Welcome Change has been making independent documentary films since 1991 when Alice Elliott completed Diamonds in the Rough, a documentary about the all Dominican baseball team at George Washington High School in Upper Manhattan. It won a New York State Council on the Arts Distribution Grant that allowed it to be subtitled in Spanish. It appeared at the Denver International Film Festival and won a Chris Award, a National Educational Media Apple Award, and first place as Best Documentary at the South Beach Film Festival. In 2001 Alice Elliott completed The Collector of Bedford Street, a documentary that screened on HBO/Cinemax and was nominated for an Academy Award in 2002. It has been to more than 70 film festivals and won 19 awards. Completed in 2007, Elliott's next documentary, Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy, about two women living independently with disabilities, has been honored with several awards, including the Henry Hampton Award for Excellence in Film and Digital Media and the 2007 AAIDD Media Award. Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy will be debuting on public television in the fall of 2009. Both The Collector of Bedford Street and Body & Soul: Diana & Kathy are currently in educational distribution through New Day Films. Currently, Welcome Change has several documentaries in production. It celebrates a 75 year tradition of a community band and small town American life.
