Rex Dean

When I arrived on set, I found the woman coordinating the little actors had brought only children of color. Knowing that wasn't representative of the actual homeless population, I enlisted my son, Will, who turned out to be the only kid who would take direction (having worked with me before). He's the sad-eyed kid on the swing. The voice over and teacher at the end was the very talented Stacy Jethroe. I wrote and directed.

My first tv commercial, featuring friends and kids. I wrote, directed, scored, and did the gruff voice over. The enthusiasm with which I said, "In Lowell!" became a meme in my family because, well...you've got to visit Lowell.

The teachers and students at Nativity Prep are heroes to me, and being able to witness and film their hard work was one of the most gratifying projects I've ever done. The two kids who helped me film both ended up going to my own kids' very expensive private school, Noble & Greenough, and I've never been able to decide whether my encouragement helped them, or theirs helped me...I think a little of both. The music is Mahalia Jackson and Harvard's Kuumba singers, which I'd just recently filmed. I wrote, directed, edited, scored.