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Posted January 19, 2006


Contact:
Justin Leroy, Director, Chasing Daybreak: A Film About Mixed Race in America

MAVIN FOUNDATION RELEASES CHASING DAYBREAK: A FILM ABOUT MIXED RACE IN AMERICA


(Seattle) This week, MAVIN Foundation premiered the documentary film, Chasing Daybreak: A Film About Mixed Race in America, to a packed audience at the University of Washington.

The Film chronicles the Generation MIX National Awareness Tour, a 10,000-mile road trip sponsored by the MAVIN Foundation to raise awareness of America's multiracial baby boom. "Chasing Daybreak" follows five mixed heritage 20-somethings - Aaron, Ashley, Charles, Geetha and Jamie - as they travel across the U.S. in a 26-foot RV to spark discussions on race, mixed race and diversity. As the crew meets with thousands of people from U.S. Senator Barack Obama to Bubba the tow truck triver, they share their hopes, fears and aspirations for the future of race in America.

Shot almost entirely by the crew themselves, Chasing Daybreak explores how our nation imagines mixed race identity. It poses provocative questions about outdated definitions of race, and warns us against idolizing multiethnic people as an antidote to our painful history with race. Ultimately, the film reveals that mixed race people complicate, rather than eliminate, race in America

"I want Chasing Daybreak to highlight the personal struggles of the crew members, but also to show how those struggles reinforce the idea that race and racism are very real for the five of them," says Justin Leroy, the Film's Director and Editor. "I hope the film can open up discussions about the challenges mixed people face, and how they influence larger discussions on race and inequality in America."

As the first feature-length, widely-distributed documentary film on the mixed race experience, Chasing Daybreak is generating a buzz. The Film has already booked twelve screenings across the U.S. and internationally in Brazil and South Korea. A review in today's Village Voice praised the Film for, "...illuminat[ing] facets of race and racism that don’t often get the attention they deserve... in this case, five mixed people traversing a literal landscape gets to the ideological heart of America's racial landscape."

The Film can be purchased via the MAVIN Foundation website for $19.95 ($17.95 for MAVIN Foundation members). Individuals can contact MAVIN Foundation to inquire about screening opportunities. Director Justin Leroy, Producer Matt Kelley and members of the crew can be made available for interviews by request. Visit www.chasingdaybreak.com for more information.

MAVIN Foundation builds healthy communities that celebrate and empower mixed heritage people and families. Since 1998, MAVIN has invested over $2.5 million into innovative and award-winning projects focused on mixed heritage people, transracial adoptees and multiracial families. For more information, visit www.mavinfoundation.org.

Chasing Daybreak was made possible through the generosity of funders like the Pride Foundation.

For more information, email Justin or call 206 622 7101.

 



To purchase the Film
:
($17.95 for MAVIN Foundation members and $19.95 for non-members), go here or call toll-free: 1 888 77 MAVIN.

Film Screenings
:
For more information about screening the Film at your school, organization or conference, email here.

For more information
:

The official Chasing Daybreak web site

The Generation MIX National Awareness Tour web site

The Generation MIX Tour Blog


Film Screen Captures
:

Four of the five during their 2-week training in Seattle.

Crew member Aaron Kendeall.

The Crew interviewed Senator Barack Obama in his Washington, DC office.

Ashley reacts to being asked, "What percent African American are you?" on her blog.

The Crew members visited the Civil Rights Memorial in Montgomery, Alabama.

MAVIN FOUNDATION PRESENTS
CHASING DAYBREAK: A FILM ABOUT MIXED RACE IN AMERICA

DIRECTED AND EDITED BY JUSTIN LEROY PRODUCED BY MATT KELLEY
ASSISTANT EDITOR MICHAEL OKIMOTO CREATIVE DIRECTOR WILMER GALINDO
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY AARON KENDEALL ASHLEY MCDERMOTT
GEETHA LAKSHMINARAYANAN JAMIE TIBBETTS
AND CHARLES YESUWAN

www.chasingdaybreak.com

Color / 71 minutes (c) 2006 MAVIN Foundation. All Rights Reserved.