IT STARTS WITH US … is a documentary film featuring Coach Fran Brown and some of those who know him best telling the remarkable story of his journey from Camden, New Jersey to head football coach at Syracuse University at age 41.

THE STORY … captures Coach Brown’s origins growing up across the city of Camden, where he starred at quarterback for the Camden High School Panthers, and met the high school sweetheart who became his wife, Mrs. Teara Brown. Together they attended Western Carolina University where he played football and she studied nursing, before ultimately marrying and starting the football life of a coaching family. Follow along as the Coach Fran rises up the ranks from Temple to Rutgers to Baylor to Georgia, and finally to take over the fabled football program at Syracuse in December, 2023.

THIS FILM … takes viewers behind the scenes of the first few months of Coach Brown’s tenure at Syracuse, as he begins to reshape the roster with fellow South Jersey natives such as quarterback Kyle McCord, defensive end Fadil Diggs, and Assistant Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator Elijah Robinson, Fran’s boyhood friend from Camden. They each help tell this story in the film, along with Mrs. Teara and her mother, Syracuse AD John Wildhack, and SU Deputy AD and Olympic Gold Medalist Herman Frazier.

THE WORLD PREMIERE … of this film was held at Camden High School, in Camden, NJ in a screening generously supported by the Camden borne Campbell’s Soup Company. The football teams from both Camden and Camden Eastside High Schools gathered together for the special screening, a program that opened with a performance by the Camden High School Cheer Team. This event was a credit to the coordination and support of Camden Mayor Vic Carstarphen and the Camden High School Staff, and fulfilled the original vision of the filmmakers that Coach Brown’s story, so much a tribute to the resilience bestowed upon him by his childhood community, was first made available to the people of Camden through a premiere screening there. Following that, and channeling the same powers of human relationships and connection that Coach Brown embodies, it was also the filmmakers’ goal that the story be accessible worldwide via its publication on social media. Because they believe Coach Brown’s road is relatable not just from South Jersey to Central New York, but everywhere folks believe in his principles of D.A.R.T. — being Detailed, Accountable, Relentless, and Tough. A portion of Campbell’s support for the premiere screening was donated to a charitable organization on behalf of Coach Brown.

THE CREDITS … of this PanCam Pictures Presentation … Producer – Brian Pawloski Director – Paul Camarata Editor – Dave Stiles Director of Photography – Ferdinand LeGrange Location Audio – Theodore DeLeo Cinematographers – Austin Beehner, Alycia Cypress, Patrick Schimenti, Dave Stiles Project Manager – Becky Warsing Mixer – Scott Perry Colorist – Chris Pepperman Graphic Design – Lillian Selby Pawloski Publicity – Split14 Creative: Liz Bartlett, Elizabeth Conklin, Gabriella Bordonaro Associate Producer – Patrick Schimenti Production Assistants – Alycia Cypress, Jamari McNabb Special Thanks: The Brown Family, Tom Brophy, Tyler Cady, Nick Cangelosi, Mayor Vic Carstarphen, Jordan Kligerman, Kristin Hennessey, Scott Pioli, Anthony Sanzio, Sheena Yera, Camden High School and Syracuse University.

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