Hiztorical Vision Productions to debut short film about John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital on April 29

The film was created by three interns and soon to be college graduates: Fallon Brannon, Amayah Williams and Callie Wiggins. They are the first to participate in the Bama Black History 365 Internship Program that HVP established with a grant from the Alabama State Council on the Arts. Brannon is the media content creator, Williams is the lead videographer and Wiggins is the historian. These three students were selected in February and tasked with choosing a historical topic to create a short film about.

Theo Moore II, founder and executive director of the nonprofit film production organization, created this internship program to give students an opportunity to help communities highlight their history and an opportunity to learn different skills.

He also wanted to be able to release more content while working on larger projects that can take six months to a year to produce. The short film that will be debuting on April 29 will be about 20 minutes long.

“We wanted to continue to create small shorts to keep people engaged with what Hiztorical Visions is doing,” Moore said.

Moore founded the film organization in 2017 to share the untold success stories of African Americans in Alabama. He’s produced three documentaries so far including “Crown the County of Lowndes,” “Hobson City: From Peril to Promise” and “Afrikan By Way of American.” He’s currently working on his fourth documentary that will feature north Prattville.

Moore’s goal is to preserve stories, provide a platform for people to tell their stories, shine a light on communities, tell the state’s history through the lens of African Americans and create films that inspire all.

In his films, he highlights the beginning of Black leadership, entrepreneurship and education in the state as well as African Americans who created spaces of their own by establishing their own settlements and cities.

Moore said the three interns chose to feature John A. Andrews Hospital to highlight what it meant to the people not only in Tuskegee, but also in surrounding cities, and to celebrate its legacy.

The hospital was started in the late 1800s at Tuskegee Institute to fill a need for health care for African Americans.

“There wasn’t many places African Americans could go,” Moore said. “If you needed treatment or if you was a doctor and wanted to practice at a hospital or start your career at a hospital, there wasn’t many places for you to go.”

John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital became an anchor of the community with many doctors from around the country coming to work there.

“If you talk to elders in Opelika (or) Auburn, if they’re above 50 or 60, they more than likely was probably born at John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital,” Moore said.

The screening of the film will also be the closing ceremony for Brannon, Williams and Wiggins as they finish out their internship.

Moore said it was an honor to work with them and to be open to their different ideas.

“They did such a wonderful job with this project, and they’ve learned so much from this experience of helping communities reminisce and celebrate this history of John A. Andrew Memorial Hospital…” Moore said. “But also just giving them my process and showing them how sometimes it’s challenging but how rewarding these projects are.”

Moore hopes this project has ignited a fire within these three students to continue doing similar work in their different fields.

Brannon, from New Orleans, is a senior English/contemporary writing major and global humanities minor at Tuskegee University, the founder and president of the Golden Tiger Cinema Club, assistant editor of Tuskegee Review and research assistant for the Tuskegee University Global Office.

She “has the desire to work in the Scripted Television Industry for the opportunity to highlight and create more Black led young adult narratives,” the HVP website said.

Williams, from Decatur, Ga., is a senior communications radio/TV major at Alabama State University, is a resident assistant at the university and is a campus representative for Victoria’s Secret PINK.

The website says she’s always been interested in film and television broadcasting and hopes to one day establish her own production company as well as a photography business that specializes in providing senior-class portraits to underprivileged high schools.

Wiggins, from East Brewton, Ala., is a senior history major and philosophy and religion minor, with a focus on European, Asian and African history, at Troy University.

“She has developed a deep and sincere passion for African American history and the way that it has shaped American culture while studying (at) Troy,” the website said. Wiggins isn’t sure yet what career path she will take, but she hopes that it will include traveling and developing her global worldview.

Hiztorical Vision Productions will be offering the internship program again next spring and will be accepting applications in November or December.

To register to attend this free screening, visit https://HVPScreening4-29-23.eventbrite.com.