"Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma is the most important film of our era." - Faizon Love

CENTURY CITY, CALIFORNIA, USA, November 18, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Michael Douglas Carlin announced today that Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma Has Achieved a Theatrical Release. The film has won 13 Film Festival Awards including the Marina Del Rey Film Festival Best Documentary, the Silver State Film Festival Best Feature Documentary and the Silicon Beach Film Festival Best Director award. Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma had an Academy Award^® qualifying theatrical run for seven consecutive days at the Laemmle Monica Theater Complex in Santa Monica. Currently, the film has been entered in the Academy Awards^®. “We know it’s a long shot,” said film director Michael Douglas Carlin, “but the timing of our movie is really good as there are few movies that can really start the conversation that could lead to meaningful solutions.”

Faizon Love said, "Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma is the most important film of our era.

Said Executive Producer, Andy Libby, “The landscape for small films like this is becoming increasingly difficult in the current climate. Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma, is a phenomenon that will only grow in importance over the coming years.”

In a time, post covid, when almost anything can happen, Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma racked up an impressive weekend per screen average of $1,420 on a single screen at the Laemmle Monica Film Complex in Santa Monica, California. Minnesota beat out big screen film including Disney’s Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Jungle Cruise, 20th Century Studios The Last Duel, Free Guy, Bleeker Street’s Mass, I’m your Man, A24’s Lamb, National Geographic’s Becoming Cousteau, Universal’s Candyman, Dear Evan Hansen and Searchlight’s The Eyes of Tammy Faye - in most cases by nearly double.

The film is a civil rights anthem that takes place in the immediate aftermath of the George Floyd Murder following civil rights activist Joe Collins on his path to make a difference in police reform. Many in the audience commented that every police force in the country should require their officers to watch the film because of the emotional response the film triggers in viewers. “It is important for reformers shaping department policy to understand the pain of people in the streets,” said Joe Collins. “I see the film as an important step in getting people on every side of the issue to come together in shaping meaningful change.”

Nativestar Productions exists to create films elevating those oppressed by either circumstances or other people. “Minnesota, fits in with our mission to inspire others to make a difference wherever they can,” said Michael Meyer, company President. “We are proud of our participation in this important film and applaud the director, Michael Douglas Carlin, with whom I have had a longstanding business and personal friendship with for many decades.” Louis Alexander, also an Executive Producer on the film, sums it up, "Currently, we are reliving the bad behavior of the 1960s and there is literally no excuse. This film puts it all in perspective. Every law enforcement organization should make this film mandatory viewing at least once a year for every officer."

About director Michael Douglas Carlin:
The director, Michael Douglas Carlin, is known for his investigation into the Tupac and Biggie murders, focusing on the connections between Rampart Scandal and Death Row Records. When George Floyd’s murder occurred, he followed a team of people, including Congressional candidate Joe Collins, to Minnesota to document their experiences fighting for justice. Carlin has won 3 Best Director Awards, 1 Best Humanitarian for Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma and the film has won 9 additional film festival awards .

About producer Omar Bradley:
Film producer Omar Bradley is known for his role in shutting down the corrupt Compton Police Department while he was Mayor of Compton. He brought his sensitivity to this film to understand the need for police reform that must be carefully balanced with each community’s need for quality policing. Bradley has won 9 festival awards for Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma.

About Joe Collins:
Joe Collins is a 13-year Navy veteran and owner and CEO of an international development and government contracting company. Joe has a Bachelor of Arts in accounting and he's a California congressional candidate running against Maxine Waters again in 2022. In 2020, Joe received nearly double the votes of any Republican in the history of the district and out-fundraised Waters 5-to-1. Joe's platform consists of ending homelessness, bringing quality jobs and housing back to communities, creating paths for families to create generational wealth, significantly improving the education system, and reducing crime through border security and police reform.

Important stories told in the film include victims of police violence:
George Floyd
James Rivera Jr.
Justin Teigen
Brian Quiñones
Richard Risher
Colby Friday
Philip Quinn
Isak Aiden
Philando Castille
Jamar Clark

The production team includes:
Production Team
Michael Douglas Carlin • Director, Writer, Editor, Videographer
Omar Bradley • Producer
Joe Collins • Executive Producer
Pierre Akinroluyo • Executive Producer
Michael Meyer • Executive Producer – Native Stars
John Rothschild • Executive Producer
Olga Dame Rothschild • Executive Producer
Andy Libby • Executive Producer
H. Evie Ryland • Executive Producer
Louis Alexander • Executive Producer
Joyce Chow • Coproducer/Publicist
Still Photographer • Sergio Estevez
Helane Freeman • Color Correction/Titles
Daniel Horton • Sound Editor
Donna Bullock-Carrera • Fair Use Attorney

Review of Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma by 2UrbanGirls

Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma looks ahead to the Oscars

Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma announced today that it has won Grand Prize Best Documentary Film at the Silver State Film Festival that was held at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas. This brings the film to a total of 13 Film Festival Awards, including 3 for Best Director and has 23 Official Selections in Film Festivals all over the world. The film strikes a nerve in that Police violence is likely to continue with no solution in sight.

The documentary highlights California congressional candidate Joe Collins and his campaign team traveling to Minnesota, after being called on by activist and author Angela Stanton King, to fight for social justice and police reform, standing in solidarity with families impacted by police violence, and holding elected officials accountable. Minnesota! The Modern-Day Selma shows politicians running for cover, buildings engulfed in flames, and anger boiling over.

“Going to Minneapolis was not about being a Republican or Democrat, it was about the fight for police reform,” said Collins. “Mr. Floyd wasn’t a perfect man, but his death highlights what has been going on in urban communities for years.”

Collins blames politicians who fail to pass legislation that would positively affect communities of color and provide much needed resources for law enforcement officers to get much needed training.

“We need systems in place to identify which officers have a history of complaints or infractions against civilians,” said Collins. “I am proud to be a part of efforts for change and will continue to do what I can in the fight for reform and accountability.”

Floyd’s story wasn’t unique to Minneapolis. His story resonated in Compton, CA, as one of its former mayor’s echoed the sentiment for police to be held accountable for their actions.

“As the film’s producer, I was startled by the first hand accounts of the suffering, agony, and despair I witnessed contained in the testimonies of women who live with the life altering impact of police brutality,” said Omar Bradley, who served as mayor from 1993-2001. “This film is a tear jerker that never fails to deliver one ominous message: policing in America must change.”

George Floyd became the face of police violence when Derek Chauvin placed his knee on the neck of Floyd resulting in Floyd’s death. Americans all saw the buildings burning around the country that erupted as a result of the senseless killing. Chauvin has since been convicted of this murder.

“This movie started at 3.5 hours and we did a recut, and been honing the film ever since,” said Michael Carlin, the film’s director. “Listening to the final version in the theatre, it’s a digital cinema package which makes it qualify for the Academy Awards, and there is a message here.”

The film is designed to bridge the gap to finding a solution of reforming the police in this country.

Michael Douglas Carlin
Michael Douglas Carlin
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michaeldouglascarlin@gmail.com
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Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma Official Trailer