Truth Tellers: Documentary Features Rob Shetterly's Remarkable Portraits

What defines a great American? For artist/activist Robert Shetterly, it’s a citizen who courageously confronts issues of social, environmental and economic fairness. Shetterly has painted 250 portraits of such Americans, past and present, with a quote inscribed into the dark background. These Americans Who Tell the Truth have been exhibited throughout the United States for almost two decades. Truth Tellers is both a story of Shetterly’s art and activism and a history lesson in what it means to be a citizen of a democracy. In bringing Shetterly’s message to a wide audience, Truth Tellers will spark a national conversation on truth telling.

Kane Lewis Productions

Richar Kane is an independent director whose work is focused on the intersection of art and contemporary American life. Previous film releases include, J. Fred Woell: An American Vision, I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan, Imber’s Left Hand, and 15 others, all part of the Maine Masters collection, a New England Emmy-nominated series of portraits that airs on public television. With partner Melody Lewis-Kane, their company, Kane-Lewis Productions, has worked for National Geographic, The Discovery Channel, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the White House Office of Technology Policy among many others. Kane-Lewis produced the Natural Resources Council of Maine’s 50th anniversary film Protecting the Nature of Maine, an indie doc ROCK SOLID: The Schoodic International Sculpture Symposium and the classic award-winning documentary M.C. Richards: The Fire Within. From 2007-2016 Richard served as chair of the Maine Film & Video Association.

Melody Lewis-Kane is a potter, arts educator and filmmaker and is the primary consultant on all arts and education films produced by Kane-Lewis Productions. She is the “Lewis” partner in their production company and often acts as producer and interviewer. For Imber’s Left Hand Melody’s role was co-producer, interviewing several subjects and participating in all editing reviews. She was the producer of the documentary M.C. Richards: The Fire Within, selected for 12 film festivals winning Best Film at the Image Gazer Film Festival, and produced a series of arts–in-education teacher training films for the John F. Kennedy Center Education Department. Melody produced and co-wrote Arts & History: Storytelling funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Kennedy Center Education Department. She is the author of four arts-in-education curriculum guides including the guide that accompanies the Maine Masters film Stephen Pace: Maine Master, a film that was nominated for a New England Emmy Award. She is now guiding the development of a Resource Guide for Teachers and Librarians for I Know a Man … Ashley Bryan, in collaboration with the Harvard Graduate School of Education.