Chromosome 19

Filmmaker: Sara Lamm
Runtime: 10 min

Synopsis: In Chromosome 19, white filmmaker Sara Lamm visits a distant African American cousin, Dr. Robert Watts, an organizational psychologist and former NFL football player, after he contacts her online with an invitation: “Let’s chat to discover the truth.” At their first meeting, the two confront the painful history of racism implied by their shared DNA and contemplate the unseen forces that have brought them together.

About the Filmmaker

Sara Lamm is a writer, performer, and documentary filmmaker whose most recent film Birth Story: Ina May Gaskin And The Farm Midwives, co-directed with Mary Wigmore, won the Audience Award at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival, was released theatrically in the US, and screened in community venues all over the world (including at the McMurdo Station in Antarctica.) Her 2007 film Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soapbox was also released theatrically and had its television premiere on The Sundance Channel. In addition, her work has appeared at Mass-Moca, The American Visionary Art Museum, and on NPR. For five years she produced and performed in Dog & Pony, a monthly NYC variety show featuring comedic multi-media performance.