a unique moment in history. For not only is it of historical significance as the first time we have an African American man as president, but Barack Obama has also engendered in the public a renewed sense of optimism in and engagement with the many issues surrounding us all -- one of course which is the issue of tolerance, equality and freedom for all --regardless of race or ethnicity.
100 YEARS is the perfect vehicle to capture the energy of this "new day" and allow us to translate this energy into a broader campaign of education, conversation and action --a campaign that could bring together ideas of tolerance, equality, Civil Rights and African American studies in a way that gives unique faces and perspectives to the incredible changes of the past century, while building toward a better next century.
Content Copright. 2009. In Effect Films. All rights reserved.
