The Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum at Historic Palmer Memorial Institute will host the second annual Sedalia Film Festival on Saturday, November 21, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The festival is free and open to the public, honoring the legacies of Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown and Palmer Memorial Institute through films centered on legacy, heritage, and education.
This year’s program features six short films and one feature-length film:
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Alone Now, directed by Blake Martin, is a grief drama following Charlie, a man whose ordinary morning unravels into devastating loss. It’s the third entry in Martin’s self-produced four-shorts slate, built around silence and restraint, and described as his most personal work, inspired by the loss of his own mother.
- PARAGRAPHS of a PAIGE, directed by Isaac Yowman, is a hybrid documentary and scripted biopic on Dr. Roderick “Rod” Paige, the first Black American to serve as U.S. Secretary of Education and a key architect of the No Child Left Behind Act. Woody McClain stars as Paige, tracing his life from segregated Mississippi through his career as a teacher, coach, university dean, and school superintendent.
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305 Fishkill Avenue, directed by Ramel Westry in his writing and directing debut, follows Oliver, a kind-hearted janitor and single father who witnesses what he believes is dangerous criminal activity at a neighboring apartment building, only for no one to believe the address even exists.
- A Class of Her Own, directed by Boaz Dvir, is a feature documentary on Gloria Jean Merriex, a Duval Elementary teacher in Gainesville, Florida, who used hip-hop and dance to help her high-need school rise from an F to an A on state standardized testing, described by Forbes as “a real-life mirror of Abbott Elementary.”
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Figaro, Figaro, directed by Tyler Schwartz, follows an aspiring opera singer preparing for a career-defining audition while juggling his responsibilities as a father and husband.
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Through Their Eyes, directed by Amyna Price and Shronda Major, with Marcus January serving as cinematographer, centers on the four young girls killed in the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing.
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Broken Promises, directed and produced by Joseph Giitter, examines environmental racism in North Omaha, tracing its roots to historic redlining through the ongoing controversy over the Omaha Public Power District’s coal plant and the arrival of new data centers. The film features activists including David Corbin of Sierra Club Nebraska and Daniel DiLeo of Creighton University.
Following the screenings, filmmakers and attendees will have time to interact directly. Film-inspired music will be provided by North Raleigh Christian Academy’s Piano and Music Club, and the festival will present awards for Best Film, Best North Carolina Filmmaker, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Free tickets are available for reservation online ahead of the event.
Festival founder Dr. Eric Winston will receive the museum’s Trailblazer Award. A 1959 graduate of Palmer Memorial Institute, Winston founded the Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival and has produced documentaries including Taking Park City, Taking Israel, and The Correct Thing: Palmer Memorial Institute, the latter of which will screen at this year’s festival. Eboni Price serves as the festival’s creative director, bringing industry experience with Bad Robot, Legendary Pictures, and Shondaland, including work on Grey’s Anatomy, Bridgerton, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Independently, Price has directed 83 projects, including the feature film Free, starring Wendy Raquel Robinson and Clifton Powell.
Founded in 1902 by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins Brown, Palmer Memorial Institute transformed the lives of nearly 2,000 African American students over the course of the 20th century. The museum, administered by North Carolina’s Division of State Historic Sites, connects Brown’s legacy to broader themes in African American history, women’s history, and education.
The Sedalia Film Festival takes place November 21 at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum in Gibsonville, North Carolina.