I took what I learned, came home and produced and directed my own video for the School of Nursing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I work. Here it is!
http://carolinanursingnews.com/2009/09/11/ready-to-eat-now-all-done/
When I organized the documentary filmmaking workshop in Teotitlan del Valle last February 2009, my hope was that I could create a 5 minute film by the end of the workshop week. As a novice, I wondered. But lo and behold, Eric Chavez and I created a nice little piece about Federico Chavez Sosa and why he is a weaver. When I left Oaxaca and returned to North Carolina, I thought, how would I continue to apply the skills I learned. By April, the answer was clear. I would make a film about a new laboratory at the School of Nursing and the important research that was taking place there that would eventually develop educational programs and interventions to prevent childhood obesity that can lead to Type 2 diabetes in children. NC has one of the highest rates of childhood diabetes in country. After interviewing, filming, taking B-roll, reshooting, and numerous rough cuts followed by focus groups and feedback sessions, my editing partner Amanda Willis and I were pretty satisfied with what you see here. It’s far from perfect. We are novices. But we’re pretty proud of what we were able to create on a ZERO BUDGET.
Our goal, when we organized this Oaxaca filmmaking workshop, was to give people the skills to come back to their own communities and tell the stories that surround them every day. The workshop gave me that. I hope by seeing this film, it might inspire you to enroll.
Oaxaca Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Visual Storytelling, is set for February 19-26, 2010. Early bird discount offered through October 31. See the Blogroll for the link to the complete course description.
