MARCHING FORWARD
A Production of the University of Central Florida Burnett Honors College.
Funded by the UCF College of Arts and Humanities, College of Sciences, Nicholson School of Communication and Media,
Susan L. Gallagher and Morgan Wilson.
Closed Captioning funded by the UCF Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
SCREENINGS
WE'RE ON PUBLIC TELEVISION!
CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS
The program will air on local public television stations across the U.S. from 2021-2026. For program listings, contact your nearest public television station. You can ask them to air the program! Eventually, the program will stream for free on the WUCF-TV web site. When that happens we will post the link here, so check back!
WUCF-TV Orlando listings, 2021:
Tues., Feb. 2nd at 9pm
Thurs. Feb. 4th at 5pm
Sun. Feb.7th at 3pm
WSRE Pensacola
Th Feb 4, 3pm
Sat Feb 27, 6pm WORLD
WFSU Tallahassee
Sun Feb 14, 1pm
Tues Feb 9, 9pm
WJCT Jacksonville
Tues Feb 16, 11pm
Thurs Feb 18, 5pm
Sun Feb 21, 1pm
Sat Feb 27, 7pm
WUFT Gainesville
Sun Feb 7, 4pm
WEDQ Tampa
Sat Feb 6, 7pm
Sun Feb 7, 2am
WGCU Fort Myers
Mon Feb 8, 10pm
Tues Feb 9, 5pm
CREATE Sun Feb 21, 10pm
CREATE Mon Feb 22, 3am
WORLD Sat Feb 27, 7pm
WXEL West Palm Beach
Sun Feb 7, 11pm
WPBT Miami
Sun Feb 7, 4pm
HOST A SCREENING
One of our hopes is to start a larger conversation and provide opportunities for people to get involved. Film screenings are a great way to educate and entertain your community. Choose your date, time, and location, then we’ll help with promoting the event, preparing the venue, and screening the movie.
THANKS TO ALL WHO ATTENDED THESE FILM FESTIVALS:
Southern States Indie Fan Film Fest:
01/01/2019
Ogeechee International History Film Festival
02/21/2019
Universe Multicultural Film Festival
04/05/2019
Broadcast Education Association Awards
04/08/2019
9th Annual Charlotte Black Film and Music Festival
04/11/2019
Tiburon International Film Festival
04/12/2019
Equality International Film Festival
04/13/2019
Florida Film Festival:
04/14/2019
Las Vegas Black Film Festival
04/25/2019
Orlando Urban Film Festival
05/24/2019
Global Peace Film Festival
09/21/2019
Baltimore International Black Film Festival
Beginning 10/09/2019
Twin Cities Black Film Festival
Beginning 10/16/2019
Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
November 9, 2019 at Noon at the Savor Cinema
St. Augustine Film Festival
Thurs, Jan. 16 at pm, Sat. Jan. 18 at 4:30pm
*Special Invited Screenings*
Orange County Regional History Center
February 16, 2pm 2020
Jones High School, Orlando
September 26-27, 2019
Edgewater High School, Orlando
September 30, 2019
American Consulate in Kolkata, India
May 2019
Florida Historical Society
May 2019
AWARDS AND ARTICLES
UCF Film Spotlights Local Band Teachers by Cathleen Christiansen in the Orlando Sentinel
WKMG-TV Orlando local news coverage
WMFE-FM Orlando local radio program "Intersection"
Kyle Aulow presents research conducted for the film by students to the UCF Board of Trustees.
Kyle Aulow, Oswmer Louis, and Nikki Mariutto win FIRST PLACE for their research poster at the UCF Showcase of Undergraduate Research.
ABOUT THE FILM
The film explores a story of unity in 1964 segregated Orlando, when one white high school marching band (Edgewater High School) and one black high school marching band (Jones High School) were invited to perform at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York City.
Overcoming the racial segregation present in school and public places, both bands were able to reach the World’s Fair, crossing established racial lines and coming together through music and a sense of community. The film provides an opportunity to explore the moderately calm race relations of Orlando during the 1960’s, by contrasting the uplifting narrative about two high school bands with the backdrop of the violent and disturbing period of desegregation.
This film was born out of an honors public history and documentary class at the University of Central Florida. Students conducted research and interviews. The two instructors continued the work of shooting and editing after the class ended with Oswmer Louis and Brittany Todd. This is the fourth film co-directed by Dr. Lisa Mills and Dr. Robert Cassanello with students in the Burnett Honors College. Filthy Dreamers won a Student Emmy Award and
The Committee won a Suncoast Emmy Award.
This historical documentary centers around fascinating characters with humorous and poignant stories that address the same issues of race, education, and equality with which the U.S. still struggles today. At its center are two high school band directors- one black, one white- who were ahead of their time because instead of seeing skin color, they saw talent. James W. “Chief” Wilson and Del Kieffner had the courage to cross color lines to do what they thought was best for their students.
The documentary contains many wonderful historic photos and 16mm film footage, providing a feeling of nostalgia for what was surely a simpler time. However, in many other parts of the film we are reminded that the 1963-64 school year was also tumultuous, filled with civil rights protest marches and brutal racial violence. At one point a Jones alumnus recounts a time when he and other black band students demanded that a nearby hamburger stand take their money from the front counter instead of the back door. This action resulted in an Orlando Police response that afternoon at band practice.
Meet The Team
Nicole Mariutto
Nicole Mariutto lives in South Florida. After studying film and creative writing, she is now an assistant teacher at a local high school. She’s still pursuing her passion for film and writing in her free time.
Brittany Todd
Brittany Todd is an independent documentary filmmaker, cinematographer, and freelance producer based on the Treasure Coast. She was the production coordinator & social media manager for Marching Forward. Brittany is currently producing a short film in Orlando called Keep Digging and looking for future projects.
Juan Ordonez
Juan Ordonez helped on Marching Forward as the director of photography while he was attending the University of Central Florida before graduating in 2016. He was a part of the Burnett Honors Documentary class that wrote and produced the film and is now working full-time as a filmmaker in Boulder, Colorado.
Meet the Composers
Composer Carl MaultsBy has written works for the concert stage, church, theatre, film, recordings, dance and educational resources. Eleven of his pieces are found in One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism: An African American Ecumenical Hymnal (2018 GIA Music Publications). MaultsBy’s organ composition “Toccata on Good News” is in the 2017 GIA Music Publication King of Kings, Volume 3. In 2013 St. James Music Press published MaultsBy’s SSA choral and organ setting of the U. S. slave spiritual “Music in the Air.” His commissions include “May God Bestow Upon You His Grace” for the St. John Lutheran, Winter Park, FL, 500th Anniversary Commemoration of the Protestant Reformation; “Abuelas, Nanas and Grandmamas Unsung” (2013) for Quintet of the Americas; “O Magnify the Lord” (2012) for the Institution of the Bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida; “Kum-Ba-Ya, Marcus” (2012) for Quintet of the Americas; “Praise: A Sacred Jazz Te Deum” (2011) for the Bucks County Choral Society. In 2001, MaultsBy received a Harvard University Fromm Music Commission for his choral and orchestral work “Eye of the Sparrow.” For the 2008 Celebration of the Papal Mass at Yankee Stadium, the Archdiocese of New York commissioned him to score the spiritual “Let Us Break Bread Together” for orchestra and chorus.
Composed in 1989, The St. Mary Mass in its entirety or with selected movements is found in the Church Publishing Inc. publications Enriching Our Music 1: Canticles and Settings for the Eucharist; Lift Every Voice and Sing II: An African American Hymnal; the 1996 EYE Songbook; Wonder, Love and Praise.
Currently, the Director of Music & Organist at St. Richard’s Episcopal Church, MaultsBy, a 2003-2009 member of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of The Episcopal Church, received the Bachelor of Arts in Music and Mathematics and the Doctor of Fine Arts (honoris causa) degrees from Lake Forest College, Lake Forest, IL, as well as the Master of Music degree in Jazz/Commercial Composition from Manhattan School of Music (MSM). He also studied sacred music and organ at Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA; organ at Florida State University with Michael Corzine and privately with Steven Emprin and Edna Hargrett-Thrower; composition at Columbia University with Vladamir Ussachevsky and Mario Davidovsky as well at Manhattan School of Music with Richard DeRosa, Edward Green and Roy Eaton.
Award-winning composer Stella Sung (www.stellasung.com) is published by Theodore Presser Music Publishers, Editions Henry Lemoine, Southern Music Company, and Sonic Star Music Productions. Her work can be found on Koch International Recordings, Naxos, Sinfonica (Italy), MSR, and Albany Records. She was the first Composer-in-Residence for the Orlando (FL) Philharmonic Orchestra (2008-2011) and the Dayton (OH) Performing Arts Alliance (2013-16). Premieres, performances, and commissions of Sung’s work have been from national and international orchestras, soloists, and ensembles. Sung holds a B.M (piano performance) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), an M.F.A (composition) from the University of Florida, and a D.M.A (piano performance) from the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Sung is a Pegasus Professor and an Endowed Trustees Chair Professor of the University of Central FL, and is director of the Center for Research and Education in Arts, Technology, and Entertainment (CREATE) at UCF, College of Arts and Humanities. Additionally, Dr. Sung is a Distinguished Alumna of the University of FL.
Oswmer Louis
Oswmer Louis was the student director of Marching Forward with Dr. Mills and Dr. Cassanello. He is currently a Project Coordinator for the City of Port St. Lucie and an independent filmmaker specializing in writing and directing.
Robert Cassanello
Robert Cassanello is an associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida. In addition to producing and directing award winning documentaries he also produced award winning history podcasts in visual and audio documentary format in a serialized narrative form. Along with Lisa Mills he has co-produced and co-directed award-winning history documentaries “The Committee” and “Filthy Dreamers,” which went on to win a Suncoast Emmy and College TV Emmy respectively
Dr. Mills is a film professor at the University of Central Florida and was one of the Faculty Advisors/Co-Directors on this film. Dr. Mills is an independent documentary filmmaker and has made many award winning feature documentaries, to visit her website click the above icon. For any and all Press related inquiries, please contact
Dr. Mills via email, lisa.mills@ucf.edu
Trailer
BEHIND THE SCENES
CREDITS
Co-Directors and Faculty Advisors
Robert Cassanello and Lisa Mills
Student Director
Oswmer Louis
Executive Producers
Martin DuPuis and Alvin Wang
Burnett Honors College
Featuring
Ernest A. “Pete” Boyd
Lyman A. Brodie
Ben Brotemarkle
Caroll Laughlin Burleson
Barbara Page Burns
Joy Dickinson
Richard Foglesong
Anthony Foster
Bruce Green
Neil Jenkins
Sandra Poston Johnson
Nina Wilson Jones
Karen S. Jones
Marilyn G. Kieffner
Kay Kieffner Kimbrough
Lynn Kieffner Lockhart
Joseph Krienes
Dr. Carl MaultsBy
Jamaal Nicholas
Gordon O’Hara
Nelson W. Pinder
Audrey H. Reicherts
Jean Siegfried
Russell P. Warren
Noel Feldman Weller-Woolley
Virginia Wilson
James W. Wilson
Nina Wilson Jones
Jamia Wilson
Catherine P. Wilson
Barbara Young
Written and Produced by Documentary Students in the Burnett Honors College at the University of Central Florida
Kyle Aulow
Paul Barber
Christian Dimaculangan
Oswmer Louis
Nicole Mariutto
Shannon McGuffey
Juan Ordonez
Abby Owen
Contributing Film Students in the Nicholson School of Media and Communication at UCF
Bobby Forman
Kristina League
Javier Martinez
Mikaela Ronnkvist
Brittany Todd
Director of Photography
Juan Ordonez
Additional Camera Work
Kyle Aulow
Timothy G. Brown
Bobby Forman
Oswmer Louis
Javier Martinez
Lisa Mills
Mikaela Ronnkvist
Brittany Todd
Editor
Timothy George Brown
Assistant Editors
Juan Ordonez
Lisa Mills
Animations Produced in the School of Visual Arts and Design at UCF
Character Design
Alyssa Garoogian
Amber Hilson
Character Riggers
James Chambless
Production Management
Heather Knott
Look Development & Animation
Dana Barnes
James Chambless
Joshua Cooper
Alyssa Garoogian
Ana Guerra
Angela Hernandez-Carlson
Amber Hilson
Heather Knott
Brian Phinn
Faculty Animation Supervisor
Cheryl Briggs
Social Media Manager
Brittany Todd
Archive Images Provided by
The Kieffner Family
The Wilson Family
Tana Porter
Joy Dickinson
FAMU Archive
Anthony Foster Foundation
Prelinger Archive
Jones High School History Museum
Library Special Collections, University of Central Florida
Orange County Regional History Center
Orlando Sentinel
Drone footage provided by
Victor Chu
Sky Tech One, New York City
Film and audio tape transfers by
Jim Barden
Martin Schiff
Network Sound and Video, Inc.
Original music by
Stella Sung
Additional music from
Audioblocks
Special Thanks
Anita Abrams
Geraldine Bateman
Kenneth Bowles
John Brown
Shirley Bryant
Brendan Byrne
Geoffrey Cravero
Vito Fera
Flora Maria Garcia
Amy Gireaux
Steve Goldman
Bruce Green
Walter G. Hawkins
Barbara Jay
Katherine Keuhn
Avido Khahaifa
Allison Kirby
Tina Laferriere
Connie Lester
Katherine P. Marsh
Rudy McDaniel
Jamaal Nicholas
Tana Mosier Porter
Troy Shimkus
Demetrius Summerville
Stella Sung
Raul Valery
Jeff Willis
Virginia W. Wilson
Kirstin Woff
First Congregational Church of Winter Park
St. Richard’s Episcopal Church of Winter Park
The Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist or Orlando
Edgewater High School, Orlando
Jones High School, Orlando
University High School, Orlando
FAMU Archive
Florida Bandmasters Association
WESH-TV