Best Homeowner Documentary Short
It’s been quite a weekend here at Forever Ready Productions. While our Chicago crew was busy producing the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy’s annual conference, which included live-streaming education sessions and a gala (whew!!)...our Memphis team was at the Indie Memphis Film Festival.
On Saturday, our newest documentary short ‘What We’ll Never Know’ ran in the Hometowner Competition Block. Saturday night, it was awarded Best Hometowner Documentary Short by Indie Memphis. It was also selected as Audience Choice for Best Hometowner Documentary Short.
‘What We’ll Never Know’ tells the story of a teen who falsely confessed to murder in Memphis, TN. While showcasing the details of the case, the documentary makes an argument for a law that would protect children during police interrogations.
Right now, there is no law requiring that police even record the interrogation of a minor, let alone have a lawyer present!
You can see the story that Action News 5 did to preview the documentary. In that story, they spoke with Shelby County’s newly elected District Attorney, Steve Mulroy and Representative Torrey Harris about a possible law change.
Harris said he is working on a bill that would require a recording of interrogations of children.
Jon Quinn (Videographer/Editor), Lauren Ready (Director/Videographer), Cheryl Smart (Teacher), Kamilah Turner (Defense Attorney), Janika White (Attorney), Mary Gunning (Producer) - Not pictured: Natalie Linney (Producer), Mike Working (Lawyer/Advisor)
Our mission here at Forever Ready Productions is to work together to tell mission-driven stories for nonprofits and businesses, so that they can realize and harness their collective purpose and impact. This film wouldn’t have happened without the team effort. And it all started with Natalie Linney, our 2021 summer intern. She was reviewing our archives and she saw an unfinished project that appealed to her. It was personal to her, given that she is the same age as Oshay Sims, the main character in the documentary.
She ignited a new purpose for us to move forward on the edit. That’s when Jon Quin and Mary Gunning joined the team to help shoot, edit and produce the remainder of the film. We did three interviews with Kamilah Turner (lead defense lawyer on the case) and two with Janika White (advising lawyer on the case) and one with Mike Working (defense lawyer) and Cheryl Smart (jail teacher for Oshay). There were challenges along the way. After all, telling such a complex story is difficult when you weren’t there in the first place. But we did it. And collaboration happened across the board!
We’d like to thank Indie Memphis for the opportunity to show this film to a broader audience and spotlight this important issue. And we think this is just the beginning of this story!
‘What We’ll Never Know’ has run in Sidewalk Film Festival, Lane Doc Fest and Indie Memphis. It was awarded Best Social Justice Short at the Lane Doc Fest and Best Hometowner Documentary Short by Indie Memphis.