A FILM BY GIGANTIC! PRODUCTIONS
What's the Story?
On February 14, 2018, a school shooting took the lives of 17 people and suddenly changed the conversation about guns in America.
The shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School could not be called "the deadliest" or even "the most shocking" mass shooting in recent US history. It came less than five months after 58 people were shot and killed at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas, and nothing changed. It came less than two years after 49 people were shot and killed at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, and nothing changed. There were 345 mass shootings in the US in 2017 alone, and nothing changed.
But this time, something clicked.
"I TELL THEM IN ORDER TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE COUNTRY, YOU NEED TO PARTICIPATE."
- JEFF FOSTER
"WE ARE GRIEVING, WE ARE FURIOUS, AND WE ARE USING OUR WORDS FIERCELY AND DESPERATELY BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY THING STANDING BETWEEN US AND THIS HAPPENING AGAIN."
- EMMA GONZALES
PHOTO CREDIT: EMILEE McGOVERN
" THE FACT THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED SO MUCH, THAT SCHOOL SHOOTINGS HAVE HAPPENED SO MUCH, TO THE POINT THAT WE NEED DRILLS FOR THEM ALMOST AS OFTEN AS FIRE DRILLS IS UNACCEPTABLE."
— DAVID HOGG
PHOTO: AP PHOTO/RICH SCHULTZ
"THEY WANT US TO STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, TO STOP PUSHING THIS CAUSE, THEY WANT US TO FORGET HOW IT FEELS, BECAUSE IF WE STOP, THEY WIN”
- ALY SHEEHY
PHOTO CREDIT: GENEIEVE MARTIN
"I LOST MY BEST FRIEND; HE WAS PRACTICALLY A BROTHER. I'M HERE TO USE MY VOICE BECAUSE I KNOW HE CAN'T."
- SAM ZEIF
PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/CHIP SOMODEVILLA
AT THE MARCH FOR OUR LIVES IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
PARKLAND 17 ART EXHIBIT IN MIAMI, FL
MANUEL'S SMITH & WESSON PROTEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
IN DALLAS WITH STUDENTS PROTESTING AT THE NRA CONVENTION
ABOUT GIGANTIC!
Cheryl Horner McDonough is a two-time Emmy Award winner for her work on MTV’s youth-oriented True Life series the documentary special Laverne Cox
Presents: The T Word. Cheryl is the
recipient of multiple PRISM awards for
documentary specials about drug
addiction, a Peabody Award for her work on an MTV sexual health campaign, and has twice been nominated for CLAAD Media Awards.
Cheryl is the Executive Producer of the
documentary film Bean, which took the prize for Best of Fest and Best
Documentary Feature at 2017's Big Apple Film Festival in New York, AmDocs in Palm Springs and the First Glance Film Festival in Philadelphia and was nominated for a 2018 Daytime Emmy Award. She created the Netflix original series Marching Orders and debuted in 2018.
Cheryl was Series Director for Katie Couric's Nat Geo series America Inside Out for which she received two Front Page awards. In 2001, Cheryl founded Gigantic! Productions which has produced award winning documentaries unscripted series and news specials for 17 years.
CHERYL HORNER McDONOUGH
DIRECTOR/PRODUCER
OUR TEAM
will.i.am
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
will.i.am is a globally acclaimed entertainer, front man of Black Eyed Peas and multi-platinum producer/director who has been recognized by seven Grammy Awards, an Emmy Award, a CLIO Award and a World Economic Forum Crystal Award in recognition of his role as a global cultural influencer. will.i.am has
executive produced and directed projects including: i.am.mars: Reach For The Stars, and a prime time TV special i.am FIRST: Science is Rock and Roll. He also directs many Black Eyed Peas music videos, including the iconic Yes We Can, Street Livin', and Big Love, a recent track about social justice issues including gun violence and immigration.
KATIE COURIC
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Katie Couric is an award winning journalist, producer, New York Times bestselling author, cancer advocate, podcast host, and documentary filmmaker. She was co-anchor of the Today Show on NBC for 15 years before going to CBS and becoming the first women anchor of the nightly news broadcast. After CBS, Katie moved to serve as the Global News Anchor at Yahoo News, where she interviewed prominent political and cultural figures as well as covering breaking news. In 2015, Katie founded Katie Couric Media, her production company which centers around scripted and non-scripted projects that are committed to creating smart, trustworthy, relatable content that aims to tell the stories that need to be brought to awareness. Projects under KCM have included her National Geographic series Gender Revolution and America Inside Out.
BILL RICHMOND
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY & PRODUCER
Bill Richmond is an Emmy Award and GLAAD Award-winning documentary Producer, Director, Cameraman and Editor specializing in issues affecting young adults. For over three decades, Bill has created dozens of documentaries addressing pro-social issues important to America's youth, including the AIDS epidemic, poverty, same-sex marriage, and alcoholism. Bill's work has appeared on MTV, VH1, Logo, CMT, NBC, Discovery, Comedy Central, and the USA network.
LORI RAIMONDO
PRODUCER
Lori Raimondo is a producer specializing in documentary programming and pro-social initiatives. Lori's work has appeared on MTV, NBC, and History.com. Her projects have addressed such issues as youth violence, childhood poverty, cancer, aging, and race relations. Prior to producing, Lori spent 15 years in television marketing with Viacom where she won cable television's Beacon Award honoring her work with MTV's Fight For Your Rights: Take A Stand Against Violence initiative.
NEIL BERKELEY
CONSULTING PRODUCER
Neil Berkeley is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and
entrepreneur. He is the director of three feature documentaries. His films include Harmontown, Beauty is Embarrasing and Gilbert, which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival. Neil recently wrapped production on his first series, Amazon's Inside Jokes.
PEDRO FERIA PINO
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Pedro Feria Pino is a skilled Director of Photography who has experience in documentary film and television. He has worked on productions for MTV, AMC, Vice, and USA. His DP credits include the documentary series Inside the FBI: New York, Generation X, and Ride with Norman Reedus.
MOLLY McEWAN
EDITOR
Molly McEwan is an editor specializing in documentary and pro-social programming. She spent over 15 years working on projects for MTV News and
Docs. She edited the Emmy nominated feature documentary, Bean and her recent credits include Marching Orders on Netflix, the TLC series 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days, and America Inside Out with Katie Couric for Nat Geo.
JOE STRAMOWSKI
FIELD PRODUCER
Joe Stramowski is a skilled cinematographer and producer who has made television and digital content for MTV Vice (Viceland), A+E, Travel Channel and more.
LORI RAIMONDO, EMMA GONZALEZ & BILL RICHMOND
