Meet The Team
Our research and production team was built through a shared commitment to preserving history and telling overlooked stories.
I first met Claudia Smith Brinson in 2020 during the launch of her book, Stories of Struggle. Following a Zoom conversation with our family, she encouraged us to continue bringing Rev. Hinton’s story to the public. Through her own research, she came to regard him as one of South Carolina’s most compelling historical figures.
The rest of the team came together through years of research, phone conversations, and relationships with historians, filmmakers, and community leaders in South Carolina.
Drawing on my experience as a former president and current organizer for the Washington, D.C. chapter of Women in Film & Video, I was also able to assemble an accomplished film crew through my professional network. Together, this collaboration combines historical scholarship, community knowledge, and filmmaking expertise to bring Rev. Hinton’s remarkable story to the screen.
Producer / Director
Felicia Barlow Clar
Felicia is a multi-disciplinary producer experienced in film/tv production, complex events, entertainment, and theatre.
Raised in the “DMV,” she grew up embedded in history, politics, and activism. She has spent decades overseeing projects from concept through execution, including a civic association and a Presidential Inauguration.
Long active in the film and arts community, she is a past President of Women in Film & Video (WIFV-DC), and she served 10 years as a documentary screener for SilverDocs/AFIDocs. She has produced large-scale conventions, galas, and festivals, and she has helped launch ambitious projects with cultural impact.
Felicia was a core member during the creation and heavy lift of the Annapolis Film Festival; she served as its first Vice President.
Her media career began in the marketing department of an HBO affiliate before moving into writing, producing, and events.
Senior Producer
Rodney Hinton Jr
Rodney is a veteran and seasoned nonprofit fundraiser with 25 years of experience raising millions of dollars for organizations including Oxfam, the World Wildlife Fund, and the New York Metropolitan Opera.
As Senior Producer on this family project, he leverages his extensive knowledge in history and community engagement, ensuring the film reaches its goals while honoring the legacy of his grandfather and his pivotal impact.
Director of Photography
Anne Outterbridge Saul
A versatile Cinematographer and Gaffer, Anne’s experience extends into documentary, corporate, and narrative projects.
She has been working in the film industry for the past 18 years on crews for Amazon, Smithsonian Folkways, and Stone Soup, among others.
She serves as a mentor with GalsNGear and will use her expertise to capture interviews, archival materials, and locations with authenticity and emotional depth.
Archival Producer
Emily Harrold
Emily is a documentary filmmaker from Orangeburg, South Carolina. Her films have screened at festivals including the Tribeca Film Festival, DOC NYC, Telluride Film Festival, Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, as well as on PBS.
She is an experienced archival researcher specializing in historical collections, permissions, and media access for documentary projects.
Her expertise ensures our project is historically accurate while navigating complex copyright and usage requirements.
Editor
Tod Hopkins
Tod is a highly collaborative video production expert and an award-winning documentary editor with decades of experience creating engaging content for museum exhibits and public media.
He has an extensive resume with highly regarded Hillman/Carr, helping to craft immersive storytelling experiences that blend archival materials, interviews, and narrative pacing.
For Out of the Shadows, he will edit multiple versions, specifically for broadcast and museum exhibition,ensuring the story resonates with visitors while preserving the impact of
Rev. Hinton’s legacy.
Impact Director
Laura Seltzer-Duny
Emmy-nominated PBS Producer and award-winning documentary filmmaker, Laura has been making documentaries and educational programs for over 20 years, driven by her commitment to creating media that inspires social change.
Her work has aired on major networks including PBS,
CBS, NBC, Discovery & History Channels.
As an Impact Director, she designs strategic
campaigns that encourage action.
For Out of the Shadows, we aspire to sponsor the naming of a room for Rev. Dr. Hinton in the new South Carolina Civil Rights Museum in Orangeburg.
Assistant Editor
Inna Dmitrieva
Inna is certified in DaVinci Resolve and holds an MFA in Cinematic Arts. Her films have screened at festivals nationally and internationally, such as Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Milwaukee Film Festival, and MujerDOC.
Inna is instrumental in creating assets for our grant submissions.
Advisors
Claudia Smith Brinson
Journalist & Author
Brinson is the author of two major civil rights volumes: Stories of Struggle (2020) and Injustice in Focus: The Civil Rights Photography of Cecil Williams (2024).
She is a 2026 inductee into the South Carolina Academy of Authors Literary Hall of Fame. For more than 30
years, she worked as a journalist, and she was also a national columnist and writing coach for Knight-Ridder, as well as a Pulitzer finalist.
For ~20 years, Brinson taught either a journalism, nonfiction or short fiction course at the University of South Carolina.
From 2006 to 2016, she taught writing, literature, and media courses at Columbia College. She developed and
directed the college’s Writing for Print and Digital Media major.
Dr. Bobby Donaldson
Center for Civil Rights History and Research
University of South Carolina
Donaldson is the Executive Director for the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at USC and serves as the lead scholar for Columbia SC 63: Our Story Matters, a documentary history initiative that chronicles the struggle for civil rights and social justice in Columbia.
A scholar of southern history and African American life and culture in the 19th and 20th centuries, he also serves as an Associate Professor of History.
His research and writings explore African American
intellectual thought, print culture, education and religion. He has consulted for museum exhibitions, archival collections, oral history initiatives, documentary films, and historic preservation projects.
Donaldson also serves on the Board of the Southern Documentary Fund.
CONTRIBUTORS
Cecil Williams
Photographer & Founder
The South Carolina Civil Rights Museum
Williams is a publisher, author, and well-known civil rights photographer. In 2019, he founded the South Carolina Civil Rights Museum, which honors a generation of people throughout the Palmetto State who deserve to be remembered for their unselfish commitments and sacrifices.
Initially Williams funded the museum himself; in 2024, the City of Orangeburg realized a bigger vision for his collection and broke ground for a new 11,000 square foot building.
The Honorable James E. Clyburn
U.S. Congressman, South Carolina
Cong. James E. Clyburn has represented South Carolina’s Sixth Congressional District since 1993. A native of Sumter, he was raised in a family rooted in faith, civic engagement, and public service.
He is a longtime champion of preserving South Carolina’s pivotal civil rights history. The Congressman helped secure funding for the development of the new South Carolina Civil Rights Museum.
This project would not have moved forward without the help of the Docs in Progress Story Development Fellowship led by Adele Schmidt and Executive Director, Barbara Valentino.
Help bring this film to completion.
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