BIG MUDDY FILM FESTIVAL / CARBONDALE, ILLINOIS / FEB. 24 - MARCH 1, 2015 
JOHN MICHAELS AWARD / SECOND PLACE

We are thrilled to announce that we have been awarded Second Place for the John Michaels Award at the 2015 Big Muddy Film Festival. The jurors wrote of our film: 

"Also notable, and receiving second place was this acute and compassionate look at the realities of police brutality in Portland, Oregon. Produced through a collective study process by resident participants, the film is crucially relevant for keeping the problem of police indemnity in the public eye. This sensitively and creatively made film honors the lives of hundreds of people who have been victims of police brutality, and highlights solutions, offering a model of citizen organizing and redress."

What is the John Michaels Award?

John Michaels was a cinema student at SIU Carbondale in the 1980s ,who dedicated his work to peace and justice. While a student, he traveled to Cuba with Professor Emeritus and Big Muddy Film Festival founder Mike Covell to document the daily life of people immersed in that living revolution. Closer to home, Michaels worked on a film about a St Louis church that gave haven to Nicaraguans escaping persecution from a dictatorship at home.

After leaving Carbondale, Michaels was diagnosed with brain cancer, from which he did not survive. To memorialize his work, the Big Muddy Festival added an award category to encourage filmmakers who focus on creating inspiring stories about struggles for social justice, locally and in the world. Each year a jury of local activists and engaged residents spends a day watching documentaries in order to select the ones that offered the most relevant, impassioned and engaged perspectives to the many troubles of our time. 

Read more about the other fantastic films considered for this award.