BECOMING BARACK Documentary Screened at Compton High School, 2/3

To kick off the celebration of Black History Month in Southern California, a FREE Film Screening and Question and Answer Session with Stuart A. Goldman, Executive Producer of "Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader," a new documentary film about the formative years of President Barack H. Obama, will be presented by the Compton High School Alumni Association in conjunction with Compton High School and Corky Hale Productions, on Thursday, February 3, 2011 from 10:45 a.m. - 12:15 p.m. in the Compton High School Auditorium; 601 South Acacia Avenue (between Compton Boulevard and Alondra Boulevard); Compton, CA 90220 near the courthouse.

Admission to the event is FREE of charge and open to the general public. Seating is on a first come, first served basis. Event attendees are encouraged to arrive at least 15 - 30 minutes in advance of the program start time. FREE Parking will be available on campus and on nearby streets. Opening Comments will be made by the Principal of Compton High School, Jesse Jones. A Question and Answer Session will be moderated by Deborah Spottsville, President of the Compton High School Alumni Association. Copies of the DVD of the documentary film will also be available for sale at the event. For further information, please visit the website, www.comptonhighalumni.org or call Compton High School at 310-635-3881.

Deborah Spottsville, President of the Compton High School Alumni Association, said: "We are honored to be celebrating the kick off of Black History Month here in Southern California with a special screening of the documentary film, ‘Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader,' which documents the path of our nation's current President which ultimately led to The White House. This film is an important part of not only black history, but American history as well. The film also serves as an inspiration for people of all ages, especially young students who are in the process of planning their futures. As a special treat, we will have the opportunity to speak with the Executive Producer of the film, Stuart A. Goldman, about the making of his film."

"Becoming Barack: Evolution of a Leader" traces the early path of a man destined to make history and to be a catalyst for global change, a man who would become known throughout the world as Barack H. Obama, the 44th President of the United States. The documentary film, produced by The Stuart Goldman Co.; distributed by Little Dizzy Home Video; executive produced and written by Stuart A. Goldman; co-produced, written and directed by the late Robert Yuhas, and narrated by actor Phil LaMarr, features footage from three of the earliest known recorded interviews with Barack Obama: a 12-minute never-before-seen "lost" interview from 1993, which never aired, and was filmed in Chicago by an aspiring inner-city documentary producer, Zeke Gonzalez; a 1990 clip from a news interview of Obama after he was elected President of the Harvard Law Review; and a 1986 WMAQ-Chicago news story about Obama's earliest success as a community activist, which hasn't been aired publicly since its original local broadcast 23 years ago. The film also includes excerpts from Obama's audio book reading of Dreams of My Father.

In the "lost" interview footage presented in the film, Obama is just 32-years-old, two years out of law school and championing the needs of Chicago's inner-city residents, a Professor teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago, a fervent community organizer and a newlywed who had not yet contemplated running for public office. The film also features rare personal photos; interviews with family members and Chicago-area leaders in business and in grassroots community organizations who knew Obama intimately during his formative years, each sharing personal memories and anecdotes; and historic photos and video footage of "Obama's Chicago" in the mid ‘80s through the early ‘90s.

Interviewees in the film include: Auma Obama, the President's African American half-sister who introduced him to his African roots; Jerry Kellman, Founder of Chicago's Developing Communities Project, who gave Obama his first community organizing job; Loretta Augustine-Herron, who worked with Obama on the Developing Communities Project at Altgeld Gardens when he was still in his 20s; Judd Miner, whose law firm employed Obama for 10 years; Douglas Baird, former Dean of the University of Chicago Law School where Obama once taught as a law professor; Mike Kruglik, an organizer who helped nurture Obama's skills on Chicago's South Side in the 1980s; Reverend/Dr. Alvin Love, pastor of Lilydale Baptist church and one of many ministers that Obama worked with in the community; and many others.

In the film Obama discusses the challenges confronting Chicago's black community while he was living there by saying: "The burden is on all the political leadership in the black community to operate with clarity and integrity." Stuart A. Goldman, Executive Producer of the film, said: "It isn't as if Obama transformed the South Side of Chicago, the story is how the South Side of Chicago transformed Obama."

The 1993 never-be-seen "lost" interview video in the film was shot by filmmaker, Zeke Gonzalez, who was 21-years-old at the time. In the video clip, Obama talks about his future in politics by saying: "My general view about politics and running for office is that if you end up being fortunate enough to have the opportunity to serve, it is because you got a track record of service in the community and I think right now, I am still building up that track record and if it, a point comes where I think that I might do more good in a political office" than someone else, "I might think about it, but that time is certainly in the future."

Also included in the film is part of President Obama's election night speech on November 5, 2008, when he said: "If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the Dream of our Founders is still alive in our time...tonight is your answer."

Stuart A. Goldman, Principal of the Stuart Goldman Company (SGC), has received more that 40 industry awards. SGC projects have included: the PBS Black History Month Documentary, "Alberta Hunter: My Castle's Rockin';" the CBS-TV movie, "Leona Helmsley: The Queen of Mean;" the acclaimed documentary, "Elvis in Hollywood;" the 10-part PBS series, "Joseph Campbell: Mythos;" and "Elvis & June: A Love Story," now running on The Biography Channel. In 2010, "Becoming Barack: The Evolution of a Leader," premiered on President's Day on BET Networks.

 

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