Private Project

Rise Up

"Rise Up" is a short documentary written, produced, and shot by four African American high-school girls living in Chicago's public housing. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, the film explores the impact of violence on these young women- through their own eyes and in their own words.

Created through a partnership between the Chicago Housing Authority and DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, 15 teenage girls were selected to participate in a documentary filmmaking program. Under guidance, the four girls wrote, produced, shot and starred in their own documentary.

  • John Psathas
    Director
    Milwaukee, Bernadette, Happy Birthday Kevin, Flat Chested
  • Tayrece Wise
    Writer
  • Franshay Lopez
    Writer
  • Deja Flanagan
    Writer
  • Shawntel Smitherman
    Writer
  • Lili Calfee
    Producer
  • JoAnne Zielinski
    Producer
  • John Psathas
    Producer
  • Tayrece Wise
    Producer
  • Franshay Lopez
    Producer
  • Deja Flanagan
    Producer
  • Shawntel Smitherman
    Producer
  • Mike Mitchell, Sound Editor
    Key Cast
  • DePaul University - School of Cinematic Arts, College of Computing and Digital Media
    Executive Producers
  • The Chicago Housing Authority
    Executive Producers
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Experiental, Poetic, Youth, African American, Women, Violence, Teen, High School
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 18 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 31, 2017
  • Production Budget:
    200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - John Psathas

John Psathas is an award-winning director and producer based in Chicago. He is known for Bernadette (2017), Happy Birthday Kevin (2016), Milwaukee (2011) and The Corrections (2008). His work for Analog Productions has screened internationally and includes short and feature length narrative and documentary films. Between projects, he teaches as an assistant professor at DePaul University's School of Cinematic Arts.

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Director Statement

I have always been drawn to coming of age stories- the moments, choices, and relationships in our young lives that have far greater impacts than we are able to comprehend at the time. My 2011 film, Milwaukee, explored the borders and walls that gang violence created for Latino teenagers in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. My latest projects, Bernadette and Happy Birthday Kevin, have fallen head first into teenage love and identity.

When the opportunity to work on Rise Up presented itself, it felt like a natural continuation of this journey.

Like Milwaukee, Rise Up gives a voice to those teenagers whose lives and families are impacted by violence in Chicago neighborhoods. Like Bernadette and Happy Birthday Kevin, it looks at how love- for family and friends- is closely tied with a young person's evolving identity from child to adult.

When I first met the young girls chosen as part of the documentary program, I did not intend to turn the camera on them. From different areas of the city, they spent weeks learning about each other before they carefully decided that they wanted to create a film that explored the problems of violence in Chicago- a topic that they had all experienced firsthand. Tackling this subject, they soon realized, was a herculean task.

Where to begin? What studies to research? Which experts to interview? How many news clippings to illustrate? How could they examine, with fresh perspective, the problems that had been dissected time and time again in their own city?

At this point, I made a suggestion- perhaps, instead of attempting to capture and examine every Chicagoan's relationship with violence in a general way, why not explore their own histories and perceptions of the violence that had caused very tangible impacts in their own lives?

Rise Up is the response to that question. The stories and voices in the film are the girl's own- raw, unafraid, thoughtful, emotional, and unfiltered. Rise Up is the calm reflection of these young women, directed to the world at large, about who they are and who they intend to be. I was honored as a filmmaker and, eventually, as a friend, to have been able to capture and help craft their declaration.