Los Angeles, CA: Constance L. Jackson, independent film director, producer, and writer from the city that rocks, has had a solid run in both the business and creative arts. Born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, Ms. Jackson continues her endeavors as founder and president of Permanent Productions Inc., an L.A. based Production Company that focuses on niche markets and the development of cutting-edge documentaries.

Ms. Jackson’s latest work is an inspiring documentary film on the life and contributions of patriot and activist, Lydia Maria Child. Over The River…Life of Lydia Maria Child Abolitionist for Freedom, is a true labor of love that, “…looks at the tumultuous times of the 19th-century and how Lydia Maria Child’s major literary contribution was paramount in helping to trigger the Civil War while raising the public’s awareness on many cutting-edge issues such as women’s rights, religious freedom, and racism,” says filmmaker Jackson.

Jackson, raised by a deaf mother along with seven other siblings left a drug-ridden community of Cleveland, Ohio to find a better life in Los Angeles. Jackson has a degree in Speech Communication and studied history and filmmaking to produce the most detailed and moving film about the first Civil Rights Movement in the United States. It took Jackson ten years to consolidate the 19th and 20th century political/social nuances that unfold in the film and it took about 3 years to film, write, and produce Over the River. The actress Diahann Carroll’s mellifluous voice narrates the film, giving it a unique patina that will be difficult to match.

Although the title makes reference to Mrs. Child’s most well known work, “Over the River and Through the Woods to Grandmother’s House We Go,” a poem published in 1844 that now serves as a favorite Thanksgiving Day song, the DVD for the first time in film history explores this amazing woman and the abolitionist soldiers, such as David Walker, James Forten, William Lloyd Garrison, Charles Sumner, Frederick Douglass, John Brown, the Grimké sisters, and many others.

“The program is a fascinating and comprehensive study of Ms. Child,” says PBS. “Superbly researched, written, and presented in word, sound and images,” says the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum. “It is a magnificent achievement. The visuals bring every aspect of the story to life, and the narrative does justice to all the complexities and subtleties of Child’s biography and of the abolitionist movement,” raves Dr. Carolyn Karcher, leading Lydia Maria Child scholar/historian.

This compelling 3-part epic documentary about America’s greatness in overcoming the worst blemish in its history—slavery, displays how young and old, en masse, rallied for social change for all Americans—to free themselves and black Americans from the chains of indignity.

The DVD (Run time: 140 min.) and companion book (160 pages) written by Constance Jackson in mid-2008 are now available to the general public after selling well to libraries, universities, and schools. Visit www.OverTheRiverMovie.com for more information.