Hope of Escape, a new feature-length historical drama written, directed, and coproduced by Hollins University Associate Professor of Film Amy Gerber-Stroh, will have its Virginia premiere on Thursday, February 15, at 7 p.m. at Roanoke’s Grandin Theatre.
Tickets are $11.50 general admission, $9.45 for students and seniors, and $8.99 for children and members of the military, and may be purchased online at https://grandintheatre.com/shows/hope-escape. Proceeds benefit the Grandin Theatre Foundation.
Hope of Escape follows a mother and daughter who plan their escape from enslavement after learning they are to be sold and separated forever. Their only hope is to connect with their free relatives in the North and convince the most powerful abolitionists of their time to help them.
The film is based on the true story of Diana Williams, her daughter Cornelia, and her daughter’s sweetheart, Wilby, as they planned their emancipation from slavery in Wilmington, North Carolina. Gerber-Stroh is a direct descendant of Diana, Cornelia, and Wilby.
The film’s website notes that “Hope of Escape offers an alternative to the standard Hollywood ‘slavery film’ genre that usually depicts excessive violence and victimization. This film features enslaved persons with agency, who used their special skills and literacy to plan their emancipation. The film also shines light on the ‘above-ground Underground Railroad’ when slave masters were paid a ‘ransom’ (much like how Frederick Douglass gained freedom) by families in order to free their enslaved relatives.”
Hope of Escape was shot in Virginia and features local and regional talent.
A producer and director of independent films for over 25 years, Gerber-Stroh has won honors at numerous national and international film festivals. She also has directed art films for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Her films focus on the intersection of memory, culture, and history. She is especially committed to highlighting the stories of Black women in history that have been ignored by mainstream filmmakers.
Gerber-Stroh was also a casting associate on 12 major motion pictures in the 90s, including Angels In The Outfield, Tank Girl, Goldeneye, and The Mask of Zorro. She worked for all the major studios in Hollywood including Disney, Warner Bros., and Columbia Pictures. She received her M.F.A. in film/video from the California Institute of the Arts. Currently, she chairs the film department at Hollins where she teaches production, animation, and film studies.
