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By Producer

A Place Called Desire

A Place Called Desire offers many unforgettable history lessons applicable to American history, Louisiana history, African American history, urban history, racial history, studies of neighborhoods, studies of survival, and memorable stories of love and community. Somehow the filmmaker manages to share hard truths with a gentle touch. ~ Dr. Al Kennedy

Winner 2020 Silver Telly Award | 2020 AVA Gold Award | Finalist Best Documentary San Diego Black Film Festival | Official Selection San Francisco Black Film Festival | Award of Recognition Impact DOCS Awards | Semifinalist Rootstech Film Festival | Nominated for the 2020 LEH Humanities Documentary Film of the Year | Official Selection New Orleans Film Festival | Official Selection Black Film Festival of New Orleans

“Nobody can dim the light which shines from within”
as penned by Maya Angelou, is the perfect metaphor for Desire.

THE FILM

“When you look at the times we’re in, Desire is the perfect storm of black America’s plight. Nixon, landfill, shoddy construction, war on drugs, geographic isolation, police showdown, incarceration. And it all started out as just a place where families were trying to nurture their kids in an affordable location. What a story.” LJ

The story of A Place Called Desire is one that will resonate with most people trying to find strength in a tough place. The story of trials and tribulations teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of pushing through when times get tough, learning to fight against all odds. How many people in Desire preserved with grit and courage.

Those outside of the community told the stories you may have heard. We will present this film from a unique vantage point–that of insiders. Since 2008 we have interviewed over 60 individuals telling the stories of their lives in the Desire Community. They speak of a place that is not the same story that the press often portrayed. There were struggles, many struggles, but there were also strengths and positives in this tight-knit community of thousands.

Filed Under: Production Tagged With: Documentary, storytelling

By Producer

LS3 Studios wins 4th Telly Award

LS3 STUDIOS SELECTED A WINNER IN THE 34th ANNUAL TELLY AWARDS
Telly again proudly honors the very best commercials, videos, films and internet work
www.tellyawards.com

Maurice, LA — (April 30, 2013) The Telly Awards has named LS3 Studios as a Bronze winner in the 34th Annual Telly Awards for “From Shanghai to Harlem.” With nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, this is truly an honor.

For its 34th season, The Telly Awards once again joined forces with YouTube to give the public the power to view and rate videos submitted as part of the People’s Telly Awards. In addition to recognition from the Silver Telly Council, the judging panel that selects the Telly Awards winners, the Internet community helps decide the People’s Telly Awards winners.

A prestigious judging panel of over 500 accomplished industry professionals, each a past winner of a Silver Telly and a member of The Silver Telly Council, judged the competition, upholding the historical standard of excellence that Telly represents. The Silver Council evaluated entries to recognize distinction in creative work entries do not compete against each other rather entries are judged against a high standard of merit.

“The Telly Awards has a mission to honor the very best in film and video,” said Linda Day, Executive Director of the Telly Awards. LS3 Studios’s accomplishment illustrates their creativity, skill, and dedication to their craft and serves as a testament to great film and video production.

About LS3 Studios
Owner, Leonard Smith III, has been involved in graphics, photography, video, and multimedia projects for over thirty-five years. His professional career started at Eastman Kodak in 1975. While at Kodak, Leonard traveled the United States and Europe supporting various imaging systems.

LS3 Studios offer a variety of services that include image and audio editing, production of broadcast quality video and multimedia presentations, custom photography and web development. We take pride in providing clear and intuitive access to archives and information as well as staging compelling narratives using digital media. The studio’s creative team of producers and writers are dedicated to educating, entertaining, and inspiring audiences through innovative storytelling.

Please contact Leonard Smith III, LS3 Studios for inquiries: info@LS3Studios.com or call 337-453-4684

-END-

Filed Under: General News Tagged With: Documentary, multimedia, photography, storytelling, telly award, video production

By Producer

Mercedes Tucker Stamps

Louisiana Legends in the Classroom

Mercedes Tucker Stamps

A Public School Teacher’s Contribution to New Orleans Music History by Al Kennedy

Mercedes Tucker Stamps earned a place in history in 1948 by becoming the New Orleans Public School District’s first itinerant instrumental music teacher serving African American students. During her 30 1/2 years as a public school teacher and her two years at Gilbert Academy, she influenced the lives of thousands of students while preparing talented young musicians for professional careers. Many of the sounds of New Orleans music had their beginnings in Mrs. Stamps’ classroom.

Mercedes Tucker Stamps
Mercedes Tucker Stamps

Mercedes Tucker Stamps discovered the life changing power of a musical instrument in the 1930s, when she sat down at the old upright piano in her grandmother’s living room and began to pick out melodies of the songs her grandmother sang. As an adult, her success as an instrumental music teacher and band director in the New Orleans Public Schools was based upon the lesson she learned from that old
piano: music changes lives and unlocks creativity. During her more than three decades in public school classrooms, she prepared her students to become responsible adults through the example she set, and the way she taught them to read, understand, and appreciate music.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Al Kennedy’s book, Chord Changes on the Chalkboard: How Public School Teachers Shaped ]azz and the Music of New Orleans (Scarecrow Press, 2002), was awarded the Henry Kmen Award for excellence in New Orleans music research by the New Orleans International Music Colloquium in 2003. He also received the Louisiana Jazz Federation’s “Jazztown Award” in 2000 for his contribution to New Orleans’ musical heritage.

Kennedy worked as a communications coordinator in the public information office of the New Orleans Public Schools for 21 years, during which time he began a series of interviews with retired teachers, principals, and superintendents. In 1982, he initiated the effort to establish the Orleans Parish School Board Collection in the Earl K. Long Library at the University of New Orleans (UNO), a collection that has grown to more than 850 linear feet. Kennedy (Ph.D. in Urban Studies, UNO) has conducted additional research that focuses on the lives of music teachers who taught in the city’s public schools and on the history of public education in New Orleans through UNO’s Ethel and Herman L. Midlo International Center for New Orleans Studies. He has taught at Dillard University and currently teaches American History at UNO.

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Filed Under: General News Tagged With: mercedes, New Orleans Jazz, New Orleans Music, storytelling, video biographies

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