Andrea Kalin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Andrea Kalin is a documentary director, producer and the founder and executive producer of Spark Media.

[edit] Biography

Born in Boston, Kalin graduated Cum Laude from American University, ^[1] and began her journalistic career as a radio reporter in the Middle East.^[2] She returned to the States, entered television journalism on the Capitol Hill beat as an anchor and producer for WNVC in Northern Virginia and as an assistant producer for Metro Media (later Fox TV). Working as an archivist with filmmaker Ken Burns made her realize the power of story telling and led to the creation of her multi media production and outreach firm Spark Media.^[3] Since its founding Kalin’s work has garnered more than 40 international awards^[4] including a prime time Emmy, Gracie Allen Award, CINEs, EdPress Awards of Distinction, The Chris Awards,^[5] a Paul Robeson award and a Gold UNESCO medal at the NY Festivals, among others.”^[6]^[7]

Her début feature-length documentary film Partners of the Heart, which she directed, produced, and co-wrote, aired on PBS’s American Experience in February 2003 and was rebroadcast in March 2005. Narrated by Academy Award-winning actor Morgan Freeman,^[8]^[9] Partners went on to win the Erik Barnouw Award for Best History Documentary in 2004. ^[10]

Kalin directed and produced "The Pact" [1], a feature-length documentary based on the New York Times-bestselling book The Pact: Three Young Men Make a Promise and Fulfill a Dream.^[11] The film chronicles the true life story of Rameck Hunt, Sampson Davis, and George Jenkins, who made a pact in their inner-city high-school in Newark, New Jersey, to find a way to go to college and then medical school.^[12] The Pact won Best Documentary in the Boston International Film Festival "^[13], and is slated to be aired on public television in 2008. ”^[14]

She also directed, produced, and wrote Prince Among Slaves,^[15] a feature-length documentary based on the biography of the same name about African Muslim-prince-turned-American-slave Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori written by Northern Virginia Community College history professor Terry Alford.^[16]^[17] Prince won numerous awards including the Best Documentary of 2007 by the American Black Film Festival,^[18] the ITVA DC Peer Award, Cine Golden Eagle, Grand Goldie Award^[19] and premiered on PBS on February 4th 2008.^[20]

Kalin’s other select film credits include: Too Brief a Child, a short film about adolescent brides that was featured in the United Nations Association Film Festival,^[21] A Voice of Her Own, shot on location in Cambodia, Bangladesh and the Philippines,^[22] which won a Chris Award,^[23] Battered Lives, Broken Trust, a program and outreach campaign on domestic violence, and Breaking the Poverty Cycle: Investing in Early Childhood Care and Development.^[24]

Kalin is in production of a National Endowment for the Humanities-funded documentary about the Federal Writers Project^[25] tentatively titled The Soul of a People: Voices From the Federal Writers Project, which will include interviews with notable project alumni Studs Terkel, Stetson Kennedy, and famed American historian Douglas Brinkley.^[26]