"Freedom Lost: Restoration" From the Freedom Lost Project
Genre: Documentary/Black History/Television/Web Series
Current Information: A documentary from "The Freedom
Lost Project"
exploring the Black History and issues of a rural North Carolina
community from the Civil War to present day.
Cast: Bernard George, David Cecelski, Gerald Johnson
Executive Producers: Scott Nunnally and Tom Swift
Producer: Bill Hand
Co-producers: Dan O'Connell and Angela Swift
Written and Directed By: Tom Swift
Estimated Release Date: Spring 2010
About the project:
"Freedom Lost: Restoration" is a documentary interlaced with
interviews featuring historians and Black Leaders, and profiles
the lives of African Americans who live in the communities in
and around James City today. The city is right next to New Bern,
a unique city where history intersects with the present.
Historical landmarks and artifacts continue to be discovered in
the yards of locals standing as reminders to all who pass
through it.
The documentary looks at the rich history of African Americans
here, observing historical and present day issues of this Black
Community and
how far they have come since freedom was lost in early 1900. The
film
brings a message of hope, forgiveness, and overcoming incredible
odds.
About the Filmmakers:
Scott Nunnally who runs the film company Executor Arts Media in
the Pittsburgh, PA area serves as Executive Producer with Tom
Swift. Tom also also serves as Director and co-writer of the
screenplay. See their bios for more information.
Dan O’Connell and Angela Swift serve as co-producers on this
project along with Bill Hand who serves as a producer..
About the Cast:
Gerald Johnson was the principal of J.T. Barber Elementary School
for many years
in New Bern, North Carolina. Johnson really connected with all
his students, Black and White, but he was also a great role model
for the many Black Students who attended his elementary school. He
is one of the local Black Leaders Awaken Pictures plans to
profile in the documentary.
THE
FREEDOM LOST PROJECT
A project combining two forms of media --
documentary (Freedom Lost:
Restoration) and Historical Drama (Freedom Lost: The Story of
James City)
-- focusing on the life of African Americans in James City,
North Carolina and its surrounding communities since the 1800s.
The project looks at the subject of freedom, then and now.
James City traces its roots to a NC settlement in the 1860s,
which became a sanctuary for thousands of slaves, established by
the Union army when they
took the city of New Bern captive during the Civil War. James
City is
located just outside the Colonial Capital of New Bern, North
Carolina, which had a reputation for being a thriving Free Black
Community at the
time. After the war was over, James city became a
self-sustaining
community of former slaves. But growing hostility from a wounded
and bitter South, and the loss of protection from the Union
victors, allowed for the birth of Jim Crow laws, and other
prejudices that forced this promising and flourishing community
to fight desperately to keep their freedom.
The Freedom Lost project also explores the relationship of the
Federal Government in the Civil War toward African Americans,
who used similar tactics of the British during the Revolutionary
War, promising freedom to
slaves in order to weaken their enemy. The African American
community
in Eastern Carolina found themselves caught in the middle of a
war over power, causing a deep, bitter, and painful wound that
this nation has yet
to recover from. This project seeks to help bring healing to
that wound
with the power of media and filmmaking with a message of hope
and forgiveness.
The Movie "Freedom Lost: The James City Story"
is IN DEVELOPMENT (From the Freedom Lost Project).
"Freedom Lost: The James
City Story" From the Freedom Lost Project
Genre: Historical Drama
Current Information: A movie from the "Freedom Lost
project" about a slave who joins thousands, who flee their
plantations, seeking sanctuary in a
Union Refugee camp during the Civil War. Based on the book
"James
City: A Black Community in North Carolina" by Joe A. Mobley with
additional storylines and screenplay by Bill Hand and Tom Swift.
Cast: Scott Nunnally, Bill Hand, Stuart Johnson
Executive Producers: Scott Nunnally and Tom Swift
Co-producers: Dan O'Connell and Angela Swift
Associate Producer: Dale Ream
Screenplay By: Bill Hand and Tom Swift
Directed By: Tom Swift
Estimated Release Date: Unavailable
About the project:
Imagine if you would, a world where men and women were not their
own and could not exercise the wonderful liberty of being a free
American.
Imagine the generations that came and went and each parent
passing the hope on to their children, a hope and longing to
walk as free citizens.
Then comes that crossroad in history when a civil war over
states rights promises to be that long awaited ticket. Imagine a
city established as a colonial capital being captured and a
refugee camp established with the promise of freedom. Imagine
the thousands who fled their masters and risked their lives for
hopes of a better life... an end of bondage. Were these men who
promised them freedom to be trusted, or were they being used as
pawns in a game to divide and conquer. Would you trust them?
Imagine forces at work to try to keep that new freedom away.
What would you do?
Would you fight for your freedom?
James City is a city that traces its roots to a settlement in
the 1860s established by the Union army when they took the city
of New Bern captive during the Civil War. It was a refugee camp
which became a sanctuary for thousands of slaves who risked
their lives fleeing from their masters.
Some traveled great distances to the encampment with the promise
of a better life under the protection of the Union and a life of
freedom.
Freedom Lost: The James City Story is a narrative historical
drama based on the book, "James City: A Black Community in North
Carolina (1863-1900)"
by Joe A. Mobley. The film focuses on the life of a fictitious
slave, played by Scott Nunnally (The Mothman Prophecies) who
flees his North
Carolina plantation and comes to the settlement. Though the
character is
fictitious, the producers are taking great care to make sure the
story stays true to the book and history, referring to
historical records sited in the book and additional researched
information.
About the Cast:
Scott Nunnally, who appeared in The Mothman Prophecies, plays a
freed slave that comes to the James City settlement seeking
freedom.
Bill Hand, an active theater performer in New Bern, will play
the part of Vincent Colyer, superintendent of the poor.
About the Filmmakers:
Scott Nunnally who runs the film company Executor Arts Media in
the Pittsburgh, PA area serves as Executive Producer with Tom
Swift. Tom also also serves as Director and co-writer of the
screenplay. See their bios for more information.
Dan O’Connell and Angela Swift, who co-produced the Hurricane
Floyd documentary, “Flood”, will return as producers on this
project.
This project also brings forth the writing talents of Bill Hand,
who serves as a cowriter of the screenplay. Hand is a gifted
writer with a serious knowledge of Eastern Carolina history and
also serves as a historical advisor on the project.
Casting Call:
LOOKING FOR A FEW GOOD MEN AND WOMEN:
Awaken Pictures seeks professional, talented men and women to
volunteer their acting abilities to this project. Email us at
info@awakenpictures.com or mail your pictures and headshots to
Awaken Pictures, Inc., PO BOX 14412, New Bern, NC 28561-4412.
