3 Movies Directed by Scott Hamilton Kennedy

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The Dominquez High School in Comptom, California--with an explosive culture of black and hispanic youths and dismal outlook of school life--has not produced a play in 20 years. They have nothing in the way of a theater program, nor a budget of any sort. This documentary chronicles the month and a half before the opening night play performance of their version of Our Town.

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The 14 acre community garden in South Central Los Angeles was the largest of it's kind in the United States. It was started as a form of healing after the devastating L.A. riots in 1992. Since that time, the South Central Farmers have created a miracle in one of the country's most blighted neighborhoods. Growing their own food. Feeding their families. Creating a community. But now bulldozers threaten their oasis. The Garden is an unflinching look at the struggle between these urban farmers and the City of Los Angeles and a powerful developer who want to evict them and build warehouses.

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Everyone dreams of fame. From the nail-biting freshman auditions to the spectacular year-end performances, Fame High captures the in-class and at-home drama, competition, heartbreak, and triumph during one school year at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts (LACHSA), also known as Fame High. Talented teenagers reach for their dreams of becoming actors, singers, dancers, and musicians. LACHSA is one of the most respected and competitive public arts high schools in the country. The arts teachers are working professionals, and some of the famous alumni include singing phenomenon Josh Groban, as well as actors Corbin Bleu, Jenna Elfman, and Anthony Anderson, and principal dancer of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Matt Rushing. Fame High is Academy Award Nominee Scott Hamilton Kennedy's follow-up to The Garden. This unique hybrid film is a Robert Altman-esque, coming-of-age, documentary-musical which follows a group of novice freshman and seasoned seniors struggling to find their voice - not only in their art but in life - with the help of, and sometimes in spite of, their passionate and opinionated families. Each has sacrificed countless hours to become artistically good, but will they become excellent and be satisfied both personally and professionally? Is the sacrifice worth the dream? This question is as relevant to these young artists as it is to their parents. In a time when performance-based entertainment is commonplace, it is safe to call Fame High the facts behind the fiction. Overnight success is a myth, and the true reality is nothing trumps endless hours of hard work. Shot over the course of sixteen months, we see these young people strive, struggle, grow, and change before our eyes. And you thought regular high school was tough...