WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Southeast 67 was recently accepted into the 2015 DC Independent Film Festival and will publicly premiere Friday, February 27, at 7:30PM, at Barracks Row Theater Church in Washington, DC.
A feature documentary produced by Red Spark Films, Southeast 67, tells the story of a group of students (known as the Dreamers) from Washington, DC, who were promised college scholarships in 1988 at the age of twelve, yet struggled with survival in an impoverished neighborhood devastated by the crack epidemic. Founder of Choice Hotels and the Commonweal Foundation, the late Stewart Bainum, sponsored the scholarships through the ‘I Have a Dream’ program.
Southeast 67 combines raw, 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.
The Dreamers’ journey through junior high and high school from 1988 to 1994 was fraught with staggering challenges, far beyond the program’s initial educational scope. But the kids, together with the two dedicated and compassionate educators who stood by them, band together in ways that profoundly change all of their lives.
Southeast 67 was recently reviewed by Picturelock.com and featured in McClatchyDC
“The film could have easily slipped into the sensationalism of one white man giving 67 underprivileged black kids a helping hand. Instead, it focuses on love, which sees no color, and permeates each frame from the inside out with undeniable results.” – Picturelock.com
For more information 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.
About Red Spark Films
Red Spark Films, founded by Betsy Cox, focuses on a range of issues, including poverty and education; her work has aired on PBS and Discovery, and has been featured in museum exhibitions, and more.
