Seth McClellan's Filmography

King in Chicago

(2008, director, editor, and producer)

Premiered on PBS in Chicago (wttw11) and screened for the City of Chicago, Human Rights Commission, in February of 2009. A feature length documentary that screened at 14 film festival across the US and Canada and was shown in schools, including American University in D.C., Howard University School of Law, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. Broadcast in February of 2010 again on PBS in Chicago and on Florida's Education Channel.

In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Chicago Freedom Movement faced contradictions and complications. Candid interviews, period photos, and stirring music tell their story.

In the national celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday each year, most Americans recall or learn about Dr. King's leadership in confronting southern racism in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. Far less discussed is his prophetic leadership in 1966 confronting northern racism and poverty as part of the Chicago Freedom Movement. This film emphasizes King's understanding of the link between the goals of the Civil Rights Movement and the social injustice of poverty. Candid interviews with Jesse Jackson, James Bevel, Michael Pfleger, and others, period photos and stirring traditional music by Rutha Harris shine a light on their struggle for justice. This film provides invaluable context to the national conversation about the corrosive effects of pervasive racism and persistent poverty in the U. S. today.

The voices of our interview subjects’ sound cries of alarm and hope as they reflect on the legacy of the Chicago Freedom Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King. Running time: 77 minute festival version and 57 minute TV version.

	Bevel's Last Sermon (2010, director, editor, and producer) As Dr. Martin Luther King's collaborator, Reverend James Bevel was a key strategist of the Southern Civil Rights Movement. His later career was marked by controversy and an incest conviction. This film is a candid interview with Rev. Bevel 10 days before he died. "Jim Bevel was Martin Luther King's most influential aide," said civil rights historian David J. Garrow. He cited Rev. Bevel's "decisive influence" on the Birmingham "children's crusade" of 1963 that helped revive the movement, the voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965 and King's increased outspokenness against the Vietnam War. - from his obituary in The Washington Post, 12/20/08 First public screening at the 2010 Jubilee Film Festival, part of the Jubilee Bridge Crossing Festival. This annual event draws over 30,000 people to Selma, AL to reenact and celebrate the pivotal moment in civil rights history that Rev. Bevel was a driving force behind. Other screenings include: 25th annual Black International Cinema festival in Berlin, Germany. Black Harvest Film Festival, Gene Siskel Film Center, Chicago. International Film Festival South Africa. Shot on HD CineAlta. Running time: 26 minutes and 26 seconds.
Buy the 57 minute TV version on Amazon.com Click here to watch the trailer. Watch an excerpt on youtube: How nonviolence works.	King in Chicago (2008, director, editor, and producer) Premiered on PBS in Chicago (wttw11) and screened for the City of Chicago, Human Rights Commission, in February of 2009. A feature length documentary that screened at 14 film festival across the US and Canada and was shown in schools, including American University in D.C., Howard University School of Law, Middlebury College, and Northwestern University. Broadcast in February of 2010 again on PBS in Chicago and on Florida's Education Channel. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King and the Chicago Freedom Movement faced contradictions and complications. Candid interviews, period photos, and stirring music tell their story. In the national celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday each year, most Americans recall or learn about Dr. King's leadership in confronting southern racism in Selma and Montgomery, Alabama. Far less discussed is his prophetic leadership in 1966 confronting northern racism and poverty as part of the Chicago Freedom Movement. This film emphasizes King's understanding of the link between the goals of the Civil Rights Movement and the social injustice of poverty. Candid interviews with Jesse Jackson, James Bevel, Michael Pfleger, and others, period photos and stirring traditional music by Rutha Harris shine a light on their struggle for justice. This film provides invaluable context to the national conversation about the corrosive effects of pervasive racism and persistent poverty in the U. S. today. The voices of our interview subjects’ sound cries of alarm and hope as they reflect on the legacy of the Chicago Freedom Movement and Dr. Martin Luther King. Running time: 77 minute festival version and 57 minute TV version.
Learn more here.	Chicago Heights (2009, co-producer) A feature length narrative adaptation of Sherwood Anderson's landmark novel, Winesburg, Ohio. Premiere, in competition, at the 2009 Pusan International Film Festival in South Korea. With an annual attendance of 200,000, TIME magazine has recognized Pusan as "Asia's most important cinematic event." Honorable Mention, Narrative at the 2009 Columbus International Film + Video Festival. Screened at the 2009 Cannes Short Film Corner and the 2010 Jubilee Film Festival. Shot in black & white on HD CineAlta.
Watch it here.	Experiencing the Park (2008, editor, writer and producer) A 30 minute educational and promotional DVD and web video chronicling the history and how to look at the large-form sculptures in the Nathan Manilow Sculpture Park. Includes interviews with noted collector, Lewis Manilow, and features work by Mark di Suvero, Bruce Nauman, and Martin Puryear. HD CineAlta. 15-minute version cable broadcast on Tampa Bay Arts Channel in 2010. Produced with grants from ComEd and the Illinois Arts Council.
Click here to watch the trailer.	The New Battle (2006, director and producer) A 27 minute HDV documentary providing an overview of Dr. King’s work in Chicago. Winner for Best Short Documentary at the 2007 Iowa Independent Film Festival and premiered on PBS (wttw11) in September of 2007. In 1966, Dr. Martin Luther King came to Chicago and got a rude awakening. In the South, in some ways, things were much more black and white, good vs. evil. Chicago was gray. It wasn’t at all clear to Dr. King and the rest of the Chicago Freedom Movement how to solve the problems of broken-hearted poverty and housing discrimination. Their successes and failures teach us as much about what happened forty years ago as they do about what is happening right now. With intimate interviews with civil rights leaders like Jesse Jackson, the director uses period photos and stirring music to tell an emotional story. “The New Battle” is about how complicated doing the right thing can be. This film is a great overview and introduction into an often overlooked part of the civil rights movement. It's perfect for young people and the classroom.
	Fading (2006, director and producer) An 18 minute HDV documentary exploring the effects of a brain injury on a family of academics. Winner of the 2006 Independents’ Film Festival’s award for Best Student Documentary and aired on The Education Channel. What happens when a car accident changes a family? The director, Seth McClellan, intimately interviews his mom, dad, and himself, creating a powerful, funny, and sad commentary on the effects of traumatic brain injury.