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The Heart of Texas

Dallas is home to over 100,000 refugees, where more than half come to Vickery Meadow nicknamed a "Mini United Nations". In Vickery Meadow lies Heart House, an after-school program for refugee children specializing in Social Emotional Learning (SEL). "The Heart of Texas" provides an outline of the child refugee crisis, and how Heart House provides impactful support to refugee children.

  • Cullen Blanchfield
    Director
  • Cullen Blanchfield
    Writer
  • Cullen Blanchfield
    Producer
  • Cullen Blanchfield
    DP
  • Alexandra Savu
    1st AC
  • Robert Mirr
    Key Grip
  • Arnulfo Garza
    Sound Mixing
  • Kyle Godfrey
    Composer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Drama, Social Justice, Refugee, Dallas, Texas
  • Runtime:
    7 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 1, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Sony FS7, RED, Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Southern Methodist University
Director Biography - Cullen Blanchfield

After spending 9 years in Upstate New York, a year in Atlanta, Georgia and 9 years in the San Francisco Bay Area, I am currently a BFA Film Major at Southern Methodist University with a Minor in Advertising and Arts Entrepreneurship with home base back in Upstate New York. It is my goal to elevate stories through the unique opportunities that video presents both conceptually and technically. I now have 6 years of film and advertising experience under my belt through Freestyle Academy of Communication, Arts, and Technology, and SMU's Meadows School of the Arts BFA Film Production program, and the Temerlin School of Advertising. I have created multiple high scale short film productions, worked on a feature film set, and also multiple professional corporate commercial sets. As a filmmaker, I strive to create films that connect with the viewer emotionally through my keen awareness of people.

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Director Statement

The pre-production of my thesis film started almost a full year ago today. Through ups and downs and countless hours of editing, I have completed my short film "The Heart of Texas". It has been the greatest pleasure of my academic career at SMU to be given the opportunity to pursue this project through The Meadows School of the Arts.