In the face of bigotry, a young immigrant to St. Louis struggles to obtain true strength through martial arts while overcoming the demons of his troubled Colombian past.
Empowerment Art’s flagship film, A Paper Tiger Burns, presents topics of great concern facing members of our society today: themes of LGBT discrimination, high school bullying, and immigrant marginalization weave throughout a multifaceted story based on true events.
This startup 501(c)(3) nonprofit completed a 6-year journey to develop and produce this international story for the big screen. Board members and film crew raised funds to travel to Colombia, South America to film in locations of real events that inspired the script, and followed through in completing an epic feature film without a production company’s support.
Empowerment Arts has a mission to create productions about marginalized groups for cultural and educational influence, and we hope this film’s release will be a truly cinematic start to our public outreach.
Click here to go to the film preview.
Comments on select film frames from producer/director, Gavin Culbertson
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- This image shows both the landscape and small town in Colombia where the protagonist grows up. I think it’s important to highlight that we filmed internationally and to showcase this production value that the location filming provides. The film will take audiences to another world, and it’s critical to the story of an immigrant.
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- From the preview screenings it seems everyone really enjoyed the witch scenes. While being cinematically moody, they turn out to be the most positive and encouraging parts of his childhood. As a showcase film frame, I think it also hints that this isn’t just a straightforward tale: there’s mystery, rich culture, and perhaps something supernatural in the life of this protagonist.
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- The colors of this scene are striking, and it’s one of my favorite karate moments in the film. It’s a more personal, one-on-one lesson with the karate master, and it strengthens Fernando’s motive to pursue katas rather than fighting. This image showcases that the martial arts aspect of the film is more than just violence, but also an artistic expression.
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- While the film primarily follows the adversity faced by the protagonist, Fernando, we also get a glimpse at the experiences of teens today. Fernando becomes a Spanish teacher and Will is one of his students. The film begins and ends with him, and his cameo narrative drives the growth of Fernando as a teacher. Growing up, we see Fernando is at first protected by his closest brother. As an adult, he fills this role by standing up to protect his students. However, he seems to be powerless to make a real change in his student’s life, and this is where his journey through karate gives him the strengths and lessons needed to become more than a protector. In some ways, Will is also a narrative foil for Fernando, but I won’t give too much away.
Production Details
The film was produced by Empowerment Arts over the course of 6 years, lead by producer/director Gavin Culbertson. Gavin founded the organization in 2011 and acted as Executive Director for all functions of the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. He managed, as executive producer, all facets of production, wrote the screenplay, directed filming with up to 15 crew members, 22 actors and 80 on-screen extras throughout the production in the US and Colombia, operated camera and cinematography, and edited the film.
• $53,574 in donations were raised in total to produce the film.
• International production in Colombia, South America required casting Spanish-speaking actors, filming during a live parade, collaborating with a Capoeira martial arts troop, traveling to Bogota and a small town in Nariño.
• The majority of filming took place in St. Louis, Missouri at over a dozen unique locations.
Film Festivals
Official Selection of:
Hollywood Dreams International Film Festival
Awards Won:
Watch the Film
The complete film can now be viewed below on the Vimeo account here.