Director: Youssef Delara

Production Designer: Fernando Valdes

Prop Master: Peter Cordova

Cast: Shane Paul McGhie, Matthew Modine, Michael Hyatt

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Michael Trainer is a lawyer at the center of a trial in which a for-profit Foster care agency puts a known sex offender into the same foster home as his young client Jamal, with catastrophic results. Michael, a successful litigator with a long career in protecting corporate clients, has been blinded from recognizing the real damage they can cause. He wants nothing to do with Jamal's case until a Judge forces him to accept it. Initially he sees Jamal, as a thuggish African American youth trying to get a piece of corporate profits. But when Jamal refuses to settle the case for any amount of money, Michael begins his representation in earnest. As their work together reveals the horrifying depth of the corrupt and abusive for-profit Foster care agency, Michael is transformed from reluctant defender to fierce warrior in the battle for justice.
 

Props created

I was hired by Propmaster Peter Cordova to create many

props for the film. The majority of the work was legal documents used for the case. We created mountains of it, in addition to logos, labels, hotel keys and various elements which made up the Foster Boy world.

My favorite prop however, was the notebook used by the main character. In it, I filled pages on pages of poems, sketches, and notes. I carefully filled it out with sketches inspired from Jamal's life, in addition to direct quotes taken out of the script. The notebook was used and read from directly in the climactic conclusion of the movie. I was very excited to be part of this movie, and I love it's message.