Virginia Film Festival

Film: Juvenile: Five Stories

Joann Self Selvidge is an award-winning filmmaker whose documentaries explore issues of work, creativity, agency, and justice. Since 2002, she has produced, directed, and edited more than two dozen projects, including features, shorts, series, and multimedia installations under the banner of her production group, True Story Pictures. Since 2007, Joann has partnered with co-director Sarah Fleming to make films about the intersection of mental health and the justice system.

In October 2023, Juvenile: Five Stories received Evident Change’s 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award, which recognizes “profound insight into the realities of our nation’s social systems and the way they impact people and communities.” Based in Memphis, Joann has spent her entire professional career building solutions for collective healing in the nonprofit and creative sectors. In addition to being a filmmaker, she has served in various roles in racial justice movement spaces, including as coalition coordinator, facilitator, strategist, and grant writer.

Film: Juvenile: Five Stories

Shimaine Holley spent time in the foster care system in the state of Georgia until she aged out at 21. Throughout her transition, she has worked as a Regional Coordinator and Regional Impact Liaison for MAAC (Multi-Agency Alliance for Children). Shimaine is the Founder and CEO of Change Is Inevitable LLC, which provides training on adolescent brain development, connecting education to the workforce, authentic youth engagement, juvenile justice, and more.

As a Fellow with the Annie E. Casey Foundation, she has traveled to several states to speak on improving systems using data and strategic planning. Shimaine currently resides in Texas, where she impacts systems as a Site Coordinator for the Department of Defense. Her time in care inspired her to create change across all systems. She is a graduate of Albany State University with two degrees in sociology. She hopes to continue influencing systems on a greater level to foster change and true partnerships.

Film: Juvenile: Five Stories

Romeo Gonzalez grew up in Brooklyn, an avid athlete and boxer deeply engaged in his community. He is passionate about his work as a credible messenger, serving as a teacher and mentor, a re-entry specialist, and an organizer and activist working to reform the justice system. Romeo graduated from the Institute for Transformative Mentorship (ITM) at The New School’s Center for New York City Affairs in 2017. Following graduation, he served as the ITM director’s assistant and worked as a senior counselor, mentor, and youth advocate at Children of Promise, NYC, a community-centered organization that partners with children and families impacted by mass incarceration to dismantle the stigma and heal from the trauma plaguing Black and Brown communities.

In 2021, Romeo co-founded YAPP (Youth Anti-Prison Project) with his mentor Five Mualimm-ak to provide pathways to stability for justice-impacted young adults. YAPP is a community-based alternative to incarceration that provides wraparound support services for people serving a community supervision sentence in NYC.