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MUSE TV’s Monique Barrios talks with director, Jason Polevoi on making his documentary, A Tiny Ripple of Hope which will premiere during the Slamdance Film Festival.

Our world has seen inspiration in the actions of an individual – Stacey Abrams worked thru community to affect change in Georgia. Jahmal Cole with his My Block, My Hood, My City: an organization is bringing hope and opportunity to teenagers across Chicago’s segregated South and West Sides. Jahmal Cole is charismatic and charming, and the beating heart of his community –because he does care so very much (his home mortgage is used to fund his organization!). The moving and aspirational feature film documentary “A Tiny Ripple of Hope” from award winning Chicago filmmaker Jason Polevoi will make its world premiere at this year’s Slamdance Film Festival (February 12th – 25th, 2021) as a Competition Documentary and the film follows a formative year for Jahmal as he struggles with everything he must sacrifice so that the people and the city he loves can prosper.

A champion of social justice, Jahmal Cole’s mission is to build a more interconnected Chicago on the pillars of service and education. As the founder and CEO of the city’s fastest-growing social impact organization, My Block • My Hood • My City, Jahmal is the creator of an exposure-based education program for teens and a network of volunteer initiatives that serve Chicago communities year-round. 

In 2018, Jahmal was named a Chicagoan of the Year by Chicago Magazine, in 2019, he was named to Crain’s 40 under 40, and in 2020 he was awarded the American Red Cross Community Impact Hero Award.

Polevoi is a founding partner of the Chicago-based production company One City Films and the first-time feature Director and Producer of the Slamdance Film Festival premiering documentary A Tiny Ripple of Hope. Jason’s previous credits include the Chicago/Midwest Emmy-winning documentary F*** Your Hair, the Independent Lens series The Calling, and A Regional Taste, a first-of-its-kind docuseries for the James Beard Foundation.

To see A Tiny Ripple of Hope please visit https://slamdance.com/