TURN THE LENS: COMMUNITY FILM PROJECT
TURN THE LENS: COMMUNITY FILM PROJECT
AFFILIATED LG ARTISTS
Program Director/Producer/Core Team Member: Chris Jonas
Film Director/Core Team Member: Erin Hudson
Affiliate Artists: Valerie Martinez, Dylan McLaughlin, Rachelle Simpson
Project Coordination: Daphne Ross
Contracting Project Partner: GEAR UP New Mexico/NM Department of Higher Education: the GEAR UP Documentary Film Initiative
Five Collaborating Schools "Centennial Class" (pilot)
Deming High School, Portales High School, Piedra Vista High School (Farmington), Laguna-Acoma High School and Cuba High School
Turn the Lens Community Filmmaking Program
Turn the Lens is a series of Littleglobe filmmaking projects empowering community members to utilize the power of personal storytelling. Through intensive workshops in filmmaking, mixed with personal narrative and creative writing, story gathering, conducting interviews, and technical media skills, Turn The Lens creates powerful participant created documentary media about issues at the heart of individual and community life. Integral to Turn the Lens is bringing people together across divides within a community through short- and long-term filmmaking intensives and workshops, shared meals, facilitated community dialog sessions and screenings.
Centennial Class
The Turn the Lens pilot project is "Centennial Class", funded by the New Mexico Dept. of Higher Education/GEAR UP and produced/directed by Littleglobe. This program utilizes collaboration and mentorship to create a feature-length documentary film that follows the lives of five New Mexico students in their last two years of high school. Littleglobe’s approach to the creation of "Centennial Class" is collaborative and participatory, with an emphasis on mentorship and community engagement. Participatory filmmaking, community workshops, and mentorship helps students and their communities explore the idea of growing up in New Mexico and personal and academic success within the contexts (and influence) of peer groups, family and community.
Littleglobe assumes that individuals and communities already attach a certain value to education (negative, positive or neutral). This project is intended to explore these values. Exploring values through creative exercises and filmmaking requires the active participation of students and their communities. It is only when individuals and community residents “turn the camera on themselves” that we can hope to get an accurate and compelling portrait of lives and perspectives regarding post-secondary education. This process will encourage the reflection, self empowerment and capacity to address and perhaps challenge any long-held notions about identity, family, community, and education.
“Centennial Class” will be completed spring 2012, and will begin screenings in communities and schools in New Mexico starting May 2012. Littleglobe is seeking schools and other presenters who are interested in hosting community screenings for this film.
“Centennial Class” is an Official Centennial Project of the 2012 New Mexico Centennial celebration.
Throughout the "Centennial Class" project, Littleglobe is working closely with GEAR UP staff. Littleglobe is grateful to the New Mexico Higher Education Department (NMHED) and GEAR UP New Mexico for funding this project.
For more information, project news and to view additional student produced media,
visit the "Centennial Class" blog.