Connecting that legacy into present-day Atlanta.
Why We Gather, directed and produced by Maryam Jeffries, examines an earlier model for building that support. The documentary begins with Hale Woodruff and the Atlanta University Art Annuals, launched in 1942, and follows a question into the present: What can Atlanta build today to help its artists create, earn, and be seen?
The film brings historical research together with contemporary voices and scenes from Atlanta’s creative community. It explores how artists create culture and how institutions can help sustain it.
Invest in its next storytellers.
Atlanta’s influence travels around the world. The local artists and filmmakers behind that influence need resources, mentorship, and places to present their work.
Preserve Atlanta’s artistic history.
Support the documentary
Directed and produced by Maryam Jeffries, the film connects Woodruff’s vision with the artists and public spaces at the heart of ARTlanta and the I’M SO ATL Public Art Campaign. It is a story about Atlanta’s cultural history and the work still ahead.
Support will help fund local production crew, filming, archival research and access, digitization, and rights clearances. The project is targeting a Black History Month premiere in February 2027. Sponsorship recognition and other partner benefits can be discussed with the production team.
Build the next chapter..
The proposed AMAAC Fellowship would carry the film’s central idea into action. Designed as an annual $50,000 filmmaking grant and incubator, it would provide selected Atlanta-based filmmakers with production funding, archival resources, and industry mentorship to create original films with Atlanta at the center of the story.
Companies may discuss support for the documentary, the fellowship, or both. To request the documentary pitch deck and explore a partnership, contact Maryam Jeffries at maryam@expatl.com.
Maryam Jeffries Selected for $50,000 AMAAC Documentary Fellowship to Produce “Why We Gather” Film Documentary centering the legacy of Atlanta arts.
Why We Gather
ATLANTA, GA — [DATE] — Multidisciplinary filmmaker Maryam Jeffries has been selected by the Atlanta Music Arts and Culture Foundation (AMAAC) as a recipient of its documentary fellowship, receiving a $50,000 production grant to support her upcoming documentary, Why We Gather.
Why We Gather explores the history of arts festivals and accessibility in Atlanta, examining how the city’s arts landscape has evolved over time and the role that festivals can play in creating spaces for community, cultural exchange, and artistic expression.
The documentary begins with the legacy of artist and educator Hale Woodruff, whose contributions to Atlanta’s artistic and cultural life helped establish important models for bringing art into public and community spaces. From Woodruff’s work and the arts festivals associated with his legacy, Why We Gather traces what happened to that tradition after his involvement ended and considers how Atlanta’s relationship to accessible arts programming has changed over time.
The film ultimately brings that history into conversation with the present, examining AMAAC’s efforts to reinvigorate Atlanta’s festival culture through its I’m So ATL art campaign and festival. By connecting Atlanta’s artistic past with its contemporary cultural landscape, Why We Gather asks a larger question: What does it mean to create spaces where people can gather around art, and what happens to a community when those spaces disappear?
“I have spent much of my career thinking about how stories bring people together. Why We Gather grew out of that same question, but through the specific history of Atlanta’s arts community. I want to understand what we inherit from the artists and cultural institutions that came before us, what happens when those traditions disappear, and what it means to rebuild them.”
— Maryam Jeffries, Filmmaker
Jeffries is a multidisciplinary filmmaker with more than 10 years of experience across the media and entertainment industries. She began her career as a multimedia journalist before expanding into acting, appearing in several short films and starring in a web series in 2021.
She subsequently trained and worked on the sets of major film and television productions, including Ozark, Samaritan, The Ms. Pat Show, and The Wonder Years. Her experiences across journalism, performance, and production have given her a broad understanding of storytelling and the collaborative processes involved in bringing stories to the screen.
Following the industry-wide strike in 2023, Jeffries began focusing more intentionally on creating original work and building community around her ideas. She founded The Politics of Community, an online platform where people gather to exchange ideas about community and examine the social and political forces that shape communities in America and the broader Western world.
Through journalism, filmmaking, performance, research, and community-building, Jeffries has continued to develop a filmmaking practice centered on questions of culture, connection, and belonging. Why We Gather represents the next stage of that evolution, bringing those interests into a documentary that examines Atlanta’s cultural history while asking what its future might look like.