Boson Wang [Co-Director]: Raised in the Chinese auto city of Changchun, Boson Wang is a Film Director inspired by his real life experiences from China and the States. As a Documentary Director and Cinematographer he shot commercial spots for: Kobe Bryant, Walmart, Hasbro, UFC, VICE, NRG and Uninterrupted’s Same Energy. Wang is bilingual and teaches film to underprivileged students in his hometown of San Jose with the Latino Film Institute. Incarceration and lack of opportunity is commonplace with his students and friends, prompting him to explore the lives of those that remind him of home.

Alec Goldberg [Co-Director, Editor]: Alec Goldberg is a director/editor working in documentary, narrative, music video and commercial spaces. With a focus on stories that have potential positive social impact, most of Alec’s documentary and narrative work centers around contexts of trauma and transformation. Working on campaigns for brands such as Porsche, Chevron, Jordan, and Off-White Goldberg balances his exploration of form and story between the different types of projects, while building an understanding of the different wings of the filmmaking and video content industries. His 2021 documentary short in partnership with Abstract Magazine featured artist Thai Mainhard and has since been screened at numerous festivals and shows, including being featured during the keynote presentation for the LA Art Show. In 2023/24 Alec is releasing his first feature film ‘Sitting in the Fire’. The same year he’s releasing short films: ‘What Happened to You’ [Semi-Finalist Cannes Indie Shorts Awards], and ‘Movers’ [Winner of Copenhagen Film Festival]; all with trauma and transformation at the core of the stories.

Rob Webster [Director of Photography]: Robin is a British born cinematographer with over fifteen years of experience in feature films, commercials, documentaries, tv and music videos. He began his career as a camera assistant in London and worked on films including Star Wars (Episode 7, Rogue One and Solo), Skyfall and Disney’s “Beauty and The Beast”, training under some of the worlds most accomplished and decorated cinematographers. Since moving to the USA and working as a cinematographer, Robin has shot award winning short films such as “How’dy” (Directed by Keene McRae) as well as commercial projects for Sky TV, Marc Jacobs, Star Alliance, Toyota and Olivia Rodrigo. His methodology is designed around strong collaborators with directors and actors, to create striking and naturalistic imagery that puts the central story first.

Vaughn Miles (Executive Producer): As the EP on the film, Vaughn Miles was instrumental in connecting us with the right organizations & individuals required for the story. With a background in teaching/facilitating, producing came naturally to Vaughn as he educated the crew of his experiences and helped guide the project in the appropriate direction.

Clayton Susick (Executive Producer): Clayton Susick has worked in commercial production for brands like Food Network and Paramount, as well several independent and big budget features such as the popular horror film franchise ‘VHS’. Ryan Connors and Clay Susick were vital parts of the production and backend process from development through post.

Ryan Connors (Executive Producer): After a career in corporate finance, Ryan Connors started working in production across a variety of TV and feature productions including Amazons “Jury Duty” and Netflix’s “Your Place or Mine”. Ryan Connors and Clay Susick were vital parts of the production and backend process from development through post.

Doug Harris (Assoc. Producer): Doug Harris has been an active member of the Richmond community for decades. He worked for the Richmond Improvement Association filming key activities for years. Robert Rogers & Doug Harris filmed all the archival footage from Richmond during the time of the late 1990’s to early 2000’s.

Robert Rogers (Producer): Robert Rogers works for the Contra Costa County Supervisor and was a journalist and reporter covering the east bay area in Richmond and Oakland for years. Robert Rogers & Doug Harris filmed all the archival footage from Richmond during the time of the late 1990’s to early 2000’s.

Jazzmier & Zeontay Johnson (Assoc. Producer): Producers Zeontay & Jazz Johnson helped with access to street-level verite footage and access to a younger generation contacts.

Darryl Allison (Assoc. Producer): Similar to Jazzmier and Zeontay, Darryl was instrumental in the organization of production days, characters, and overall story research/information gathering.

Alec Goldberg and Boson Wang are both from the Bay Area, growing up 40 minutes south of Richmond and San Quentin. In 2020 after a fellow volunteer in the Squires Program in San Quentin introduced the co-directors to Vaughn Miles, they were immediately moved by his story. Sitting down with Vaughn, the two collected his entire story from birth, through childhood, life on the streets, life in prison, and life after release. Vaughn’s story serves as a clear example of one who is a victim of circumstance and institutional trauma. Yet, realizing that, Vaughn also takes full responsibility and has remorse for his actions. Getting an audience to the level of empathy to understand how an individual got to the place Vaughn did was essential. This interview with Vaughn served as the foundation of our story and the research to follow. Soon after, the floodgates opened on the research and development of the story.

First, the filmmakers had to understand the full history and context of Richmond and San Quentin. For the city of Richmond, this meant talking with experts on the history and culture of the area. Individuals like Robert Rogers and Doug Harris helped map a clear arc of the city from the industrialization during WWII causing the mass migration of POC to the area, to the de-industrialization and new housing and social policies that forced many into poor living conditions. Working their way through post-WWII era through the Civil Rights Movement and the ripple effects of the movement; eventually getting to Vaughn’s life. These individuals were recording events in Richmond for decades and educated the filmmakers on the nuances of the area.

The filmmakers then met with individuals from San Quentin Prison. This included formerly incarcerated individuals who underwent rehabilitation and have since been released; as well as the individuals who run the programs largely responsible for their successful rehabilitation. Kim Moore and Tommy Winfrey were instrumental in showing the filmmakers the inside working of programs like G.R.I.P. and how the G.R.I.P. Training Institute approaches rehabilitation and trauma healing. After obtaining full access to this organization, the filmmakers followed the path from the prison institution to re-entry. This would lead them to the Office of Neighborhood Safety (O.N.S.) in Richmond.

The team of ONS was gracious enough to give the filmmakers full access to their staff and office. All Change Agents at O.N.S. served time for violent crimes, underwent rehabilitation, and have been released. Getting to sit in on meetings with the staff and the youth they mentor was incredibly informative to the overall story. It became clear that the combination of therapy, education, and behavioral/response training that individuals received through rehabilitation in prison directly correlates with the pedagogy and content of their mentorship of the youth.

The film became not about one of these programs or people, but instead about the spillover effect of rehabilitation programs in prison on gun violence prevention in communities. The community around Richmond and San Quentin has seen institutional change and transformation of the highest levels in recent decades. This solution-based approach to the film- rather than simply raising awareness about a problem, is what became the primary focus for Goldberg and Wang.