This summer, I had an amazing time documenting a group of 20 Cleveland area students in Harlan, Kentucky rehabbing homes for families in need. What I experienced, and hopefully will be able to communicate in my first feature length documentary, blew me away. Not entirely unique to a lot of kids’ experiences, many of these young people have challenges in their lives that most of us can’t even imagine. But to see them lift each other up and work together to serve a community in basically a completely different world to theirs, was incredibly powerful. I only hope that what we’ve produced will communicate how this transcends a documentary about a service trip and becomes a story about what kids can learn about themselves and grow together as a family when they value and support each other and have strong support networks like Open Doors Academy.
Here is the trailer for Up This Hill which should be completed in the coming months.
This project couldn’t have happened without the support of my team:
Roger Frank, Christian Woltman and Little Jacket Ben Kinsley Matthew Fehrmann Mike Runge Matt Fitzpatrick And Annemarie Grassi along with her staff and the students of Open Doors Academy
