Well, you know, any opportunity to engage in the subject matter, you know, like, like these is an honor, you know, to meet people who are willing to open up your lives to you and allow you to come in to, you know, to tell a story or to even explore. It's a true honor, you know, I mean, and that's it, and that, and that, the beauty of those relationships is oftentimes what drives me. Welcome back to Produce by, this is Kevin Fairchild and I'm joined today by Keith McQuarter, a board-winning producer in TV documentary, and new media and commercials, whose latest film is Milwaukee 53206. Keith, welcome.
Thank you. Good to be here. Also joining us is Nick Stewart, president of Transform Films and its parent company, Odyssey Impact. Nick, welcome.
Hi, Kevin. Good to be here as well. Keith, let's, if we could start with you, can you tell us a bit more about your latest project, Milwaukee 53206, and how you became involved in it? Sure.
So Milwaukee 53206 is a 55 minute documentary about incarceration. We wanted to, when Transform Films and I sat down, you know, we wanted to do a film that would address the, you know, that would be part of the conversation and the nation about what's happening in mass incarceration, what is it, how can you raise consciousness about it. And the zip code of 53606 through research of the University of Wisconsin had designated this as the most incarcerated zip code in America for black men. And so once we had those statistics, those numbers, we went there.
And so I spent a number of months doing research, just going back and forth and just talking with people, non-profit groups, men and women who were formerly incarcerated, families with incarcerated loved ones, and I said, they started hearing their stories. And through that process, it, you know, the story emerged as, you know, this is the story about who's missing at the dinner table, and what's the impact of, to a family with the loved one missing and what's impacted community with so many loved ones missing. So that's how the film got started. And then, you know, of course, of months, we, more, some more research, we shot, we shot.
So all in all, 14 months of research and production before we have our final product of the film. I had the chance to see the film, and one of the things I loved about it is the way you take on the issue of mass incarceration, not from what would be the most obvious way of listing statistics and talking hit interviews, but you really get into the heart of the issue by showing the impact it has had on families in the community. Was that decision there from the beginning, or did it come about after you had started production? You know, it came out, it was an idea that we had at the beginning of the research.
It didn't come through full fruition until the stories became more realer and realer. And I think what happened with me is that it, when you're face to face, face to face, face to people in their living rooms and talking about, you know, the impact of incarceration in life, it becomes, you know, glaringly a real thing, emotionally real. And so I knew that we were on the right track. You know, in 55 minutes, we don't have the capacity to tell an overarching end up look at mass incarceration in the country.
It's just too huge of a monster to do in 55 minutes. What I did know is that we could tell a story that is a human story about relationships and that we could get across that, you know, this is not just about numbers. And statistics, these are real people with real names, real personalities, real lives who are impacted by incarceration that we don't get to hear from. You know, and to really take those stories and to humanize the issue so that people can understand that this is not just some sort of problem out there, but this is a real moral and political crisis that we're facing.
I think you just spot on with that, Keith. Yeah, I mean, you have to spot on with that. I mean, it's one of the hallmarks I hope of transformed film is that we deal with issues, but as a human level, you know, you bring an issue to the table. And the danger is that it gets politicized straight away.
And then you get subverted away from the real problem, the real challenge as the tribes divide up on political grounds. The other way is again, you can throw as many statistics as you like at people, but ultimately we're very social beings and we relate to people. We relate to the human aspect behind the issue. And I mean, Keith, you know, I think both you and I and all the audiences have been amazed and very pleased that, you know, that these characters that come out of the 45, 3, 2, and 6, that human aspect of that, especially like Beverly, Beverly, who's husband is incarcerated and she's a look after her mum who's ill and bring up children and grandchildren.
And you just see what mass incarceration means on a day to day level at a human level. Yeah, you also get the sense that the stories and lives of these people is incredibly complex, even outside of the impact of the mass incarceration. Absolutely. It was to do with the impact on community, like, you know, that I initially wanted to do this and I spoke to Keith and Keith and came on board and wanted to do this as well.
In the sense that, you know, I've made quite a few films in my career about criminal justice and especially about prisons. And, you know, whenever you try and move the needle, get changed and you're up against, you know, people who are forming this data's current system. And you go, well, look, how in a second, you know, the person who did this crime, he was 18, he was 19, whatever it was, and he's thrown him all his life away for life. And they go, he should have done the crime.
And they're like, OK, OK, well, what about the family? You know, they're also serving time and effect. And they go, well, you know, the guy should have thought about it beforehand. And I thought, how else to get to those people?
And I thought, I know what's so important is community. So I want to make a film that shows you what impact the mass incarceration has on community, which is the fabric of America. What is your intended audience for this film? There are a lot of people who run the grounds on the grassroots level and on the policy level who are working to make change to make reforms, you know, in regards to criminal justice system.
But what's really needed is to really uproot the whole system by its roots. You know, we're not just talking about, you know, just a few people getting a few people on their feet. I mean, it's a system that has devastated for generations communities. And so, you know, these men and women who are on the grounds working day in and day out and often at bankless job, you know, they're trying to make an impact.
But, you know, and they're making an impact in small ways oftentimes. But, you know, as a nation wakes up, you know, and the nation is waking up to this issue, you know, just five years ago, no one knew what mass incarceration was. Now people are able to talk about it and know something about it. So it's moving through, you know, the consciousness of the country, but we're still not at a tipping point with it yet.
And we several ways ago before we get there. So, you know, if anything, I hope Milwaukee, the fact we do is help raise consciousness, get people to get more interested in the subject matter. The more the country, our population knows about these issues and understands them on the level that's emotional, that they are connected to this issue, no matter if they're immediate families incarcerated, they're still impacted by these vast numbers. You know, I hope there's an awakening.
I hope Milwaukee, five feet til six can be a part of that. You know, the New York Times reported just last year that 1.5 million black men are missing from society due to early death and incarceration. And when we talk about 1.5 million people, it means nothing to any of us, because none of us have seen 1.5 million people in one, you know, in one city. But if you go to like, you know, any of these big amphitheaters or even these sports arenas where you see tens of thousands of people sitting in once and enjoy the sports events, you can kind of get an idea and say, okay, well, if everyone is arena is incarcerated, holy crap, what does that look like?
You know, I mean, it's emotional disconnect there. Even even the numbers are so staggering. It's just like, what does that mean to anyone? So I think the first thing is to bring up awareness.
Once awareness is there, people start getting engaged, bringing their own talents to the table, and getting more involved in how to chip away at this mammoth problem. Nick, let's talk a little bit about serving life as well. I think it's an interesting companion to Milwaukee 5306. Can you talk a bit about it a bit more and how it came about?
Well, I came over on the boat about nine years ago from the UK running a production company. And just before I came over, I came across a story about a war on Angola, Louis down the state of my country, who had created a sort of new approach to what was regarded as the worst Jane in the South, you know, the hardest of the hard. And he started a seminary in there that, you know, life was, and a 5,000 people there, most of them will die there, most of them will die without parole. And he started a seminary where I'm thinking, this is unusual, that, you know, people serving life out of the murder or drugs or whatever it was would suddenly take a course in how to become a minister.
And I've got a better story there, but I couldn't access it from the UK particularly well. So the first thing I did when I came over was say, look, let's look at this. And the director I sent in, filmed in Angola before came back and said, look, there's an even better story. There's a prison hospice there, which has been set up by the warden.
And he started a system where these people serving life, these inmates serving life can learn how to be what I call a death body. I, you know, be there for the dying inmates in their last days and weeks, you know, talking to them, getting basic care. And I thought, wow, this is a story because society, you know, they throw lives away in many ways. You can admit a crime depending on how deep that crime is, then you can get put away for life and society forgets about you.
But I just wanted to know if, you know, there could be compassion within those people whose lives society decided was so worthless, they don't have to put them away. And so we looked at it, it made to started this course of caring for the dying inmates in Angola jail, and we followed them for about six months, and we worked with Forest Whitaker, and we managed to get it on the other network. And that's how our first docs started here. That's the one that I'm going to kick it off and for all of a sudden transform.
And that stage, it was, you know, it was a 19 minute, it was a feature doc. We were looking, I think, to do more in broadcasting cable, but then we started to take a look at a little more independent feature docs, and we moved a little more in that direction about four years ago. How do you work with the people in your films? Well, I post them with, you know, honestly, you know, I come to them and say, if I'm interested in their story, like the character you've seen in Milwaukee 5-3-2-6, I'll have a different conversation with them and say, you know, I think you have a story, and I want to, you know, if you're interested in telling it, I want to partner with you.
You know, I consider all the people who I engage with as creative partners, collaborators, because I can't tell their story for them, but they have to tell their own story, is how I feel. And so without that shared understanding, it doesn't work. So, you know, each character or each family is a dating process that takes place. You know, they have to get familiar production.
So, what's the word? It's a big intervention in some of the life. I mean, there's cameras and there's people. And so they have to get used to that process and actually want to be around that and engage with it or else it won't work.
So, you know, for my end, I'm dating each subject map, each subject in the film, to see if we can get along if we like each other authentic, if they're not trying to show boats, you know, if they're not trying to pretend, have to look very carefully for those things. And from there, and there's this thing, you know, who I am and who the crew is and what this whole process is. And if it works, it works. And there were a lot of people I didn't work for, you know, a lot of people who didn't make it into film that at least went time with, for that very reason.
Nick, how about you? What is your production philosophy? Yeah, I think, you know, I'd run production companies, which have been quite small, really, over the years. It's been, you know, very hard to compete with the big production companies with a big box, the big numbers, etc.
And I think the approach I've always had, and certainly I hope it brought to the Transformed Film's an Odyssey. Keep us talking about importance, and I'm going to trust. But it's all about access, getting in at a very, very deep level. I think if anything defines our film, it's about that depth of engagement.
You know, we are in a remarkable position as filmmakers. People allow us into their lives, but, you know, as it were, somebody once said to me, you know, you met with the stuff that people sold. And we do. We ask them to bear their souls to us.
And we have a deep responsibility of care for them, as Keith was talking about. I only like working with directors who get that, because if you betray that, you lose the access. And then, you know, there's no way back after that. You know, if you look at certain life, you know, the access we got there was literally into the depth.
Or another human being. Newtown, the remarkable work of Kim Snyder. To take on the trust of the community, devastated by the loss of their little children. That was huge.
And what Keith did, so remarkably well in Milwaukee, was go into people's lives. You know, we're often outside, it's no matter how much we like to think we have empathy and hope we go to do. We're outside. You know, you're the guys in New York coming down.
So look at, you know, the most incarcerated, go to America. Are you just coming in and showing people what a tough life we have? You know, that is not the film we wanted to make. And one of the so please, we'll just go to Keith.
Was he the one who made that one either? You know, my background is also mainly news. You know, by 2030. You know, I know how that works.
You know, you go in with preconceived ideas. Here's the most incarcerated zip code in America. It must be awful. Let's take pictures of it being awful.
And then bang, you know, you've got a new 30 second, two minutes, 40, whatever. But again, to Keith's credit, he really fought against that. And we didn't want him to make that sort of film anyway. And, you know, to answer one of your earlier questions as well.
You know, our films are not about victims presented as victims human beings on the road. Clearly, you have to put it across because that's in a way the issue. You know, everything is not rosy. But as Keith was saying, you can do something.
Let's be inspired by the people in these films. Because they haven't given it. And I think the community too, as I was going to say, just the community, you know, Milwaukee itself, is the right to be 206. I mean, the level of support that's needed to have access goes beyond just what you see in the filming.
You're talking to the people who support the communities, you know, the clergy, the business people, the politicians even, and the teachers and other parents. Because when you go into a community, you need that full support. As much as support you can get. Because the community, like Milwaukee, like 5-3-2-6, is very suspicious of media because they've been burned so badly, passed over and over again.
So, you know, for a lot of people, you know, we were rejected right off the bat because they wanted nothing to do with this New York, but they were a lot of people. And so, you know, there's a lot of obstacles in regards to that. And I think, of course, the time we did a really good job in breaking through. You know, this is the deep respect, the crucial, the deep respect of how I think independent documentary filmmakers, but they go out and they really care.
They live amongst the people whose lives they're picking up and showing to society. You know, Keith, I think you probably can probably get voting rights, I think, in Milwaukee now. I think you're watching a lot. I think we do.
I think we have a house there, that's for sure. There's some department of something. You'll be paying cap. You know, you're going to get a local tax.
Thank you. So, let's take a step back for a second. Keith, how did you get started in the business? So, let's see.
So, I went to film school. And while I was in film school, I started working in industry, you know, as PH jobs or assistant editing jobs, that's for the thing. So, I graduated. I started with right to production.
I always developed a hybrid career pretty early in my working life where I was working in the commercial advertising space, but also working in the independent film and documentary space. I would go between the two. And so, when I was doing, so here's how I got started in documentaries. I was working at a production company in Los Angeles.
I was doing a lot of the behind the scenes work. A lot of marketing work for the big studios in Los Angeles. And so, Tony, Tony's been one of the biggest clients that we had. And so, you know, we had DVDs and DVDs had those like behind the scenes happening, behind this movie.
I was doing those sorts of things. And it wasn't very fulfilling. It wasn't very creative. I was actually kind of rotting doing it.
And so, when a DVX 100 camera came out, I don't know if you remember how exciting that was for filmmakers, because it's like the first time digital cinema looked like film. I got one of those cameras and I started doing these short documentaries all over the place. And I did this one about Berles dancing in Vegas, a crazy kind of story. I got picked up by Al Gore, his former network, current TV, and I remember that network.
It's no longer exist. And so, they liked my work and they put me in a contract with a series of these documentaries. So, I started doing these short documentaries for them. And then that got me noticed.
And I started in, when I was back in New York, I started working with Mark Levin on Brook City. And that's what really kind of propelled me into the documentary space. Nick, what about you? Yeah, it's quite different.
I use the well-flowing path of a future filmmaker doing a degree in theology and philosophy. It was a very unusual choice. But I did it and, you know, soon after, I mean, I always liked photography, I'd also like news. And basically I got a break and went into radio and became a new editor in radio.
And I see the network in the UK back in the late 80s. So, I only wanted a new approach to religion looking at through a couple of length of current affairs. It was at the moment when Hamas was just beginning to evolve. Churches, I think, were a little bit getting, playing crucial roles in the fall of communism in the end of apartheid.
So, I got a lucky break. I got my own TV show and they sent me around the world looking at these seismic changes in geopolitics and culture. And, you know, so they put me in Moscow and Leipzig and Berlin and, you know, Jerusalem and Gaza Strip. You know, I travel the world doing that.
And, you know, I think that really gave me a sense that the power of religion to break and make, you know, empires needs a little more looking at. It wasn't just a freak show. And so I think, you know, I brought that experience and interest, I think, with me over here to the US and the other part of Odyssey, so, of Odyssey Impact, which runs the Impact Campaign, part of its approach is to try and bring together, you know, faith organizations working with social justice with, you know, secular-based organizations because they're basically working for the same thing. They want justice, they want change.
They want to reach out and lift up the humanity of people and shine spotlights on the injustices and then to support those who have been crushed by these injustices. So, although we never make films which, you know, are overtly, that's a religious, the essence of what religion and, um, an awareness of the importance of justice can bring, I think, creates a strong dynamic force for change. Yeah, let's talk a little bit about that idea of documentary as a force for social change. I mean, it certainly hasn't demonstrated that it can be highly effective, but in order for it to really reach its peak effectiveness, it has to get outside of the built-in audience.
How do you as documentary filmmakers try to reach the audiences that need to see these films in order to make the greatest impact? You know, I think, you know, I'm going to draw a new town a bit here as well as Milwaukee. And, you know, I think one of the important things about a film is to be able to get the viewer to empathize. You know, that could be me up there or that could be my child or, you know, the great sort of thing.
You know, when when are the impact take these films on the road for the impact campaigns, for example, you know, there's often a panel afterwards and more often than not, we try to bring the director or somebody from the cast to talk. But I think one or two where you know, we couldn't do that because, you know, people like either busy people and, you know, they can't drop everything and then rush off to all be screening as much as they love to. And I was one screening in Chatham on Cape Cod and the local community hired the local theatre. And they brought along the local Chatham chief of police and the local Chatham based saw superintendent and, you know, the people who the roles you saw on the screen from Newtown, they were there on the panel afterwards.
And I remember the first question I was the chief of police and said, oh my God, that's us. And I think it was really interesting, you know, how they connected it. And the same with Milwaukee, you know, in many ways you just have to look around and just feel on the web and you'll see that, well, mass incarceration affects me as well. And, you know, just around the corner, there's somebody whose husband or wife or whatever mother father is incarcerated.
Mass incarceration is not unique to Milwaukee. Everyone has a Beverly. Everyone has a job. And it's our job to let people see that.
Yeah. You know, I was going to say, whenever, you know, whenever documentary films, you know, they are, they expose injustice. And I think for people of conscious who see this, they can no longer, they can no longer ignore that injustice. They're causing people to wake up and to take some sort of action.
You know, and, you know, with Milwaukee and the impact campaign has been going on. It's been hitting audiences that, you know, I think Milwaukee, I feel like it's a really blessed experience, you know, as far as how it's been, the impact campaign has been working in the sense that. Oftentimes documentaries are, you know, the coastal, the coastal progressives often see these documentaries, but no one else sees these. You know, and it's, but in the experience of Milwaukee, it's been going into communities all over the middle of the country.
And all over the Midwest and all over the country, northeast, that wouldn't ordinarily have these dialogues. I think the beauty of that is, is that they're all, they're sitting in one room together. Even though we don't have, you know, distribution of like the goals and the muzz and, you know, the A and Cs. These are happening in churches.
These are happening in community centers. These are happening in business offices and government offices. And, you know, and, you know, the feedback that we're hearing is really extraordinary. You know, in one particular, you know, the screening particularly for the, for one of the, for the Department of Corrections.
And so some of the pro, the, from the pro, the people who managed to process, they showed up and, and they saw a movie and they came in. And it was, I was told they came in from pre, pre, pre expectations of what this is to give Bob story about poor the victim, the, the incarcerated being the victim. But they came out with a whole different perspective and they said, one person said, you know, I've been working as a prolee for x amount of years and never even thought about the family aspect of what my job entails, which is mind blowing to me. But, you know, that's just the day that they have someone's work that they just don't think about the fact that how many people, how many people's lives are actually impacting.
Beyond that, you know, in the walking in particular, the, the language has been changing in a sense, the district attorney said, you know what you did? You know what you've done? So what do you mean? He goes, you, you branded 5-3-2-0-6.
Because when people talk now, they have a shorthand, when they say 5-3-2-0-6, everyone knows what that means now. And, and people use it just as that shorthand. And what it's doing now is it's affecting policy. It's, it's, it's affecting businesses now.
And there's a, there's a whole outreach with a foundational, the nonprofit foundation workers who are moving into 5-3-2-0-6. Because now everyone wants to, now 5-3-2-6 is the code to save, you know what I mean? So it's, in the state of Wisconsin, the state of Milwaukee, it's, it has enormous impact. It seems.
Across the country, we definitely see that, you know, there's an emotional shift around the issue. So it sounds like instead of going the root of a larger, wider release, your focus is maybe to take it into the community and making sure that there's a lot of things that are happening. And making sure that there's some way of having a dialogue right then and there while the people are watching the film, which makes it far more intimate and participatory. Yeah.
You're absolutely right, Kevin. It's interesting you pick up on that. About four years ago, we, we set off with a plan, a three-four-year plan to make really free documentaries. And, two, what I called documentaries, what I mean by that is that, you know, we did a straightaway to try and get, you know, into HBO or the Apple lease or, you know, into the film festival and win the Oscar.
You know, that was a plan. Or the hope. And we had a little bit of money left over from Arthur Warchett. And, you know, this issue with him and that incarceration was one that I picked up that so many people across the divides were beginning to unite around.
And so that's what a documentary didn't have as many funds as Newtown and, and after fire, story of returning women veterans. But it became a doc like a documentary from below. It's a distribution mechanism was what keeps talking about, taking it to local communities and congregations and events and organizations. And it's, you know, God winning.
It was a good film. Then, you know, then maybe it might get picked up. So it would go from the grassroots up to the top. Whilst Newtown, for example, was one we always aimed, you know, for a mainstream or large mainstream pickup.
And then through association, it would work its way down to the grassroots. And we've been so excited as little film. We call it the little film that can. You know, it costs far less than the other two featured off.
I mean, it is shorter at $55, not as 85, but even so it has exceeded all our expectations and it shows what you can do. And I think if you really have something that engages with people at a local level. Well, you know, any opportunity to engage in a subject matter, you know, like these is an honor, you know, to meet people who are willing to open up their lives to you and allow you to come in to tell a story or to even explore. It's a true honor.
You know, and that's a, and that, and that, the beauty of those relationships is oftentimes what drives me. You know, I think even when I was first starting off doing documentary films, I was always engaged with the people. You know, it wasn't always a bird's eye looking down an issue. It was always with any action in the people of the subject matter.
And I think that, that, that, that really, especially when there's a message and a voice that needs to be heard that can impact, you know, a lot of people are interested in stories that a lot of people should know about. Storytelling at the root of it is, I mean, you know, it gets me excited. You know, the ability to have the privilege to tell stories is a really exciting way to earn a living. It's a really exciting way to move through the world.
I can't think of anything more, well, for myself, I feel like I'm in the vibrancy I should be in. And so, so every day is really exciting for me. And moving forward, you know, I'm still looking to do new documentaries, but also do scripted content as well. And we'll see, you know, you'll be seeing some of that coming, coming years.
I think, for me Kevin, I'm older than Keith. I've got, you know, probably 20 years on your Keith, but in some ways, what I like, you know, I'm going to appear somewhat like at the moment. But I just kept so excited about the opportunities that new technology is bringing us as storytelling. I mean, I think it's, you know, it's actually a matter of it.
It's basic. It's going to be a good documentary maker. Then Keith, that's what we write. You know, you must honor that relationship, be in orbit, that we can have these relationships with other human beings.
For many years, I had a TV show and, you know, I would have to interview famous people. And to be honest, I loathed it. I'm really like ordinary people being extraordinary. And I find a richness that I'm not going to cry, obviously, you know, the celebs, but really, you know, in some ways, those are gods we can't reach.
But the people who live Keith lift up are people I can meet in the street. And, you know, no matter what my issues are, you know, they show me away where I need to be crushed by. You know, so I find what you're talking about there. You know, I described as a calling, rather than a job.
I was just trying to describe to one of my daughters, you know, daddy, what do you do for a living? Why are you away so much? This isn't just a job. This isn't a good thing.
And, you know, lucky enough in this life, yeah, to bring those two together. But I think, you know, I went through a period in the UK, you know, back in the early late, early mid 90s and 20s and 90s. Well, you know, if you came up with an idea, the BBC didn't want it, and the BBC didn't want it, and the channel for it, and then the next place for it was a bin. You know, there was nowhere else to take it.
And then, you know, others changed a bit. We got rights to, or could have rights to our ideas. But then, you know, documentaries became, you know, procedures, old hat and let me make reality TV. And I remember coming to the States and I was over in Los Angeles, but somewhere, and I was in a surf shop.
They're not too wide. But another young guy behind the counter and he said, what do you do? And I thought, oh boy, you know, I'm me, granddad. I'm going to say documentaries and say, what are they?
And I said, I want to make documentaries. He said, oh, I love documentaries. You know, I watch them on Netflix. Wow, is this the rebirth of documentaries?
And what I love about the situation is the over top solutions of people like Hulu and Amazon, for example, in the commitment that HBO gave as well to documentaries. But people like Amazon and Hulu and Netflix, you know, they have the data at their fingertips. You know, if they say, doctors are in, then doctors are in. And all of them have created doc sections.
So that's one thing I like about it. And the other is, you know, being able to develop these impact campaigns and put them out there and see how people use the documentaries. You know, we sometimes for the impact campaign, we've got time to watch the whole 85 minutes or 55 minutes. We might break out themes, little sections of the film and talk about that.
And then they're able to go out and bite side elements, you know, to watch on a smartphone or whatever. And then picked up and I love hearing from the audience. Oh, I got this and I did this with it. An idea that, you know, we used to be gods.
We used to sit at the BBC or ABC or ABC or whatever as the gods and be prescriptive about how you watched, when you watched, what you watched. And now that humility has come in a bit. I think the realization had to come in that, you know, it's any time any place anywhere that the consumer, you know, can and want to must have programming, you know, whenever they want it, wherever they want it. And then they can do things with it that we'd never thought of.
And that's so exciting. Yeah, sometimes I wonder if documentary films have filled in some of the vacuum that was left behind with the loss of long form journalism. I think that's a really, really interesting observation. I think it's definitely a complabic card.
I mean, I think, you know, one of the exciting challenges for us are things like attention spans and engagement. You know, 90 minutes gives you that chance to really go and look at the nuances, etc. I mean, rolling news in some ways occurs because everything's breaking. Everything's got to break now.
Yeah. And you miss the depth. You know, the attention span though, it's a challenge all the time. You know, it's looking short-form talks as well as long.
Can you do short-form as well as long-form? I have done short-form. I mean, Milwaukee could be considered a short-form in some regards, you know, it's 55 minutes. But yeah, I've done plenty of short-form.
That's how I got my career in short-form. And documentary. But also, I think, you know, to your point, I think, you know, with the news being kind of so much about pop news, you know, and entertainment news that, you know, people are perhaps hungry for something that's just real. And now, there to simply disentertain.
Yeah, something that has, it's far more deliberate, more thought through, researched, and not just an immediate reaction to what's going on, so that it has greater staying power. Yeah. I think there's a really important point, I think, which really drives me, and which, you know, to your point Kevin, I think about filling a gap that news may have left, is that democracy for it to work needs an informed electorate. And, you know, where is the electorate being involved in just two news channels hurling mud at each other, then goodness knows where we're going to go.
Democracy will fail, period. There has to be a way. And I think documentaries are leading the way in that. Where can people find your work and how can people contact you to schedule and book some of these community screenings and events?
Sure. So, Milwaukee 53206 will have a broadcast premiere in April on America Reframed. It's a TBS outlet. So, you can have updates on that broadcast premiere on our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts, but also on our webpage, which is mawakki53206.com.
Also on the webpage, you'll find how you can set a screening in your community, and, you know, we'll do some materials on the website that will help you facilitate that screening. And so, we have a team, a team here that will help you get that up and running as well. So, reach out to us if you're interested. And details about screening as well.
Any of the outreach we do, you can get on odyssey-impact.org. Obviously-impact.org. And just fingers crossed for this weekend, our latest doc, which we made with our more grusted films, Nancy Versky, the Rayford Reesee Taylor, about the rights of women to walk through the world, and the left. That's up for an NAACP Impact Best Doc Award this weekend.
So, thank you. Nice. And by the way, and by the way, Riesee Taylor was mentioned by Oprah in her illuminating speech, she gave me a big golden glow. I was very excited to hear a cheap Riesee Taylor.
She did it. But the director was thinking at home and listening to that and just screamed ahead of. I don't think you know what Oprah said, Max. She just said, ahhhh!
Well, it's a story that people definitely need to know, so I'm happy it's finally coming to light. Well, thank you so much for joining me, and hopefully with the chance to speak to you again. Thank you for listening to this episode of Produce by More Information About the Producers Guild. Find us on the web at www.producersguild.org.
You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube at Producersguild. In the meantime, help us out by subscribing, commenting, and sharing wherever you get your podcasts. It helps other people find us and lets us know how we're doing. Until next time, I'm your host Kevin Fairchild.