Filmmaker Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough THE BODY POLITIC documentary feature is a harbinger of hope in a country plagued by gun violence. Brandon Scott is a young Mayor who grew up during Baltimore’s most troubling years and sets out, with unyielding idealism, to change the course of his battered and beloved city. He is elected Mayor amid nationwide unrest following the murder of George Floyd. With unfettered access, cameras follow Brandon throughout his first year in office as he introduces an ambitious plan for violence reduction and police reform that he promises will lower the city’s murder rate. Pundits claim Brandon’s political health and the city’s health are tied to the number 348 – the total murders Baltimore had the previous year, more homicides than New York City, a city 15 times its size. After entering office and barely getting a chance to enact his first safety reforms, violence surges to new highs. As the media and political foes attack his holistic approach, his commitment to his plan and principles put his political future in jeopardy. Will his holistic approach lead to healing and serve as a blueprint for the rest of the nation? Director Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough (Agave: The Spirit of a Nation) for a conversation on ascendency of unconventional politician willing do scuttle his own career in service to breaking the cycle of violence that has decimated generation after generation of his fellow citizens.

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Definition of Body Politic: A metaphor by which the people of a city, state or nation are seen as a group or body of citizens. Collectively, the well-being of each individual is linked to the health of the whole.

About the filmmaker – Gabriel Francis Paz Goodenough is a proud third-generation resident of Baltimore, Maryland. He is passionate about crafting documentaries that challenge conventional narratives about people from places like his hometown. He began his career as a production assistant on the TV series HOMICIDE: LIFE ON THE STREETS, later becoming a camera assistant on projects such as A BEAUTIFUL MIND & THE SOPRANOS. He served as a camera operator on the HBO series K STREET and has been a cinematographer on documentaries for PBS, Netflix, and HBO. In 2017, he co-produced the Mexican / United States co-production of the feature documentary AGAVE: THE SPIRIT OF A NATION (SXSW, 2018). From 2018-19, he worked in the Philippines photographing and co-producing Ramona Diaz’s Emmy Award-winning documentary A THOUSAND CUTS (Sundance, 2020) about Nobel Peace Prize-winning journalist Maria Ressa. After returning from the Philippines, Gabriel was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. Treatment for the disease has left him disabled and without full mobility in his right leg. Unable to return to his previous career as a full-time vérité cameraperson, he has kept his passion for documentaries alive by shifting his focus to directing. THE BODY POLITIC represents his first time as a feature documentary director. Gabriel is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and a 2018 Katherine Davis Fellow For Peace. He is fluent in Spanish and has worked on several projects in Latin America.

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Reviews:

“I am knocked out by this movie… I can’t say enough… it’s a beautifully crafted piece of art.” —Ann Hornaday, Movie Critic, The Washington Post

“The Body Politic is another great example of the new generation of politicians, young people who deeply care about their community, doing everything they can to improve it. You have to hope that in the future people like Brandon Scott won’t be a standout, they’ll be the norm.” – FILM CARNAGE