“Finding Us”, a SideXSide original film, premieres on PBS

We’re proud to announce that SideXSide Studios’ original film “Finding Us” is now live on PBS! After a run in film festivals last year, the short film is now streaming on the PBS App, PBS.org, and ReelSouth.org. It will air on LPB, PBS’s local affiliate in Louisiana, on April 24th at 10 PM ET and on MPT, Maryland’s local affiliate, on April 29th at 9 PM. The film is part of the 9th season of PBS’s Reel South series.

“Finding Us” is a portrait of four people whose ancestors were enslaved by the Jesuits of Georgetown University. In 1838, Georgetown University sold hundreds of enslaved people who worked on their plantations to stave off bankruptcy, scattering families across the South, never to see each other again. With the help of DNA databases, their descendants are reconnecting, using their unique talents to regrow the family trees felled nearly two centuries ago.

“Finding Us” comes from Emmy-nominated and SXSW award-winning producers Jamie Coughlin Silverman and Gabriel Silverman, and Producer Karran Harper Royal, an advocate for the community of descendants. The film is Director Kathryn Carlson’s first solo documentary short after nearly a decade in journalism and commercial film, where she recently received an Emmy for her cinematography work.

Find out more about Descendants of Jesuit Enslavement Historical & Genealogical Society, the nonprofit that launched last week to help descendants of the Georgetown sale find each other: https://www.descendantsofjesuitenslavement.org/

Stream “Finding Us” and the other films in Season Nine of Reel South at https://www.pbs.org/video/finding-us-6ohkwi/

Film credits:
Director: Kathryn Carlson
Producers: Karran Harper Royal, Gabriel Silverman, and Jamie Coughlin Silverman
Writers: Deanna Del Ciello and Kathryn Carlson
Editors: Liza Slutskaya, Hannah Long-Higgins
Cinematographer: Brandy Bruce and Kathryn Carlson
Additional Cinematography: Gabriel Silverman and Liza Slutskaya
Assistant Camera: Ricardo Betancourt
Music: Malcolm Parson

Production Company: SideXSide Studios

Cast:
Karran Harper Royal
Negest Rucker
Jerome Spears
Kevin Porter