Richmond, California, 2012 – Pixar Story Coordinator, and co-creator of MissMottMedia, Ryan Lynch had cameras roll over Labor Day weekend at Crescent Park on a short film based on Eleanor Henderson’s acclaimed story The Farms. The recently renovated housing community is spread across twenty five beautifully landscaped acres and holds the nation’s largest family housing solar installation. Lynch selected the twenty four building Crescent Park for its picturesque two-story condos and ‘Florida feel’. Residents of the 378 unit community flocked to the set to for the making of the short film.
“I see this as an amazing opportunity to not only inspire the imaginations of the kids and community here at Crescent Park but a chance to truly educate individuals on the deep divisions and pain caused by the stigma surrounding AIDS; The message of The Farms is one of friendship and tolerance,” said MissMottMedia President and Producer, Ryan Lynch.
The film, set in the early 1990’s in Southern Florida encapsulates a young girl’s struggle to find friendship while combating the shameful perceptions of herself and of her family by others due to the death of her brother from Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).“EAH Housing has always gone the extra mile to nurture a vibrant and healthy culture for the people and the communities we serve. Education is a huge part of that and something that we have really stood behind here at Crescent Park with programs like our Straight A’s Club and our Mouse Squad Student Tech Leadership Program. MissMottMedia has helped us further our community enrichment by introducing social issues through the art of cinema in an educational and constructive way,” said EAH Housing President and CEO Mary Murtagh.
Along with the production crew, MissMottMedia selected sixteen resident children ages ten to fifteen to appear as extras in the filming. The independent production company will also provide a film class for the children, a screening of the film at Crescent Park combined with a question and answer period for residents in attendance. MissMottMedia will provide further opportunities for residents to view additional screenings elsewhere.
“Filming The Farms at Crescent Park was such a great experience for everyone involved. The MissMottMedia team really went out of their way to make our EAH Housing community part of the movie magic. The residents here were happy to share their wonderful homes and some of the young residents were so excited to be part of the production,” said EAH Senior Resource Coordinator, K. Crowell.
