Q&A with filmmaker and community leaders following the screening:

Yance Ford, Director (see bio above)

Dr. Mneesha Gellman, Founder & Director, Emerson Prison Initiative
Dr. Mneesha Gellman is associate professor of political science in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies at Emerson College, in Boston. Her research spans human rights and democratization in Latin America and globally. She is the author of many books, including Misrepresentation and Silence in United States History Textbooks: The Politics of Historical Oblivion; Indigenous Language Politics in the Schoolroom: Cultural Survival in Mexico and the United States; and Democratization and Memories of Violence: Ethnic Minority Social Movements in Mexico, Turkey, and El Salvador. She is currently working on the manuscript Learning to Survive: Yurok Well-being in School.
The founder and director of the Emerson Prison Initiative, which brings a Bachelor’s degree pathway to incarcerated students in Massachusetts, Dr. Gellman is also the editor of Education Behind the Wall: Why and How We Teach College in Prison, and co-editor of Unlocking Learning: International Perspectives on Education in Prison. Dr. Gellman is past President of the Human Rights section of the American Political Science Association, and serves as an expert witness on country conditions in Mexico and El Salvador in asylum proceedings in US immigration courts.
Lisa Simmons Artistic/Executive Director, Roxbury International Film Festival; Moderator
Lisa Simmons is the Executive and Artistic Director of the Roxbury International Film Festival (ROXFILM), whose mission is to present films that celebrate people of color around the world and to support filmmakers who are creating media aligned with the mission of ROXFILM. The festival, now in its 26th year, has screened over 1300 films at its annual June festival as well as producing two screening series: Shared Stories, a collaboration with Cinefest Latino Boston and the Boston Asian American Film Festival as well as the Healing Arts Series, which uses film as a catalyst for conversation focused on Black and Brown physical and mental health, in collaboration with the Wellness Collaborative, Inc.
In addition, Ms. Simmons is a Program Manager for the Mass Cultural Council where she oversees the Communities Initiative program that seeks to enrich communities through culture, creativity and community-based grants and advocacy.
Ms. Simmons has also produced theater and film in the Boston area and has published and presented about the Boston’s WPA Negro Theater Project which produced theatrical shows between 1935-1939. She is the recipient of several awards including: GK Top 100 Influential People of Color, Image Award from Women in Film New England, Diversity award from Our Place Theater Project, Leadership award from the Urban League Guild of Eastern Massachusetts, The President’s Award for Leadership from Dimock Community Health Center, and the Community Award from Boston Arts Academy. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of Company One Theater and The Loop Laband is a contributing guest on WGBH’s The Culture Show