About the Speakers
Adam and Jaye are a husband and wife filmmaking team dedicated to telling stories that inspire audiences. FIRST GENERATION is their feature film debut.
Adam is a northern California native who attended The University of Southern California and earned his BA in Film and Television. His love for filmmaking has pushed him to work in all aspects of production for both film and television and most notably editing. Adam’s editing credits span acclaimed shows for NBC, MTV, Lifetime, Discovery, ABC Family, E!, and many other networks.
A former senior admissions officer at Columbia University, Jaye is the author of Seventeen’s Guide To Getting Into College and the co-creator and producer of The Scholar (ABC), an unscripted television drama that gave 10 high school seniors the chance to compete for a full ride college scholarship. Jaye has published numerous
articles on college admission for Seventeen, Good Housekeeping and The College Access & Opportunity Guide. Her college advice can be found on Seventeen.com.
Adam and Jaye live in Santa Monica where they are on a constant search for the best
Mexican restaurant. They also love going to movies, rooting for the San Francisco Giants, and chasing after their little boy.
About the Film
An award-winning feature-length documentary narrated by Golden Globe nominee Blair Underwood, FIRST GENERATION tells the story of four high school students – an inner city athlete, a small town waitress, a Samoan warrior dancer, and the daughter of migrant field workers – all who set out to break the cycle of poverty and bring hope to their families and communities by pursuing a college education.
Shot over the course of three years and featuring some of our nation’s top educational experts (Richard Kahlenberg, The Century Foundation; J.B. Schramm, College Summit; Dr. Bill Tierney, University of Southern California), this 95 minute documentary explores the problem of college access faced by first generation and low-income students and how their success has major implications for the future of our nation. Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema, and won “Special Jury Award for Social Impact” at the 2011 Napa Valley Film Festival. FIRST GENERATION is also an official selection of the San Diego Black Film Festival and The YES Film Festival held in Columbus, IN.
FIRST GENERATION is directed by Adam and Jaye Fenderson and sponsored in part by Lumina Foundation for Education and GOAL 2025 whose mission is to increase the percentage of Americans with high quality degrees and credentials to 60 percent by 2025. The film had its world premiere at the 2011 Heartland Film Festival where it was nominated for a Crystal Heart Award, won Best Documentary and Best Soundtrack at the 2012