Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival to Screen Documentary ‘Unspoken’

The documentary-feature film, “UNSPOKEN,” has been named an Official Selection for the 18th annual Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival.

LAFAYETTE, LOUISIANA , UNITED STATES, January 23, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The documentary-feature film, “UNSPOKEN,” has been named an Official Selection for the 18th annual Cinema on the Bayou Film Festival. The debut feature film from Georgia-based filmmaker Stephanie Calabrese will screen its Louisianna premiere in-person on Jan. 28 at 3:15 p.m. at Cité des Arts (109 Vine St.).

“UNSPOKEN” shatters a code of silence that has distanced neighbor from neighbor for generations. By tracing her journey as a small town Georgia resident, Calabrese uncovers buried truths and explores how the tight-knit community has been impacted by its racial divide deepened in part by the 1946 Moores Ford Lynching, also known as the “the last mass lynching in America.” Sourced from 40 interviews with fellow Monroe residents and research over the course of three and a half years, the film offers an insider’s intimate look at the impact of the lynching, segregation and integration through today.

“Having our Louisiana premiere at Cinema on the Bayou is such an honor. We share the mission of encouraging people to engage in serious discussions about matters that are important,” Calabrese said. “While ‘UNSPOKEN’ examines the racial divide in my hometown of Monroe, Ga., it inspires thought and conversation about historical and present-day societal issues that affect different cultures in many small towns throughout the South.”

“UNSPOKEN” was written, directed, produced and edited by Calabrese, who shot the film with an iPhone camera to demonstrate that important documentary work doesn’t always require big budgets and gear, but a passion for storytelling from within one’s own community. With an original musical score by Kwame Brandt-Pierce, the film strives to enable viewers to become better community members by working together to solve problems our society still faces.

“UNSPOKEN” won the Audience Choice Award for Documentary at the Macon Film Festival in August. The film was also an Official Selection for the Morehouse College Human Rights Film Festival, Chagrin Documentary Film Festival and Portland Film Festival in 2022. The film recently won the Documentary Features Special Jury Award at the Rome International Film Festival in November.

To learn more about the film visit www.unspoken.film. Tickets to view “UNSPOKEN” at Cinema on the Bayou are available to purchase online at bit.ly/3wgNotN and more information about the festival may be found at cinemaonthebayou.com.

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About Stephanie Calabrese
Filmmaker Stephanie Calabrese is an award-winning interdisciplinary artist. Stephanie’s photographic documentary series “Hometown: A Documentary of Monroe, Georgia'' has been featured on The New York Times LENS site and on Atlanta CBS45 News. Her work has been featured in Time, Lightbox, Forbes.com, LIFE.com, Digital Photo, Photo.net, Professional Photographer, and The Bitter Southerner. Stephanie has produced documentary projects for clients including UPS, The Coca-Cola Company, CARE International, and The Georgia Department of Family and Child Services. She resides in Monroe, Georgia. She is the author of the best-selling “The Art of iPhoneography: A Guide to Mobile Creativity” published by Pixiq (a division of Sterling Press) and Ilex Press (now Octopus Press) and “Lens on Life: Documenting Your World Through Photography'' published by Focal Press and Ilex Press (now Octopus) and a past TEDx Talk speaker on “Building a Better World, One Picture at a Time.” Learn more about her work at stephaniecalabrese.com.

Philip Hudson
Rhythm Communications
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