“More Than a School” is presented by Departure Point Films, LLC and the Program in Law, Communities, and the Environment (PLACE) at the University of Virginia School of Law (“UVA Law”).

In January 2022, Departure Point was introduced to Muriel Miller Branch Wilson and AMMD by Cale Jaffe, Director of the Environmental Law Clinic at UVA Law. Filming began in March, and over the following seven months, the Richmond-based filmmakers visited Pine Grove and Cumberland ten times, conducting interviews that form the heart of the film.

Creating the documentary was a journey of discovery. The filmmakers explored Pine Grove’s history, Tuskegee-Rosenwald Community Schools, Cumberland’s rich past, and Virginia’s Environmental Justice movement. They worked closely with AMMD to select interviewees and incorporated their feedback during editing. The film’s success was made possible through the participation, warm reception, generosity in storytelling and oral history, and openness of the Pine Grove and Cumberland communities, for which Departure Point is deeply grateful.

The public premiere of “More Than A School” is set for April 2024.