While You were Freeing the World(0:11:20)

Narrative Short | Silver Spring, MD, ​United States

Short
by Christina Cottles

While You were Freeing the World

Narrative Short | Riverside, CA, ​United States
Short
​
Directed by: Christina Cottles

Description: Fame and fortune have made world renowned singer and actor Paul Robeson loved and admired all over the world, except here in America where his stance on Civil Rights has made him a stranger in his own land.  
 
Yet Paul and his wife, Eslanda, grow more and more distant due to his fame and fortune in addition to his marital infidelities, forcing him to confront the pain of becoming a stranger in his own home.

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Filmmaker Bio:

Christina Cottles

Playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker Christina Cottles has written, directed, and produced a short film, While You Were Freeing the World, a narrative about renowned entertainer Paul Robeson that most recently won an award for Best Cinematography at the Fade to Black Theatre Festival 2025 in Houston, TX. Her play, No Room at the Jim Crow Inn, was chosen for a staged reading at this same venue as well as at the Black International Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, in 2024. Her first play, A Sunday Morning Kind of Gal, has been produced for the stage in both Los Angeles, CA, and Baton Rouge, LA.

Christina started writing and directing television segments for a cable network profiling the personal lives of college athletes while an undergraduate student at USC. After earning a Master of Arts in theater, Christina was chosen to participate in writing programs sponsored by the USC School of Film and Warner Brothers Studios, in addition to being selected as a writing intern on a network television show through the Writers Guild of America, West.

Christina lives in Los Angeles, where she continues to pursue her passion for writing stories for both the stage and screen.

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