Doug Harris Media

Filmmaking team of Doug Harris and son Douglas Jr. conducting interview for PBS documentary FAIR LEGISLATION: The Byron Rumford Story

New Orleans documentary project explores Creole family's involvement with the early roots of jazz

With jazz being such a popular music genre for people from all walks of life and all around the world, there have been mixed stories about how it actual evolved. The one distinct fact about jazz that is clear to everyone, the music originated from New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th century.

When you really stop and think about it, jazz is sort of like the Louisiana Creole dish "Gumbo", an assortment of different styles of music (classical, folk, blues, and African rythms) all blended together to create a unique sound that has continually grown in popularity around the world. "ReConnect: The Untold History of Jazz" is a documentary film being produced and directed by filmmaker Doug Harris about the story of author Nick Douglas' Creole family in New Orleans that were instrumental in the early creation of jazz music.

As classically trained professional musicians, the Tios, Pirons and Pavageaus were the Creole families at the forefront of the new musical genre that became known to the world as jazz. "I grew up in Berkeley, California as a big fan of jazz, and when I was approached by Nick Douglas to develop and produce this story, I was completely honored," states filmmaker Doug Harris. "Nick's years of research on his book "Finding Octave: The Untold Story of Two Creole Families" has been a marvelous guide to producing this exciting documentary film project."

With the documentary well under way, the filmmaking team is currently seeking financial help to get film completed for public television through our GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. For those interested in helping, click on the photo and watch our campaign video presentation and visit/share our GoFundMe page to make a contribution towards helping us to get this historical documentary completed.

Click on photo to view presentation, and the GoFundMe link below to make a donation

Cal Alumni Profiles documentary series highlights the life of Berkeley Law Civil Rights Attorney John Burris

(BERKELEY, CA) Over the years, the University of California Berkeley has fostered the careers of countless prominent alumnus in a wide range of fields that people don't necessarily know much about. The Cal Alumni Profiles documentary series project has been developed by the filmmaking team of Doug Harris and Brian Spencer to highlight the achievement of a list of these great alums for broadcast on public television.

The project was conceived during production of the recent PBS documentary "ALL AMERICAN: The Walter Gordon Story" about the university's early 20th century football star who became a legendary civil rights and social justice pioneer. "When we interviewed Cal's John Burris for Walter Gordon's documentary, it became clear to me and Brian (Spencer) that these important stories needed to be developed into an ongoing series," says Filmmaker Doug Harris. "So with the help of the university, this is going to be a project that will chronicle and preserve some of Cal's great history."

Harris and Spencer are currently in production for the documentary "John Burris: The Godfather of Police Litigation" which profiles the life of one of the country's premiere civil rights attorneys specializing in cases involving police misconduct and brutality. Some of Burris' landmark cases include representing Rodney King, Oscar Grant, and the victims of the notorius Oakland Riders case against the Oakland Police Department.

The film includes commentary from a wide cast of interview subjects who provide critical analysis on the work John Burris has contributed over the decades to raise awareness about the serious issue of police brutality not only in the Bay Area, but around the entire country.

Click on photo or link to view short documentary preview

All American: The Walter Gordon Story documentary available for viewing on PBS online

(BERKELEY, CA) After several years of challenging work, Walter Gordon's illustrious life story has been featured on PBS and is available to view in its entirety at anytime or any place on the networks online application.

For those who enjoy history, "ALL AMERICAN: The Walter Gordon Story" is a historical documentary definitely worth watching. The film is part of an ongoing partnership between Doug Harris Media and PBS KVIE Sacramento, and has served as the kickoff for the Cal Alumni Profiles series. The film explores Walter Gordon's complex life as UC Berkeley's very first All American football player (1918), and his achievements as an unknown early 20th century social justice and civil rights pioneer.

The documentary is a true learning experience that will take viewers on a historical journey highlighting Walter Gordon's impact on society through college sports, law enforcement, and government through engaging commentary from a mixed cast of interview subjects. One of the key takeaways from the film is the question of how a man of his stature could accomplish so many monumental achievements and go completely unnoticed.

Click on photo or link to view documentary on PBS online

History Channel podcast tells the story of Emmett Ashford, Major League Baseball's first Black umpire to break the color barrier

The journey for professional baseball players to climb up the ranks to the major leagues is an extremely tough task, and road is even tougher for an umpire especially if they are Black. Emmett Ashford's journey as Major League Baseball's first Black umpire was recently explored through a colorful podcast on the History Channel which featured exerpts from the recently completed PBS documentary CALLED UP: The Emmett Ashford Story.

The podcast includes an assortment of sound bytes of interviews from the film, along with commentary from the filmmaking team of Raymond Bell (executive producer) and Doug Harris (producer/director) who share their insight into the life of one of baseball's forgotten pioneers. The CALLED UP documentary is slated for airing this summer on PBS during the baseball season.

Click on photo or link to hear podcast

Short documentary explores history of Richmond's Macdonald Avenue, as the city seeks to revitalize its main street corridor

(RICHMOND) Way back in 1899, A.S. Macdonald had a vision that would to ultimately led to the Bay Area city of Richmond becoming a major hub for transportation and industry on the West Coast. Intrigued by this captivating story, filmmaker Doug Harris has produced a short documentary that explores the history of Richmond, California's main street corridor (Macdonald Avenue).

"During my time working for the City of Richmond, I had heard so many stories about the vibrancy of the old downtown Richmond along Macdonald Avenue, and I felt this would be an interesting subject for a historical documentary. This story is a big part of American history, because what happened to Macdonald Avenue has happened to main streets all around the country," says Doug Harris.

The short 10-minute documentary was funded through the Richmond Arts & Culture Commission's Neighborhood Public Art grant, and Harris is looking to extend the short film into a full PBS documentary.

College & Career video series provides young students with roadmap for life after high school success

(RICHMOND) Exploring options and preparing for life after high school is not always an easy task for young students, and can be even more difficult for parents. With this in mind, the Richmond Library's Teen Program and the West Contra Costa Public Education Fund teamed up with dougharrismedia.com to produce the video series to help guide students through the process of developing a solid game plan.

The video series is comprised of six (6) short presentations that cover options and resources for admissions to four-year and community college, and the construction and building trades.

North Richmond Documentary Photo & Video Exhibit

The online exhibit was produced through the Richmond Arts & Culture Commission's Neighborhood Public Art grant, and presented a collection of archival photo images and documentary stories about the unincorporated community of North Richmond.

Originally slated for exhibition at the Richmond Museum of History & Culture, the exhibit was switched to an online exhibit due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The blend of archival photos and video clips were assembled from the award winning four-part An Exploration of Our History documentary film series produced by teen participants of the North Richmond Digital Technology Academy media arts training program, facilitated by Producer/Director Doug Harris.

Doug Harris, Filmmaker