Wellesley resident is executive producer for Oscar-nominated documentary short on economic injustice
While you may already have a rooting interest in Oscar-nominated films and performers heading into Sunday night’s awards ceremony, we recommend you add documentary short “The Barber of Little Rock” to your list: Cheer for this film both to support its powerful message and for the fact that Wellesley’s Ian Cohen is one of its executive producers.
“The final product is a provocative and emotional conversation starter about the racial wealth gap in America,” says Cohen, who with his wife moved 8 years ago to Wellesley, where they raise their three children.
The documentary focuses on Little Rock, Ark., barber Arlo Washington’s launch of a nonprofit loan fund that puts trust in underserved residents. The film addresses issues of generational wealth and “banking while Black” head on.
Watching the film as a resident in a town where we complain about having too many banks, it was eye opening to view the segment illustrating the “haves” and “have nots” of Little Rock. They’re divided by highway I-630—it’s hard to find an ATM in the largely Black community of about 30,000 residents on one side, while the much smaller upscale and largely white Heights neighborhood has more than a dozen banks.
Wellesley’s Cohen has been in the content and production world for 20 years, but says this is the first time he’s been involved with a documentary—and the first time he’s worked on a film nominated for an Oscar (he has two Daytime Emmy Awards for work on the “Rachael Ray Show”).
As an executive producer on “The Barber of Little Rock,” Cohen told us via email that “I played the role of securing budget, getting the project off the ground and providing strategic guidance through the entire process. In short, making sure the film is a success.”
Though he stresses: “You can have producers, but the film success is because of Arlo (the main character) allowing us into his life and his story you see on screen.”
This project started five years ago when Cohen joined PayPal as head of content.
“My boss and I started talking with one of the directors about the question: If you fall off the financial cliff, is there a safety net?” Cohen says. “From there, a few of us committed to find someone who understands that money is the lifeblood of small businesses and the community, and to tell their story through a documentary,”
Cohen and team partnered with a company called Story Syndicate. “I’ll never forget the call from one of the directors—We found our story. His name is Arlo Washington. He is the Barber of Little Rock.”
You can watch the film online, but also look forward to a screening most likely in June at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, where Cohen says Rabbi Joel Sissenwine has been a great supporter of the film and its story.” (Another fan of the film: Former President Bill Clinton (see comments at 55:26 of the video.)
Asked how the documentary’s message might resonate in town, Cohen says: “First, I think it’s so important to put stories like this out there and start the conversation—It is the first step in making a difference.”
Cohen, whose Wellesley community involvement has included serving as a Town Meeting member, says he has two hopes for the film’s impact: “The most important is that this film starts a conversation in your home with family, with your friends and in the community. I am biased but I think it’s the simplest way I have seen the racial wealth gap explained. We need to solve this issue. The second, is that other brands will step up in supporting stories like this. We need more stories of the Arlo’s of the world out there.”
Will the first-time Oscar-nominated executive producer be headed to Hollywood for the awards ceremony?
“Just picked up my tux and ticket is in hand,” Cohen says.
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