August 27, 2009

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- A filmmaker who focused his lens on the state's rural schools in "Corridor of Shame" will now film South Carolina's "State of Denial."

Bud Ferillo is announcing plans for the new documentary on Thursday. "State of Denial" will explore issues facing the state from poverty and health to pollution.

Ferillo's "Corridor of Shame," produced four years ago, focused on rural schools which sued the state seeking more money for education.

President Obama mentioned the corridor during campaign visits and, in 2007, visited one of the schools, 113-year-old J.V. Martin Junior High in Dillon. The president mentioned the school in his first address to Congress and it has become a symbol of his call to improving education.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)