Rally for Votes: Virtual Showcase

Description

Join local immersive storytellers Haley Knapp, David Samuels, and Jason Gray in celebrating the release of their recent project Rally for Votes with a virtual demo and discussion moderated by Penelope Jagessar Chaffer, Johns Hopkins Immersive Storytelling and Emerging Technologies Sundance artist in residence. Audiences members will have the opportunity to join the discussion via a chat Q&A.

Rally for Votes is an immersive WebXR experience that celebrates the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment. It explores the local histories of Sandy Spring, Maryland, and two sites in Baltimore City (Bolton Hill and West Baltimore) as they relate to the women's suffrage movement in Maryland. The experience features 360-degree video; voiceover narration by Rain Pryor, Jane Beller, and Mary Anne Perry; and music by Peabody New Media student, Dmytro Nebesh.

This project is sponsored by the Johns Hopkins Women's Suffrage Centennial Commemoration and the Film and Media MA/Immersive Storytelling and Emerging Technologies Program. It features the work of three graduate students, Jason Gray, Haley Knapp, and David Samuels.

Haley Knapp (creative producer) is a current film and media M.A. candidate with concentrations in sound and immersive storytelling for emerging technologies at Johns Hopkins University. Knapp attended Syracuse University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in music history and cultures, with additional minors in anthropology, South Asian studies, and music industry. Work credits include Gabo Arora's AR experience These Sleepless Nights, World Premiered at the Venice Film Festival 2019.

David Samuels (director) is a current film and media M.A. candidate with a concentration in immersive storytelling and emerging technologies at Johns Hopkins University. After receiving his BA in directing narrative fiction from Emerson College in 2016, Samuels has gone on to write and/or direct multiple award-winning scripts and shorts.

Jason Gray (technical director) is a filmmaker, extended reality content creator, and music producer. He is currently seeking his M.A. at Johns Hopkins University with an emphasis in immersive storytelling and emerging technologies. His VR project From Servant to Samurai: The Yasuke Experience was recently selected by the prestigious Kaleidoscope Collective for their development lab. Gray's current film projects include Brick By Brick, a documentary about a Baltimore-based cultural activist and business owner trying to revitalize his community; Shameless Women, a narrative web series about seven mature women from different backgrounds brought together one night a week at a library by their love of disco music; and Step Into The Light, which documents the life of individuals who are a part of the LGBQT ballroom community in Baltimore, MD.

Penelope Jagessar Chaffer (moderator) is a multi-award-winning filmmaker, TED speaker, creative technologist, and global environmentalist. She is the Sundance Institute Artist in Residence in partnership with Johns Hopkins University and concurrently holds an MIT Fellowship in the Open Doc Lab. A Sundance Institute grantee, Penelope is the first black, female director to be nominated for a British Academy award. Starting her career at the BBC, she has won over 10 awards and numerous accolades for her television and interactive work, including a BAFTA nomination for the BBC's landmark interactive piece, Shakespeare's Stories" An alumni of New Inc., the New Museum's renowned art, technology and design incubator in NYC, she has been recognized for her work by Healthy Child, Healthy World, named by Vanity Fair magazine as one of Michelle Obama's two favorite charities. She has been featured in U.S. Vogue and has testified before both the New York State and New York City Environmental Committees in addition to her advocacy before U.S. senators including Sens. Bernie Saunders and Kristin Gillibrand. Jagessar Chaffer's TED talk with Professor Tyrone Hayes on the effects of toxic chemicals on pregnant women and their babies has been viewed over half a million times, and she has spoken at the influential TEDxBrussels before members of the European Union political community. She lives with her two children in New York City.