
A Solutions Approach to Documentary Journalism
Juliane Dressner and Edwin Martinez’s film Personal Statement (2018) exposes the lack of college counseling in high schools—especially in high schools where many children are the first college-goers in their families. So kids who get no help at home also have no help at school.

Documentary "Personal Statement" sheds light on the college admissions process
The new documentary "Personal Statement" sheds light on the college admissions process and how it can impact low-income schools. Enoch Jemott, a subject in the film, and director Juliane Dressner joined CBSN to tell us more.

The Implicit Punishment of Daring to Go to College When Poor
A documentary to be screened on Capitol Hill next month … chronicles the experience of low-income students navigating college admissions.

If you think getting into college is hard, you don’t know the half of it. See the barriers these students faced — and overcame.
“Personal Statement” tells the stories of three remarkable Brooklyn high school seniors who have to find their own way through the college application process and the struggles they face in school and at home.

College diversity, on film
For anyone interested in economic diversity in higher education — as I am — I recommend a new film that follows three high school students in Brooklyn as they try to navigate the application process. It’s called “Personal Statement” and ... (it) describes the hurdles that lower-income students face, from the lack of a single college counselor at many high schools to the byzantine misery of financial aid forms... The film feels particularly timely in the wake of the college admissions scandal.


Interview with Producer Lance Kramer
Lance Kramer was the producer of “City of Trees,” a documentary about three men working in Washington, D.C. to help make this city’s urban forestry and environment become better.



Film Reviews: City of Trees and Trees in Trouble
Urban forests serve as more than a backdrop in the documentary films City of Trees and Trees in Trouble. Leaf Litter editor, Amy Nelson, reviews both.

Cinematheque Screens COM Alum's City of Trees
Documentary chronicles nonprofit's obstacles to reducing poverty, violence.



How Planting Trees Helped this Ex-Offender Turn His Life Around
The documentary “City of Trees” follows an organization that connects park revitalization and green job training for residents shut out of the workforce.




Documentary examines overlap between conservation efforts and recession
Brothers Lance and Brandon Kramer did not envision a big, Hollywood-style production company. As documentarians, they wanted to make films about real people and real issues. They were especially interested in giving voice to untold stories in their native Washington, D.C.

Hope Grows on Trees in These Low-Income Neighborhoods
A new documentary shows how trust and respect can be seeds for thriving communities.
