"That Kid" Screening With Filmmaker Ashley Dawson

That Kid tells the story of a young, gifted Black boy from Nyack Plaza named James. All of his elders do their darndest to help him prepare for life in a system that is predicated on his exploitation rather than designed for his success. This is a story of love intended to encourage anyone who knows what it feels like to grow up on the margins of society. Many people probably think about the residents of Nyack Plaza in terms of what they don’t have. Ashley Dawson’s fictional debut That Kid shows us something else, on both sides of the camera. It is a community creation embodying the kind of value which cannot be bought with money (or entirely displaced through eminent domain, either!!!). In the cinema verité tradition of BATTLE OF ALGIERS, Ashley Dawson manages to show what life is like with fictional storytelling in a real environment. After the film, stay for a discussion with filmmaker Ashley Dawson and Brooklyn Demme of Truth 2 Power. Truth 2 Power isa film initiative co-founded by Ashley Dawson (writer/director) and Brooklyn Demme (producer/director) in 2020, focusing on community education through film, exploring Black history, social issues (like gifted Black students' challenges), and mental health, collaborating with groups like the Lenape & Cherokee Indians on projects like Dawson's film That Kid and Demme's Mountain Lion: Healing Film of St. Francis, bringing powerful stories to the screen. More Info below.