University of Houston - Clear Lake Adjunct Professor Sandra Krasa knows a good story when she hears one.

Krasa, who teaches Writing for Media is also an award-winning documentary director and producer. In August 2002, her film Ocoee: Legacy of the Election Day Massacre won for Best Documentary Short at the HBO-Urban-World Film Festival in New York City.

Ocoee tells the story of the race riots that occurred on Election Day in 1920 in a small Florida town. The violence that virtually wiped out the black community in Ocoee started when two black men tried to exercise their right to vote. Very little about the riot had ever been recorded. In fact, Krasa, who grew up in a town not far from Ocoee, heard about the events for the first time while searching for a thesis topic.

"There were no photographs of Ocoee before this and there was very little research done on it," Krasa said. "It was something that you just didnšt talk about in that community."

Krasa produced Ocoee with friend Bianca White for their thesis project in graduate school at the University of Florida. The idea for the documentary originally met with skepticism from professors who were concerned about the lack of visuals and documented research on the riots. Thus did No Visuals Productions get its name when Krasa and White successfully completed the award-worthy documentary.

Krasa is now in pre-production for her next documentary on the Brixton riots in London. In it, she hopes to make more people aware of the racial tensions still alive in England today. Her pattern of telling stories exposing racism was not planned, but springs from a desire to heal the wounds that prejudice inflicts.

"Išve always had a passion for fighting injustice," Krasa said. "I feel there are a lot of people that are under-represented and I want to give them a voice."

Finding a voice to tell that story is not always easy. Many people in Brixton, a poor suburb of London, were not eager to get on camera. Faced with the inability to plan a strict guideline for filming, Krasa had to be flexible.

"In documentaries, the story is more organic," Krasa said. "It takes on a life of its own and you follow where the story leads."

The success of her previous documentary eventually persuaded people to talk about their experiences in the riots.

Knowing that Krasa had experience telling a story that dealt with racism made the interview subjects more comfortable talking about what they had gone through.

While she enjoys every part of the filmmaking process, Krasašs favorite part comes with the finished product.

"[Itšs rewarding] to see the film and how people react to it," Krasa said. "When you put your creativity into something, itšs like putting your heart and soul into it."

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