Mustafa Davis

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For The Love Of Rutland

In a microcosm of Trump’s America, one woman embodies hope for change

For the Love of Rutland
(USA, 91 min.)
Dir. Jennifer Maytorena Taylor

Very happy to be a Director Of Photography on this award-winning film directed by my dear friend and colleague Jennifer Maytorena Taylor. Jennifer and I have been working together for nearly two decades. Our film Redneck Muslim is currently playing on POV and has over one-million views on the PBS Youtube page.

Jennifers film For The Love Of Rutland has been playing in festivals all across America to critical acclaim.
HOT DOCS REVIEW describes the film:

The words “No drug parking” appear etched on a fence seen in Jennifer Maytorena Taylor’s powerful film For the Love of Rutland. One can’t tell if the words are sarcastic graffiti or a polite caveat. Rutland’s film offers a sobering portrait of Rutland, Vermont in late 2016 and early 2017. Jobs in the manufacturing town are scarce and the opioid crisis is taking its toll as drug addiction ravages a community that already faces considerable hardships. The words “No drug parking” aptly embody the fascinating contradictions that Taylor observes. On one hand, Rutland has serious problems that are an open secret. On the other, some members of the community acknowledge these problems with little more than neighbourly passive aggressiveness. The film puts audiences in an environment that captures perfectly the tensions and ideological rifts of contemporary America.