We the Parents (2023)
Director: Mike McNeese Run Time: 110 min.
Country: United States
Language: English
World Premiere on Sunday, November 5, 2023, at Gateway Film Center
Presented in partnership with Film Columbus. Reception in The Festival Lounge begins at 2:00pm followed by the screening at 3:30pm, with introductions by Director Mike McNeese, Executive Producer Elizabeth McNeese, and John Daugherty, Executive Director of Film Columbus.
Join in the conversation and stay for the Q&A afterwards with the filmmakers. Tickets are complimentary and will be available at the Film Center three hours prior to the screening.
About the film:
The family of American dreams: House. Significant other. Children. And with a single signature…or a single lie…it’s all gone. Life is turned upside down as possessions, rights, a roof over their head, and worst of all, children are stripped away as they head into the abyss of the Family Court System. This is the scenario for millions of separated parents in the U.S., not to mention the shocking number of children growing up without a father.
The parents in this film open their hearts to speak candidly about their experiences, how it feels to be a child-less parent, why the problems exist, and what they’re doing about it. At the heart of the problem is a Family Court System devised and unchanged since the 1950’s. Further, corruption is centralized and apparent with billions of dollars changing hands as child support orders are made, and parenting time and parenting rights are absolutely obliterated.
These parents are not without hope. A fight is underway to eliminate the money-making industrialization of family court, as well as fighting for the simple presumption of 50/50 equal shared parenting.
About the filmmakers:
Mike’s an Emmy, Addy and Telly Award winning Director and Cinematographer who prides himself on his ability to actively collaborate with clients to bring his brave and progressive vision to the project. Mike is great at fleshing out creative concepts with clients and also flawlessly executing their provided creative direction. When not on set, Mike is usually working on experimental film, fishing, or exploring outdoors with his kids.
Elizabeth is a Telly Award winning and Emmy Nominated writer/producer who specializes in designing a production plan and efficiently seeing it through to the final debriefing. She builds on over a decade of experience leading large-scale commercial productions, creative teams, and managing studio operations. Unafraid to challenge convention, Elizabeth is also a skilled writer, able to capture the adventure and humanity in a story and adapt it for film and video.
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