REHEMA IMANI TRIMIEW- film-maker, web designer, photographer, graphic designer

This short film was created for the YWCA to illustrate discrimination towards women of color in city housing.

I was commissioned to write, direct, produce, and edit with a great crew and cast despite our limited budget. The film will be used in numerous meetings amongst community groups as a discussion starter.

Summary
Synopsis
Awards & Festivals

This was my two quarter film for my Master's at RIT and I served as writer, director, producer, and co-editor in 2006.

This short narrative deals with a kindergarten student in an 'urban' school and her parent's attempts to convince her teacher to improve the curriculum. I wrote "Sticks & Stones" based on my experiences in public school.

Web site: SticksAndStonesTheMovie.com

Copies of the DVD can be purchased on the site.

“Sticks & Stones” directly addresses the psychological repercussions of racial and class disparity in the American public educational system. Based on the filmmaker’s own experiences this short film exposes the influence a teacher can bear on her student’s abilities and the role parents can play in their child’s education.

During a parent teacher conference late one afternoon, Darryl and Dolores confront their daughter’s maligned teacher, Mrs. Martin. Though their daughter, Rehema, is literate Mrs. Martin refuses to accept this obvious reality because of her own mis-perceptions. Rehema is challenged to either fight back or internalize the racial stereotypes. An engaging narrator guides the audience through this disturbing meeting.

One Rochester Institute of Technology faculty member summarized the film in the following way:

“Rehema Trimiew's 'Sticks & Stones' is the rarest of student films; it's lushly shot, well directed and intelligent. This film is a relevant, incisive and lucid portrayal of a very personal experience whose implications touch upon real-world issues of contemporary and national concern. At once entertaining, educational and socially aware Trimiew's film sketches a scene that is all too typical. Concerned parents in an 'urban' school request an improvement in curriculum but are met with resistance based on what are essentially racial grounds. 'Sticks & Stones' confronts issues that are still plaguing race relations in the United States today.”

Juneteenth Film Festival 6/16 -17/06
Reel Venus Film Festival 6/06
Roxbury Film Festival 6/06
Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival 8/06
WINNER Audience Choice: Best Short
Calgary Fringe Fest 8/06
WINNER Best International Student Short
Gloria Film Festival 8/06
Chicks With Flicks Harlem Film Festival 9/06
Urban Mediamakers Film Festival 10/06
WINNER Best Student Short
African American Women in Cinema 12/27/06
Poppy Jasper Film Festival 11/06
WINNER Best Social Commentary
Eureka Springs Digital Film Festival 11/12/06
WINNER Best Social Commentary
High Falls Film Festival – Women of SOFA 12/11/06
WINNER Audience Choice, WINNER Best Short
Queens International Film Fest 12/16/06
NJ State Film Festival at Cape May -Festival of Independents (Chicks With Flicks) 12/18/06
African-American Film Marketplace and S.E. Manly Short Film Showcase 12/ 2-3/06
Oxford Film Festival 02/10/07
Mpenzi: Black Women’s International Film and Video Festival- Toronto, Canada -02/16/07
Harlem Stage on Screen 03/9-11/07
Reel Women Int. Film Festival 3/13/07
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Pre-fest tea and films 03/31/07
Sacramento International Film Festival 03/29-04/02/07
Festival Du Film Panafricain -Cannes, France – 4/11-15/07
8th Annual MoCADA KIDflix Film Fest of Bed-Stuy 08/17/07
Reel Sisters of the Diaspora 09/28-30/07
WINNER Best Narrative Short
Heritage Arts Festival – African American Cinema Gallery 07/12-13/08 International Black and Latino Film Festival- 7/16-20/08

National TV Broadcast:
Badami Productions –African American Short Films (First Quarter 2007)
BETJ Best Shorts 2007

Screenings:
RIT - Student Show 2/06
Emerging Filmmaker Series 5/22/06
RIT Honors Show 5/28/06
Brick City Festival -Film Festival Honors Show 10/6/06

I was fortunate to collaborate with City Connects in 2008 to make this PSA. The youth at North Street Community Center that I worked with had no acting experience but did a great job with this script that they wrote. I produced, directed, and edited this PSA in addition to working with the girls over a series of sessions.

This PSA is being used around Rochester, NY and shown on RCTV15.

While working for MTA Capital Construction as the full-time videographer, photographer, and digital media producer I created several short videos. Many of them include stunning time-lapse and slow-motion shots.