Universe Creative

Decades after leaving Appalachia, a daughter returns to eastern Kentucky to excavate her father’s remarkable filmmaking legacy and examine the pull home still has on her.

Under the leadership of its first and only president, Sinte Gleska University on South Dakota’s Rosebud Reservation has been a model for Indian-controlled education for 50 years, paving the way for other tribal colleges with a series of historic accomplishments and an eye towards continued innovation.

When her father dies suddenly, Dr. Ayne Amjad takes up his mission to help a small West Virginia town exposed to cancer-causing chemicals. Driven by his call to “help others” at all costs, Ayne launches an audacious plan to relocate the community. But as pressure mounts and new information comes to light, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to aid the town’s fight for justice.

When aspiring public defender Taylor Toynes notices his zip code in an article on the cradle-to-prison pipeline, he pivots to a career working with children, whose imaginations allow for a world in which zip codes don't determine life outcomes. I Am Somebody is part of a series of short documentaries about the roles of race, class, and upbringing in nonprofit leaders' personal and professional lives.

In the wake of a life-altering tragedy, a resilient Indigenous family tells the story of a community that helped them reconnect with their Lakota heritage.