Media release from Rome International Film Festival:
The 2024-2025 Rome International Film Festival’s RIFF-Georgia Power Community Conversations film series continues Tuesday, November 19, at 7 pm at Screen 417, the popular new film viewing and event space on Broad Street in downtown Rome. After Family Tree, described as a “family ‘dramady’ and narrative documentary” by first-time director Jennifer MacArthur, there will be a discussion with her and Stacie Marshall, well-known Summerville farmer and co-creator of the non-profit Hester’s Heritage, an organization with the mission to support and further equal justice in black history preservation, education, and black farming initiatives.
MacArthur is keen to give back through educational initiatives, and earlier on Tuesday she will be speaking to film students at Berry College in the class of Filmmaking and Cinematic Arts Department Chair, Curt Hersey. There she will answer questions from students about how it felt to direct her first film, the process of funding and producing a film, and how she bends genres to make movies that show the “real life” expected from a documentary but also tell a gripping story as if in narrative mode.
“I grew up in Alaska,” said MacArthur. “I know what it is like to live as a black person in a more rural environment. The natural world and its preservation and stewardship are important to me, so I wanted to shine a light on the experience of black families navigating the dynamics of their communal life as they work to preserve their family structure and their family farm.”
The film is also about the importance of black family rituals as a way to connect the generations. “I visited with the families in the film nine or ten times, and often went to events where I was grilled by family elders who wanted to know why I was filming private family celebrations. I had to convince them that this film was going to honor their family and their rituals.”
In September of 2024, RIFF and GA Power initiated a series of films about important issues facing the modern South, and thus far have screened a film about the transformative power of dance for children living in homeless shelters, and a film about undocumented Hispanic families who live in America with their children, but also long to see their parents and families in Mexico. However, they know that if they return home for a visit, they may not ever get back into the United States where their children are citizens.
“RIFF is about the transcendent power of storytelling to draw our community together,” said Leanne Cook, executive director of the film and digital media non-profit organization. “We are so thrilled to partner with Georgia Power, a company that truly cares for every community in which they serve. We identify films and recruit the filmmaker, along with local experts from our civic, academic and business community to talk with one another about these important issues shaping our lives.” Other films coming in 2025 include topics such as literacy, education in rural and financially-challenged counties throughout the United States, and social justice.
Tickets are free but those interested in the film should make a reservation for one of a limited number of seats at riffga.com or through the link in the RIFF film event on their Facebook page, @romefilm.
Link to Trailer for Family Tree
Jennifer MacArthur short bio:
Jennifer MacArthur is a filmmaker exploring the impact of our changing climate through the intersection of documentary and genre film. “Family Tree” is her directorial debut. Previously, Jennifer produced the critically acclaimed feature documentary “Whose Streets?,” which premiered on DAY ONE of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival and sold to Magnolia Pictures. She has also produced for TIME Studios, Soledad O’Brien Productions, and Anonymous Content. She is a 2018 IFP Cannes Producers Network Fellow and 2016 Sundance Creative Producing Summit Fellow and a member of the board of directors for Storyline Media, an award-winning multi-platform, participatory, and interactive storytelling company.
