Violence runs rampant on the streets of Washington, DC, and on one seemingly quiet day, the Odom family finds its world destroyed when seventeen-year-old Tashera is brutally attacked by a group of high school girls. Retaliation exposes the corrupting existence of violence in our communities and the retaliatory measures families go through to protect themselves and their children.
Yasmin Shiraz is the President of Still Eye Rise Pictures, an independent production company which films educational and thought provoking documentaries that chronicle the lives, traumas and experiences of youth. Her first production, Can She Be Saved?, a documentary that examines violence among middle school girls, was an official selection of the 2009 Roxbury Film Festival and recently won a 2009 Indie Award of Merit from IndieFest.
Yasmin Shiraz is the Award winning Author of Retaliation a novel about a community's response to youth violence. In 2009, it was selected as one of the top Ten Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers by the American Library Association. She is the author of The Blueprint for My Girls: How To Build A Life Full of Courage, Determination & Self Love (Simon and Schuster) and five other books. Her best selling "Blueprint" empowerment series is utilized as a self esteem, motivational, and educational tool at middle and high schools, after school programs, non-profit youth centers, as well as Boys and Girls Clubs throughout the country.
Shiraz conducts youth educational programs with various community partners. Shiraz's programming clients include: The YWCA, Girls Inc, The Philadelphia African American Children's Bookfair, Congressman Elijah Cummings Teen Youth Summit, The University of Delaware, Girl Scouts, Syracuse University's Sisters Empowering Sisters Conference, The US Postal Service, Planned Parenthood, Essence Music Festival, The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The WNBA's Washington Mystics and Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Her topics include: violence prevention, self esteem, success and motivation, healthy relationships, and entrepreneurship.
The popularity of her "Blueprint" workshops for middle school, high school and college audiences lead Shiraz to become a highly sought after radio & TV youth expert appearing on FOX, ABC, NBC and CBS news affiliates nationwide. Ebony, Essence, CosmoGirl! and Teen People magazines have featured reviews of Shiraz's Blueprint books and/or have asked her to contribute to advice articles for teens.
A sociologist by trade, Yasmin Shiraz has studied women's issues, youth issues, urban conditions, social problems concerning minority populations, violence against women, disparities in the US educational system, and blue collar vs. white collar crimes. She applies her sociology training in educating and working with youth throughout the nation.
Shiraz is on the advisory board of Ten Red Rockets--a literacy initiative--, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, and the American Screenwriters Association. She is a graduate of Hampton University and Morehead State University, respectively, having received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Sociology. In addition, she has studied screenwriting with the head of Yale's creative writing department.
