Shine Global

Shine Global Inc, is a non-profit media company that was founded in 2005 by Susan MacLaury, and Albie Hecht. Susan MacLaury is the Executive Director of Shine Global, a licensed social worker, and former health professor at Kean University. Albie Hecht is an entertainment executive and founder of Worldwide Biggies, head of HLN (TV channel) from 2013-2015 and currently serves as chief content officer of PocketWatch. Shine Global has produced projects including War/Dance, a 2008 Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary and Inocente the Academy Award Winner for Best Documentary Short Subject in 2013.

History

Shine Global Inc. was founded in 2005 by husband and wife Albie Hecht and Susan MacLaury after learning about the plight faced by thousands of children in the war zone of northern Uganda. Shine Global’s mission is to give voice to children and their families by telling stories of their resilience to raise awareness, promote action, and inspire change. Shine produces films and content about underserved children. Through tailored distribution and outreach, they aim to connect with audiences in communities, classrooms, museums, and on Capitol Hill as part of their engagement campaigns to encourage social change. Since its founding, Shine Global has taken action on child labor, child abuse, and child soldiering, shared stories about the effects of war, parental incarceration, undocumented immigration, and homelessness on children, highlighted the power of music, dance, and sports to overcome intolerance. In all its films, Shine Global celebrates children’s resilience.

Films

War/Dance (2007)

Shine Global’s first film ''War/Dance'' tells the story of three northern Ugandan children who grew up in the war zone. It debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival where it won the Documentary Directing Award and went on to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2008.

''War/Dance'' was produced in partnership with Fine Film Productions, Rogues Harbor Studios, and distributed by ThinkFilm and Image Entertainment.

War/Dance Returns (2009)

''War/Dance Returns'' is the 15-minute follow-up documentary to War/Dance. It depicts the journey back to the Patongo camp by the director of War/Dance, Sean Fine, Shine Global’s Executive Director, Susan Maclaury, and the original War/Dance film crew in the summer of 2008. Approximately 7-10 thousand people came to see the film in the Patongo camp making a lasting impression on the entire crew as well as Rose, Nancy, and Dominic. War/Dance Returns premiered on the Sundance Channel in May 2009.

The Harvest (La Cosecha) (2010)

Shine Global's second feature-length documentary, The Harvest (La Cosecha) directed by U. Roberto Romano, revisits Edward R. Murrow’s Harvest of Shame, filmed 40 years ago, and reveals that little has changed over the past 4 decades in the lives of migrant farm workers in America. Zulema, Perla and Victor labor as migrant farm workers, sacrificing their own childhoods to help their families survive. ''The Harvest'' (La Cosecha) profiles these three as they journey from the scorching heat of Texas’ onion fields to the winter snows of the Michigan apple orchards and back south to the humidity of Florida’s tomato fields to follow the harvest. In 2009, Eva Longoria signed on as an Executive Producer of the project. The Harvest premiered at the IDFA festival in Amsterdam in November 2010 and had its theatrical run in NY and LA in August 2011.

Inocente (2012)

''Inocente'' is a 2012 short documentary film directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix. The film received the 2013 Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject). The film is a coming-of-age story of a 15-year old girl in California. It was partially financed by the crowd funding website Kickstarter and was the first crowd funded film to win an Oscar. ''Inocente'' was broadcast on MTV in August 2012 and released along with all the other 5 Oscar-nominated short films in theaters by ShortsHD. The film is also available for communities and schools along with companion arts workshops developed by Shine Global and partners.

Dancing in Jaffa (2013)

''Dancing in Jaffa'' is a 2013 documentary film directed by Hilla Medalia and produced in association with Shine Global. The film follows renowned ballroom dancer Pierre Dulaine as he returns home to Jaffa, Israel to teach Jewish and Palestinian-Israeli children to ballroom dance with each other. It won numerous festival awards and screened theatrically in the US in 2013.

1 Way Up in 3D (2014)

''1 Way Up'' is a 2014 documentary film directed by first time director Amy Mathieson. Filmed in 3D, it follows Quillan Isidore and Tre Whyte, two teen boys on the road to the UCI BMX World Championships. The film features a soundtrack of spoken-word and rap vignettes from musicians including the single "1 Way Up" from UK rap artist Phreeda Sharp.

1 Way Up premiered theatrically in London in 3D in July 2014 and was broadcast on MTV UK in August 2014. It aired on Pivot (TV network) in the US in December 2014.

The Wrong Light (2016)

The Wrong Light is a documentary film directed by Josie Swantek Heitz and Dave Adams and produced in association with Shine Global. The film explores the exploitation and misrepresentation of young girls in Thailand. The film follows a charismatic activist who leads a globally-regarded NGO that provides shelter and education for girls rescued from brothels in Northern Thailand. But as the filmmakers meet the girls and their families, discrepancies begin to emerge and the story takes an unexpected turn.

The Wrong Light has won numerous festival awards. It was the winner grand prize NJ Films Section Montclair Film Festival, official Selection 40th Cleveland international Film Festival, official selection 40th Atlanta Film Festival and the official Selection Louisiana International Film Festival.

Liyana (2017)

Liyana is a documentary film directed by Aaron and Amanda Kopp and produced in association with Shine Global. In this documentary/animated film, a group of orphaned children in Swaziland collaborate to write an original African tale about Liyana, a girl on a dangerous quest. Inspired by the children’s darkest memories and brightest dreams, their fictional character’s journey reveals parallels between her fate and that of the young storytellers.

After premiering at the 2017 LA Film Festival, the film was released in the United States on October 10, 2018. It received highly positive reviews and won the award for Best Documentary Feature at the 2017 LAFF, as well as numerous other festival awards.

Tre, Maison, Dasan (2018)

Tre, Maison, Dasan is a documentary film directed Denali Tiller and produced in association with Shine Global. In this documentary, The, Maison, Dasan is a story that explores parental incarceration through the eyes of three boys. Following their interweaving trajectories through boyhood marked by the criminal justice system, and told directly through the child’s perspective, the film unveils the challenges of growing up and what it means to become a man in America. Hilarious, heartbreaking, uplifting and ending with tremendous hope, Tre, Maison and Dasan’s lives are stories of growing up, struggle, loss, empathy, positivity, resilience and unconditional love.

Tre, Maison, Dasan has received high number of positive reviews and awards. It was given the 'best Documentary Feature at Raindance International Film Festival'. The Karen Schmeer Award for Best Editing at IFF Boston. The Youth Jury Award for Best Documentary Feature Rhode Island International Film Festival. Best Documentary Directing Olympia International Film Festival and was a Heartland Film Festival Finalist.

Virtually Free (2020)

Virtually Free is a documentary directed by André Robert Lee and produced in association with Shine Global. Virtually Free is a documentary about unlikely allies who partner to transform the juvenile justice system and stop mass incarceration. In the film, we meet Sid, Taee, and AR, three teens currently being held in a Richmond, VA detention center who are offered the chance to become activists speaking truth to power.

Participating in a local arts organisations program, Performing Statistics, they are taught by different artists to deliver their powerful, authentic messages to the public, law enforcement, and government officials using their art, including a virtual reality jail cell they’ve helped create.

Through our eyes: Homefront (2021)

Through our eyes: Homefront is a documentary directed by Kristi Jacobson. It is a Sesame Workshop production, in association with Shine Global.

Part of the Sesame Workshop documentary series “Through Our Eyes” that premiered on HBOMax, In HOMEFRONT, three children of veteran families cope with the emotional impact of having a wounded parent, navigate the unique challenges of visible and invisible injuries sustained during military service, and together journey toward collective healing.

Gabby, Terry, and Luther all have parents who were injured while serving, and each family has found a way to heal the wounds of war. Homefront shows how Gabby (9), a fierce animal lover with a stock of chickens, rabbits, bees, and dogs, loves her family and faces her fears about her Dad’s traumatic brain injury and PTSD via equine therapy. Terry (10), an enthusiastic boy and his parents, Taniki and Brandon, share their experiences and mental health struggles as they work to heal and help each other cope with depression and PTSD through honest conversation and embracing joy. Luther (9) is a charismatic boy who wants to be “like my dad when I grow up.” His father, Joe, a Navy veteran who lost his leg in an IED explosion, struggles through chronic pain to put family first.

Hossain (Currently in production)

Hossain is a documentary film directed by Taimi Arvidson and produced in association with Shine Global.

The film is about A six-year-old boy named Hossain grows up in the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh as the Rohingya refugee crisis becomes increasingly dangerous.
Hossain’s story will be a heart-wrenching view into how young lives are vulnerable to these global issues. We will use this film as the centerpiece of a multi-level campaign to create change for the Rohingya people and Hossain’s family.

Home is Somewhere Else (Currently in production)

Home is Somewhere Else is a documentary directed by Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos and produced in association with Shine Global.

Home is Somewhere Else is an animated feature documentary providing a window into the hearts and minds of immigrant youth and their undocumented families.

This 2D feature 'animentary' features three personal stories about immigrant youth to highlight the complexities and challenges they face today. Voiced by the actual children and their families, the stories are woven together by spoken word poet "El Deportee", the film's host and MC whose vibrant "Spanglish " breaks codes, switches standards, and pushes the viewer to decipher his poems. Each story has its own unique visual animation style drawn by three different teams. The animation allows us to truly see and feel these characters' worst nightmares, alongside their colourful hopes and dreams for a better future.

Digital Series

The Election Effect (2018)

Produced by Shine Global and in association with Paramount Network.

The Election Effect is a series of five short documentaries, each by a different director, that showcase seven different teenagers in five states across the country. Each documentary focuses on a different issue or aspect of life, but all address what life as a young person was like in the wake of the polarizing 2016 US presidential election and how that election encouraged a level of political engagement not seen in a generation.

The Difference (2018)

Directed by Becca Roth and produced in association with Shine Global.

The Difference is a short documentary series that explored the powerful stories of children whose lives have positively, sometimes vitally, changed because of their relationship with a mentor.

Outreach and Engagement

Shine Global creates US standards-based curricula for most of its films that are free for teachers to download from their website.

Shine Global has also partnered with other non-profits to create companion arts workshops for youth that can accompany screenings of Inocente and 1 Way Up.

Since their founding in 2005, Shine Global has partnered with several organizations on outreach and engagement for their films. Shine Global partnered with AMREF during the production of War/Dance to aid the people of Uganda on the ground.
Shine Global also partnered with The Harvest of Hope Foundation, a migrant farm workers organization based out of Florida that works to support migrant farm workers all over the country.

References

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501(c)(3) organizations
Film production companies of the United States
Organizations established in 2005