Cost is $24.95 plus shipping; order securely online from CreateSpace here.

The DVD will be available in mid-April; check back for information on how to purchase!

The festival runs from January 27 – 30; films screen at the Regal UA Theaters in Horton Plaza, downtown San Diego. Holding Fast The Dream will be shown on Sunday, January 30 at 12:30pm as one of the festival’s featured closing films.

Dr. Miles M. Jackson, executive producer, along with several members of his family, will attend the screening and participate in a question-and-answer session. If you’re in or near San Diego at that time, we hope you’ll come out and support the film!

For more information on the festival, check it’s website here.

We’re grateful to Aaron for his creative talents, hard work, and for delivering on deadline! And thanks, too, to Miles Jackson III for coordinating the creation of the original score.

Read more about Aaron and listen to his work on his website; and listen to one of the pieces he composed for us below:

Holding Fast: End Titles (2:00)

The film will screen on Saturday, October 23 at 5:00pm at the Dole Cannery theaters, as a selection of the Hawai‘i International Film Festival.

We’re pleased that HIFF has honored the film, and look forward to presenting it as a World Premiere at the Festival.

You can order tickets for the October 23 screening online at the HIFF website.

Ms. Pearson most recently appeared on the hit television series Lost, and won a Po‘okela Award for her role as Rose Maxon in Fences, produced by The Actors Group.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Michigan State University, and has studied with Eric Nemoto and Anna Fishburn.

She also works as an administrator in the Office of the Chancellor at the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa.

We’re pleased that she’s agreed to play a key role in our film, and we’re sure you’ll note her important contribution to the story of building community among African Americans in Hawai‘i.

The conference included scholars from around the nation examining the theme, The “Alternative” African Diaspora–a topic appropriate for the film’s focus on little-known Black communities that have emerged and thrived.

A 22-minute sample work of the film was presented, and was received enthusiastically from conference attendees. We’re grateful to Dr. Elisa Joy White, conference organizer, for the opportunity to bring Holding Fast The Dream to an important audience.

Principal photography on Holding Fast The Dream is nearly complete, after a two-day shoot on Oahu and the Big Island of Hawai‘i in June.

Among the subjects: Honolulu Symphony violinist Fumiko Wellington, and jazz icon Azure McCall, who are pictured above. They are part of the the film’s treatment of African Americans in arts and culture in Hawai‘i–participation which extends back more than 150 years to the formation of the Royal Hawaiian Band.

Ms. McCall was featured in performance at the Queen’s Marketplace in Waikoloa; she recently wrapped up a four-year gig at the Malolo Lounge in the Hilton Waikoloa Beach Resort.

Thanks to both Ms. Wellington and Ms. McCall, and to Hamakua entrepreneur Gwendolyn Hill, for their cooperation and assistance with the film and our latest production shoot!

(Now comes the difficult and expensive task of putting the film together. Your support is greatly appreciated; make a secure online donation here.)