Single mother and activist Clarissa Doutherd is working tirelessly to build a powerful coalition. The coalition’s goal is to make local, state and national leaders understand a desperate need shared by families, parents and children across the country, from low-income to middle. It’s a need many families don’t have in the United States; but for those who do, it is crucial. Clarissa’s ambition is to make their voices heard loudly, plainly, and their desperation made clear. 

What these families need is simple on the surface: child care and early education funds. Enough to allow parents to continue to work. Enough to keep families off the streets. Enough to give their children a chance at a productive, successful future. Providing these funds would benefit every citizen in every community - so why do people fight so hard to prevent it?

CLARISSA’S BATTLE is about more than a movement. It’s about the tenacity of a woman who experienced the shock of financial insecurity after the birth of her son, and her determination to stop it from happening to anyone else. It’s about the struggle experienced by millions of families unseen and unspoken of by their communities. It is about what happens when a woman rises to grasp her power and says, “Enough.”

Director Bio:

Tamara Perkins (Director | Producer | Writer) is an award-winning filmmaker and changemaker focused on documentaries that inspire transformative change through dialogue, healing and advocacy. She founded Apple of Discord Productions in 2006, connecting media, activism and healing through programs such as the Wisdom Project and San Quentin Media Project -- which trained at-risk youth and incarcerated men in filmmaking as a tool for transformation. 

Perkins’ film Life After Life (2018) began in her yoga class inside San Quentin State Prison when the men asked her to tell their story, and continues to be a catalyst for learning and advocacy nationally. Justice impacted herself, this film provides an often overlooked proximity in storytelling. Rebound (2021) and her upcoming film, Clarissa’s Battle, were each similarly inspired by a personal connection to the subject matter. Her recent feature script melds present day social, moral, and ethical questions with a Woman-driven SciFi Thriller. As a national speaker, Perkins’ repertoire spans from filmmaking to prison reform and human rights. She is a recipient of Evident Change’s Media for a Just Society Award. Perkins received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and is an adjunct faculty at Skyline College. Perkins' work has become a catalyst for change, learning and advocacy for some of our nation's most misunderstood and overlooked issues.

Sara Maamouri (Producer | Editor) is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and editor who has explored a diverse range of topics for over 20 years. Her work touches on social, educational, and political issues, from a teacher and students performing under extraordinary circumstances (The Music’s Gonna Get You Through, 2010) to rebuilding a life in a former war zone (Amal’s Garden, 2012). Her most recent films include We Are Not Princesses (2018) and the Peabody Award-winning film The Judge (2017). A multilingual Tunisian educated in New York and California, Sara brings cultural sensitivity to her editing, production, and story development, creating impact-focused narratives to attract and engage rapidly evolving audiences. Currently, she is editing Black Mothers (scheduled to premiere Spring 2022), directed by Débora Silva Souza, and Clarissa’s Battle (scheduled to premiere Spring 2022), directed by Tamara Perkins.