In 2014, we set out to make a film looking at how technology could help level the playing field for historically underserved youth. When we met Kalimah Priforce, a social entrepreneur organizing hackathons for Oakland youth of color, we found our story.

Fast forward to 2022, and Kalimah has just been elected to the Emeryville City Council! Congratulations Kalimah!

Kalimah's story of overcoming adversity became the heart of Code Oakland, which went on to win ten film festival awards; screen at venues including LinkedIn, Salesforce, Impact Hub, ASU-Global Silicon Valley, and the Kapor Center; and is now distributed by Kanopy.

Code Oakland star Isaiah Martin, who was 14 in the film, went on to study computer science at Dartmouth and is now a Software Engineer at Microsoft. And we recently heard from Sasha Williams (pictured at right with Isaiah and Director Kelly Amis); she is now studying Game & Media Design at USC's School of Cinematic Arts. Yes, we are proud to say "we knew them when!"

Meanwhile, we produced several more short films in Oakland and have been in production on a feature-length documentary about the Oakland Promise since 2016.

As we head towards the end of the year, we hope you will consider a donation to this new film, which, with your help and our experience, has the potential to make a significant impact for low-income students across the country. Want to ask us how? Email info@loudspeakerfilms.com.