MEET THE FILMMAKERS
Pam Smith
Producer
Historian, genealogist and independent researcher for historic sites. A native Chicagoan, her ancestral roots stretch from Virginia to Kentucky, Missouri, Cameroon & Sierra Leone. Pam has a passion for unearthing buried African American stories. Her recent projects include: the Dwelling of Enslaved Africans at Richmond Hill, the New Ohio River Museum, the Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Cincinnati, and the Illinois Underground Railroad. Previously, with the 106 Group, Pam served as research consultant for Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest Plantation in Bedford County. Earlier in her career, she taught elementary school in Africa and worked as senior press aide to Rev. Jesse Jackson in his 1988 presidential bid and to Barack Obama in his primary campaign for the US Senate. Pam is a certified Kingian Nonviolence trainer and co-editor of The Chicago Freedom Movement: Martin Luther King Jr. and Civil Rights Activism in the North. Matilda (Lewis) Threlkeld, a subject of this film, is her 3rd great grandmother.
Loria King
Director
An award-winning independent documentary filmmaker and photographer with a focus on nuanced stories involving race, gender, culture, and ethnicity. She earned her M.F.A. in film from Columbia University and began her filmmaking journey as an intern with Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks. Currently, she serves on the advisory board for the Global Institute for Black Girls in Film & Media and as a Changemaker for Black Stock Footage. Her most recent project, "Black America Is…,” that explores Black identity, was selected as part of the 2020 Film Independent/CNN Docuseries Intensive and won Best Documentary Feature at the Baltimore African American film festival in 2023. Loria's passion for her craft led her to share her real-world experience with students as a film professor. She has also taught filmmaking outside the classroom in Africa, Asia, and South America.
MEET THE crew
Kerry Adams
Cinematographer
A naturally born leader for his siblings and often convinced them to make movies and music with him. Growing up in church, Kerry quickly became a fixture of the worship team, and even the technical side of live production became his forte. He started making short films in middle school, signed with a Christian publishing group as a teenager and was among the first wave of self-taught engineers and producers that now call themselves content creators, accumulating hundreds of thousands of views. With 7 albums under his belt as a music producer, he now turns his focus on filmmaking and storytelling. Visit “Song is Born Podcast.”
Amulya Ankem
Production Assistant
Amulya Priya Ankem is a graduate from Ithaca College with a BFA in Film, Photography and Visual Arts, and a current graduate student at University of Louisville with a focus on museum studies and public administration. She has delved into the world of media for about a decade now. As a Visual Activist, MLK Scholar and a first-generation Indian-American, Amulya offers powerful visual commentary on personal and cultural facets through film, photography, and mixed media. These interests aligned with CURRENT's mission, Amulya is excited to flex her wide range of skills.
Adam Jones
Musician
Adam Jones is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and composer in his senior year at VCU. He has a background in Classical music, Jazz and has won an award from the National Theater Wing for theater songwriting. CURRENT is a film he can personally relate to, having recently discovered his own ancestry of influential Black freedmen, business owners and government officials in North Carolina dating back through 1700. Regardless of genre, scoring films that facilitate cultural dialogue is something that he is passionate about.
Gary Luong
Musician
Gary Luong is an independent singer-songwriter, music producer and composer based in Richmond, Virginia. Beginning his journey as a graduate researching cancer therapy, he discovered his calling to music late in life, drawing parallels to the healing nature of sound. Since then, he has worked closely with local artists and filmmakers, gradually honing his craft to help bring visions to reality.
Beau Skonzieczny
Director of Photography
A drummer and a tech-geek with an incessant fascination with the latest technologies and gadgets. He worked in market research and business intelligence as a Senior Analyst and Project Manager within the computing and mobile device space. After moving to Florida, Beau searched for fellow local musicians, eventually meeting Kerry Adams which led to recording a new album, sharing a strong interest in audio and video production, forming Gear-Age Media and creating the “Song is Born Podcast.”
William Smith
Web Designer
William is a freelance creative consultant, podcaster and web designer out of Vancouver, Washington. He has a passion for storytelling and documenting the entrepreneurial journey.
Maddy Wade
Production Assistant
A queer filmmaker with a passion for sharing untold stories. This passion brought her to CURRENT where she is ecstatic to collaborate on how best to tell Matilda’s story, as well as dig into her own family history along the way. An avid cinematographer, Maddy is always learning from and in awe of the visual world around her.
Nya Wilson
Production Assistant
A Virginia Commonwealth University film student with a passion for cinematography and writing. She has a deep interest in African-American history and therefore, African-American stories. In her own work, she hopes to portray black-centered narratives and aid in the production of such content.
Dylan Young
Production Assistant
Dylan’s interest in film began as a child, but making movies as a career didn’t always seem realistic. It wasn’t until 2019 that he took his first crew role and after having several experiences working on feature films, he decided to start making his own films. Dylan has now directed more than half dozen short films, won several awards and has a feature film in the works.
In addition to directing, he also has experience writing, editing and acting in projects over the last several years. Dylan is always looking for new film projects to get involved with.
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