WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southeast 67, a feature-length documentary produced by Red Spark Films, tells the story of a group of rising 7th grade students (known as the Dreamers) from Washington, DC, who were promised college scholarships in 1988. The late Stewart Bainum, successful business man and Founder of the Commonweal Foundation, sponsored the Dreamers through the I Have a Dream Program. Southeast 67 was recently accepted into the 2015 DC Independent Film Festival and will publicly premiere on Friday, February 27, at 7:30PM, at Barracks Row Theater Church in Washington, DC.
In the 1980s, Washington, DC became known as the “murder capital” of the country. Growing up at the epicenter of this violence – in Southeast, DC – the Dreamers struggled to reconcile the dream of college with daily survival in a community rife with violence, poverty and addiction.
Southeast 67 combines raw, never-before-seen archival and present-day film footage and photographs, with intimate interviews with the Dreamers, 20 years later, as they reflect on the hope, and anguish, of trying to seize an improbable dream.
“This documentary is powerful and captures the true definition of resiliency. The hope we witness throughout the film and how it lasts through adulthood is exactly what my father envisioned when he first sponsored the I Have a Dream program in 1988,” says Commonweal Board Chair, CEO and President, Barbara Bainum.
For more information about Southeast 67 or to contact the director, please visit www.southeast67.com.
About Commonweal Foundation
The Commonweal Foundation operates and supports educational programs and projects assisting underserved children and youth, from early childhood through post-secondary education. Their vision is that children living in poverty have the opportunity to break the bonds of their circumstance by gaining access to quality educational opportunities and services, and graduate from high school prepared to enter and succeed in higher education or pursue gainful employment to become contributing members of society.
About Red Spark Films
Red Spark Films, founded by Betsy Cox, focuses on a wide range of social issues, including poverty, education, domestic violence and healthcare. Her work has aired on PBS and Discovery, and has been featured in museum exhibitions, showcased at galas, served as the centerpiece of grassroots campaigns and broadcast in Times Square and at the Army/Navy game. Over her twenty-five year career, she has received more than sixty awards, including a Capitol Region Emmy for A Call to Care (PBS). In 1997, she founded Betsy Cox Productions which became Red Spark Films in 2014 (www.redsparkfilms.com).
