Films with: Lending, Tod S.

All the difference

"Filmed over five and a half years, All the Difference weaves together the stories of two tough, yet promising young black men as they navigate their lives in broken homes and low-income, high-risk communities in Chicago. Statistics predict they will drop out of high school and succumb to life on the streets; but both graduate and go on to college in spite of all the odds. After they graduate, the film follows them for another 6 months as they both find meaningful work in community service. The film explores the factors in their lives (education, parents and grandparents, teachers, role models, personal drive and community support) that made All the Difference in helping them be the first in their families to most likely escape poverty and secure a place in the middle class"--Nomadic Pictures WWW site.

DVD 12171

Growin' up not a child

Filmed in Chicago, this film examines the lives of children in urban America. They are exposed to communal violence on a scale that was never thought was possible in the U.S. Living in dangerous communities takes a toll on these children--it effects their cognitive and emotional development, and their expectations. In the midst of seemingly senseless brutality are families trying to cope, and a society that denies these children the support structures to overcome their predicaments in order to have healthy and productive lives.

DVD 9540

Legacy

Chronicle of one family's triumphant journey out of despair. Follow the Collins family over five years as they slowly pull themselves out of a haze of poverty, drug addiction, and violence.

DVD 5213

Omar & Pete

Reduced to its most sensational elements, the criminal justice system is a fount of melodramas featuring violation, heartbreak, and retribution. Beyond the snarling punks and streetwise cops of fictional lore is a far more prosaic story of ordinary people struggling to free themselves of poverty, addiction, and the legacies of broken families. Like Pete and Omar, they struggle ultimately to free themselves of the dehumanizing cycle that takes them from crime on the streets to prison and back again. With extraordinary cooperation from the Maryland Department of Corrections (MDOC), this film provides an insider's view of innovative efforts in Maryland to build the social and community support that will allow more ex-inmates to succeed.

DVD 6596