Laura Waters Hinson's OSCAR® qualifying documentary short STREET REPORTER is an intimate portrait of a woman overcoming homelessness while striving to tell her own story to the world

Director Laura Waters Hinson joins forces with producer Bryan Bello, photo journalist Sheila White, and journalist Reginald Black to tell a story of homeless individuals in Washington, D.C. While the story may be told through the lens of homelessness in one city, there’s no denying that it’s a far more universal story. This important film is now being considered for an Oscar®.

An aspiring photojournalist discovers the power of her own voice while struggling to survive homelessness.

Laura Waters Hinson is no stranger to films that address larger social issues. She is a film professor at American University where she directs the Community Voice Lab and leads the Social Impact concentration for the MFA film program. Previous projects include AS WE FORGIVE, a film about Rwanda’s reconciliation movement, which won the student Academy Award for Best Documentary and received many awards and recognitions. In addition, she also directed a narrative short MOVING VIOLATION that received Best Narrative Short at the DC Independent Film Festival. Her films have appeared on PBS, WORLD’s America Reframed series, ShortsTV and Curiosity Stream.

Sheila White is the film’s inimitable lead: At 59-years-old, she studies nightly for her college degree while living at a cramped women’s shelter. Determined to become a photojournalist, Sheila investigates the story of “tent city” for the local street paper and, despite numerous setbacks, emerges as an unforgettable heroine of her own destiny.

This eye-opening documentary short has received various awards already; winning Best Short Documentary at the Annapolis Film Festival, Audience Choice Award at the Austin Film Festival, and the Audience Choice Award at IndyShort Film Festival.

STREET REPORTER can be seen at the below list of film festivals: