Secrets of the Hollow: The Hidden History of Blacks in Rockland County

Images

Website

http://www.acroweflyz.com

Topics

Human Development: Education, Social Exclusion
Human Rights: Civil Rights, Indigenous Rights, Race Politics, Social Exclusion
Information & Media: Culture
Peace and Conflict: Conflict, Peace
Politics: Activism, Civil Society, Ethics & Value Systems, Geopolitics, Justice and Crime, Law

Project Geography

US: National, New Jersey, New York

Identity Niches

African, African American, Children, Indigenous, Native American

Budget

Raised to date: $6,200.00
Estimate to complete: $82,523.00
Total Estimated Budget: $88,723.00
The budget numbers above are accurate as of 01/11/2011

Status

Production

Media Type

Video

Project End Use

TV

Key Personnel

Alice T. Crowe
Director/Producer

Alice T. Crowe is a first time filmmaker. She was born in the Bronx New York and grew up in Rockland County. She graduated from Adelphi University and Howard University School of Law. She practiced law in her own law firm, Crowe & Crowe, with her identical twin sister Alicia where she practiced civil litigation and intellectual property. She is an entrepreneur and writer andMs. Crowe is a former freelance writer for the Rockland Journal News, a Gannett Company newspaper in New York. She wrote a weekly column, ‘What’s in a name.

She screened her documentary film Secrets of the Hollow, the Hidden History of Blacks in Rockland County, in May 2009, at the Rivertown Film Festival in Nyack New York. She has received grants from the Arts Council of Rockland, The Rockland County Legislature, the Rockland County Women’s Bar Association, the Julius and Eleanor Kass Family Foundation. Ms. Crowe is a former member of the Board of Trustees for the African American Historical Society of Rockland County. Ms. Crowe is the author of a book, “How to Get Black on Track, a Self Empowerment Guide. She is a member of the Louis Reyes Rivera Writer’s Workshop in Bedford Stuyvesant Brooklyn, and is completing her first novel.

Chiz Schultz
Executive Producer

Chiz Schultz, has had a distinguished career as producer of numerous documentaries and dramas in the humanities for commercial and public television. His productions have won ACE Awards, the Peabody Award, the New York Film and Television Award, the San Francisco International Film Award and Academy Award, Emmy and Ace nominations. Schultz was the producer of Paul Robeson, Here I Stand for PBS which won the IDA Best Documentary Award for 2000; A Raisin in the Sun, starring Danny Glover, for American Playhouse, Seize the Day, starring Robin Williams, and was Executive Producer of Columbia Pictures’ A Soldier’s Story, nominated for three Academy Awards. For NBC-TV, Schultz produced Too Far to Go, starring Blythe Danner and Michael Moriarty. Schultz was Executive Producer of the 1996 Broadway tribute A Celebration of Lorraine Hansberry and, with Harry Belafonte, produced the original off-Broadway production of To Be Young, Gifted and Black.

Suprotim Bose
Producer and Cinematographer
Suprotim Bose has over 15 years of experience in films and television production. Has produced live, studio and remote shoots from all over the US and the world. A few places being England, France, Spain, Germany, Japan, Canada and India. Bose has produced and directed entertainment and sports segments and documentaries that have been shown on PBS channels. He is the producer, director, and cinematographer of a 23-minute, 16-mm documentary "Mahakumbh." The film records a religious event attracting 15 million people - the largest such event in the world - who gather every 14 years for two weeks of prayer and festivities on the banks of the river Ganges in India.

Outreach/Engagement Plan(s)

Secrets of the Hollow can raise public awareness about race and tolerance in a community that is becoming more culturally diverse. It would create a public dialogue about Americas past to promote racial understanding and prevent communities from repeating the errors of the past. Our project would be an excellent tool is schools educate students and prepare them for a future or harmony and cultural acceptance. This is the social impact that we aim to accomplish by creating and showcasing this film and partnering with social justice and organizations that promote racial harmony s community building. We would effectively evaluate the success of the film by the feedback we obtain from viewers.

Secrets of the Hollow is for a national audience, particularly African American teenagers. During crucial years of development of identity and character building, young African Americans are overwhelmed with negative images, stereotypes, glorified moguls, material trappings of riches, and destruction in their community. Secrets of the Hollow reveals the perseverance, determination, and character of early African Americans that maintained their dignity and zeal to strive and build a community.

Educational Outreach:

We plan an educational outreach program for schools and universities; a curriculum to implement in the school districts across the country, audio-visual and DVD distribution, and a website. The filmmakers have a particular relationship to the Rockland County community. They are well-known African American attorneys, business owners, and community leaders who support and advance cultural understanding of the African American experience.

We recently held a community discussion and private screening of Secrets of the Hollow at St. Charles AME ZION Church in Sparkill, New York, "Skunk Hollow Speaks." 

Secrets of the Hollow was also featured as a short film at the Rivertown Film Festival Nyack, New York. We conducted a communtiy discussion of the film that was sponsored by the Rockland County Women's Bar Association. We aim to submit Secrets of the Hollow to local, regional and national film festivals. Additionally, we aim to host public discussions about the significant legal cases covered in the film. Given that the film will reveals a direct link between African Americans and Native Americans, we aim to outreach to Native American audiences through a collaboration with cultural arts organizations, and tribal arts organizations to conduct community discussions and screenings.

 

Funders

Location