3 Generations
3 Generations is a non-profit film production company that concentrates on documentary films about oppressed peoples. Founded in 2007 by Jane I. Wells, its mission is "to support survivors of genocide and victims of crimes against humanity by helping them share their stories."[1] It tells these stories in the belief that it "fosters the healing process and illuminates our common humanity."[2] 3 Generations has produced several films, most notably: The Devil Came on Horseback, Tricked, A Different American Dream and the short films Native Silence and A System of Justice'.[3]
Background
Wells founded 3 Generations in 2007 after witnessing the Darfur genocide. Her father, a filmmaker who accompanied the Allied Forces during the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, had been barred from publishing his films until 1984.[4] When Wells encountered Brian Steidle, a photojournalist whose footage of the Darfur genocide was also suppressed by the United States Department of State for security reasons, she agreed to produce a film about the genocide.
Films
The Devil Came on Horseback
The Devil Came on Horseback tells the story of the Darfur Genocide that claimed over 400,000 Sudanese lives. It is told through the perspective of photographer and former U.S. Marine Corps Captain Brian Steidle. Steidle was a military observer when he travelled to Sudan in 2004, so he was given unprecedented access to areas in Darfur unavailable to other journalists. He witnessed firsthand the horrors and atrocities committed in the Darfur region of Sudan.
Tricked
Tricked (film) is about sex trafficking in the United States. The film was selected for screening at the Montclair FIlm Festival in Montclair, New Jersey,[5] as well as the Quad Cinema in New York City.[6] It is told from the perspective of the prostitutes, their parents, pimps, the police officers and the johns who pay for the sex. It also follows a vice squad in Denver, Colorado who work to track down the pimps responsible for the human trafficking.
Native Silence
Native Silence is a documentary short telling the story of two Native American grandmothers who were taken away from their families when they were young. One was taken away from her mother when she was eighteen months old because her mother was deemed unfit to be a mother. After going through a series of foster homes, she eventually ran away and turned to drugs and prostitution. The other was dropped of at a boarding school when she was five or six by her mother and never saw her mother again. After thinking her mother abandoned her, it was discovered she was actually taken away because she was also deemed unfit to be a parent. It shows how forced exile and abandonment is destroying Native American culture nowadays. The documentary was given an Award of Merit from the Best Short Films Competition.[7]
A System of Justice
"A System of Justice" is a short film produced in 2016 about exonerated inmate Glenn Ford.[8] In 2014, Glenn Ford was exonerated after spending 33 years on death row for a crime he did not commit. After his release Ford suffered further injustices: He was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer and Louisiana State refused to pay any compensation for his time in prison. An intimate portrait of Ford as he nears death, A System of Justice was filmed over 2 days at the hospice where Glenn spent his final days. 3 Generations partnered with two organizations, Resurrection After Exoneration and The Innocence Project, who helped Glenn in his final days. A System of Justice had its world premiere on March 5 at 2:30pm at the Odeon Cinema in the Manchester Film Festival, playing ahead of All Rise.[9]
A Different American Dream
"In the magical Badlands of North Dakota, the Fort Berthold Indian reservation sits right in the middle of the largest shale field in North America. Members of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation find themselves locked in a Faustian struggle: accept the potential enrichment of the tribe from oil extraction, at the cost of the future health of their ancestral homelands?
A Different American Dream explores their dilemma through the eyes of tribal members as they pursue what turn out to be few options. Surrounded by the chaos and frenzy of fracking, Dr Biron Baker is distrustful of the oil industry and sees the boom as the latest in a series of grave injustices against his people. Dave Williams spearheads a tribally owned oil company, hopeful that profits will flow directly to the tribe and the newfound wealth will solve many of the tribe’s problems. Chairman Mark Fox welcomes the influx of wealth but fears for its impact on his young family. All the while, Edmund Baker, Environmental Director of the tribe and his colleagues at the tribal EPA spend their days in a sisyphean effort to monitor the damage done and protect their ancient homelands. Running throughout the story is a young girl, JayLi who is using her spiritual powers to enlist the help of the ancestors in their struggle.
A Different American Dream is an elegy to the magnificent landscape as it is being decimated by oil extraction and a people, victims of economic imprisonment, struggling to defend their culture, their history and their future"[10]
References
- ↑ "Jane Wells and Kathy Klug Cross Borders". Aspen Peak. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Three Generations Inc.". Guide Star. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ http://www.3generations.org/our-films/
- ↑ "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey". Jewish Film Festival. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ Fidlon-Bugat, Jennifer. "Tricked: The Horror of Sex Trade". Montclair Film Festival. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Pioneering Documentary TRICKED Exposes U.S. Sex Trafficking, Premieres December 13 at the Quad Cinema in New York City" (PDF). TRICKED Press Release - CT.gov. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ "Best of Show". Best Shorts Competition. Retrieved 6 October 2014.
- ↑ http://www.3generations.org/film/a-system-of-justice/
- ↑ http://www.maniff.com/documentary-shorts-2016#documentary-shorts
- ↑ "A Different American Dream". 3generations. Retrieved 2016-10-28.