Winner of 10 awards, including the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence In Documentary Filmmaking, and “Official Selection” for 20 film festivals, When I Get Grown premiered at the Harlem International Film Festival in 2022 where it won Best Short Documentary Film.
Bernard Lafayette is seven years old when he witnesses his grandmother’s humiliation at the hand of southern segregation. He vows that “When I get grown, I’m going to do something about it.” He follows his roommate John Lewis into nonviolence workshops and changes the course of a nation.
When I Get Grown is directed and produced by Chris Preitauer, Film Producer for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Freedom Center in Oakland, California and co-produced by Dr. Clayborne Carson, founder of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.
When I Get Grown has been used to teach tolerance, inclusion, and the history of the 1961 Freedom Rides in classrooms, including Stanford University.
When I Get Grown Trailer
When I Get Grown (Full Film)
“I truly believe (When I Get Grown) should be shown to every middle school and/or high school in the nation. Please make more films!”
— Laurel Adler founder of the NewsFest Film Festival
Awards:
Best Short Documentary, Stockholm City Film Festival, 2023
Best Short Documentary, Harlem International Film Festival, 2022 (WORLD PREMIERE)
Best Short Documentary, Coronado Island Film Festival, 2022
Audience Award, Best Documentary Short, Coronado Island Film Festival, 2022
Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking, Roxbury International Film Festival, 2022
Most Inspiring (USA), NewsFest Film Festival, 2022
Best Documentary, 15-30 Minutes (Historical), NewsFest Film Festival, 2022
Best Trailer (Historical), NewsFest Film Festival, 2022
Best News Story (Historical), NewsFest Film Festival, 2022
Best Animation, NewsFest Film Festival, 2022
OFFICIAL SELECTIONS:
Venice Shorts
Stockholm City Film Festival
Marina del Rey Film Festival
Cleveland International Film Festival
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival
United Nations Association Film Festival
Coronado Island Film Festival
Studio City International Film & TV Festival
Social Justice Film Festival
Sidewalk Film Festival
Montreal International Black Film Festival
Los Angeles Black Film Festival
New York City Independent Film Festival
Pan African Film Festival
American Documentary and Animation Film Festival
Harlem International Film Festival (World Premiere)
Roxbury International Film Festival
The NewsFest
The World House Documentary Film Festival
Arlington International Film Festival
NINE SISTERS STUDIOS 