| THE FIRST STEP (90 min) US |
Director: Brandon
Kramer
Producer: Lance
Kramer
Description:
Van Jones, a Black
progressive activist known for calling Donald Trump's election a
white lash live on primetime TV, controversially crossing party lines
to win bipartisan support for criminal justice reform and the
response to the addiction crisis. Van’s journey building bridges in
a time of extreme polarization takes him deep into the messy drama of
the Trump administration, internal divisions within both parties, and
the lives of activists fighting on the frontlines for their
communities. Activists try to move forward with criminal justice
reforms but meet resistance from other parties. These struggles
showcase the divided state of American domestic policy.
Biography:
Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill
Pictures. Brandon directed City
of Trees and the
Webby Award-winning independent documentary series The
Messy Truth.
Brandon won Best Director at the 2016 Chesapeake Film Festival and
Indie Capital Awards, received the Audience Choice Award at the
American Conservation Film Festival and was a DC Commission on the
Arts & Humanities Individual Arts Fellow. Brandon has directed
over 30 short documentaries commissioned by public agencies and
nonprofits including AARP and US Institute of Peace.
Lance Kramer is an
award-winning documentary filmmaker and executive director/co-founder
of MHP. Lance produced the feature-length documentary City
of Trees. Lance
produced the Webby Award-winning documentary series The
Messy Truth with Van Jones, released on Van's
Facebook page and CNN.com to over 4 million viewers. Lance received
the prestigious DC Mayor’s Arts Award from the DC Commission on the
Arts and Humanities, the highest honor bestowed upon working artists
in the city. Lance has served two terms as Board Member of Docs in
Progress, and was a DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities
Individual Arts Fellow. Lance was selected to the Impact
Partners Documentary Producers Fellowship cohort and was a fellow at the Sundance Creative Producers Summit.
Contact Information:
w: https://www.meridianhillpictures.com/
e: lance@meridianhillpictures.com
