Valentine Road

In 2008 Cunningham read a Southern Poverty Law Center article about the murder of an openly gay non-conforming 15-year-old, Lawrence King.

Investigating the case Cunningham felt compelled to challenge what she perceived as a homophobic portrayal of King in the mainstream media.

"[3] Embedding herself in the city of Oxnard, California, Cunningham spent five years developing trust with the community and accumulating over 350 hours of footage.

The result was an 89-minute documentary described by the Los Angeles Times as a film where: "Cunningham masterfully weaves a kind of cinematic memorial quilt to King, who, just prior to his death, was living in a group home/treatment center away from his adoptive parents.

[...] Archival news footage, school surveillance video and courtroom renderings round out this powerful, heartbreaking reminder of the bold, cross-dressing boy with a misplaced crush who was too often deemed the cause of his own murder.