In 1875 rural Pennsylvania, Ezra, renowned gunslinger and mayor in a prosperous town of BLACK STEEL makers, tries to keep the construction of a crucial part of the Statue of Liberty on track. But the birth of the Ku Klux Klan and Ezra’s personal and ancestral demons threaten to destroy the town forever.
After the end of the Civil War comes the beginning of Reconstruction, the birth of Jim Crow and the start of the Second Industrial Revolution. In New Ghaiana, Pennsylvania, a rural town in an isolated all black community of former slaves, runaways, and freemen continues to build a competitive economy. New Ghaiana is known for enterprise, but is renowned for two things: Steel production and gun manufacturing. Ezra, the current mayor of New Ghaiana, is “the shot”, known for the exceptional speed and accuracy of his 1873 Winchester Rifle. Ezra struggles to maintain the legacy of his grandfather as a leader while facing his own demons; concealing secrets that could make New Ghaiana crumble to the ground. Meanwhile the newly formed Ku Klux Klan and neighboring white landowners want to claim the land; finding it financially difficult to adjust after the war, and claiming true ownership of the land. All this, while the steel makers are commissioned by France to build one of the most iconic monuments ever made: The Statue of Liberty. They help construct this momentous symbol of freedom, while simultaneously fighting for their own.
Alana Barrett-Adkins is a director, actor, producer, an NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Atlantic Theater Acting School, and Stonestreet Studios alumni. She is also the CEO/Artistic Director of Rock Alari Studios, LLC which is a production company committed to Creating Inspiring, and Empowering Excellence in the theatrical and cinematic arts through faith. Rock Alari Studios has produced ongoing successful projects including the play Women of Adonai (sold out performances in Harlem), the web series Women of Adonai Project, and her debut feature film Asunder, One Flesh Divided (Amazon Prime, Apple TV). Alana's recent film credits include: Fish Out of Water (dir. by Francesca Scorsese), Never, Rarely, Sometimes, Always (Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival), The Box (Official Selection, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival), and The Foundation. Alana's mission and passion is to create, provoke, inspire, and empower through the arts specifically women and the African diaspora. Alana currently teaches Screen Acting Technique and Film Production at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and the City University of New York.
Actor - Denise Burse
