PRODUCER/DIRECTOR- Garland McLaurin.
Garland McLaurin is a Peabody-Award winning filmmaker; his love for storytelling comes from its power to artistically explore the complex and conflicting social and psychological layers of people and society. His web series POPS explores fatherhood for African American men and was funded by ITVS Digital and National Black Programming Consortium. He co-directed/produced the Peabody-winning documentary series, 180 Days a Year Inside an American High School and Hartsville that aired on PBS. He served as co-cinematographer on Wes Moore’s Coming Back documentary series, highlighting veterans, and for award-winning documentary filmmaker Yoruba Richen's The New Black (Independent Lens), which explores the fight for marriage equality in the African American community. His other professional credits include field producing on CNN’s Black in America 4, producer/shooter for WAMU 88.5 American University/BET’s special Homecoming: The Killing of DJ Henry. Additional past digital media work includes work for Black Public Media, Time.com, NY Times video division and video editing at the National Geographic digital news division. He holds a BA in Radio-TV-Film from Howard University and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film school.
The Film
Pops
Three stories of African American men from different socio-economic backgrounds and regions engaged in the beautiful struggle of fatherhood.
Pops is a documentary web series about African American men facing the toughest challenge of their lives: becoming good fathers. Pops addresses the reality and challenges of 21st-century parenthood for African American fathers. The media narrative of the deadbeat black father is generally accepted as a fact of life for African American children. Buried beneath these assumptions are the facts of black fatherhood that dispel some of those stereotypes. The web series follows the parenting experiences of Shaka Senghor, LaGuardia Cross, and the Stroman-Iniss family during the course of a year. Each father explores the universal themes of responsibility, nurturing and love. They differ in personalities, socioeconomic backgrounds, and struggles but share the collective experience of fatherhood. Their stories serve to reflect the reality of black fathers in America. Shot in verité documentary style rich with raw, intimate moments, each character reveals what fatherhood looks like in their world.
CREDITS:
CHRIS AND SHELTON
Chris and Shelton Stroman-Inniss, are a same-sex couple who were on the forefront of fighting for marriage equality in Georgia. We follow them as they navigate the world of adoption and parenting as a gay couple by building a support community. Chris and Shelton also explore fractured relationships with their own fathers as they cultivate a relationship between their son Jonathan and his birth mother.
Follow Chris and Shelton on social media!
Facebook: @shelton.stroman @cinniss
Instagram: @sls287
LA GUARDIA CROSS JR.
La Guardia Cross Jr., is an online sensation. His YouTube show “New Fatherhood Chronicles” is a fast-growing and influential social network with thousands of followers and millions of views.
POPS follows La Guardia as he grapples with the reality of being a new father to his newborn Amalah and a supportive husband to his wife Leah. La Guardia learns to balance his burgeoning career with his family responsibilities through trial and error.
Follow La Guardia at http://www.laguardiacross.com/ and on social media!
Facebook: @iamlaguardiacross
Twitter & Instagram: @laguardiacross
SHAKA SENGHOR
Shaka Senghor is the New York Times Best-Selling Author of "Writing My Wrongs", a gripping memoir about seeking redemption after serving 19 years in prison. POPS follows Shaka as he gains national recognition for his activism and writing, all the while actively co-parenting his 3-year-old son Sekou Senghor with partner Ebony Roberts.
Follow Shaka Senghor on social media!
Facebook: @shaka.senghor
Twitter & Instagram: @ShakaSenghor
Filmmaker:
Garland McLaurin is a Peabody-Award winning filmmaker. His latest project POPS is a web-series exploring fatherhood for African American men and funded by ITVS Digital and National Black Programming Consortium. He co-directed/produced the Peabody winning documentary series, “180 Days A Year Inside An American High School" and "Hartsville” that aired on PBS.
He holds a BA in Radio-TV-Film from Howard University and an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts graduate film school.
http://www.garlandmclaurin.com
#BLACKDADJOY #POPSLIFE
SPREAD THE WORD:
Help spread the word about POPS! Use the suggested messages and images below. Use #POPSLIFE #BLACKDADJOY or tag @PopsWebseries.
Pops site: http://pops.life/
ITVS: https://itvs.org/films/pops
Black Public Media: https://blackpublicmedia.org/pops
THIRTEEN: http://www.thirteen.org/
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Filmmaker: Garland McLaurin - Pops Documentary Film
Shaka Senghor:
La Guardia Cross Jr:
Chris and Shelton Stroman-Inniss:
