Community College: Digital Site License (DSL) Bundle w/ PPR
The bundle contains the 52 & 80-minute versions of the film plus the PPR for internal use by the purchasing institution
Please read our purchase agreement before ordering.
The bundle contains the 52 & 80-minute versions of the film plus the PPR for internal use by the purchasing institution
Please read our purchase agreement before ordering.
The bundle contains the 52 & 80-minute versions of the film plus the PPR for internal use by the purchasing institution
Please read our purchase agreement before ordering.
US / 2022 / 52 & 80 minutes (vers.) / Color / Digital Copy / English
Synopsis
A little girl grows up in a custodial apartment hidden inside a New York City Public Library, where her father stokes its coal furnace 24/7. Four decades later, the little girl-turned-actor Sharon Washington chooses the theater to write her modern-day fairy tale childhood filled with real and imagined dragons, family secrets, forgiveness, and a life filled with books. But revisiting her past comes with an unforeseen cost.
It is in her solitary late-night revisions to pen an ending to her solo show days before opening night that the cost appears. She must descend and dwell in her scared little girl place from long ago to finally tell the flipside of her childhood. A time filled with uncertainty as her father battles with alcohol and her mother copes with a life deferred. It is in that dark place that she discovers “I am the story.”
Experience Sharon Washington’s
Triumphant Journey!
It all begins with a little girl who lives in a library and travels many roads that would lead her to Broadway and beyond!
★★★★★
"When My Sleeping Dragon Woke is a courageous and insightful retelling of Sharon Washington's journey as an artist in her own words. Her story as a little Black girl growing up in a library and becoming a woman who embraces the opportunity to speak the truth of her experience is a testament to what is possible when we dare to be our full selves and share our stories with the world."
Dr. Monica White Ndounou, Associate Professor of Theater, Dartmouth College
and the Founding Executive Director of The CRAFT Institute
★★★★★
"We don't have enough stories like this out in the world. For the girls and young women, we partner with to be able to experience a life fully realized, a life fully lived, an incomparable tale of creativity, curiosity, resilience, and fortitude, is all at once a guiding light, a motivation, and an inspiration. How fortunate we are that Sharon shared HERstory."
Chiwoniso Kaitano, former Executive Director GIRL BE HEARD
★★★★★
“…a deeply moving story…a gorgeous film.”
Barbara Kopple, Two-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker
★★★★★
“Mesmerizing.”
Candace Allen, novelist and screenwriter
★★★★★
I witnessed “When My Sleeping Dragon Woke” move my freshman students to use the words "courageous," "transcending," and "so human" to describe it, inspiring them to risk telling their own stories.
William Garcia, Rutgers/Newark, NTT Instructor
★★★★★
Rarely is one so lucky to have such elegant storytelling behind the scenes of an author and actor's compelling journey. The film, at once raw, honest, and heartfelt, is a remarkable and indispensable companion to the play.
Kirk D. Read, Professor, Bates College
Awards
Winner: Best Documentary Feature Premiere, 2023 Heartland International Film Festival