“Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma is the most important film of our era.” – Faizon Love

CENTURY CITY, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A., November 22, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Award Winning Film, Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma is Now Live on Academy Awards^® Screening Website for Oscar^® Consideration

“Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma is the most important film of our era.” – Faizon Love

Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma, winner of 13 Film Festival Awards is now live in the Academy Screening Room for Oscar^® consideration. Said film director, Michael Douglas Carlin, “we were in Minnesota when buildings were burning in a dangerous situation capturing the essence of the George Floyd Murder protests. Our Film sheds light on the issue of police violence as several families tell heartfelt stories detailing their loss of a family member.”

Academy members can view the film online and beginning December 5th can vote to get the film on the short list of 15 documentaries. So far, Minnesota has won 13 film festival awards including Best Feature Documentary at the Marina Del Rey and Silver State Film Festivals as well as Best Director at the Silicon Beach Film Festival. MVD Entertainment releases the film in January.

The Academy Qualifying Theatrical release was in October in a time, post covid, when almost anything can happen, Minnesota racked up an impressive weekend per screen average of $1,420 on a single screen at the Laemmle Monica Film Complex in Santa Monica. Minnesota beat out big screen films 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.

Most people that see the film comment that they never knew that families, other than George Floyd’s, have been impacted by police violence. Minnesota tells the stories of other incidents that happened previous to the George Floyd Murder. These stories are all extremely emotional and audience members get to experience the pain through the family members’ eyes.

Michael Douglas Carlin comes from a well-established Hollywood family having sat on Fess Parker’s lap as a young child. Carlin’s grandfather worked in the movie business as a driver and teamster driving for Cecil B. DeMille, Howard Hughes and many others. His last assignment before retirement was as a driver on the Steven Spielberg film, JAWS. His father worked in the industry as a gaffer before working full-time in the lighting equipment rental business, Keylite PSI, a company that Carlin’s father founded.

Michael was a kid hanging out on the movie sets including: Ode to Billy Joe, (he had a bit part as an actor where he was directed by Max Baer Jr.); the 1976 remake of the movie, King Kong where he worked as a movie extra; and young Michael spent a summer in Chicago on the film The Fury directed by Brian DePalma where he bounced between working as an extra and a set electrician. Both King Kong and The Fury were filmed by acclaimed cinematographer, Richard Kline who would reunite with Michael Douglas Carlin on the film, Body Heat directed by Lawrence Kasdan. Carlin worked on Body Heat as a set electrician.

Carlin would later run family business Keylite PSI that supplied equipment on many notable films like Robert Redford’s Ordinary People; Brian DePalma’s the Untouchables; Oliver Stone’s JFK and Platoon; Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs; Neal Israel’s Bachelor Party; Robert Altman’s Fool For Love; John Frankenheimer’s 52 Pickup; David Lynch’s Twin Peaks; Sean Penn’s The Indian Runner; Aaron Norris’ Braddock; Blake Edwards’ That’s Life; among hundreds of others. Keylite PSI also supplied the equipment for the first night landing of the Space Shuttle Challenger, the 1979 & 1980 Academy Awards^®, and for over a dozen years supplied the equipment on the Hollywood Christmas Parade an event that young Michael worked on every year. Carlin also ran two motion picture studios – Valencia Studios and Osmond Studios. In recent years Carlin directed American Federale, Tupac Assassination Battle for Compton, Larger than Life the Suge Knight Story and he Executive Produced along with Stephen Nemeth, Hearts Road directed by Colin Finlay.

In the mid to late 80s Carlin teamed up with Michael Meyer to produce a dozen low budget movies. Meyer, an entertainment lawyer, came from the management side of the business having worked with David Stewart and Larry Thompson. Meyer, was also a product of the movie business as his father personally represented Jules Stein and Lew Wasserman in the formation of Music Corporation of America, Universal Pictures and Universal Studios. Marvin Meyer of the firm of Rosenfeld, Meyer, and Sussman also represented Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, and hundreds of other notable clients.

Michael Meyer and his company Native Stars reunited with Carlin to work on Minnesota! The Modern Day Selma. Meyer said, “Minnesota, fits in with Native Stars’ mission to inspire others to make a difference wherever they can. 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 for many decades.”

Producing the movie, Minnesota, is Omar Bradley, the former Mayor of Compton. Bradley brought tremendous depth to the project and shaped the editing process. Bradley is known for closing down the Compton Police Department when it was discovered by internal auditors that a large amount of evidence was missing from the evidence locker including cocaine and weapons. The Los Angeles Sheriffs Department took on the policing of Compton and their contract continues to this day. Bradley was unseated as Mayor in a controversial election that was overturned by a Superior Court Judge and Bradley was unseated again by the Appellate Court. When Compton was turned over to the new mayor there was no debt and $63 million in the bank, in stark contrast to the debt laden Compton of today.

Said Carlin, “Who better to produce such as salient documentary than a man from the inner-cities that understands the delicate balance between policing and the community? Bradley served as a City Councilman and Mayor. Additionally, now Omar has become an award-winning filmmaker to add to his growing body of work that includes being a published author.”

The film is likely to remain relevant under the current climate with qualified immunity impossible to overturn at the Supreme Court level. Communities and their police departments must work out their differences much like a family having a meeting at the dinner table. “We hope our film can help facilitate these important conversations,” said Bradley. “Families have experienced pain and every officer should at a minimum be aware of what families feel when they lose a loved one.”

Michael Carlin
Michael Carlin
+1 310-463-4527
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Other

Minnesota