Quota, a short film by Pacific Legal Foundation that challenges systemic race-based discrimination in Connecticut schools, has been named the winner of the 2019 Lights, Camera, Liberty Film Festival.
"I would like to thank the members of the community who trusted us with their story," said PLF's creative director, Jaclyn Boudreau. "This was their fight long before it was ours and we're proud to fight alongside them."
With over 40,000 online views, Quota tells the heartbreaking story of Hartford, Connecticut students who are denied admission into their local magnet school because of the color of their skin. The families featured in Quota were introduced to PLF by Yankee Institute for Public Policy Studies, a Connecticut-based Atlas Network partner.
In Hartford, the government mandates that at least 25% of magnet school students be Caucasian, which has caused many seats to go unfilled and some schools to close. Racial quotas have kept minority children from attending these state-of-the-art schools, and PLF is leading the lawsuit on behalf of the parents. ”People who know me know I was ready for picket signs and protests,” explains one of the parents interviewed in the video.
“The Lights, Camera, Liberty training helped make this a significantly better film,” explained Joseph Kast, creative manager at PLF, which is based in Sacramento, California. “It helped us frame exactly what core messages we wanted audiences to take away from the film. Lights, Camera, Liberty is a must for organizations in the freedom movement that are interested in boosting their online presence.”
Lights, Camera, Liberty is an annual film workshop that helps Atlas Network partners transform the way they market their messages through online video. Each participant organization that completes the annual workshop is eligible for the award, which is presented at Atlas Network’s Liberty Forum in New York City.
Atlas Network partners are invited to participate in the 2020 Lights, Camera, Liberty Workshop, which will be held April 30-May 3 in Los Angeles, California.