JUVENILE: five stories
Driven by the personal stories of five youth who were justice-involved as teens, JUVENILE: FIVE STORIES traces their pathways into the system, their journeys of trauma and healing, and their lessons for how to break and remake the juvenile system.
Shimaine, Ja’Vaune, Romeo, Ariel and Michael are all from different backgrounds and parts of the country, and each had a different pathway into the system: foster care, sexual abuse, violence, homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse. But as their individual narratives unfold in the film, a cohesive narrative emerges of the broken promises of our juvenile system across all American communities.
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meet the experts
Ariel is from the South Bay in California, and her experiences of homelessness and domestic violence precipitated her contact with the system. Now 18, Ariel is a full-time student at San Mateo College, where she works at the on-campus Multicultural and Dream Center advocating for students who've experienced homelessness. Learn more about Ariel.
Ja’Vaune
Ja'Vaune is from Illinois, and his pipeline into the system started when he became a young survivor of sexual abuse. Now 22, he lives and works in Rockford, and in 2018, he was appointed by the Governor of Illinois to serve as a Juvenile Justice Commissioner on their State Advisory Group. Learn more about Ja’Vaune.
Michael
Michael is from rural Missouri, and his contact with the system resulted from his experience with mental illness and drug use. Now 23, Michael works at a granary in central Missouri, and he and his wife recently celebrated the birth of a baby girl. Along with Ja'Vaune, Michael serves on the Annie E. Casey Foundation's national Juvenile Justice Youth Advisory Council. Learn more about Michael.
Romeo
Romeo is from Brooklyn, and his experiences of violence in the home and on the streets lead him into the system. Now 23, Romeo is a graduate of The New School’s Institute for Transformational Mentorship (ITM) in New York City. He works as a credible messenger with ITM and as a counselor and mentor to children whose parents are incarcerated. Learn more about Romeo.
Shimaine
Shimaine is from Georgia, and her pathway into the juvenile system was through the foster care pipeline. Now 21 years old, she works as a Regional Impact Liaison for the Multi-Agency Alliance for Children where she supports and advocates for foster care alumni in South Georgia. Learn more about Shimaine.
CREATIVE TEAM
Joann Self Selvidge
Co-Director, Producer
Memphis-based documentary filmmaker and founder of True Story Pictures. Award-winning films include SEE THE KEEPERS, VIOLA, and VOICES OF JERICHO.
Sarah Fleming
Co-Director, Producer, DP
Fleming has served as producer, director, director of photography, or assistant director on 80+ films, music videos, and experimental pieces. She’s also a mom and works full time as an AD.
Darcy McKinnon
Consulting Producer
Darcy is a documentary filmmaker and Executive Director of NOVAC. Her prior doc work includes, “Maquilapolis,” “Animals,” “Live, Nude, Girls UNITE!” and “The Neutral Ground”
Jamey Hatley
Writer
A WGA East member, her work has appeared in the Oxford American, Memphis Noir, and Strange Horizons. She was a Prose Fellow for the NEA, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award Winner, and the inaugural Indie Memphis Black Screenwriting Fellow (selected by Barry Jenkins).
Laura Jean Hocking
Editor
Award-winning films including Antenna, Automusik Can Do No Wrong, “How to Skin a Cat” and Good Grief. She has edited projects with directors Robert Gordon, Craig Brewer, and Morgan Jon Fox.
Princess A. Hairston
Editor
NYC-based editor. Past projects include Pier Kids (DOCNYC 2019), Fresh Dressed (Sundance 2015), and the Emmy-nominated series Capture with Mark Seliger. Princess is a member of Brown Girls Doc Mafia and the Alliance of Editors.
Imakemadbeats
Music Supervisor, Composer
MAD is an artist/producer/ engineer and founder of Unapologetic, a company built on the idea of building boldly and unapologetically yourself in ways that inspired others to do the same.
Matthew Thomas
Art Director
A prolific creative artist, Matthew’s work can be seen on Fox Network’s EMPIRE, THE EXORCIST, and the Aspire Network. His graphic novel LOVE, SEX & DRUNK-TEXT was recognized by Huffington Post.
Christopher Reyes
Animator
Described as “magical,” Reyes’ experiential artwork has been exhibited throughout the southern US. In addition to his creative work, Reyes has dedicated himself to the self-defense martial art Kajukenbo as a 3rd generation Hawaiian practitioner and teacher.
JUVENILE: FIVE STORIES is a documentary feature film released in 2023. Please make a donation to support our impact campaign to connect this film with youth justice organizers across the country. If you are interested in hosting a screening or obtaining an educational license, please click here.