Chicago Feminist Film Festival / Frozen River Film Festival 2019 – For A Better Life
Sold for $100 at the age of 5, Fekri suffers through years of abuse before his plight is discovered. After almost a year of hospitalization and therapy Fekri moves into a group home where he finds support, mentorship, and eventual forgiveness towards the family which sold him.
Interview with Director/Producer/Animator Yasmin Mistry
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
After years of volunteering as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) I was shocked by how little say foster youth had in their own lives. I wanted to give them an outlet to share their stories and be heard using the tools that I knew best, film and animation. With the help of foster care alumni and a team of industry professionals I created this film to give foster youth the confidence and skills to become a voice for the voiceless. I hope this film will educate general audiences about child abuse, child trafficking, and unique family structures, while reinforcing the importance of mentorship for older youth in foster care.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
I would encourage people to watch For A Better Life to challenge their understanding of foster care and break the stereotypes and stigma associated with it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
While many people (we hope) may not be able to relate to the harrowing experiences of abuse our film subject suffered, I think most people can relate to the universal themes of loneliness, family and forgiveness which run throughout the film.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
I initially interviewed nine foster youth and foster care alumni with the intent to make one film featuring snippets from all of their stories. However, each interview lasted between 3-9 hours and I quickly realized the need to share these stories was even greater than I initially imagined. I knew we had more material than could possibly fit into one film, but I also knew these stories were too important to end up on the cutting room floor. With that in mind I decided to create a series of films, with each film profiling the story of a different foster youth. For A Better Life is the fourth film in this series.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
While animation is used in all my films, this is my first fully animated documentary film. It’s a growing genre and I wasn’t sure how it would be perceived by audiences. The film has been accepted to over 25 film festivals since its premiere last summer so we’re happy and grateful that the film has found its audience.
We’ve also held several educational screenings for high school students and current foster youth. Perhaps the most meaningful feedback has come from those screenings, when students have gotten up during the post-screening discussions to state how much they identified with the young man in the film and share their own stories. For A Better Life deals with some very difficult subject matter and I can’t imagine how hard this must be to do, to stand up in front; a crowd and share ones personal struggles publicly. I am so impressed by the bravery of these young adults. My hope is that if more people share these stories, eventually there will be fewer such stories to share.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I’ve been intrigued by some of the feedback we’ve received from film festivals. It’s been interesting to see how a film which mixes genres (documentary/animation) gets programmed. I’ve learned that our film is viewed as a documentary film which uses animation as a storytelling medium, as opposed to an animated short which shares a true story. In hindsight that seems very accurate and obvious but I don’t think any of us realized this while making the film. The difference may sound subtle but realizing this has since helped informed our future festival and distribution strategy.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope to create more awareness about the film as well as the subject matter it addresses.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We plan to release the film on the educational market this fall and would love to talk to any interested journalists, impact producers, and distributors. This film is part of a larger series which gives foster youth a voice and creates awareness about child welfare. We are currently working on a feature film as well as several other short films and would love to chat with anyone interested in being a part of the larger project, including but not limited to producers, funders, artists and animators.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We hope that this young man’s story will encourage audience members to ask difficult questions and be more aware of child abuse situations that may be going on around them.
In addition, we hope those who have suffered similar plights will feel less alone and be encouraged to share their own stories. By raising awareness we can make a difference to future generations.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Is this real? The answer is yes. Although this is an animated documentary the use of animation does not make the story any less real. The voice you hear is the voice of Fekri Kram, the young man who is bravely sharing his personal journey through audio interviews, spoken word performances and hip hop music.
Animation was used to make a difficult story more accessible to a wider audience. The film deals with challenging topics such a child abuse, suicide and human trafficking. While amputation as punishment is not a common practice, the other issues addressed in the film are much more commonplace than one might expect. According to the International Labour Organization there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking globally and according to the Children’s Bureau there were 4.6 child fatalities per day in 2017 due to child abuse and neglect. By sparking a conversation around these topics we hope to reduce these statistics.
Would you like to add anything else?
If you’d like to help Fekri, the young man featured in the film, please support his music career by checking out his SoundCloud page.
Today, Fekri is an aspiring hip hop artist. His song “Farewell So Long Goodbye” was featured in the film alongside music by foster care alumni Travis Lloyd and foster/adoptive parent William Baird, among others.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are currently working on the fifth short film in the foster care film series. As is common in documentary filmmaking, the story has taken an unexpected turn and we are now seeking funding to turn the film into a feature.
We have also been fortunate to receive distribution and funding for community engagement events for the previous films in our series. This May during National Foster Care Month we’ll be hosting Child Welfare Film Festival in conjunction with non-profit City Living NY. We’ll also be taking our film series on a 5 City Tour in Texas thanks to the sponsorship of the Annie E. Casey Foundation. We’re going to be busy!
Interview: February 2019
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
For A Better Life
Sold for $100 at the age of 5, Fekri suffers through years of abuse before his plight is discovered. After almost a year of hospitalization and therapy Fekri moves into a group home where he finds support, mentorship, and eventual forgiveness towards the family which sold him.
Length: 9:33
Director: Yasmin Mistry
Producer: Yasmin Mistry & Kimberly DiPersia
Writer: Maxine Trump & Kimberly DiPersia
About the writer, director and producer:
YASMIN MISTRY is an Emmy-nominated animator and filmmaker. She is the recipient of grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Puffin Foundation, Riverside Sharing Fund, Harnisch Foundation, and Jessie Streich-Kest Memorial Grant. Her documentary short films about foster care have been selected for over 100 film festivals and won more than 25 awards. The first film in the series, Feeling Wanted, was nominated for Best Short Film of 2015 by Adoption At The Movies.
MAXINE TRUMP is a director, editor and documentary story consultant. She is the author of Documentary Filmmaker’s Roadmap, and a professor of Documentary Craft, Writing and Producing at the NY Film Academy. Her documentary, Musicwood was a New York Times Critics’ Pick.
KIMBERLY DIPERSIA is an actress, producer, and filmmaker. She is the co-founder of Hanging Charlie Productions and has worked on shows such as “The Mysteries of Laura” (Warner Bros.), “Billions” (Showtime) and “Red Oaks” (Amazon).
Key cast: Fekri Kram (self)
Looking for: distributors
Facebook: Foster Care film
Twitter: @fostercarefilm
Instagram: @fostercarefilm
Website: http://www.fostercarefilm.com/for-a-better-life
Other: IMDB
Funders: Brooklyn Arts Council, Riverside Sharing Fund
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Frozen River Film Festival/Ed's No-Name Bar, Winona - February 5, 2019, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m; Frozen River Film Festival/Winona State University, Winona -February 9, 2019, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m; Love Your Shorts/ Wayne Densch Performing Arts, Sanford - February 9, 2019, Documentary Shorts Block begins at 3 p.m; Frozen River Film Festival/Winona State University, Winona - February 10, 2019, 1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m; Winter Film Awards/Cinema Village, New York - February 20, 2019, Animation+Music Video Afternoon: 3:20pm-5:30pm; Winter Film Awards/Cinema Village, New York - February 20, 2019, Block 16: 7:45 - 11:00 p.m; Chicago Feminist Film Festival/Columbia College Chicago - March 3, 2019, Fighting For Our Lives short films block starts at 3p.m.