Lightfoot Films, Inc.

About Lightfoot Films, Inc.

Lightfoot Films, Inc. was formed in 1981 to produce social issue, cultural and human rights documentaries. Of special interest are women's issues and Latin America. We produce in English and in Spanish. Lightfoot productions have aired on PBS, The Learning Channel, Hallmark Channel, ABC, and NBC as well as State Television Network of the Soviet Union and Brandenberg Television Network. They have been screened and received awards at festivals such as the London Latin American Film Festival. Amnesty International Film Festival, USA Film Festival, Havana Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival, Athens International Film and Video Festival, and Women of the Americas Festival. Lightfoot Films is a 501(c) (3) corporation governed by a Board of Directors.

Gayla Jamison, Executive Director and Producer

A founding member and Executive Director of Lightfoot Films, Gayla Jamison has produced many human rights and social issue documentaries, filmed in more than 20 countries on five continents. As producer-director-writer for Lightfoot Films, she has produced "Lives For Sale," (human trafficking and undocumented immigration),"Approach of Dawn," (Maya women and human rights during the Guatemalan civil war), "Scraps of Life," (Chilean women with family among the detained-disappeared during the Pinochet dictatorship), "Living in America," (portrait of the historic Latino community of Tampa, Florida), and "Enough To Share," (portrait of an inter-racial intentional community in rural Georgia). Her productions for other companies are listed in her resume.

Current Productions

Coming in 2009…

"In Our Son's Name " - An inspiring story of courage, forgiveness and redemption in the wake of violence.

The lives of Phyllis and Orlando Rodríguez were shattered by the death of their 31-year-old son, Greg, in the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center. The loss of their son to a terrorist act challenged not only their convictions but also their courage to act on them.

In Our Son's Name will explore the concepts of forgiveness and reconciliation through the experiences of Phyllis and Orlando as they rebuild their lives in the wake of Greg’s death. As the documentary follows their journey, a striking portrait emerges of two people coping with grief and moving towards healing by speaking out and by reaching out, in ways they never could have imagined.

They find peace in a controversial friendship with Aïcha el-Wafi, whose son, Zacarias Moussaoui was convicted of conspiracy in the 9/11 attack, and Orlando overcomes fear of reprisal to testify for the defense at Moussaoui’s sentencing trial. At an emotional encounter with convicted felons at Sing Sing, a maximum-security prison, they help the men to understand the suffering of victims of violent acts. The film will follow one of the inmates in his quest to meet and reconcile with the son of the man he killed.

Phyllis and Orlando provide a compelling example of forgiveness, not as an ending but a beginning. By telling one couple’s story, In Our Son's Name , explores the depths of human emotion and interaction, searching for meaning and redemption in the aftermath of violence.

To view the latest clip of: "In Our Son's Name" (click here)

"Miss Julia: The Unexpected Life of Julia Peterkin"

South Carolina novelist Julia Peterkin revolutionized American literature and launched what we now call the Southern Renaissance by writing about the lives of plain black farming people. Although she was white and the mistress of a cotton plantation, scholar and activist W.E.B. DuBois declared that she had “the eye and the ear to see beauty and to know truth.” In 1922, when she had published only a handful of short sketches, the influential critic H. L. Mencken announced that her stories were “violets” in the “Sahara of the Bozarts,” his withering nickname for the South. Carl Sandburg compared her to the Russian realist Ivan Turgenev. James Weldon Johnson praised her writing for its honest and moving depiction of black characters. Today, writer and teacher A.J. Verdelle maintains that, “the Peterkin story is a fascinating and phenomenal story, because she is white.”

Peterkin’s rise to fame was meteoric. By 1929 she had won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel, Scarlet Sister Mary, and she was leading the double life of plantation mistress in South Carolina and sought-after writer at New York cultural events and dinner parties. Eleanor Roosevelt invited her to the White House.

By the mid-1930’s Julia Peterkin had stopped writing and retreated to South Carolina. Why did she abandon her career at its height? What prompted her to begin writing in middle age? And how did a white Southern woman become a highly respected chronicler of African-American rural life?

“Miss Julia: The Unexpected Life of Julia Peterkin” will be an hour-long documentary for public television about a remarkable woman who set out to re-make her life only to withdraw before the chrysalis became a butterfly. Peterkin’s story is told through readings of her groundbreaking literature, stunning images of the South Carolina countryside and coast, evocative archival photographs, and through interviews with writers and scholars, as well as with people who remember this paradoxical and controversial woman.

“Miss Julia” is a co-production of Lightfoot Films and South Carolina ETV.

GAYLA K. JAMISON

Producer/Director/Writer, "In The Shadow of Death," a one-hour documentary about restorative justice principles shown through families and communities suffering the aftermath of homicide. A Lightfoot Films, Inc., production. In development.

Producer/Director/Writer, “Lives For Sale,” one-hour documentary about the human trafficking and undocumented immigration from Central American and Mexico to the U.S. A co-production of Lightfoot Films, Inc. and Maryknoll Productions. Aired on PBS and the Hallmark Channel.

Producer/Director/Writer, “Miss Julia” (working title), hour documentary about the South Carolina author whose novel, Scarlet Sister Mary, received the 1929 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Independently produced. In production.

Series Supervising Producer and Producer-Writer (seven episodes), “My Americas” (English version) and “Caminante” (Spanish version), a thirteen-part series of half-hour documentaries about fiestas and spiritual traditions in Latin American countries including Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Cuba, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Ecuador. Supervised series, produced and wrote scripts for seven episodes. Produced by HTN Productions. “My Americas” distributed to public television by NETA. “Caminante” aired on Galavision.

Producer/Writer, “Against All Odds: Three Families in Peru,” one-hour documentary about families struggling with Peru’s economic crisis. Produced by HTN Productions.

Series Supervising Producer and Producer/Writer, “The Field Afar,” 17-part series of half-hour documentaries about the work of Maryknoll Missioners in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, narrated by Steve Allen and Ken Kashawahara. Produced and scripted for ten episodes; supervised production and scripted seven episodes. Produced for Maryknoll World Productions by HTN Productions. Available in Spanish as “Tras El Horizonte.” Aired on Odyssey Channel in English and Telemundo in Spanish..

Producer/Director/Writer, “La Gran Posada,” one-hour documentary about a Mexican-American Christmas tradition celebrated in San Antonio, Texas. Produced by HTN Productions. Distributed to public television by NETA.

Producer/Director/Writer, 12 video vignettes in Spanish featuring children’s lives in Chile, Mexico, and Dominican Republic, for “Salsa,” a Spanish language teaching series for K-2, produced by Georgia Public Broadcasting for Georgia Educational Services. Also aired on Galavision and Univision.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Approach of Dawn," one-hour documentary about Maya women of Guatemala and human rights. Independently produced. Broadcast on NBC series, “Horizons of the Spirit.”

Manager of Current Programming, The Travel Channel. Managed series produced for the channel and re-versioned acquired programs.

Senior Producer, "Georgia Stories," series on Georgia history, distributed by satellite to state public schools. Stories include Albany Singers in the Civil Rights Movement, African-American Inventors, Day of the Dead Celebration, Atlanta Race 1906 Riot, Civil Rights Movement and Atlanta Business Leaders, Trail of Tears. Produced by Dystar Television for Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Producer/Director/Writer, documentary about the State of Georgia's Pre-Kindergarten Program for at-risk children. Produced for Georgia Department of Education.

Producer/Co-Writer, "Fatal Addiction: Tobacco," half-hour documentary produced by Dystar Television for Simon & Schuster.

Field Producer, reports on Ku Klux Klan and Skinheads and on genital mutilation among women immigrants in the U.S., for "Contacto," prime-time series, Channel 13, Santiago, Chile.

Producer/Co-Writer, "Unwelcome Advances: Sexual Harassment at Work," half-hour documentary produced by Dystar Television for Simon & Schuster.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Scraps of Life," half-hour documentary about Chilean women activists with family among the disappeared. Independently produced. English and Spanish versions. Broadcast on WGBH series, "La Plaza," and other PBS affiliates.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Teens and AIDS," feature story about Pedro Zamora, a Cuban-born HIV positive teenager, for "Heritage," magazine format series about Latinos in the U.S. produced by PBS affiliate KLRN-TV (San Antonio).

Producer/Director/Writer, "The Family Connection," documentary on community-based programs for families of at-risk children. Produced for the Georgia Department of Human Resources.

Director/Writer, "On Fire With Faith," one-hour documentary commemorating the quincentennial of the encounter between Spain and the Americas. Produced by HTN Productions for ABC-TV and Catholic Communication Campaign.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Living in America: One Hundred Years of Ybor City," one-hour documentary about the century-old Latin community of Tampa, Florida. Independently produced. Cablecast on The Learning Channel "New to America" series; offered by satellite to schools throughout the U.S. by Modern Talking Pictures.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Georgia Digest," magazine format series produced by Georgia Public Television. Stories include AIDS research, day care for children of Latino farm workers, domestic violence.

Producer/Director/Writer, "Portrait of America: Alabama" and "Portrait of America: Washington," one-hour documentaries for the Turner Broadcasting System series, "Portrait of America," narrated by Hal Holbrook.

Producer/Director/Editor, "Enough to Share: A Portrait of Koinonia Farm," half-hour documentary about a Georgia interracial intentional community founded in 1940s. Independently produced. Broadcast by PBS.

Co-Writer, "Without Borders," two-hour environmental special, Turner Broadcasting System.

Writer, "The Day of Five Billion," ninety-minute special on world population growth, Turner Broadcasting System.

AWARDS AND SCREENINGS

“Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe” episode, Caminante series, Gabriel Award.

“The Field Afar: Bangkok,” Bronze Award, Columbus Film Festival.

“Approach of Dawn,” Awards: Gold Apple, National Educational Media Network Film Festival; Award of Merit, Latin American Studies Association; Special Jury Award, USA Film Festival. Screenings: London Latin American Film Festival, Amnesty International Film Festival (Amsterdam), San Antonio CineFestival, Latin American Film Festival (Duke University), High Museum of Art (Atlanta), NBC network series, “Horizons of the Spirit.”

"Scraps of Life." Awards: Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival; Golden Hugo, Chicago International Film Festival; Award of Merit, Latin American Studies Association. Screened: International Festival of New Latin American Film and Video (Havana, Cuba), San Antonio CineFestival, Leipzig Documentary Film Festival, National Women's Studies Association, American Psychiatric Association, Tam Tam Video Festival (Rome), Athens International Film and Video Festival, High Museum of Art Latin American Film Festival (Atlanta). Broadcast: PBS, WGBH-TV series "La Plaza"; State Television Network of the Soviet Union, Brandenburg Television Network. Distributor: Filmakers Library.

"Living in America." Selected by National Video Resources for inclusion, Viewing Race, a resource guide of independent films about diversity and tolerance for public libraries and community groups nationwide. Awards: Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival; Silver Plaque, Chicago International Film Festival; Best Documentary, San Antonio CineFestival; CINE Golden Eagle; Silver Apple, National Educational Film Festival. Screened: International Festival of New Latin American Film and Video (Havana, Cuba), CineSanJuan (Puerto Rico), Women of the Americas Festival, American Anthropological Association National Conference, Atlanta Film and Video Festival, University of Havana. Broadcast: The Learning Channel “New to America” series; offered to schools via Modern Talking Pictures satellite network. Distributor: Filmakers Library.

"On Fire With Faith." CINE Golden Eagle.

"Portrait of America: Alabama." CINE Golden Eagle; Bronze Award, Columbus Film Festival; Silver CINDY.

Regional Emmies for Individual Excellence in Writing, "Portrait of American: Alabama" and "Portrait of America: Washington."

"Enough to Share." Awards: Blue Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival; Family Film Life Award, National Council on Family Relations. Screened: Tyneside Film Festival, Atlanta Film and Video Festival, Regional Conference on Arts and Humanities. Broadcast: PBS, 1984. Distributor: Lightfoot Films, Inc.

Mayor's Fellowship in the Arts, City of Atlanta, Andrew Young, Mayor.

Training grant, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, to attend INPUT, an international conference of public television producers and programmers, Granada, Spain.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

Spanish

	"Lives For Sale": Trailer (© 2006 Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc.) maryknoll productions.org
	"Lives For Sale:" Sergio, a former human smuggler or coyote, crosses the US border to look for undocumented immigrants lost in the desert who might need assistance. (© 2006 Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America, Inc.) maryknoll productions.org
	In this episode of the series, "My Americas," Enrique Hernández Armenteros, a babalao or high priest of Santería, honors San Lázaro in the town of Guanabacoa, Cuba. San Lázaro is Cuba's most popular saint, and the devotion to him reflects the syncretism of African spiritual traditions with Christianity that reflects the country's past and present. ©2005 maryknoll productions maryknoll productions.org
	"Approach of Dawn": In a timeless ceremony, Francisca, a Maya priestess, prays for the safety of Justina Tzoc, a human rights activist. (© 1997 Lightfoot Films, Inc.)
	"Living In America: One Hundred Years of Ybor City": Opening scenes of this one-hour documentary about the historic Latino community of Ybor City that grew up around the cigar industry in Tampa, Florida. (© 1987 Lightfoot Films, Inc.)
	"Scraps of Life": Inelia Hermosillo walks an outdoor market in Santiago, Chile, handing out handkerchiefs commemorating the disappearance of her son during the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. (© 1991 Lightfoot Films, Inc.)

Production Stills Gallery


Roberto Alcaraz and Vicente Franco - Sunrise at Machu Picchu, Peru	Quiche Maya Shamen performing ceremony - North Shore of Lake Atitlán

Berlin Juárez Péres, Gayla Jamison, Hilary Morgan - Temple 2, Tikal, Guatemala	Berlin Juárez Pérez and children from the village of Los Laureles, Guatemala

Sergio Iceda , Elena Pardo, Ray Day, on the border between Mexico and Arizona	Tanya and Carlos Daniel, Chucuito, Peru

Sherpur, Bangladesh	Sherpur, Bangladesh

Fr. Tom Goekler and crew, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Just Coffee Plantation, Chiapas, Mexico

Arthur Yee and Ray Day filming at AIDS hospice, Lopduri, Thailand	Leticia Vásquez, Antigua, Guatemala

Vicente Franco filming dramatization near McClellanville, SC	Rice farmer, Olvidio Alvarez, Darién, Panama

Greg Linton and Ron Borden in the rainforest, Darién, Panama	Gilberto Martínez, Gloria Rolondo, Roberto Alcarez, Gayla Jamison, Hilary Morgan, Oscar Pérez with San Lazaro, El Rincón, Cuba

Leticia Vásquez and José Genovevo in Xochimilco, Mexico	Roberto Alcaraz, Julio Roldán, Hilary Morgan - Tikal, Guatemala

Maya ceremony Pyramid 2 - Tikal, Guatemala	Holy Week Festival, Antigua, Guatemala

Children, Filipino village	Preparations for the Our Lady of San Juan de Los Lagos Ceremony, San Juan de Los Lagos, Mexico

Border art, Elena Pardo, Cameraperson	Leticia Vásquez, (l) young women in traditional dress, Jalisco State

Funeral mass for massacre victims, Rabinal, Guatemala	"Your vote should be free" - Women activists, Lima, Peru

Steve Guercio and Ron Borden, Metangula, Mozambique	Mon refugee Buddhist monks from Myanmar in Bangkok, Thailand

Sister Ha, (blue blouse), Florencia Barrio, El Salvador	Gayla Jamison, San Juan de Los Lagos, Mexico