BOX BROWN: A Box Marked Freedom

ROB UNDERHILL (Director, Writer, Producer, Editor)
Rob Underhill is a filmmaker & media producer since 2005. His feature films & numerous short-films have received over 150 awards, showcased at hundreds of screening engagements worldwide, including CANNES, ST. LOUIS & SEATTLE. Rob’s work has earned endorsements from major public figures like UN Ambassador Andrew Young & former NC Governor Beverly Perdue, & has been featured on NPR programs, such as THE STATE OF THINGS with Frank Stasio & THE STORY with Dick Gordon. Rob was featured speaker at the 2015 NCSU English department graduation commencement. Carolina STYLE Magazine recognized Rob as one of 25 "Most Stylish People" influencing positive change in the Carolinas. He is a RAWards Indie Art Award recipient for Best Regional Filmmaker. He received the QUSAR award for lifetime achievement in filmmaking by the 10th Raleigh Film and Art Festival. More at www.RobUnderhill.com

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ARAVIND RAGUPATHI (Co-director, DoP, Producer)
Aravind is an Emmy-nominated director, producer and cinematographer, landing him in productions around the world and in his native land, India. With over hundred festival wins, several feature films and indie cinema to his credit, his portfolio includes narrative features, TV commercials, corporate storytelling and music videos. His interest in American history has led him to produce narratives on the American Civil War, African-American history, the Civil Rights Movement and neo-American culture.

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MIKE WILEY (Writer, Star, Co-producer, Author of Adapted Material)
Acclaimed actor and playwright Mike Wiley has spent the last decade fulfilling his mission to bring educational theatre to young audiences and communities across the country. In the early days of his career, Wiley found few theatrical resources to shine a light on key events and figures in African-American history. To bring these stories to life, he started his own production company.

Through his performances, Wiley has introduced countless students and communities to the legacies of Emmett Till, Henry “Box” Brown and more. His recent works include a one-man play based on Tim Tyson’s memoir Blood Done Sign My Name and The Parchman Hour, an ensemble production celebrating the bravery and determination of the Freedom Riders who risked their lives to desegregate Southern interstate bus travel in 1961.

Mike Wiley has a Masters of Fine Arts from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and is the 2010 and 2014 Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to his numerous school and community performances, he has also appeared on Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel and National Geographic Channel and has been featured in Our State magazine and on PBS’ North Carolina Now and WUNC’s The State of Things.