OUR PROGRAMS

THRIVING
FILMS

PROGRAM

Three women sitting on chairs on stage, participating in a panel discussion at the Cleveland International Film Festival, with a large screen behind them displaying festival branding and graphics.

Thriving Films focuses on creating social impact documentary films in close collaboration with participants and their communities. Each project aims to raise awareness, educate audiences, and catalyze meaningful change around pressing issues facing our communities and the world today.

Rooted in the mission of Thriving Roots Initiative, the program uses the power of storytelling to inspire empathy, amplify underrepresented voices, and foster collective action for a more just and compassionate world.

THRIVING FILMS PROGRAM

  • Michelle, a deaf artist and autism advocate, expresses her story through powerful artwork in the award-winning film Being Michelle.

    Being Michelle

    BEING MICHELLE is an award-winning feature-length documentary film about a deaf woman with autism who survived incarceration and abuse and now uses her artwork to depict the trauma she survived and heal from her past.

    WEBSITE
  • Seize The Day documentary – Terah Williams, a young woman living with seizures, challenges systemic racism and fights for her right to proper healthcare.

    Seize The Day

    In Production

    Seize The Day follows the journey of Terah Williams, a 23- year old woman fighting for a normal life, despite a medical condition causing ongoing seizures, and the systemic racism she faces within broken social systems threatening to tear her life apart.

    DONATE
  • Her Song documentary – twelve-year-old Bulbul and her family navigate caste discrimination and the pressure of generational exploitation in India.

    Her Song

    In Production

    Her Song is a powerful story of resilience amid systemic injustice in India — where a community’s existence has been shaped by the enduring legacies of the caste system, British colonialism, and life in one of the world’s largest opium-growing regions.

    Directed by Atin Mehra and Mae Thornton Mehra, the film is created in collaboration with members of the Banchara community, giving voice to their true history — one long silenced by exploitation and inequality.

    DONATE
  • Dom King Om tending funeral pyres on the banks of the River Ganges in Varanasi – a story of tradition, caste, and survival.

    Eternal Fire Keepers

    In Production

    On the banks of the River Ganges, Varanasi, northern India, Dom King Om, 17, is forced by his father’s sudden death to lead his struggling community, tasked from ancient times with burning all castes of Hindu bodies but denied basic human rights as the Modi government encroaches upon their traditional lands.

    DONATE

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

-Nelson Mandela

THRIVING

VOICES 

PROGRAM

A woman with glasses and curly red hair holding a colorful portrait painting of a girl with brown hair and a pink shirt. She stands on the side of a road with a police car passing by, and trees in the background.

For too long the gaze of documentary storytellers have originated from outside of the communities whose stories are being told. Thriving Voices aims to invert this process by training youth from marginalized communities in the modern technologies currently available for documentary filmmakers to share their own stories and perspectives of the world. Thriving Voices is a mobile, hands on documentary film production training program aimed at training youth filmmakers from marginalized communities who have limited access to the tools necessary to share their stories with the world. Through generous sponsorship from donor companies and individuals who believe in the power of story, Thriving Voices trains these young filmmakers in the setting of their own communities as they strengthen their identities, claim their voices and share their perspectives with the world through the medium of film. When relevant, youth filmmakers are connected with specialists from the social science disciplines who support the telling of their stories. In this way the knowledge generated through the university systems supports the very communities about whom research is being funded and conducted within the dominant societies’ structures. 

“Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome is a condition that exists when a population has experienced multigenerational trauma resulting from centuries of slavery and continues to experience oppression and institutionalized racism today. Added to this condition is a belief (real or imagined) that the benefits of the society in which they live are not accessible to them.”
— Joy Degruy

THRIVING

JUSTICE

PROGRAM

A woman with braided hair wearing a brown leather jacket looks off into the distance with a harbor and ship in the background during sunset.

All too often those very individuals and communities whose powerful stories enlighten and inspire the world are they themselves in need of being heard, being seen and being connected to resources necessary for thriving life. Our Thriving Justice program aims to connect those individuals and communities with sustainable solutions for inter-generational healing and basic human rights including but not limited to healthcare, education, access to justice and livelihood opportunities.

Hope is not something you have, it's something you do.

- Joanna Macy

THRIVING
HOPE IN
ACTION

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Six young girls standing inside a room with a blue wall, wearing colorful traditional clothing, looking at the camera.

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A woman with short red hair and glasses stands outdoors on a sports court with a chain-link fence behind her, looking thoughtfully into the distance.
A woman with short curly red hair, glasses, and a black T-shirt stands on the side of a road holding a painting of a woman with brown hair and blue eyes against a blue background, with a police car in the background.
A young woman is taking a photo of an elderly couple on a wooden pier during sunset, with palm trees in the background.
A red shipping container with various colorful paintings displayed on it, including images of animals, landscapes, and words like 'LOVE'. The outdoor setting has trees, a white trailer, folding tables, and chairs nearby.
Security personnel in a detention area with metal gates and a woman sitting on a bench.
Young woman standing on cobblestone street with tram tracks, wearing a beige trench coat, purple leggings, and purple shoes, in an urban area with buildings and parked cars.
A young patient lying in a hospital bed with medical equipment and IV drips, being attended by a healthcare professional wearing gloves. An older woman is sitting nearby, watching.
A young woman and an older woman are taking a selfie together, smiling and looking at a camera or phone.
A woman with braided hair looking at a river with a bridge in the background during sunset.
Two women laughing and smiling while sitting on a scooter on a road with a tractor in the background.
A woman in a colorful saree sitting indoors with a neutral expression, background includes a textured wall, floral curtains, and a shelf with a tablecloth and a basket.
Three people sitting on a wooden bench in a room with worn walls and patterned tile floor. An elderly woman with a red headscarf and shawl, a young girl in traditional dress, and an elderly man in a beige suit.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Thriving Roots Initiative is a nonprofit organization using documentary storytelling, education, and community collaboration to inspire empathy and create meaningful social change.

  • The Thriving Films Program creates social impact documentary films that raise awareness, amplify underrepresented voices, and foster collective action around pressing social issues.

  • Thriving Voices is a hands-on documentary filmmaking training program that empowers youth from marginalized communities to share their own stories through film.

  • Thriving Justice connects individuals and communities with resources that support healing, human rights, healthcare, education, and sustainable opportunities.

  • Storytelling builds empathy, raises awareness, and helps communities and audiences connect around important social and human rights issues.

  • Community collaboration helps ensure stories are told ethically, authentically, and with respect for the lived experiences of participants.