Obama...The Beginning
Thursday, March 16, 2023 at 04:28PM 
The film traces the early path of a man destined to make history featuring footage from three of the earliest known recorded interviews with Barack Obama including a 12-minute “lost” interview from 1993 by an aspiring inner-city documentary producer in Chicago which never aired.
OBAMA...THE BEGINNING_TRAILER_1080_EN.mp4 from sarasotafringefilms on Vimeo.
There is a 1990 clip from a news interview after he was elected president of the Harvard Law Review; and a 1986 WMAQ-Chicago news story about Obama's earliest success as a community activist, not aired since its original local broadcast years ago.
Also included are excerpts from Obama's audio book reading of Dreams of My Father. In the “lost” interview Obama was just 32-years-old,two years out of law school and championing the needs of some of Chicago’s inner-city residents, a professor teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago, a fervent community organizer and a newlywed who had not yet contemplated running for public office.
Also featured are rare personal photos; interviews with family and a range of Chicago-area leaders in business and in grassroots community organizing who knew Obama intimately during his formative years, sharing personal memories and anecdotes; and historic photos and video footage of “Obama’s Chicago in the mid '80s through early '90s.
Obama...The Beginning reveals an unseen perspective this president at a time when he was finding his way, forming the ideals and principles that would guide him on a historic path. Even at this early time in his life, a vision of hope shines brightly and a desire to make this country a better place for all people.
DVD Pricing Scale now includes Personal DVD Price $24.50
A Note About Our Academic and Institutional Pricing
Educational DVD with PPR: $150.00
Anytime you want to screen a film on campus, Public Performance Rights (PPR) needs to be obtained. Copyright law (USC 17§101) defines a public performance as occurring in a public space or if it is in any place if "a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its acquaintances" is gathered there. This would include classrooms, meeting rooms, auditoriums, dorm lounges, etc. However, copyright law (USC 17§110) also provides an exception for face-to-face teaching activities in a nonprofit educational institution.
Digital Site License with PPR: $200.00
A DSL grants educational institutions and/or non-profit organizations a limited license to host and stream a film online to students, faculty and staff on their password-protected server. This license is granted for three years. The key advantage of purchasing a DSL is that once uploaded, an unlimited number of viewers can access the film from multiple locations simultaneously.
DVD + DSL bundle PPR: $225.00
K-12, Non-profit, Public Library with PPR: $62.50
Personal DVD $24.50