Grand Prix Competition
World Premiere

OMAR AND PETE




Tod Lending

Country of production: USA
Year: 2005
Language: English
Mins: 83

Production company: Nomadic Pictures
Producers: Tod Lending
Script: Tod Lending
Cinematography: Slawomir Grunberg
Editing: Jan Sutcliffe
Sound: Tod Lending
Music: Sheldon Mirowitz

Source: Nomadic Pictures
Tod Lending
4516 North Francisco Ave.
Chicago, IL 60625, USA
Tel: 773-478-9594
e-mail: tod59@nomadicpix.com


Omar and Pete are determined to change their lives. Both had been in and out of prison for more than 30 years, although never out for longer than six months. This intimate and penetrating film follows these two long-time friends for several years after what they hope will be their final prison release. In that time, their lives take divergent paths as one wrestles with addiction and fear while the other finds success and freedom through helping others.

Like nine out of 10 men incarcerated in Baltimore, Omar’s past crimes were closely tied to his drug addiction. Upon his release, the Maryland Reentry Program supported him with case managers, transitional housing, healthcare, employment assistance, educational opportunities and substance abuse treatment. If there was ever a time to break the cycle, this was it. But the transition back to society isn’t easy. The film provides an honest portrait of how challenging life on the outside can be for men who’ve lived much of their lives behind bars. It reveals that no matter how much support is given, pride, pain and fear are the demons that every man must face within himself.

Tod Lending is an Academy Award nominated and National Emmy Award producer, writer, and director whose work has aired on numerous national networks including NBC, PBS, and HBO. His work has been televised internationally in Europe and Asia. He is the founder and president of Nomadic Pictures, a television and film production company based in Chicago, IL.

Selected Filmography

Omar and Pete (2004)
Roosevelt’s Army (2004)
The Real Defenders (2001)
The Principal (2001)
Legacy (2000)
Time to Speak (1997)
Breaking Ties (1996)
Growin’ Up Not a Child (1995)

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 2005 AT 11.30 AM. / GALLERY THEATRE
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2005 AT 8.00 PM. / CHOPIN THEATRE

Reinventing Government (1994)