Episodic Television

I Was There

“I Was There,” offers an immersive trip back in time, placing host Theo Wilson—the grandson of a Tuskegee Airman with a passion for history—at the center of some of the world’s most impactful events, to deconstruct how they truly unfolded. Through original archival material, expert testimony and dramatic re-creations using CGI technology to place Wilson in the scene, the series features surprising perspectives on some of the most pivotal moments in history. Wilson is a fly on the wall as he breaks down the barrier between the audience and the action to revisit a series of critical historical events, disasters, triumphs and true stories to learn unexpected facts in an engaging, fast-moving, and often unpredictable way.

Episodes directed by Maya Washington

from Production Company Committee Films:

Challenger Disaster

Season 1 Episode 8

On January 26, 1986, 2.5 million school children watched live as the Challenger space shuttle exploded in the sky, claiming the lives of seven astronauts–including a teacher. With red flags raised in the days before liftoff and multiple chances to stop the ill-fated launch, Theo Wilson is inside the moments that make you wonder, why did Challenger ever take off?

Bloody Sunday

Season 1 Episode 9

Theo Wilson time travels to the tension-filled 60s to see how inspirational Civil Rights hero, John Lewis, came to lead a historic march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday. Wilson charts Lewis’ career from his first childhood protest, to risking his body and life as a civil rights icon, and the Bloody Sunday march, and how a decision to air it on national TV helped lead to change.

Companion Book

Through the Banks of the Red Cedar

In 1963 Michigan State Head Coach Duffy Daugherty and 23 African American young men seized the opportunity of a lifetime. Maya Washington, the daughter of Minnesota Vikings football legend Gene Washington, deepens her connection to her father as she uncovers how the first fully integrated college football team in America changed the game forever.

Documentary Feature

Maya Washington Director/Producer/Writer

Watch Now on PBS DOCUMENTARIES

visit www.throughthebanksoftheredcedar.com

Through the Banks of the Red Cedar My Father and the Team that Changed the Game

A warm and invigorating memoir about a daughter’s love for her father and her appreciation for how he and others changed the game of football forever.

Gene Washington’s football career ended long before his daughter Maya was born. She never saw the legendary powerhouse as anything but her dad. She didn’t yet grasp the impact he’d had on the sport―and on America. To understand his historic role in the integration of college football, witness his influence on generations that followed, and fully appreciate his legacy, Maya had a lot of catching up to do.

Maya retraces her father’s journey from the segregated south to Michigan State during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement and his journey as an NFL pioneer after the 1967 draft. She reflects on how her father’s childhood―and the racism he faced―shaped her upbringing and influenced his expectations of her. She also discovers how unbreakable the emotional bond between teammates can be. But above all, Maya and her father get to know each other. As their own bond deepens, so does Maya’s connection to the sport that changed the trajectory of her father’s life…and hers.

Available at libraries and bookstores.

CLEAR

An exoneree reconnects with her adolescent daughter after a 16-year prison sentence for a crime she didn’t commit. Coming together is easy but picking up the pieces is a whole other thing. Starring George Keller, Ava Egertson, Santino Craven, and Maya Washington.

Narrative Short Film

Maya Washington Director/Producer/Writer, Supporting Actress

Samantha Manalang and Tina Barr, Producers.

Watch Now on ARGO or Stream at KweliTV

Companion Book

WHITE SPACE

A deaf performance poet makes his debut at an open-mic night for a hearing audience. Can the language of the heart emancipate the inner voice, transcending the white space between a hearing audience and a deaf man’s soul? Starring Ryan Lane, Maya Washington, Lester Purry, CJ Jones, Tanya Alexander, Ant Black, Zendrea Mitchell, Justin Goudeau, and Byron Washington.

Narrative Short Film

Maya Washington Director/Producer/Writer, Lead Actress

Freddy Hakimi and Samantha Manalang, Producers.

visit www.whitespacepoetryproject.com

White Space Poetry Anthology

White Space Poetry Anthology is a brave collection of poetry and art featuring the work of deaf and hearing poets and artists from White Space Poetry Project. Experimental works, by some of America's hottest award-winning and new talent including Raymond Luczak, Kristen Ringman, Randall Horton, Phillip B. Williams, Su Smallen and Bianca Spriggs, explore both literal and metaphorical white space and its sonic relationship to the page. Contributors: Tara Lee Bautista, Sandy Beach, Destiny Birdsong, Ed Bock, Karen Christie, Douglas Despres, Chiyuma Elliott, Kimberly Eridon, Rachel Fogarty-Oleson, Jessica Fox-Wilson, Hafizah Geter, Daniel O. Harris, Christopher Heuer, Randall Horton, Ashaki M. Jackson, Khary Jackson, Autumn Joy Jimerson, Haley Laschè, Jill Lombardi, Raymond Luczak, Meghan Maloney-Vinx, Zendrea Mitchell, Marisa Quinn, Kristen Ringman, Curtis Robbins, Sarah Roesler Conbere, Su Smallen, Bianca Spriggs, Kelli Stevens Kane, Matthew Stranach, Michelle Whittaker, Donna Williams, Phillip B. Williams, Keith Wilson, L. Lamar Wilson, Renee Zepeda edited by Maya Washington.