Stikine Stories filmmakers (from left) Maddilyn Gillen, Vanessa Cowen, Zander Bartlett and Quinton Davies (holding the paper) filmed carver Mike Hoyt at the WCA carving shed this spring for their short documentary "Carving Totem Poles." It will be among the short films the students will show at a free public screening at 6:30 p.m. Monday, May 12, at the Nolan Center.
How do you take an hour's worth of interviews and additional video footage and shape them into a three- to eight-minute film? That's the cinematic goal of the Stikine Stories Film Festival presented by Stikine Middle School and Wrangell High School students on Monday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m. at the Nolan Center.
The event is free to the public.
The short films cover a wide range of topics, including hooligan fishing, totem carving, the pride and trauma of serving in the military, and bowling. Student filmmakers are part of a combined program of classroom and club participants, taught and led by middle school teacher Laura Davies.
Using several cameras and one shared video camera, students chose a subject and interviewed a family or community member, listening for key elements that brought the story to life. "Everyone has a story," Davies said. The interviews are a way of celebrating personal and community-based life, while discovering just how unique life in Wrangell can be.
One story features the Fourth of July royalty experience, a topic that might seem familiar and taken for granted by those who live in Wrangell, but it is special to the festivities here, something that doesn't happen in other communities.
Capturing the story by preparing questions that provoke interesting information and supplementing it with archival or additional images is part of the learning process. "For every 20 seconds of someone speaking, there should be supporting photos," Davies explained.
Two students, Jackson Perason and Silja Morse, presented their short films at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival in the British Columbia city in February.
Screenings of their films were an opportunity to introduce Wrangell life into a broader conversation, while workshops and interactions with other filmmakers, student and professional expanded their vision.
"They were able to see filmmaking as a real profession, with real people working within its various fields," Davies said. She hopes more students will be able to attend the festival in upcoming years.
For now, she is proud of the hard work this year's films represent.
"Once students commit, there are high expectations. But they are learning so much. Not just how to choose material, or how to edit, but that everyone has gone through hard or challenging times. There are life lessons they are hearing."
Those lessons go beyond the film project. Davies said there is now a difference in the ways students react to general classroom guests. "Students really listen, and ask better questions that get better answers."
This is the third year for Stikine Stories, and every year brings more possibilities. Rather than a standalone event, Davies hopes to collaborate with Birdfest or the Milk Run Music Festival in the future. She also would like to bring professional filmmakers to Wrangell as guest presenters.
Most immediately, she would like to add to their equipment with upgraded sound equipment and an additional video camera.
Each of the 16 to 18 films screened on May 12 will include credits and written descriptions will be distributed.
"These students have all done rigorous work, and have created films they can be proud of," Davis said.
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