ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

KATE WAY | DIRECTOR + CINEMATOGRAPHER

Kate is a longtime educator, photographer, and documentary filmmaker. She holds a doctorate in critical media literacy and the politics of K-12 Education, and a M.F.A. in Photography. Currently a professor of Digital Media at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, Kate also taught high school English and graduate students in Education for many years. She has directed several major social issue documentary projects, including Banned Together (2025), about the recent wave of book banning in the United States, an award-winning feature documentary co-produced by Kanopy and available on Apple TV. G is for Gun, a 30-minute film about the arming of teachers in U.S. public schools, premiered nationally on PBS WORLD in 2018. Her film Stop Time (2022), which follows an undocumented man who took sanctuary in a church during the first Trump administration, is in distribution with New Day Films. Kate’s still photography has been exhibited and collected widely, and has been published in the New York Times, Mother Jones magazine, and other online platforms.    

GERRY SEAVO JAMES | DIRECTOR + CINEMATOGRAPHER

Gerry Seavo James is a social artist, researcher, and visual storyteller whose work explores the relationship between people, place, nature, and culture. His creative practice spans documentary filmmaking, photography, and journalism, with a particular interest in history, memory, identity, and how communities understand and shape the places they inhabit. James founded Explore Kentucky while in college, combining his interests in photojournalism, environmental advocacy, outdoor adventure, and cultural storytelling. He has spent more than a decade developing outdoor programs, advancing public lands policy, and expanding equitable access to nature. He previously served as Deputy Campaign Director of the Sierra Club's Outdoors for All campaign, leading national efforts connecting outdoor access, public lands, and policy. His writing, photography, and commentary have appeared in or been featured by The New York Times, The Guardian, NPR, National Parks Traveler, and other platforms. His documentary work includes A Legacy Lost & Found: Segregation in Recreation (2022) and Ghosts of a Lost Cause (2024), a feature documentary examining the grassroots struggle over a Confederate monument in Murray, Kentucky, and the enduring influence of Lost Cause mythology in American public spaces. He served as co-director and executive producer of the latter film, which has screened internationally.

CREW MEMBERS

  • Ian Sexton

    Director of Photography

  • Dinah Mack

    Producer

  • Debra Fowler

    Producer

  • Nicole Pascarelli O'Brien

    Producer

  • A. Prince Albert III

    Producer