Knock Knock, America: A Story of Refugee Teens in St. Louis

dir. by Rebecca Rivas - produced/shot/edited by Dan Huck & Rebecca Rivas - trt. 65 min.

St. Louis is like any industrial, metropolitan city - filled with high crime, failing public schools, and segregated neighborhoods. To a refugee teenager, arriving in St. Louis can feel like being sent to a war zone after just surviving one. The International Play Ground is a performing arts group that reaches out to refugee youth, who come from war-torn countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan, Ivory Coast and Colombia.

Knock Knock, America, follows six IPG members through their daily lives and the production of their original play "Big Tree." Joseph strives to get into college and return to his country with a degree. Junior gets lost in the poor communication of the city's justice system. Not understanding the customs and language can create a barricade that some of them masterfully hurdle over, while others get tangled in the red tape.

Naked Bronze: Louis Smart Sculptor in the Ozarks

dir./produced James Bogan - shot/edited by Ryan B. Wylie - trt. 28 min.

A documentary that evokes the spirit and work of a master sculptor, who lives on the Ozark Plateau. Louis' bronze sculptures maintain a classical balance energized by an expressiveness worthy of a true son of Rodin. The film follows the sculptor from modeling session to completed sculpture, delineating the lost wax method and complete with dazzling sequences of the molten bronze pour. Montages of Louis's work in natural settings allow the viewer enough time to contemplate these sensuous representations of the human form.

The Homecoming: The Movie

dir./produced by Ben Lamb - produced/edited/shot by Ryan B. Wylie - trt. 88 min.

Seven years after graduation Daniel O'Brien and his best friends are returning for the first time for the Homecoming celebration at Missouri University. Searching to relive the "glory days" what they actually discover is that they just aren't cool anymore and you can never really go back.

The Homecoming was shot during Homecoming and Greek Week at a large state school. The fictional narrative of this mockumentary is informed by its nonfiction setting.

At Highest Risk: Maternal Healthcare in the High Peruvian Andes

written/dir. by Rebecca Rivas - shot by Leah Loyd - edited by Ryan B. Wylie - score by Mitchell T. Hill - trt. 45 min.

As part of a yearlong, journalistic Fulbright grant, Rebecca Rivas and a small crew lived in some of the most inaccessible regions of the southern Andes to study solutions to Peru's high maternal mortality.

The solutions to South America's second highest maternal death rates are not easy when both the Andean traditions and international political pressure are so strong. Peru has one of the highest proportions of indigenous inhabitants in the Americas, roughly 50 percent.

The question that guided our study was: is there a bridge between traditional and institutional birth?

We found a few select organizations and members of the Ministry of Health trying to integrate the women's traditions with the public health system. This proved to be the most effective way to unravel Andean people's fear and distrust of Western medicine.

Picture This: a fight to save Joe

produced/shot by John McHale, Ryan B. Wylie and Dan Huck - nar. By Danny Glover - edited by Ryan B. Wylie - trt. 72 min..

A riveting portrait of the dark side of the Missouri criminal justice system, this documentary takes viewers through the story of a Missouri man wrongfully convicted of a prison murder and sentenced to death. It reveals the startling lack of witnesses or evidence that implicates Joe Amrine in the prison-murder of Gary Barber.

Picture This received international attention, playing for audiences such as the UN Human Rights Council, and eventually led to the vindication of Amrine and the reversal of Missouri Supreme Court precedent.

The Human Story

edit/concept by Ryan B. Wylie - audio composition by Mitchell T. Hill and Gavin Duffy - trt. 15 min.

A media-archeology expedition through the evolution of society and human behavior. The Human Story undulates through ancient ritual and industrialization, shadowing the plight of the human animal through time.

The Human Story is based on a live performance, by The Free Form Film Festival, which toured North America in 2005.

Out of Darkness: Surviving Torture

A documentary that chronicles the power of healing through the accounts of victims of torture, the woman who recognized their anguish and the groundbreaking program that provides them sanctuary. Born out of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s and founded in Tucson, Arizona in 1991 by Amy Shubitz, the Center for the Prevention and Resolution of Violence treats refugee survivors with severe physical, sexual and emotional trauma.

Out of the Darkness, documents the work of one of the few such clinics worldwide.

As the international political climate becomes increasingly turbulent and recognition of the magnitude of torture and genocide grows, documenting the work of these clinics is critical to understanding the impact of torture in a global context and to exploring effective methodologies for the treatment and recovery of torture victims.

The Boy Who Beat Time

written/dir./edited by Ryan B. Wylie - musical score by Mitchell T. Hill - trt. 18 min

Sometimes life naturally moves from one moment to the next and sometimes it lingers, circles or stays completely still.

Ethan Polk and his family have been frozen in time by a past trauma. In an attempt to reconcile he signs up for the school talent show. Now, in one moment, he must awaken the past to save the future.