ABOUT

Who we are

Open’hood is a non-profit organization founded in 2009 to use storytelling to create stronger, more active and more connected communities.

What we do

We produce film, television and digital storytelling projects that explore large, complex social issues through intimate character-driven nonfiction narratives. Our current focus is on the myriad and interrelated communities of Oakland, CA as they relate to the broader national narrative.

Our Mission

Open’hood was founded to allow the voices of all people to inform vital conversations around the issues of our day like health care, criminal justice and education. Our approach is to use non-polemic storytelling to explore the vital yet under-funded public institutions that serve us all. We do this by focusing on the personal narrative, through both the production of long-form documentary films and also location-based storytelling initiatives that engage the community.

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OUR FILMS

THE WAITING ROOM

The Waiting Room is a critically acclaimed character-driven documentary film that uses extraordinary access to go behind the doors of an American public hospital struggling to care for a community of largely uninsured patients. The film – using a blend of cinema verité and characters’ voiceover – offers a raw, intimate, and even uplifting look at how patients, staff and caregivers each cope with disease, bureaucracy and hard choices. The film was named one of the top ten films of the year by the Washington Post in 2012 and shortlisted for an Academy Award.

whatruwaitingfor.com

THE FORCE

THE FORCE – winner of the prestigious Director’s Prize at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival – presents a cinema verite look deep inside the long-troubled Oakland Police Department as it struggles to confront federal demands for reform, a popular uprising following events in Ferguson, MO, and an explosive scandal. It is currently touring the country at film festivals and will be released theatrically this summer/fall. It will then air on PBS Independent Lens followed by release on Netflix.

theforcefilm.com

HOMEROOM

In Homeroom, Oakland High School’s class of 2020 confronts an unprecedented year. Anxiety over test scores and college applications gives way to uncertainty springing from a rapidly developing pandemic. Efforts to eliminate the school district’s police force unfold against the backdrop of growing nationwide demands for systemic change.

www.homeroomfilm.com

BOARD

Featured

Peter Nicks

FOUNDER AND BOARD PRESIDENT

Peter Nicks is an award-winning cinematographer/director known for his immersive camera work and cinema vérité style. He helmed the critically acclaimed feature documentary THE WAITING ROOM and the Sundance winning THE FORCE. HOMEROOM completes a trilogy of timely, immersive docus exploring the interconnected narratives of health care, criminal justice and education in Oakland, CA. Nicks received his B.A. in English from Howard University and his masters in journalism from UC Berkeley.

Sean Havey

BOARD TREASURER

Sean Havey recently produced and shot “Stephen Curry: Underrated,” which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. He was also the Producer and DP for the 2021 Sundance Winning film, “Homeroom,” and the Hulu Original film “Anthem.” His dedication to truth in storytelling gives him the patience to hold a camera for long periods, hoping to capture the glimmers of our collective humanity. Born and raised in New Jersey Sean has lived in the Bay Area for the last 16 years.

W. Kamau Bell

BOARD MEMBER

W. Kamau Bell is a stand-up comedian, director, producer, and dad. For seven seasons, he was the host and executive producer of the five-time Emmy Award-winning CNN docuseries United Shades of America. Kamau won a Peabody Award for his Showtime docuseries We Need To Talk About Cosby. He is also the co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Do The Work: An Antiracist Activity Book. His first book was his memoir with the easy-to-remember title: The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6' 4", African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian. Recently Kamau directed and produced the HBO documentary 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed. As a stand-up comic, Kamau has recorded two comedy specials. The second one, Private School Negro, is available on Netflix. Kamau is on the board of directors of DonorsChoose - a non-profit that helps teachers raise money for class projects, and Live Free - a non-profit dedicated to ending gun violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization. Kamau also is the ACLU’s Celebrity Ambassador for Racial Justice. He lives in Oakland, California. He cares a lot… maybe too much.

Jen Rainin

BOARD MEMBER

Jen Rainin founded Frankly Speaking Films with Rivkah Beth Medow to tell mesmerizing stories about strong queer women. Together, they created the feature documentary AHEAD OF THE CURVE (Netflix), the Oscar® shortlisted short documentary HOLDING MOSES (The New Yorker), Berlinale Grand Prix winner HUMMINGBIRDS (2023, POV), QUEER FUTURES (2024, The Criterion Collection), JEANNETTE (2023, festivals), and OUTCRY: Alchemists of Rage (2024, festivals). Jen is a Film Independent fellow whose other credits include HOMEROOM (EP: Hulu), TWO SPIRITS (EP: Independent Lens), SHIT & CHAMPAGNE (EP: Hulu). With her wife, Jen co-founded The Curve Foundation to champion LGBTQ+ women’s stories and culture through intergenerational programming and community building.

Misha Kapany Schwarz

BOARD SECRETARY

Misha Kapany Schwarz is a visual storyteller interested in the intersection of social justice, trauma, and healing. She is a recent graduate from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism, where she studied documentary filmmaking. Prior to attending graduate school, she was a creative executive at Scott Budnick's 1Community, a production company and co-finance fund for socially impactful films. At Kikim Media, she worked on the documentary film adaptations of Michael Pollan's books, The Botany of Desire and In Defense of Food. Her photos have been published in The New York Times and SF Chronicle.