Thomas Southerland

Four women in the south are connected by the death of a dog. Forty-something immigrant Maria struggles while her adopted daughter Meredith is away. Maria bonds with her neighbor Clara as Meredith seeks out her biological aunt Violet, a loner confronted with her past by her curious niece. The death of Meredith's aging dog spur each of these women into reflections on identity, family, and the temporary freedom of tranquilizers.

Immigrant Radka Winslow must choose between the American Dream or living a creative life back in Bulgaria

THINK HARD, TALK FAST drops audiences into the intense world of college debate. Three teams from Wake Forest University could make history by being co-champions of the National Debate Tournament--or they could be upset in the prelims. These young people have spent half of their lives in this emotionally intense and intellectually vigorous activity. The National Debate Tournament is the culmination of all that work. College debate is a sensory marvel that stretches debaters to their physical limits as well. This isn't chess club. It's personal, often hinging on identity and race, so the stakes are high and the competitors are driven to be the best. The film follows the path of six debaters, their coaches, and the lives they have led, as they near the finale of a career at the highest level of competition.

A 70 year-old Kentucky man loses sleep after purchasing a second-hand lamp from a flea market.

The long-standing American military occupation of Okinawa is poetically explored in this essay film about an elderly man receiving new windows.

The identity of the little girl in a famous photograph from 1951 has remained a mystery for over seventy years. I'M THE GIRL investigates the power of a single image and the women who claim to be her.