The highly acclaimed documentary chronicling the first African American high school rowing team in the United States from the West Side of Chicago.
Our panel - moderated by Al McFarlane, Owner of McFarlane Media Interests, Inc. - will feature an exclusive discussion with the film's writer and director Mary Mazzio, team captain Arshay Cooper, Senior Vice President of Community Impact for the Greater Twin Cities United Way Acooa Ellis, and Quinton Bonds, Program Supervisor, Youth and Family Engagement for Change, Inc.
Called one of the best documentaries to unveil at South by Southwest by Brian Tallerico of Roger Ebert, A MOST BEAUTIFUL THING, narrated by the Academy Award and Grammy-winning artist Common; executive-produced by NBA Stars Grant Hill and Dwyane Wade along with Grammy-award winning producer 9th Wonder; and directed by award-winning filmmaker (and Olympic rower) Mary Mazzio, chronicles the first African American high school rowing team in this country, all coming together to row in the same boat. An amazing story.
A MOST BEAUTIFUL THING explores not only the safety these young men found on the water (where, as the captain reflected, “we were in a place where we could not hear the sound of sirens”), but the trauma of violence and cyclical poverty, examining how these young men were able to support each other in reimagining a different future for themselves, and how rowing and the water provided the backdrop for that opportunity. These young men came together, after 20 years out of the boat, to race this past summer, not only to celebrate the team’s founding, but the fact that they are still alive. This is their story.
