[Theater Screening] Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
PT
About the Screening
Synopsis
Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street reintroduces audiences to the visionary “gang” of mission-driven artists, writers, and educators who in the 1960s audaciously interpreted radical changes in society to create one of most influential and impactful television programs in history, Sesame Street. With behind-the-scenes footage and over 20 original interviews, Street Gang tells the origin story of Sesame Street through the people who made it, and shows how they entertained and educated children in ways never done before.
This in-theater screening includes a moderated filmmaker conversation. This Q&A features director Marilyn Agrelo and producers Trevor and Ellen Scherer Crafts, moderated by Claudia Puig, Film Critic for KPCC's Film Week.
Closed Captioning is available for both this film. ASL is available for the Q&A only.
Panelist Bios
Ellen Scherer Crafts, Producer
Reason over risk and production under pressure, all with a huge smile. That’s Ellen. Ellen started her career in entertainment producing special events to include headline entertainment for Ceasar’s Entertainment and live boxing co-productions with HBO and Telemundo. She went on to prominent roles in promotion and marketing for branded content, producing large scale events and product launches for Fortune 500 companies internationally. Ellen partnered with husband and producer Trevor Crafts to build Macrocosm Entertainment®, helping to market their original transmedia property Lantern City and co-create the original children’s property The Not-So Secret Society. Ellen recently produced the documentary Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and is now Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with 95% critics and audience rating.
Trevor Crafts, Producer
Trevor Crafts is an entrepreneurial producer and founder and President of Macrocosm Entertainment®. Trevor recently released Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street (2021) a feature length documentary on the origins of Sesame Street distributed by HBO and Screen Media in North America, that also premiered at the 2021 Sundance film festival. Trevor has spent 10 years in the film industry creating dynamic stories with striking visuals that feature strong characters and unique worlds. With a true understanding and passion for the cinematic arts, his track record of leading studio teams to produce innovative story-driven content has helped film projects like 7 Splinters in Time (2018) 12 Feet Deep (2016), Sundance favorite Experimenter (2015) starring Peter Sarsgaard and Winona Ryder, Manson Family Vacation from the Duplass Brothers (2015), Deep in the Heart (2013) and Smokewood, Nevada (2013). Trevor’s work has won an Emmy®, the LATV Festival, and 13 other industry awards.
Marilyn Agrelo, Director
Marilyn Agrelo is a New York director and producer. Marilyn’s directorial debut was Mad Hot Ballroom, which enjoyed a theatrical run of over 24 weeks and took its place among the top highest-grossing documentary films of all time. Marilyn’s feature film debut came in the form of An Invisible Sign, shot in the fall/winter of 2009 and released by IFC Films. She has directed numerous commercials and branded content films that have aired around the world, and several projects for television and new media, including the Emmy®-winning children’s series Sesame Street and The Electric Company, and The Untold Stories of Motherhood for the Oxygen Network. Her documentary shorts No Small Parts and Good Muslim Girls enjoyed wide play in international film festivals. Marilyn is very proud of her work on Street Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street, a documentary feature about the visionaries behind the creation of Sesame Street.