The Crew

L to R: Tim Kirkman (co-director), Ethan Payne (cinematographer/editor); Lee Garmon (sound); and André Robert Lee (co-director) on location in Fountain, NC.

L to R: Tim Kirkman (co-director) with artist Freeman Vines (center) and André Robert Lee (co-director) on location in Fountain, NC.

Artist Freeman Vines in front of his hand-carved guitars, some of which include wood from trees used to lynch Black men in the mid-20th Century in rural North Carolina.

The Team

L to R (Back Row): Gill Holland, producer; Ethan Payne, DP; Lee Garmon, sound; photographer Tim Duffy. Front, L to R: André Robert Lee (co-director) with artist Freeman Vines (center) and Tim Kirkman (co-director) on location in Fountain, NC.

Artist Freeman Vines with co-director André Robert Lee on location in Fountain, NC.

Photographer Tim Duffy has collaborated with artist Freeman Vines on a book about Vines' collection of hand-carved guitars.

Artist Freeman Vines and cinematographer Ethan Payne on location in Fountain, NC.

Artist Freeman Vines in his studio in Fountain, North Carolina.

Artist Freeman Vines and cinematographer Ethan Payne on location in Fountain, NC.

Artist Freeman Vines creates guitars, some using wood from trees used to lynch Black men near Fountain, NC in the mid-20th Century.

FREEMAN VINES (A documentary short)

The Story

For decades, 82-year-old Freeman Vines has been hand-carving guitars in hopes of replicating a sound that captivated and still haunts him. The guitars range in style from more traditional to fully abstract using a variety of wood — including lumber from trees once used to lynch Black men. Now battling multiple myeloma and suffering from diabetes, Freeman lives and works in a small storefront shop in rural Fountain, North Carolina, still in pursuit of the elusive sound, surrounded by his tools, materials, and other objects that speak to his lifelong conflict with racism in this region. FREEMAN VINES is the story of a true fine artist who has found a way to create while surviving in a complex world.

About the Directors

André Robert Lee and Tim Kirkman first met while working at Miramax Films in the 1990s.

André is a Film Maker, Keynote Speaker, Writer, and Educator. He has committed his life to building an army of change agents. His process includes Many Things; NYC Public Schools, The Ford Foundation, Urbanworld, Film Movement, Diana Ross, BET, Paramount TV, Universal, PBS, HBO, Sundance, Picturehouse, NPR, CNN, and Wharton. He is perhaps best known for his widely acclaimed film THE PREP SCHOOL NEGRO, which aired on PBS and has been used as an educational tool around the country.

Tim received Emmy, GLAAD, Gotham and Spirit Award nominations for his feature doc, DEAR JESSE, also named Best Documentary by the Boston Society of Film Critics. He wrote and directed LOGGERHEADS (Sundance) and LAZY EYE (Netflix) and directed THE NIGHT LARRY KRAMER KISSED ME and 2ND SERVE. He is on the faculties of both USC’s School of Cinematic Arts and UCLA’s Department of Film and Television.

For more info, contact producer Gill Holland.