Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

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Stream Shine Global’s latest film Through Our Eyes: Homefront on HBOMax

The film is also available to watch as part of Heartland Film’s Indy Shorts Film Festival along with Shine Global’s film Virtually Free through Sunday, July 25th.

WATCH NOWHBOMax logo

ABOUT THE FILM

In the US, more than three million children live in homes with service members and veterans who rely on caregiver support. Gabby, Terry, and Luther all have parents who were injured while serving, and each family has found a way to heal the wounds of war. Homefront shows how Gabby (9), a fierce animal lover with a stock of chickens, rabbits, bees, and dogs, loves her family and faces her fears about her Dad’s traumatic brain injury and PTSD via equine therapy. Terry (10), an enthusiastic boy and his parents, Taniki and Brandon, share their experiences and mental health struggles as they work to heal and help each other cope with depression and PTSD through honest conversation and embracing joy. Luther (9) is a charismatic boy who wants to be “like my dad when I grow up.” His father, Joe, a Navy veteran who lost his leg in an IED explosion, struggles through chronic pain to put family first.

The film is directed by Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. Shine Global is proud to have partnered with Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street, in producing this episode in their first documentary series.

See the trailer for the four-part docuseries here:

HELP SPREAD THE WORD

You can help this film have a greater impact by sharing it with your friends and family.

Example Post:

Excited to watch the new doc Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT from @ShineGlobal and @SesameWorkshop now streaming on @HBOMax.  It’s an intimate look at the issues children of military families face every day. See trailer at shineglobal.org/projects/homefront  #MoreThanMovies #MilitaryFamilies

THE ISSUES

Our ultimate goal is to support the physical, social, and emotional health of military families and their children.

We will use HOMEFRONT to:

  • Raise awareness about the issues military families face every day, especially mental health issues
  • Demonstrate the need to better understand the children of veterans and their unique challenges
  • Inspire people, communities, and government leaders to support military families, especially their children

You can donate today to support our work using film to transform the lives of children and their families.

FURTHER RESOURCES

When a veteran requires caregiving at home, the whole family often takes on support roles—including children. Little is understood about the impact of caregiving within military families, but there is a growing understanding that better support systems are needed. These organizations can offer a place to start.

  • The Elizabeth Dole Foundation’s programs provide military and veteran caregivers the support they need at the local, state, and national levels.
  • Hidden Heroes provides support, resources, and community for military caregivers and raises awareness of the pivotal role that they play in nurturing veteran families.
  • Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers provides free and confidential coaching for the families and friends of returning service members and veterans to manage difficult transitions.
  • VA Caregiver Support: offers services for caregivers including online and in-person classes and  telephone and in-person support.
  • Veteran Caregiver Support, created by Operation Homefront, cares for wounded, ill, or injured service members and veterans and fosters connections among caregivers.
  • Blue Star Caregivers: programs for caregivers including social events, peer support, coffee chats, and digital resources.
  • America’s VetDogs trains and places skilled guide dogs with military veterans who experience both invisible and visible wounds.
  • Sesame Street for Military Families: Caregiving is an initiative to support military and veteran families as they care for a wounded, ill, or injured parent or relative.

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, and Tre Maison Dasan which broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and Virtually Free which won the SIMA Jury Award for Impact.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Catalyst Films

Founded by Emmy Award-winning Director/Producer Kristi Jacobson, Catalyst Films produces non-fiction films, television, and online content. We are committed to telling stories that treat societal issues with nuance, complexity, and high production values. Some of our partners include HBO, HBO Max, Netflix, Discovery Channel, ITVS, PBS, Sundance, Tribeca Enterprises, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Magnolia Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Orangetheory Fitness, and more. Equally important to our ambitious creative mission, Catalyst Films leads with conviction to center racial and gender equity, in our effort to challenge and re-shape the documentary industry behind and in front of the camera.

Through Our Eyes: Homefront Now Streaming on HBOMax

Through Our Eyes: Homefront produced with Sesame Workshop launches July 22 on HBOMax

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SESAME WORKSHOP INTRODUCES NEW DOCUMENTARY SERIES “THROUGH OUR EYES”  LAUNCHING THURSDAY, JULY 22 ON HBO MAX

Five award-winning and -nominated filmmakers – including Shine Global – delve into children’s perspectives on some of today’s most challenging issues – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement

(June 8, 2021 – New York, N.Y.) – Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit behind Sesame Street and decades of award-winning educational programming, today announced its first documentary series Through Our Eyes, set to debut on Thursday, July 22 on HBO Max.  Shine Global is proud to have produced Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT, one of the four documentaries.

Through Our Eyes spotlights the perspectives of children as they experience some of the most challenging issues facing families today – homelessness, parental incarceration, military caregiving, and climate displacement – in four 30-minute films designed for adults and as a co-viewing experience for kids ages 9 and older. The series is produced by Sesame Workshop, with each episode directed by award-winning and -nominated filmmakers, several of whom have previously explored these topics through their cinematic work.

Shine Global’s documentary Through Our Eyes: HOMEFRONT is directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award winner Kristi Jacobson (The Election Effect: Anmal, A Place at the Table, Solitary) and produced by Shine Global’s Alexandra Blaney and Catalyst Films’ Netsanet Negussie. There are currently 1.9 million service members and veterans relying on caregiver support in the United States, and 3.4 million children live in the homes of these caregivers. In HOMEFRONT, three children of veteran families cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.

“Sesame Workshop has always worked to understand the most crucial needs of children and families, creating content that helps equip, inspire and build resilience to better prepare them for life,” said Kay Wilson Stallings, Sesame Workshop’s Executive Vice President of Creative & Production. “With Through Our Eyes, we bring viewers into our process of understanding the unique and immense challenges faced by children today. Our hope is to build empathy for families in crisis and remind those who are also enduring difficulty that they are never alone.”

The other three documentaries in the series are:

Through Our Eyes: APART

One in 14 American children will experience the incarceration of a parent, and 2.7 million children have a parent in prison right now. This introspective portrait of loss intertwined with moments of joy reminds us of the forgotten consequences of the criminal justice system – the families of those left behind. APART shares the experiences of three resilient children navigating the complex emotional challenges of their parents’ incarceration as their families work to provide stability and support. Directed by Primetime Emmy award-winners Geeta Gandbhir (I Am Evidence, Call Center Blues) and Rudy Valdez (The Sentence)

Through Our Eyes: UPROOTED

Since 2016, millions of people in the United States have been displaced by weather-related disasters that are occurring more frequently and with greater intensity. In UPROOTED, two children in Iowa face the loss of their family farm due to climate change, while a third in Texas waits for her hurricane-damaged home to be rebuilt. Directed by News and Documentary Emmy Award nominee Talleah Bridges McMahon (Black America Since MLK: And Still I Rise, My Name is Pauli Murray)

Through Our Eyes: SHELTER

America’s homelessness crisis can feel distant and bureaucratic until you see it through the eyes of a child. SHELTER follows three unhoused children and their parents in Los Angeles. While each family’s circumstances are different and their futures uncertain, they are bound by love and a common determination to keep their dreams alive. Directed by Academy Award nominee Smriti Mundhra (St. Louis Superman, A Suitable Girl)

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About Shine Global

Shine Global is a non-profit media company that gives voice to children and their families by telling their stories of resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. We produce inspiring films and compelling content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, we connect with our audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of a powerful engagement campaign to encourage social change. Since our founding in 2005, Shine Global films have won more than 100 major awards, including an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for Inocente and an Academy Award®-nomination and two Emmys® for War/Dance. Recent films include the documentary-animation hybrid Liyana, the hit documentary The Eagle Huntress, and Tre Maison Dasan which broadcast on PBS’s Independent Lens, and Virtually Free which won the SIMA Jury Award for Impact.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop is the nonprofit educational organization behind Sesame Street, the pioneering television show that has been reaching and teaching children since 1969. Today, Sesame Workshop is an innovative force for change, with a mission to help kids everywhere grow smarter, stronger, and kinder. We’re present in more than 150 countries, serving vulnerable children through a wide range of media, formal education, and philanthropically funded social impact programs, each grounded in rigorous research and tailored to the needs and cultures of the communities we serve. For more information, please visit www.sesameworkshop.org.

About Catalyst Films

Founded by Emmy Award-winning Director/Producer Kristi Jacobson, Catalyst Films produces non-fiction films, television, and online content. We are committed to telling stories that treat societal issues with nuance, complexity, and high production values.

Some of our partners include HBO, HBO Max, Netflix, Discovery Channel, ITVS, PBS, Sundance, Tribeca Enterprises, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Magnolia Pictures, Procter & Gamble, Orangetheory Fitness, and more.

Equally important to our ambitious creative mission, Catalyst Films leads with conviction to center racial and gender equity, in our effort to challenge and re-shape the documentary industry behind and in front of the camera.

Liyana Red Carpet Premiere

Liyana Red Carpet Premiere

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Liyana Red Carpet Premiere

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 09: (L-R) Aaron Kopp, Amanda Kopp, Phumlani Mahlangu, Thandie Newton, Nomcebo Tsabedze, Sakheni Dlamini, Zweli Msane and Shofela Coker attend the “Liyana” New York Premiere at IFC Center on October 9, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Manny Carabel/Getty Images)

Liyana premiered in New York City at the IFC Center on Tuesday, October 9th.  The red carpet featured Emmy-winning actress and the film’s Executive Producer Thandie Newton. She joined co-directors Aaron and Amanda Kopp, animator Shofela Coker, and three of the film’s young protagonists and storytellers Phumlani Mahlangu, Nomcebo Tsabedze, and Zweli Msane.

Produced in association with Shine Global, the film features South African storyteller Gcina Mhlophe guiding the children at an orphanage in Swaziland through a collaborative storytelling process. Their titular fictional character, Liyana, is brought to life in gorgeous animated artwork from artist Shofela Coker. The children’s real and imagined worlds begin to converge, and they must choose what kind of story they will tell — in fiction and in their own lives.

The film has won over 26 festival awards and currently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

The New York Times says the film “breaks free of the heaviness that can weigh down an issue-based documentary” featuring “strikingly rendered animation from Shofela Coker” and ultimately “shows the optimism and self-awareness that can come from creativity.”

While RogerEgbert.com says “the film is guaranteed to be an uplifting one for viewers of all ages” saying that “amidst all the wondrous visuals, both real and imagined, in… Liyana, the most resonant of them all are the beautiful faces of its young storytellers”

Liyana will be screening at the Maysles Documentary Center in Harlem, NYC starting on October 10th before opening in LA and cities across the country.  For a list of upcoming screenings or for information on how to bring the film to your theater visit  www.liyanathemovie.com/screenings/

Tre Maison Dasan World Premiere at San Fransisco Intl Film Festival

Tre Maison Dasan World Premiere at San Fransisco Intl Film Festival

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Tre Maison Dasan World Premiere at San Fransisco International Film Festival

Tre Maison Dasan had its world premiere at the San Francisco International Film Festival this past weekend.  Director Denali Tiller and Producer Rebecca Stern were joined by Dasan, Stephanie, Alivia, and Joyce for the Q&A.

The San Francisco Chronicle described the film as: “A moving, intimate documentary ….A powerful directorial debut.”

Variety describes the film as: “wrenchingly intimate” and “engrossing”

Produced in association with Shine Global, the documentary is an intimate portrait of three boys growing up, each with a parent in prison. Directly told through the child’s perspective, the film is an exploration of relationships and separation, masculinity, and coming of age in America when a parent is behind bars.

UPCOMING SCREENINGS

San Fransisco International Film Festival
Tuesday, April 10
Friday, April 13
Tickets

Independent Film Festival Boston
April 25-May 2nd
Boston, MA

Montclair Film Festival
May 5-6
Montclair, NJ
Tickets

1 Way Up on iTunes & broadcasts on Pivot TV Dec 3rd

Shine’s latest film 1 Way Up is now available for pre-order on iTunes in the US, Canada and the UK and will premiere on Pivot TV in the US Wednesday, December 3rd at 7pm ET/4pm PT.

1 Way Up pivot iTunes

After a successful UK premiere of 1 Way Up in London Cinemas and a broadcast on MTV UK in August, 1 Way Up is coming to US audiences! From first time director Amy Mathieson, 1 Way Up tells the story of two teen boys on the road to the BMX World Championships. They hope to escape one of the toughest gang neighborhoods in London with the only thing they have – a bike.

1 Way Up will premiere in the US on Pivot TV Wednesday, December 3rd at 7pm ET/4pm PT. Pivot is Participant Media’s new cable network that focuses on entertainment that sparks conversation, inspires change, and illuminates issues through engaging content. Check find.pivot.tv to see what channel Pivot is for your television provider.

“We are thrilled that 1 Way Up has found a home in the US on Pivot TV” said 1 Way Up producer and Shine Global co-founder Albie Hecht, “Pivot’s commitment to engaging and pro-social content fits with Shine’s mission of making films that promote action and inspire change and we know the film will be reaching a passionate audience.”

Set in Peckham, an area of London known for youth gang activity, 1 Way Up demonstrates that with the right support and determination, sports can be an escape from a violent life on the streets. This documentary focuses on the friendly rivalry between two young boys, Tre and Quillan, as they give their hearts to the track in hopes of becoming a BMX World Champion. Despite peer pressure, losses and errors, 1 Way Up defies stereotypes, highlights friendly competition, and most importantly shows that there is always another road to take in life.

Shine Global is also making the film available for community screenings across the US and UK so that organizations, teams, and clubs can watch the film together. Shine has partnered with the non-profit organization The LAMP to create companion workshops for these community screenings that will help youth audiences delve into the issues presented in the film while developing critical media skills. 1 Way Up is also available for schools, universities, and libraries through the Cinema Guild and Shine will be releasing a free companion standards-based curricula to help teachers use the film in the classroom.

Pre order on iTunes here: http://bit.ly/1WayUpiTunes
Official film website: www.1wayup.com

For media enquires:
Alexandra Blaney
alexandra@shineglobal.org
T. 646-535-6703