See & Hear: An Authentic Conversation of Connection
Join Nikiea Redmond and filmmaker Kirsten D'Andrea Hollander for a powerful discussion of the upcoming ten-year documentary film, Anatomy of Wings. Attendees will watch clips from 2007 through today, from an unlikely group of college students and mentors who gathered week after week, year after year, for the sole purpose of seeing and hearing 10 teenage girls amid the blighted and privileged circumstances of Baltimore.
THE STORY BEHIND ANATOMY OF WINGS
Finding Your Wings, our after-school program, began in 2007, with a group of girls chosen from the historic Dunbar Middle School in East Baltimore. The program's purpose was to give the girls access to an alternative lifestyle by introducing them to yoga, suggesting healthier eating habits and offering mentorship through retreats, sailing, etc. In 2008, the program's founder and her family moved to Chicago. Kirsten D'Andrea Hollander volunteered to continue the program and brought her videography skills to the group. Six girls decided to continue the program and together renamed the group Finding Our Wings, which we refer to as Wings.
With the help of mentors, myself included, and other women living in Baltimore, we created a safe space for the girls to practice filmmaking and share life experiences, questions and personal moments such as proms, first time gynecologist visits and accomplishments. Their lives in Baltimore reflected their corresponding community and, once in high school, the girls began inviting their best friends to join the program. The result: we became a group of 10.
What began as a videography program evolved into a powerful space of sharing for ten years, where ten girls, mentors, professors and college students at MICA created a family. All of us, hailing from various backgrounds and, literally, two different Baltimore’s, shared what we discovered in the powerful work of being present in our upcoming feature length film, Anatomy of Wings.
I am honored to Co-Direct and Co-Produce alongside Kirsten. Since 2016, Kirsten and I have presented clips of our film to communities at UMBC, MICA, and community spaces in Chicago, New Jersey and across Maryland. This year, we're creating a lane for our, now, young women to speak about their film across the world.
Anatomy of Wings is currently in its post-production phase. Our plan is to apply for film festivals this summer, connect with an inspired Executive Producer and continue advocating for a theatrical release by spring 2020. Follow our journey at www.anatomyofwings.com.