TURNSTONE PRODUCTIONS is an independent production company that creates programs for theaters, television, businesses and non-profits. They have crafted feature-length documentaries about issues of national importance as well as intimate explorations of cultures and communities. Collaborators Roger Grange and Vera Aronow bring energy and enthusiasm, technical know-how and years of experience to the arts of producing, editing and cinematography.
Featured Documentaries:
BACKPACK FULL OF CASH
“A beautiful film– tremendously moving!…Everyone who values democratic education needs to see this.”
— Jonathan Kozol, Advocate for children and author of Savage Inequalities
“Riveting…Debunks the notion that market-based ‘reforms’ will improve public education.”
— David Sciarra, Executive Director, Education Law Center (Newark, NJ)
“A scary but important story about…the country’s most important civic institution.”
— Valerie Strauss – The Washington Post
Narrated by Matt Damon, BACKPACK FULL OF CASH explores the growing privatization of public schools and the resulting impact on America’s most vulnerable children. This feature-length documentary was filmed inside classrooms in Philadelphia and other cities where public education, starved of resources, hangs in the balance.
The film also showcases the everyday heroes fighting for public education and presents a working model for improving our schools. Co-produced with Stone Lantern Films, the film has had more than 400 screenings across the US and in 9 foreign countries.
MEGAMALL
MEGAMALL is a feature-length film about money, power and politics in the age of sprawl. Twelve years in the making, MEGAMALL documents the origins and effects of the massive Palisades Center mall in suburban West Nyack, New York, 18 miles north of Manhattan.
Provocative commentary by authors and urban critics James Howard Kunstler and Roberta Brandes Gratz makes MEGAMALL an enduring lesson about the development of the American landscape. MEGAMALL was co-produced with Stone Lantern Films.
“See this film, get mad—and then get involved.”
— Bill Moyers, Public Affairs Television
“Whether consulting with urban critics or registering the woes of local law enforcement … the filmmakers cast a wide net. The twists are compelling.”
— Steve Dollar, The Wall Street Journal
“An engaging drama with a strong point of view as well as a sense of humor, MEGAMALL is calm, credible and at the same time, maddening.”
— John Paul Newport, Journalist and Novelist
“The mallification of America…and the acts of local resistance are central to bigger questions we ask about the building of livable communities.”
— Hannah Gurman, Assistant Professor, New York University
SANTA BARBARA INTL.
FILM FESTIVAL
FESTIVAL INTL. DE L’ENVIRONMENT
Tunisia
DC ENVIRONMENTAL
FILM FESTIVAL
NORTHWEST FILM FORUM
Seattle
SIERRA CLUB FILM FESTIVAL
NYC
BERKS CO. FILM FESTIVAL
PA
STRANGER THAN FICTION
NYC
GLOBAL WATCH FILM SERIES
Jacob Burns Film Center
Who We Are
VERA ARONOW
Producer / Director / Editor
Vera Aronow is a highly experienced video storyteller with a track record of putting together the most effective and meaningful film possible.
ROGER GRANGE
Cinematographer
Roger Grange is an accomplished cinematographer who has worked around the world and on all types of film and video productions.