Veteran TV & film development executive and producer Nichelle Protho is proud to premiere her directorial debut “Two Classes of 1968,” a poignant documentary and important untold story of black history, in the upcoming 13th Annual BronzeLens Film Festival. Amidst the backdrop of the civil rights movement, the film, produced and written by Protho along with co-writer Monice Mitchell Simms and narrated by Hill Harper (“The Good Doctor,” “Get on the Bus”), chronicles a group of African-American Catholic school students from Immaculate Conception Academy High School (ICA) in Augusta, Georgia who became unwitting agents of social change as the first group to integrate Aquinas High, an elite white Catholic school. “The debate around Critical Race Theory has only increased my passion about being historically literate, and especially about my community and its people.” says Nichelle Protho.

“Two Classes of 1968” tells the story of a close-knit group of childhood friends & students from the Golden Blocks neighborhood – a proud & self-sustaining Black community near the Savannah River.  This bubble provided a safe haven for its children, free from the darker realities of racism and the residual affects of post slavery era Jim Crow. However, when the powerful arms of the Catholic Church intersected with the Brown vs Board of Education Decision, they were forced to leave behind their school and the nuns that loved them just before their senior year.

“This film not only serves as a historical document, it provides an exceptional jumping off point for frank discussions of race today. It is a perfect resource for every age, but especially useful in secondary school settings,” says Joseph Floyd, M.D., executive producer and member of the class of 1968. “Although this is a story about the past, it encourages important discussion about today’s issues and it resonates courage and perseverance that is incredibly relevant today,” added Terrye Thompson, executive producer and member of the class of 1968.

Prior to premiering at the BronzeLens Film Festival, the film has received tremendous support from the city of Augusta, the Augusta Museum of History, Catholic Diocese of Savannah and the historical Imperial Theater.

About the festival: BronzeLens Film Festival is a non-profit organization, founded in 2009, that is dedicated to bringing national and worldwide attention to Atlanta as a center for film and TV production for people of color. The mission of BronzeLens is two fold: to promote Atlanta as the new film mecca for people of color; and to showcase films and provide networking opportunities that will develop the next generation of filmmakers.

The documentary screens on Friday, August 26th at 11:00am ET in Theater 3 at the IPIC Theater Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta.  Film festival pass registration and event tickets are available at: https://bronzelens.eventive.org/schedule/two-classes-of-1968-62da29ac8cc26d005c5a6e3a

For more information about the film’s premiere, visit their page here (https://bronzelens.eventive.org/films/two-classes-of-1968…).