A COW IN THE SKY - To Have World Premiere in Competition at Tribeca Festival 2023

 

Powerful New Animated Short Film A COW IN THE SKY To Have World Premiere in Competition at Tribeca Festival 2023 Part of the Animated Shorts Curated by Whoopi Goldberg On his very first solo flight as a pilot, a young immigrant finds himself wrestling with his past and his identity when his engine suddenly fails and his plane free falls. Based on the true story of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian college student killed in Portland, Oregon in 1988 by racist skinheads in a crime inspired by notorious white supremacist Tom Metzger, A Cow in the Sky is a film about the pain and personal triumph of a son left behind.

WORLD PREMIERE SCREENINGS AT TRIBECA FILM Saturday, June 10 - 5:15 PM AMC 19th Street East 6 (890 Broadway, New York, NY 10003) Hosted by Whoopi Goldberg. Followed by Q&A with directors C. Fraser Press and Darren Press. Film participant James McElroy, civil rights attorney and former Southern Poverty Law Center Board Chair, in attendance. Sunday, June 11 - 2:15 PM AMC 19th Street East 6 (890 Broadway, New York, NY 10003) Followed by Q&A with directors C. Fraser Press and Darren Press. Saturday, June 17 - 12:15 PM AMC 19th Street East 6 (890 Broadway, New York, NY 10003) Followed by Q&A with directors C. Fraser Press and Darren Press. Tickets and more information: https://tribecafilm.com/films/cow-in-the-sky-2023 Public virtual screenings available from June 19th through July 2nd.

DIRECTORS'  STATEMENT “I have a cow in the sky but cannot drink her milk.” This Ethiopian adage that our protagonist recalls hearing often from his grandfather beautifully illustrates the struggle between one’s dream and one’s reality. Our short film, A Cow in the Sky, is based on a true story and one that we felt needed to be told. In November of 1988, a little boy in Ethiopia suddenly became the victim of hate when his father was murdered by white supremacists in the United States. In our short film, a small but poignant piece of a much larger story, the boy, depicted as a teenager in love with airplanes and flying, sets out on his first solo flight. During this flight, the boy ruminates on his past, his father, his identity and the American dream. When potential tragedy strikes, he must rely on his wits and talent, and rises up to become the hero of his own story. The murder of Mulugeta Seraw, an Ethiopian immigrant and college student in Portland, OR in 1988 and the subsequent criminal convictions and most famously the historic civil trial that followed, started a ripple effect that spread from Portland to San Diego and quickly the entire United States. Mulugeta’s death and the civil trial led by the Southern Poverty Law Center, financially crippled America’s most notorious white supremacist, Tom Metzger, and his organization WAR, White Aryan Resistance. The trial became a blueprint for fighting hate groups and led to the current system of tracking hate crimes in America. Darren was a young law school student in California at the time and found himself caught in these ripples as he worked closely with James McElroy, the lawyer tasked with collecting the monetary judgment for Mulugeta’s family from WAR and its leader Tom Metzger.   Darren’s time working on behalf of Mulugeta’s family was a life-changing experience, an introduction to both the worst of what America has been and the best of what it can be. We chose to blend animation, showing our protagonist’s flight and his memories, with actual historical video footage and sound from the time of the murder, including Metzger and the infamous trial. This footage is used to both highlight the demons our protagonist is wrestling with and to serve as points of origin for both the events that shaped our story and aspects of America as we are living it today. The process of making this film has been humbling and inspiring, even more so as we assembled a diverse and talented group of animators and artists, including Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Aminé who is from Portland and of Ethiopian descent, to help us realize our vision. We hope A Cow in the Sky brings insight to the immigrant experience, exposes parts of American history and current culture many today are trying to erase, and is a poignant piece about a young boy coming to terms with his past and embracing himself.