“The Reel Lives Project is about understanding the truth through a new lens. It’s enabled young people to distance themselves from their everyday realities enough to realize they have choices, and that against all obstacles and challenges, love wins.”
-- Tavis Smiley, philanthropist, political commentator, and talk show host
Reel Lives - Participants
Students
Phylicia Roberts
15 years old • altadena, ca • film: "The Life and Times of Phylicia Roberts"
Watch "The Life and Times of Phylicia Roberts" on YouTube
Phylicia Roberts is a survivor. Using storytelling to cope with personal tragedy, Phylicia’s documentary describes the loss of her mother, and recreates a car accident that deformed her jaw. “It feels good to get my story across to show how hard it can really be,” she says.
Phylicia is strong, independent and passionate about life. She loves to sing and has many dreams for the future, including becoming a filmmaker and a child psychologist. “Life isn’t easy, but don’t give up, don’t quit ‘cause you can find someone or something better,” she says.
Ja'Mesha Hagins
17 years old • inglewood, ca • film: "Anthony"
Watch "Anthony" on YouTube
Ja’Mesha Hagins is a true inspiration. She used her film to tell a moving story about living with her cousin Anthony, a special needs child. Despite having to miss out on social activities with her teenage friends, she dedicates herself to caring for Anthony. She has a knack for interviewing her subjects and is never afraid to ask questions.
Ja’Mesha loves to sing and she is lauded by her peers for being talented and funny. When she grows up, she wants to be a crime scene investigator, an actress or a model. She wants the world to know that she is somebody. That she matters. That she has a story to tell. When asked how it feels to be able to share her story on the big screen, she says, it’s “a dream come true.”
Danny Corro
14 years old • hollywood, ca
Danny is introspective, intelligent and funny -- which is evident in his poetry and flow. A very talented artist, his filmmaking is as thoughtful and poetic as his other forms of self-expression.
Danny was nearly pulled into a life of gang violence, but now lives his life with a positive outlook and hope for a brighter future. He prides himself on being a good friend and dreams of becoming an actor or an entrepreneur one day. Danny was unable to finish his film due to family circumstances, but is enthusiastic about trying his hand at filmmaking again. He learned from the Reel Lives Project that “even if you’re just playing around with the camera, you never know what you’re gonna get.”
Betty Zayas
15 years old • pasadena, ca • film: "My Quinceañera"
Watch "My Quinceañera" on YouTube
Betty considers herself both fun and responsible. She made her film about her Quinceañera, a traditional right of passage for a 15-year-old Latina. An incredible amount of preparation went into this celebration, and when her special day came, Betty’s family and friends watched proudly as she officially transitioned into womanhood.
Betty would like to be a midwife nurse when she grows up, and would love to invent something some day. On becoming a filmmaker, she says she “used to hide but is now more open.” While she is nervous about showing her film, she knows it will make her feel very special and is eager to share her story with the world.
Briana Parker
15 years old • pasadena, ca • film: "My Quinceañera" (asst. director)
Watch "My Quinceañera" on YouTube
Briana has a natural talent for cinematography, as she learned when she helped shoot and direct Betty Zayas’ film for the Reel Lives Project. She believes that filmmaking has made her more responsible, teaching her to work with people she’s just met.
At Remedee Film Camp, Briana was known for her sense of humor and unique laugh. She dreams of going to college and wants to make her friends and family proud.
Samantha Agundez
15 years old • pasadena, ca • film: "Los Dos Vidas De Samantha"
Watch "Los Dos Vidas de Samantha" on YouTube
Viewing herself as both Mexican and American, Samantha has created “Los Dos Vidas de Samantha/The Two Lives of Samantha.” With the majority of her family living in Ensenada, Mexico, she frequently
travels there from her hometown of Altadena. She finds balance through the strength and support of her family.
Outgoing and ambitious, Samantha believes that she can do anything. She is a talented soccer player and an exceptional student. She dreams of becoming an
anesthesiologist or a marine biologist.
Justin Hopkins
15 years old • glendale, ca • film: "Mister Airborne"
Watch "Mister Airborne" on YouTube
Confident, strategic and ambitious, Justin is a unique character and captures that uniqueness in his film about his desire to become an air force pilot. He holds the camera with great precision and an understanding that every frame conveys a powerful message. He says he gained more patience and self- discipline through the making of his film.
Justin loves to build cars and play sports — especially football. He values his education and in addition to someday joining the military, dreams of finding a cure for AIDS and other diseases.
Mentors
Edward Osei-Gyimah
Edward Osei-Gyimah was born in London, England to Ghanaian parents. After studying at London's prestigious Dulwich College, he went on to achieve a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Film Theory at Brunel University. Having known from a very early age he wanted to be a film director, Osei-Gyimah spent the next six years working in the British media industry trying to gain production experience, serving on various broadcast series for Channel 4, Nickelodeon UK and Carlton Television, as well as working as a production assistant on numerous commercials and industrial films. Throughout his career he has continued to write his own scripts and make short films.
In 2005 Osei-Gyimah headed west to the University of Southern California where he is currently pursuing a Master in Fine Arts degree in Film Production. Edward's short film "Growing Old Disgracefully" was a finalist in the Now Casting Film Festival. He served as an editor on the documentary "All You Can Be," a look at role of the military in high schools in Southern California, which will be screening at this year's First Look Film Festival. Last year Osei-Gyimah was the recipient of an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences internship grant, which allowed him to undertake an internship at Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Shilpi Roy
Shipli Roy was born in South Carolina and grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina. She attended Vanderbilt University where she majored in Psychology and Economics. In her senior year she completed a Film Studies minor, and it was then that she fell in love with film and decided to pursue it as a career. After graduating college, Roy moved to Los Angeles where she quickly got a job at a small production company. Having learned the ins and outs of the entertainment industry on the job, she then went on to pursue her Master in Fine Arts in Film Studies at the University of Southern California.
Vero Shamo-Garcia
Originally from Ecuador, Vero Shamo-Garcia came to the United States to follow her dream of becoming a filmmaker. While pursuing her bachelor degree, Vero directed the festival winning "El Momento de Amar" a one hour Spanish Novela. Vero also won an award from the Academy of Television of Arts and Sciences for multi-camera directing in 2000 and the Director's Guild of America honorable mention for Latino Filmmaker in 2005, with her festival award winning "De las Calles." She directed the Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmaking Finalist "Kidtopia." She holds an MFA from the school of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Her thesis film "Limpiando Sapos" is the winner of the Jones Bridges Scholarship for excellence in writing and it is starting the festival circuit.
