It started with our High School visit and the screenings of 1000 Journals during Schools at the Festival of the San Francisco Film Society -- encouraging feedback from students and teachers, and more and more questions how schools, universities, even hospitals can implement the film and begin their own journal exchanges. With the great help of Lil Blume, we created the 1000 Journals Extension, a teachers network, and have been increasingly involved with these educational aspects of collaborative projects.
Just recently, Aspen Film has selected 1000 Journals to participate in its Education Outreach Program. Bringing films to remote and underserved communities, the program reaches 5,000 children and adults and nineteen schools annually, with films that are capable of opening windows on the world and building bridges between cultures.
Aspen Film's Terry Rigney created a Curriculum Guide for 1000 Journals (available on the Extension), and invited Deb Jones, Creative Program Director at the Wyly Community Arts Center, to present our film. Deb has taught several journaling classes and serves as an amazing resource for anyone interested in the process and journey of journaling.
So far, Aspen Film screened 1000 Journals on April 16, 17 and 20, 2009, and will program the film again in May.
Deb Jones and Marti Cyrus leading the discussion at the Aspen High School screening.
I asked Terry Rigney a few questions -- read her answers and see more pictures on the jump.
How did you get involved with Aspen Film's Education Program?
I started volunteering for Aspen Film in the Spring of 2003, then began working with Aspen Film in November 2003 as the Program Coordinator. After being with the company over two years, the Education Coordinator left and I transitioned into the position.
What are your criteria, and how do you determine the appropriate age group?
When selecting films for educational purposes (for the classroom), it should always be in the back of a programmer’s mind, “what is the curriculum enrichment piece of this presentation”? When you find a film that speaks on so many levels to a variety of curricula and you can build a “lesson plan” if you will around the topic - it’s an easy choice to include in an education screening series. Then, it’s just a matter of getting the filmmaker’s permission to screen.
I appropriate a specific age level by content. Bringing films into elementary and middle schools can be tricky because you want to expose students to a film that has a lesson to be learned or addresses a common theme our young students deal with on a daily basis such as peer pressure, bullying, self esteem, individuality etc. It is important to avoid programming films simply to entertain students. Films can be fun and educational, but if there is no educational component, it is not an ideal candidate to bring into classrooms. Films with heavier or more mature content, are reserved for high school screenings – and if the content is remotely questionable, it is best to give the film to the teacher to decide if he/she wants to share with students. I try to push edgier films for teachers with whom I have a rapport. If I do not have a relationship or history with a teacher, I stick to basic and straight forward material.
What kind of feed-back do you receive from students?
I am always impressed with how observant and receptive students are to film. Aside from the basic “yea it’s movie day” mentality, I found that students, regardless of age, are grateful for the opportunity to see a film they likely would not have the opportunity to see otherwise. Whether it is a stylistically unique animation, or a documentary about medical workers on the Thai/Burma border, the majority of the times, students give their utmost attention – something which I know is particularly hard to do! The reaction also depends on the film. I’m screening three other documentary films in the Making Movies Matter series 1000 Journals is included. One of the films is about a doctor who practices street medicine, another is about Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan woman who began planting trees to revive her country, the other is about a community of Lost Boys of Sudan living in the Boulder area who travel back to Sudan for the first time since leaving their country years ago. Socially conscious documentaries typically receive the response “What can I do?”. 1000 Journals stirred the response today – “I Can Do This!” And generally, what is also part of our mission is to show people that filmmaking is completely within someone’s grasp. Specific to this area, many comments are gracious for Aspen Film showing students the world outside the Aspen bubble.
Students with journals at Rifle High School.
How can filmmakers support educational efforts such as yours?
Simply by allowing educators to use their material to support their curriculum. More than half the battle of setting up education screenings is the red tape of getting permission to screen the film. At least where I am coming from, anyone that uses film to visually support topics explored in the classroom is only looking to share the content, not duplicate the film or make money off of screenings. I think what you’ve done in terms of linking people up with your film is terrific! Thank you for being so supportive of our project.
Can you share a story which could encourage schools to reach out to organizations such as Aspen Film?
I had to work at it, but it has been my experience that once a teacher took a chance on one of our programs, they typically found that the students really reacted to the film, beyond the immediate excitement of seeing a film. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard from a teacher that months down the line after I’ve brought a film into the classroom that the students still talk about the experience. That warms my heart, because whether it was a good or bad reaction to a film Aspen Film screened, it was a reaction, and something students remember Aspen Film brought to them.
With all the crap that is on television these days, I don’t blame teachers for being hesitant to bring films into the classroom. For the most part, organizations that use film as a vehicle to educate people are not interested simply in entertaining, we genuinely want people to know about the content highlighted in the film. Another angle - I know myself, I was much more of a visual learner. I understood concepts and they stuck with me when it was visually explained to me. I have to believe that students tend to do well and be interested in school when all learning styles (visual, auditory, tactile) are catered to.
Terry Rigney, Aspen Film, aspenfilm.org
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