Filmmakers: Mark Jonathan Harris, Deborah Oppenheimer
Runtime: 113 min
From producer Deborah Oppenheimer and writer-director Mark Jonathan Harris (HBO’s Oscar-winning Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport), Foster upends some of the most enduring myths about foster care, going beyond the sensational headlines and stereotypes. There are currently more than 400,000 children in foster care in the U.S., a number that continues to grow each year. Drawing on unprecedented access, Foster traces a complex path through the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services, interweaving first-hand stories of those navigating the system with insights from social workers, advocates and others working in the justice system. The film offers a realistic but hopeful perspective on a community that needs society’s support.
About the filmmakers
Mark Jonathan Harris is the Distinguished Professor and Co-Head of Advanced Documentary Production at SCA and has taught filmmaking at SCA since 1983. Among his many works are The Redwoods, which won an Oscar for Best Short Documentary; The Long Way Home, which won the Academy Award for Best Feature Length Documentary; Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport, which also won an Academy Award for Best Feature Length Documentary; Unchained Memories: Readings from the Slave Narratives, an Emmy-nominated HBO documentary; and Darfur Now, which won an NAACP Image Award.
Ms. Deborah Oppenheimer served as Executive Vice President of International TV Production at NBC Universal, Inc. since October 2010. Ms. Oppenheimer served as Executive Vice President of Production division at NBC Universal International Television Distribution since October 2010. She leads NBC Universal’s productions and partnerships in the international market place. Ms. Oppenheimer served as President of Mohawk Productions at Warner Bros. A Member of the college’s television and film arts program strategic council, she is on campus to screen her Oscar-winning documentary Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport. She is a noted Television Producer, whose credits include the Drew Carey Show, George Lopez, and others. Maintaining close ties with the college and SUNY, she was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the State University of New York in 2005 and received the Buffalo State College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2001. Ms. Oppenheimer graduated magna cum laude from Buffalo State with a Bachelor’s degree in English secondary education.