Washington, D. C., festival showcases political and issues-based documentary shorts
«Meet the Press,» meet » The Children of Central City .»
The NOLA.com| The Times-Picayune’s documentary short, made to accompany its recent series on the impact of chronic exposure to violence on children in one of New Orleans’ most violent neighborhoods, has been selected to screen in Washington, D. C., as part of the long-running NBC news program’s second annual «Meet the Press» Film Festival, it has been announced.
Directed by NOLA.com| The Times-Picayune video journalist Emma Scott, the 18-minute long «Children of Central City» is one of 23 issue-based documentary shorts to screen as part of the festival, set to run from Oct. 7 to 9 and presented in collaboration with the American Film Institute.
«We are so excited for the opportunity to share ‘The Children of Central City’ with a national audience,» Scott said Friday (Sept. 14). «This is an important and challenging story, and while it takes place in New Orleans, we are eager to reinvigorate a conversation about childhood trauma at a national level.»
She will attend the screening of the documentary, which will be presented with two other films as part of a programming block focusing on poverty and rebuilding. She and the makers of the other two films will also participate in a post-screening discussion moderated by NBC journalist Harry Smith.
Other programming blocks, each also featuring three films, will focus on veterans and service, with a discussion moderated by «Meet the Press» host Chuck Todd; the 2018 midterm elections, moderated by Andrea Mitchell; climate, home and tradition, moderated by Hallie Jackson; voting rights and civic associations, moderated by Craig Melvin; guns in America, moderated by Kasie Hunt; religion and xenophobia, moderated by Kristen Welker; and immigration, moderated by Jacob Soboroff.
Select films from this year’s lineup will be available to view online via NBC News’ digital platforms, including AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Hulu, as part of a monthlong showcase.
It’s the second major film festival into which «The Children of Central City» has been accepted. In August, it was revealed as one of the films accepted into the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival, which is set to run from Oct. 17 to 25 at venues around the city.
Like the written series of the same name, «The Children of Central City» film — which was shot and edited over the course of nearly 10 months — focuses on players, coaches and families involved in the A. L. Davis Park Panthers youth football program for 9- and 10-year-old boys. They serve as de facto guides as the film takes a look into New Orleans’ violence-marred Central City neighborhood.
Along the way, it also examines how chronic exposure to violence can impact brain development in children, and what is being done to help children deal with that trauma.
For more on the 2018 «Meet the Press» Film Festival, including ticketing information, visit the American Film Institute website at www. AFI.com .
