Our story follows three students across five years as they move between Boston public schools and elite boarding schools. By joining this project, you’re helping share these perspectives with a wider audience, and you’re supporting these students in holding the greater education system accountable.

Beacon is a feature documentary film that examines the education system in the United States, narrated by three students who move through it: Meleah Neely, Makai Murray, and Exavion Clerveau.

 

 

The film begins as they take a risk entering Beacon Academy, a 14-month program between middle and high school designed to assist students from under-resourced public schools in applying to elite boarding schools throughout New England. 

 

 

From higher academic expectations to unfamiliar social codes, the students are asked to apply themselves toward school like never before. And just as new paths open up, they begin to grasp the true challenge ahead: they will be entering the predominantly white prep-school world as low-income students of color.

 

What is the cost of this enormous transition?

 

The film concludes with Meleah, Exavion, and Makai four years later, now seniors at some of the country’s most elite high schools, as they reflect on that question. They’ve realized the possibilities that privilege affords, but also the social and emotional burden of pursuing—and being held up as an example of—academic excellence. 

Watch our 11 minute teaser here!

 

The education system in the United States is undergoing a transformation. From the pressures of the pandemic to debates over critical race theory, a historically unjust system is continuing to break down. As educational institutions try and address these issues, continued calls for change across the country show that their efforts are not enough.

 

 

 

Beacon Academy is the only school of its kind in the country, and this view into the year-long program it offers students—between urban public schools and elite boarding schools—provides a unique look into the country’s vast "education gap." The film follows the lived experiences of students navigating this system, the seismic shifts it is undergoing, and is narrated from their perspectives and interviews only. What are the true costs of finding “success” in this education system? And why does “success” look so white?

 

Meleah, Makai, and Exavion are not only participants in the film, but are also acting as our consultants during the film’s post production process. They will review the film during editing at pivotal moments to make sure the rest of the filmmaking team is representing their stories accurately.

 

MELEAH NEELY Meleah Neely is a first year at Brown University, where she intends to pursue a degree in Classics and Political Philosophy. She is particularly interested in studying the ways in which societal behaviors and politics can be used to generate a meaningful impact on the world. In high school, she led various clubs including the Woman of Color Association, worked on the Boarding Life committee, and was an active member in Youth in Philanthropy. In college, she is looking forward to working with the racial and gender identity departments on campus, hoping to foster a sense of belonging within the student body. She is from Boston, Massachusetts, enjoys reading, writing, and loves spending time with family and loved ones. - written by Meleah Neely

 

 

In this film, we meet Meleah as she enters Beacon Academy after attending 8th grade at Gardner Pilot Academy in Allston, MA. 

 

 

MAKAI MURRAY completed his freshman year at Tufts University this spring. After entering college on Tufts’ basketball team he's realized that his true passion is making multi-media art. He's constantly coming up with new ways to prioritize his artwork and ideas; last year he began working on a 106-piece project about flowers. 

 

In this film, we meet Makai as he completes 8th grade at Davis K-8 School in Brockton, MA and enters Beacon Academy. 

 

 

EXAVION CLERVEAU is a first year student at the Univeristy of Richmond hoping to major in psychology and double minor in philosophy and sociology. Exavion in the future wants to be a child therapist for kids in low income areas. Overall Exavion is a cheerful and gregarious person who likes to be surrounded by people despite everything he's been through. He's from Boston, Massachusetts. - written by Exavion Clerveau

 

 

In the film, we meet Exavion as he transitions from Jackson/Mann K-8 School in Boston to Beacon Academy.

 

 

ADDITIONAL ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS 

Adora Wilson-Eye, Louis Mischeaux, Jesus Ochoa, & Jenn Cain

 

DIRECTOR'S NOTE

I grew up in Boston and after 6th grade, I left private school at Buckingham Browne & Nichols in Cambridge MA and I started taking the city bus (shoutout to my 34/39 crew!) to Boston Latin School, Boston’s largest public 7-12 school in the Fenway. The contrast between the resources each environment offered its students—and the ways these different environments encouraged students to imagine completely different futures for themselves—was unforgettable.

This experience is in part what motivated me to become a filmmaker in the first place, and to focus the journalism I do on the social and emotional effects of inequitable structures in the U.S.

For the last 8 years I’ve been based in Oakland, California, and directed, produced, shot and edited short documentaries across the San Francisco Bay Area. I have been part of award-winning feature documentaries on CNN, MSNBC, and Netflix, and I have made short documentaries for organizations such as the East Bay AIDS Center; Women Organized Against Life-Threatening Disease (WORLD), and for the Ruth Asawa San Francisco School of the Arts.

This is my first time independently directing my own feature film, gathering a team on board and raising enough money to pay everyone for our work. I'm motivated by the subject matter closest to my heart and grateful to the amazing filmmakers and journalists who've joined this project; together we're dedicated to pushing forward until this film is made! And I consider everyone who supports this film as part of our incredible journey, which I'll never forget. 

—Isara Krieger | Director/Producer/DP

For more on our team, visit our team tab.

 

CONTRIBUTE | We love the idea of Crowdfunding because it puts power in real people’s hands. Instead of waiting for an institution to greenlight a project, a community can come together and support work that they want to see.

No contribution is too small, and every dollar will go directly to making this film. See our incentives for a run-down of the perks you’ll receive in gratitude.

If you're interested in making a large contribution and would like it to be tax-deductible, write to us at [email protected] and we will provide instructions.

SPREAD THE WORD | Your enthusiasm and words of encouragement help a lot, too! Following us on social media and sharing our videos and page goes a long way. If you’d like to get involved in outreach or support for our campaign and film project, drop us a line at [email protected].

 

You can copy one of these posts below:

*written for Twitter, to tag the film on Facebook use @beaconthefeature

> Help filmmakers @isarakrieger and Justin Lewis bring @Beaconthefilm to life, a film about coming of age across the education gap. Join them on @seedandspark: supportbeaconfilm.com  

 

> I just watched @Beaconthefilm 's teaser, directed by filmmaker @isarakrieger and edited by Justin Lewis and WOW, you've got to support this film! Join them on @seedandspark: supportbeaconfilm.com

 

> I'm so excited to see @Beaconthefilm, by director @isarakrieger, editor Justin Lewis and producer @jessicaestelle! Support them on @seedandspark: supportbeaconfilm.com

 

By supporting our film through this campaign, you are providing us with the vital resources to help us finish this film. Your contributions will directly support:

• Paying Justin Lewis to edit the film to fine cut
• Paying Jessica E. Huggins to produce during post production, and to develop a distribution plan
• Paying Isara Krieger to direct the project
• Paying Mike Shen to advise our editing as a creative advisor/consulting editor
• Paying our Consultants
• Paying for archival photo/material licensing
• Paying for production accounting, legal support, and covering crowdfunding fees

 

STRETCH GOALS

Any funds raised over our goal will help us reach picture lock and complete the film, and maintain the teammembers needed to secure distribution for the film.

$55,000 |  If we raise this much, we'll be able to afford a composer's time writing an original score until Picture Lock, when the film is completed.

$60,000 | If we raise this much, we'll be able to afford to keep the producer on the project until we reach Picture Lock to support the distribution process.

$72,000 | If we raise this much, we'll be able to afford a professional sound mix and color grade to formally finish the film.

 

 

Where will the film end up?

Our foremost goal for the film is to make sure it’s accessible to the people most affected by the issues that are centered in the film. Your support will help us not only work towards finishing and polishing a professional feature film, it will help us work towards distribution.

What is distribution? It’s the process by which a film winds up somewhere accessible: in a movie theater, or on a streaming platform.

Our goal is to use a hybrid distribution model. We want to make the film available on public television, on at least one major streaming platform, and take an educational distribution route via organizations and platforms focused on education issues, as well as via schools.

We are also planning a robust impact campaign. We will collaborate with our participants and networks to organize community screenings, where people can engage in discussions about education justice, equity, race and class in education, and other themes raised in the film.