Gina’s Journey: The Search for William Grimes, narrated by Keith David, follows the quest of one woman, Regina Mason, in tracing the steps of her ancestor, who traveled along the Underground Railroad to freedom and authored the first fugitive slave narrative in U.S. history. The film will world premiere at the 2017 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles February 17-18, 2017.

Produced by Your Media 2, the film is based on the Afterword of the authoritative edition of the book, Life of William Grimes, the Runaway Slave, written by Regina Mason and published in 2008 by Oxford University Press. The Afterword, “My Long Road Back to William Grimes” reveals Mason’s 15-year path to authenticate her ancestor’s story and the intense personal sacrifices that made editing and publishing a new edition of the Grimes narrative possible.

In making the film, Director and Producer Sean Durant sought to convey not only Mason’s long road to uncover her past, but also the unimaginable conditions that faced William Grimes as he struggled to free himself from slavery. To this end, Durant chose to use artfully-crafted re-enactments combined with current-day Mason reflecting on her own story and a masterful narration by Keith David. The result is a compelling and provocative documentary film from first time feature filmmaker Durant.

“Gina’s Journey: The Search for William Grimes” is an Official Selection of the 2017 Pan African Film Festival, which runs February 9th through 20th.