Private Project

Courage on Canvas

Drugs, violence and social injustice challenge the healthy development of Black boys in Washington DC’s Wards 7 and 8. The odds of safely reaching adulthood may seem insurmountable. But one youth development organization has broken the cycle … with art.

  • Gary Scurka
    Director/ Videographer
    Highpointers (PBS), Baghdad Bound: The Devil Dog Diaries (National Geographic Explorer) The Godhead (screenplay), Highpointers (PBS), Raising the USS Monitor (National Geographic Explorer), The Worst Nightmare (CBS News 60 Minutes)
  • Kathleen Patricia Wolff
    Executive Producer/Writer
    The Godhead (screenplay), Highpointers (PBS), Raising the USS Monitor (National Geographic Explorer), The Worst Nightmare (CBS News 60 Minutes)
  • Mary Brown
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    Philanthropy, Diversity Equity and Inclusion
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    April 14, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    22,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital: 1080p, 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Life Pieces To Masterpieces, Courage on Canvas Art Exhibit and Fundraising Event
    Washington, DC
    United States
    April 19, 2023
    Premier
Director Biography

Gary Scurka is an award-winning broadcast journalist and filmmaker with over three decades of storytelling experience. Gary has worked for CBS News in New York, four local news stations as an investigative producer, and was a contract producer and war correspondent for National Geographic Explorer. As an embedded journalist for National Geographic during the Iraq war, he produced and narrated "Baghdad Bound: Devil Dog Diaries." Gary has received over 100 broadcast journalism awards, including the DuPont Columbia Silver Baton, the George Polk Award, two Investigative Reporters and Editors Awards, and 20 local news Emmys. More recently, he directed "Highpointers," a one-hour documentary which chronicles a summit attempt of Gannett Peak in Wyoming's Wind River Range. From August, 2017 through 2019 the documentary ran on PBS stations nationally.

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