“Films about book art and book artists are rarely made but this beautiful documentary will appeal to anyone who likes art and books and who is interested how limited-edition books are conceived and created by one of the most original artists in the United States."

Krystyna Wasserman, Director 

Library and Research Center

National Museum of Women in the Arts

"The film documenting the work of Kumi Korf is revealing--doors and windows opening.  There's an aspect to Kumi when she walks in the room.  It's inescapable.  She fills the room.  And that vibrates through her books.  Kumi's work represents the Book Arts movement in America on many different levels."

Mark Dimunation, Chief

Rare Book and Special Collections

Library of Congress

Mr. Stokes' Mission

Official Selection

Social Justice Film Festival - Seattle, WA

Seattle Black Film Festival - Seattle, WA

Richmond International Film Festival - Richmond, VA

Nashville Black Film Festival - Nashville, TN

DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC

Alexandria Film Festival - Alexandria, VA

Annapolis Film Festival - Annapolis, VA

On April 23, 1951, Stokes, then president of his senior class at the Robert Russo Moton High School in Farmville, Virginia, helped organize and lead a walkout by students to protest inferior conditions for his fellow African American students. His efforts contributed to the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court ruling three years later, which banned segregation in public education.

"We can read about this time period, but to see people who actually experienced this time period and hear them talk about it will make it more identifiable for my students. I plan to use this next year with my students in several ways, one being how to change unjust laws and the effect these laws have on people."

Martha Merle Hackworth, 7th Grade Civics Teacher

Monelison Middle School

My Mother's Journey

Peer Bronze - Documentary

Television, Internet & Video Association of DC 

Official Selection

Tacoma Film Festival - Tacoma, WA

Utopia Film Festival - Greenbelt, MD

Buffalo Film Festival - Buffalo, NY

Chautauqua Institution

Sam Hampton

Sam is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and executive director of the Social Justice Film Institute, a Seattle-based nonprofit that fosters a community for social justice filmmakers. Sam’s films have been screened at the Library of Congress, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Cornell Cinema, the Chautauqua Institution, and numerous national film festivals.     

Kirsten Hampton : website

Kirsten is an Arts Fellow of the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, Residency Fellow of the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and Poetry Fellow for The Gettysburg Review’s Conference for Writers.

Robby Aceto  : website | soundcloud

Robby Aceto is an internationally recognized musician and film score composer.  He has toured and recorded with such artists as the Tom Tom Club, David Sylvian, and David Torn.

Awards

Television, Internet & Video Association of DC - Peer Bronze - Documentary

CINE Golden Eagle - Independent Documentary

Television, Internet & Video Association of DC - Distinguished Achievement Award

Grand Jury Finalist - American Black Film Festival

Best of DC -DC Independent Film Festival

Films

A Son’s Journey
How I Became an Automotive Journalist

“A Son's Journey” is a one-hour documentary by filmmaker Sam Hampton featuring automotive journalist John Voelcker. The film gives us insights into John's thoughts and actions during his professional work and as he reflects on family and upbringing. As a documentary filmmaker, I found this to be a compelling story to make and share.

This is a compelling story because it defamiliarizes what we think when we hear "electric cars" or "environmentally friendly cars." It blurs the lines between eco-consciousness and the "gear head" made popular by auto culture (commonly associated with conservative American culture), demonstrating how they are not mutually exclusive. Plus, there is an interesting LGBT+ story woven in that, on the one hand, it's on a parallel track, but on the other hand, it underscores the points of the film.

12 Ingredients Over the Generations

Official Selection

Washington DC International Film Festival - Washington, DC

Southern Margins International Short Film Festival - Clemson, SC

Capital City Film Festival - Lansing, MI

Rochester International Film Festival - Rochester, NY

Fist Up Film Festival - Oakland, CA

San Francisco Black Film Festival - San Francisco, CA

Maupintown Film Festival - Charlottesville, VA

Skyline Indie Film Fest - Winchester, VA

Montgomery Film Festival - Montgomery, AL

Legacy Film Festival on Aging - San Francisco, CA

Life Screenings International Short Film Festival - Clermont, FL

Collected Voices Film Festival - Chicago, IL

Alexandria Film Festival - Alexandria, VA

Twin Cities Black Film Festival - Minneapolis, MN

Community Stories Film Festival - Silver Spring, MD

Snowtown Film Festival - Watertown, NY

This is a short film about the relationships between myself and my grandfather, mother and daughter. There are many things that managed to survive my family's generations, but nothing seems to be more important than the family's sweet potato pie. It seems a sweet potato pie was always a part of family gatherings and special occasions.

While this is a personal story, it is like many such stories of African American culture that should be celebrated as rich and meaningful insights into who we are as individual human beings in a diverse community.  14 mins.

Between Upstate and Down

Official Selection

Austin Arthouse Film Festival - Austin, TX

Adirondack Film Festival - Glens Falls, NY

Experimental Forum - Los Angeles, CA

Ethnografilm - Paris, France

Between Upstate and Down is a short story about a 72-year-old woman who dreams of giving up her life in Manhattan to live and work on a farm in upstate New York.  

Change in the Family 

Best of DC 

DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC

Official Selection

Social Justice Film Festival - Seattle, WA

Seattle Transgender Film Festival - Seattle, WA

Alexandria Film Festival - Alexandria, VA

Utopia Film Festival - Greenbelt, MD

Miami Independent Film Festival - Miami, FL

ITVS/PBS OVEE - National

Sam Hampton brings heart to this transgender-transition film with a story of celebration, health, and unconditional love.  A much-needed portrayal of biracial trans and gender-nonconforming lives in America, this documentary chronicles the transition of Zo Thorpe and the sympathetic response of his family. 

Change in the Family is about so much more than the transition experience; it speaks to the complexity of young adulthood, being a person of color, having a biracial identity, and coming out as trans and gender nonconforming. Zo’s story provides hope for a time when portraying this type of experience is no longer so unusual.

Transcending Surgeon

Grand Jury Finalist

American Black Film Festival - New York, NY

Official Selection

Destiny City Film Festival - Tacoma, WA

Mosaic World Film Festival- Chicago, IL

DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC

Alexandria Film Festival - Alexandria, VA

Orlando Film Festival - Orlando, FL

Capital City Black Film Festival - Austin, TX

African American pioneers in medicine overcame great barriers to make significant contributions to the field. Following in their footsteps, Dr. Edward Cornwell III, Surgeon-in-Chief of Howard University Hospital in Washington DC, faces unique challenges to have a lasting, positive impact on his students, patients and community.

This documentary explores Dr. Cornwell’s family upbringing, mentors, education and other guiding forces which led to his successful career. It does so in the context of African American pioneers in medicine, and that many of his patients represent the realities of another side of urban African American life – communities beset by poverty, inadequate education and violence.

Transcending Surgeon shows how the choices we make guide us through life. The film reflects strong values, healthy families, hard work and study among African American people.

Hidden Books - the Art of Kumi Korf

CINE Golden Eagle

Independent Documentary

Official Selection

DocMiami - Miami, FL

Independents’ Film Festival - Tampa, FL

San Diego Asian Film Festival - San Diego, CA

Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, Sebastopol, CA

Rochester International Film Festival - Rochester, NY

DC Independent Film Festival, Washington, DC

Alexandria Film Festival - Alexandria, VA

Utopia Film Festival - Greenbelt, MD

Memorial Art Gallery - Rochester, NY

Boca Raton Museum of Art - Boca Raton, FL

Library of Congress

National Museum of Women in the Arts,

Cornell Cinema

Elizabeth Hampton was an African American mother who worked in the tradition of social reform in upstate New York and influenced progress during the civil rights era and beyond. This documentary traces her migration from the South to the North, and shares the lasting lessons of her discoveries in making a better way of life for herself, her family and community.

Watch Film - 9:55 mins.

Trailer - 2:23 mins.

Vimeo on Demand - 62 mins.

Trailer - 2:35 mins.

Vimeo on Demand - 29 mins.

Trailer - 2:35 mins.

Vimeo on Demand - 30 mins.

Trailer - 3:10 mins.

Vimeo on Demand - 30 mins.

Trailer - 3 mins.

Watch film at Culture Unplugged -  54 mins.

Watch Trailer

Watch Film - 14 mins