Behind the Scenes and In Front of the Camera: Filmfest DC 2022 Classroom Visits
I have utilized this program the past two years and it has been immensely valuable. This program leaves students feeling a deeper sense of connection to their community, a more critical and aware eye as they navigate their world, and an appreciation for things they often overlooked in DC. It really does open doors and expand curiosity for our students. — Beth Sewell, Coolidge Senior HS teacher
Teaching for Change partnered with Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC International Film Festival for an eleventh year to spread the word about the international film festival and to bring filmmakers for some of the films into D.C. classrooms in April 2022.
Students learned about filmmaking and social justice issues from viewing the films and participating in discussions with the filmmakers. (Read about prior year visits.)
Classroom visit for The First Step
School Without Walls
Kicking off our classroom visits for the festival this year, Kerry Sylvia welcomed us back, this time to talk with Lance Kramer, filmmaker for The First Step. During the visit, students wrestled with complex questions the film raised for them. Their class is about civics and the political process, and they dialogued about compromise and negotiations people working in politics make in advancing legislation and pursuing justice. Many students appreciated how well Kramer captured Van Jones’ personality, the tense and often uncomfortable work in dialoguing across differences, and how pushback, too, can come from folks in your ideological camp. Kramer also fielded questions about the film industry and gave students insight about how he and his team assembled and financed the documentary, as well.
Sylvia reflected:
I really enjoyed having Lance visit my classroom to talk more about his documentary. It generated an excellent discussion between him and my students on a variety of topics related to the issues raised in the film, as well as the process of filmmaking.
Look at photos from a 2017 Filmfest DC school visit with Ms. Sylvia’s class.
Classroom Visits for MISS CHELOVE
Chance Academy
On April 27th, director Sara Gama joined the ninth grade history class of Anne Bernanke for a virtual discussion about her film, MISS CHELOVE. Sara introduced herself to the class as a local independent filmmaker who identifies as an Arab American. She shared that she didn’t make her first film until she was 30, although she was always interested in exploring the issues of identity, specifically those with a Muslim heritage.
While attending an academic fellowship, Sara intended to tell a story that hadn’t been heard in the media. She learned about Cita, known as the street artist MISS CHELOVE, through her sister’s Instagram posts. Due to geographical distance, there are only a few Indonesian Americans in the United States, and Sara wanted to share a story that may have otherwise not been revealed. The class was currently in a unit that was exploring street artists, such as Basquiat, and they loved that MISS CHELOVE featured a multicultural female street artist.
Students wanted to know what suggestions Sara would give someone who aspires to be a director. While she mentioned that it involved a lot of responsibility, vision, and communication skills, she highly recommended that students try it out via classes or local workshops to find out if it’s something they enjoy. She also suggested that students watch films from their favorite directors and find interviews where they share their wisdom.
Bernanke shared:
We learned about the filmmaker's process and motivation for her film making decisions. We were interested to learn about her focus on identity, particularly for women of Arab background.
Coolidge SHS (virtual)
Life is pretty interesting if you take a look around at what’s happening in the background. It’s full of stories. —Sara T. Gama
Our first virtual visit for Filmfest DC this year set the bar high with Beth Sewell’s high school students. Students were brimming with questions for Sara T. Gama, filmmaker of MISS CHELOVE. Dialogue mostly centered on the film industry and the filmmaking process, drifting into how a burgeoning filmmaker can get their movie screened, to the students’ favorites movies. Students connected well with Gama, who has extensive experience as an educator herself, sharing their favorite forms of art and their aspirations.
One student reflected:
I feel like I know MISS CHELOVE after watching this movie!
Classroom visits for We Still Here/Nos Tenemos
Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS
On April 29, We Still Here/Nos Tenemos director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi and producer Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi joined Dani McCormick’s fourth grade students at Mundo Verde Bilingual PCS for an in-person visit. The discussion connected the film about a Puerto Rican community’s recovery and activism after Hurricane Maria with the students’ study of colonialism, resistance, and creating resilient communities in the wake of environmental change.
Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi opened the class with a short lesson on the geography and the people of Puerto Rico. Children called out the names of the islands they knew in the Caribbean and the languages spoken on those islands. They then discussed how those languages came to be spoken there as a result of colonialism.
Jacobs-Fantauzzi talked about the Indigenous people of the Caribbean, and students recalled that they had learned a bit about the Taínos when they read about Christopher Columbus earlier in the year. Jacobs-Fantauzzi explained that because of colonialism, many Puerto Ricans are a mix of Taíno, European, and African heritage.
Then director Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi began answering questions from the students. Answering a question about what made him want to make the film, Eli explained that after Hurricane Maria he decided to gather donations and deliver them to Puerto Rico, but it didn’t feel good to give someone food when they had no roof, so he decided to try to get more involved in the rebuilding effort in Comerio. The kids in the community got excited when they saw the cameras, so he started giving them classes on how to use them. Over time, they collected a lot of footage and he decided to make a film about the community’s experiences after the hurricane.
One student asked why he thinks the government didn’t help the people of Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. Eli turned the question back to the student to answer. The student said he thought it was because the people weren’t white. “There’s a word for that,” said Eli. “It starts with an ‘R.’” “Racism,” responded the class. Eli discussed how racism is related to colonialism and asked the students what they think it means to decolonize yourself. One student said, “Don’t be a slave to regret.” Eli said he thinks one of the biggest things is to love yourself.
Students wanted to know what projects the community in Comerio is working on now. Eli explained that since the community had no power after Hurricane Maria for seven months, and this may not be the last hurricane, they have decided to prioritize a solar power project. After the hurricane, the community realized that they needed to create their own “just recovery model” that would help guide the recovery efforts without government help.
Eli asked the students to come up with three words that represent what just recovery or what justice looks like in the recovery to them. Some of their answers included:
Freedom
Love
Being a good neighbor
Teamwork
Collaboration
Empathy
Helping one another
Trusting each other
The other fourth-grade students at Mundo Verde plan to see the film, and then all of the students hope to write letters to the young people in Comerio and learn more about their solar power project.
Sacred Heart School
“I liked it when they said, ‘Who said we can’t do it?’” —student
The auditorium of Sacred Heart Bilingual Catholic School was buzzing with energy during a classroom visit with filmmakers Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi and Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi. Riana Fisher’s middle school global studies students responded well to the Jacobs-Fantauzzi brothers’ infectious and fervent energy. Beginning with a brief but informative history lesson about Puerto Rico – its etymology, and historical and present colonization – the Jacobs-Fantauzzies explored and unpacked what “just recovery” means and looks like, and how to practice justice in storytelling about Puerto Rico’s peoples. Eli Jacobs-Fantauzzi poignantly reflected:
We don’t want to just rebuild what was. We want to rebuild what can be.
What is so powerful about the Jacob-Fantauzzi brothers’ approach to facilitating classroom visits is that it feels like a sincere exchange. Students were elated to share some of the storytelling work they collaborated on recently, producing their own podcasts about a variety of topics.
One of Fisher’s students shared:
I really appreciate experiences like this. It means a lot to be able to learn from lots of different people and hear perspectives from all over the world
Cardozo EC
The students in Beth Barkley's 12th grade English class at Cardozo Education Campus (DCPS) were overjoyed to meet with filmmakers for We Still Here/Nos Tenemos.
It was the last period of the day on a lovely spring afternoon and a fire drill had just emptied the building. But Barkley's students, anxious to meet the filmmakers, got back in as soon as they could.
The filmmakers, Eli and Kahlil Jacobs-Fantauzzi, introduced themselves and offered a brief, interactive history of Puerto Rico, and asked for comments on the film. It was clear they were popular educators. The students were eloquent and passionate in their explanations as to why the film meant so much to them —both the story it told and the way it was made.
Then the students turned the tables and asked the filmmakers questions, including:
How did making the film change you?
Was there a moment when you felt you could not achieve the goal of producing the film?
Did you ever cry as you made the film?
How long did it take?
What impact did you hope the film would have?
To close the session, everyone got in a circle and shared one word about how they were feeling. Then they took a group photo and one of the students presented a gift to the filmmakers of cookies in the shape of stars with keywords and phrases from the film. When asked who wanted to travel to visit the community in Puerto Rico, everyone's hands were raised.
The exchange demonstrated the power of this film as a source of inspiration for young people.
Barkley shared:
We learned about the power of the people when it comes to organizing and making change in our community. We also learned about opportunities to rebuild dreams without limits, like they did in the film. The film and the filmmaker visit were both so inspiring —thank you!