ADVOCACY Students in the collaborative process of filming a short documentary. The Documentary as Art I Nicholas Kuhar t’s October 2003. I’m a freshman in college, and my Intro to Reli-gious Studies professor has just made one of those remarks that somehow feels both offhand and the sort of thing that will stick with you for years. In a moment of calm within a heated debate, he muses, “There are some questions that just don’t go away.” Fast-forward to October 2015. I’m at Prosperity Tavern in Tremont, Ohio, with a friend from high school. He’s especially curious about the IB (international baccalaureate) film course I’ve been teaching. In between bites of food, he poses one of those questions that never leaves me: “So, do your students ever focus on stories that help other people?” A Lingering Question I love teaching IB film. Coaching young filmmakers to play with noir, horror, westerns—it’s the dream job I could’ve never imagined. And, despite having an exceptionally tal-ented cohort who displayed creativity and ingenuity every day, my friend’s question stuck with me for months. There are some questions that just don’t go away. December 2015 sneaks up. About two weeks before holiday break, our executive VP pops his head into my room and says something like, “There’s a group of special needs artists who perform nearby. They’ve been trying to get a documentary with me rang another bell: We need to do this every year. “My favorite memory from IB film was working on Razzle Dazzle ,” Zach shared. Ricky chimed in, “My favorite part was the interviews... how they poured [themselves] out... it was heartfelt.” Our short documentary cycles have shown me that young people are phenomenally generous with both their time and emerging skills when it’s clear to them how their work can genuinely help others. Nearly every year since 2016, we’ve been lucky to come across a community partner who’s given us access not only to crucial informa-tion, but also the right interview subjects. For instance, in 2017, my colleague Lydia was able to connect us with Catholic Charities’ Migra-tion Refugee Services; in turn, they connected us with Syrians who had resettled in northeast Ohio (not long after the travel ban). Film Student Challenges In those cases, when major pieces fall into place organically, students express their creative vision in a wide variety of ways, including: • formulating interview questions, which can often be a four-to six-week-long process; • collaborating with local experts to ensure questions are thoughtful; • seminaring on our documentary ethics unit and identifying ways to maintainan appropriate set; and • selecting the hardware that will allow them to maintain a comfort-able, low-key set while also ensuring beautiful shots. Recent Film Work Our most recent short documentary, Forest City Blues , came out of a recent campus ministry–centered ini-tiative: as resources for the homeless in Cleveland came increasingly under threat, our nineteen IB film juniors began capturing the stories of home-less citizens (and the public servants who work alongside them). As they CONTINUED ON PAGE 41. At the heart of all of this, we’re really just using the framework of filmmaking to sustain an act of listening. made about their work for years. They need something to take to lob-byists in Columbus to help them make a case for more funding. How would you feel about taking the film guys out for a few weeks and seeing what you can do?” By February, “a few weeks” unfurled into a five-month short documentary production, with all fourteen of our IB juniors volunteering to go out every Wednesday night in teams of three to interview dozens of special needs art-ists in their rehearsal space. Recollections During the summer that followed, I caught up with Zach, Kevin, and Ricky—a few of our most dedicated filmmakers—and what they shared 8 MAY 2020 SchoolArts
School Arts Magazine May 2020: Page 10
