The Most Inspiring Medium: Filmfest DC Classroom Visits 2024
In April 2024, Teaching for Change partnered with Filmfest DC: The Washington, DC, International Film Festival for a thirteenth year to bring filmmakers into D.C. classrooms to share some of their films.
Students learned about filmmaking and social justice issues from viewing the films and participating in discussions with the filmmakers. (Read about prior year visits.)
On the Mountain
Classroom Visits
School Without Walls
“Movies to me can be the most inspiring medium.”— Abdullah Amin
On April 22, students in Kerry Sylvia's 12th grade AP U.S. Government class returned from spring break to a visit from On the Mountain actor Abdullah Amin. Abdullah is a first generation Afghan-American who grew up in the D.C. area, and he played the role of a U.S. government interpreter in the film. Sylvia began the class by showing the short film to students a second time (they watched it the first time more than a week earlier, before spring break). Students then asked Abdullah questions about various topics, including U.S. immigration law, Islamic customs, how he thinks peace can come to Afghanistan, and how he became involved with the film. Abdullah shared his personal experiences as a first-generation immigrant and as a volunteer interpreter. Students had a lively discussion about U.S. immigration policy and why and whether it should prioritize the nuclear family.
Sylvia shared:
Mr. Amin's personal work with refugees encouraged students to reflect on the individual impact one can make by volunteering and regularly engaging in acts of kindness. It was another meaningful experience for my students that allowed them to explore government policy and its direct impact on people.
Inspired Teaching Demonstration School
The 6th grade classes of Inspired Teaching Demonstration School met with On the Mountain actor Abdullah Amin. Abdullah spent the day before with high school students and was eager to see how a younger grade took to the film. Rim Haile, social studies teacher, was eager to engage with Filmfest D.C as students experienced the power of storytelling to learn about the lived experiences of others. On the Mountain fit nicely into a unit the classes would participate in on North America that focused on the causes and consequences of migration and cultural and political forces within communities.
Haile shared:
This was a really great experience for the educators and students. Students had thought-provoking commentary and questions during the screening of the film, and getting to meet with Mr. Amin was another opportunity for them to share out any pressing questions that they had. He was able to establish positive rapport with the students, which made it a comfortable space for them to ask questions and remain engaged. Overall, students expressed that they enjoyed the visit! They were super excited to take pictures with Mr. Amin at the end!
The Test
Classroom visits
School Without Walls at Francis Stevens
The Test director Claudia Myers visited students in Jennifer Myers' 6th grade Language Arts class at School Without Walls at Francis Stevens on April 22, 2024. Prior to the visit, students had been learning about the citizenship process and had taken sample questions from the U.S. naturalization test. Students had many questions for Myers about the citizenship process in general and what kinds of changes to the immigration system she thought might make sense given what she learned making the film. They also wanted to know why she chose to make the film and how she chose the film’s subject and captured certain parts of the film.
Myers shared:
I thought it was very valuable for my students to connect their unit study on immigration experiences to the real-world examples provided in the documentary short The Test. My students were interested to learn about how the citizenship process plays out in the real world, as well as the nuts and bolts of capturing a story in a documentary format.
Carlos Rosario at Sonia Gutierrez
The Test’s director, Claudia Myers, visited students in Patricia DeFerrari and Brad Haiar's GED class at Carlos Rosario Sonia Gutierrez campus on April 23, 2024. Students wanted to know more about what inspired Myers to direct the film and how she feels about the citizenship process now that she has followed someone through the naturalization test. Students also asked about how she chose Eric as the subject for her film, updates about his family, and what comes next for the film. Myers shared that she hopes to show the film in retirement homes and in Congress, and to create a discussion guide for teachers who show the film in their classrooms.
DeFerrari’s shared:
The experience was fantastic. Students were very engaged in the conversation with Claudia Myers and grateful for her interest in the stories of immigrant workers. In the film screening/question prep session and in our session with Claudia, I saw students from both of our GED classes raising questions and feeding off of each other's interest and thinking. We also had other Carlos Rosario staff present, and they were equally impressed. The energy level was high and very positive. I hope we can do this again next year!
One Wheel Bandit
Classroom Visit
Coolidge HS
Several classes at Coolidge HS (DCPS) were present for the school visit with Rick Gonzalez, filmmaker for the documentary short, One Wheel Bandit. Beth Sewell, who has hosted several classroom visits with Teaching for Change and Filmfest DC over the years, coordinated Gonzalez’s visit with D.C. History teacher, Mr. Fitzmaurice, and co-teachers for the Mass Media course. Sewell shared that she tends to select films that are hyper local — ones that focus on D.C. history and culture. She beamed that Gonzalez’s film showcases D.C. in such a special way, while also briefly and powerfully telling a story about a D.C. cultural figure.
The classes pulled on several threads present in One Wheel Bandit. Mass Media students asked about the pre-production, production, and post-production process, including how long it takes to edit, how Gonzalez selects the interview sites, and what types of video toolst and editing programs he uses. Others asked about the feel of the film — how Gonzalez made a poignant conversation with Allen Woods (also known as “Smiley”) both an ode to the hustle and bustle of D.C. neighborhoods and the beauty of public art all around us. They also talked about the moving symbolism in the film that depicts working through fears and not being afraid of falling, and a subtle lesson about how to make your own way when your surroundings aren’t accommodating to your needs.
Sewell said that the visit was, “wonderful. This film and classroom visit inspired me to teach from my heart a bit more.”
Sewell shared that this film inspired her to develop a plan to teach her students how to ride bikes. She’s partnering with Coolidge’s physical education department and Capital Bikeshare to secure bikes at a nearby bike hub to use to teach her students how to ride.
build me through the image
Classroom visits
Kennedy HS (Montgomery County Public Schools)
Bryan Cockrell’s 9th grade class welcomed Paula Hung, filmmaker for build me through the image, to their classroom for enriching conversation about the documentary short.
Cockrell, a member of the DCAESJ secondary working group, kicked off class with their customary warm-up activity: “How are you?” and “Tell us about your day.”
Hung introduced themself to the class, answering the warm-up activity questions as well. She gave some background to the film, noting that it began as a class assignment. Hung shared about the filmmaking process, specifying they sourced footage from a variety of places, including family members. Students asked:
What inspired you to make this film?
What technology have you used in filmmaking?
What is the significance of the poem towards the end of the film?
Hung is a rising senior at New York University, studying film and anthropology. Students were curious about Hung’s involvement in the encampments in support of Palestine. Hung shared about their experience at the encampment and interactions they’ve had with the University’s administration who’ve been antagonistic to students’ demonstrations and unsupportive of students who’ve experienced police violence due to participation in the encampment.
Bruce Monroe at Parkview
Bruce Monroe at Parkview’s fifth graders were bubbling with energy and enthusiasm, welcoming Paula Hung for their classroom visit in the school’s library. After being introduced, Cesarina Pierre, a founding member of the DCAESJ elementary working group and the school’s librarian, screened the film once more to refresh the students’ memory of its content. Hung briefly shared about the film and its inspiration, and students fervently asked questions. They were intrigued by the imagery and footage, notably the beating heart that is included in the film, and were curious about what it symbolized. They commented on the split screen design of the film, and the fact that it’s in both English and Spanish.
Pierre shared:
I learned about the intersections of identity and how we need to teach students that it is more than one story being told. This film will influence how we approach our identity unit in the fall. It also shows the need to bring more awareness and understanding to the LGBTQIA+ members of our school community.
Mountains
Classroom Visit
School Without Walls
Mountains’ director and writer, Monica Sorelle and producer and writer, Robert Colom visited students in Ana Martinez-Lopez's Global Perspectives class at School Without Walls on April 26, 2024. Students wanted to know more about why Sorelle and Colom chose to write the film, how they shot various scenes, how they chose the cast and incorporated non-actors into the film, and made choices about details in the film from costume to color palette to playing clips of Haitian news.
Martinez-Lopez shared:
We loved how the film directors shared the process and motivation to make the movie and how their two cultures were interloped in the design and script writing of the movie. It was a fabulous experience and I hope that we can do it again next school year.
Igualada
Class VisitS
Cardozo EC
Beth Barkley’s 9th and 10th grade English I/II students loved the inspiring story of Francia Marquez in the film Igualada. Students in Barkley’s class are from El Salvador, Guatemala, Venezuela, Panama, Mexico, and Colombia, and all are English language learners (ELLs) –— many being recent arrivals to the D.C. area or this country altogether. They were fascinated by Marquez’ humble beginnings, growing up in a town where gold mining was both a source of revenue and a source of environmental destruction with harmful health effects.
One student asked how and when the filmmakers got to know Marquez in the first place. Juan Mejia, one of the filmmakers, said he met her early on in 2006 when he worked on a series of short films about forced displacement in Colombia in gold mining communities and they became good friends. He did some films about her community and her role as a community organizer. Her campaign message and slogan is Soy Porque Somos —I Am Because We Are. When asked how Marquez herself reacted to this film, he said she was both proud of it, but also critical because she didn’t like being at the center of it; she wished other women activists got more attention.
The filmmakers shared that despite Colombia being a racist, classist, and machista country, this is a hopeful film. In a time when things in Colombia (and the U.S.) are very polarized, her story shows that anything and everything is possible — a woman of African descent from humble beginnings was elected vice-president and the inaugural Minister of Equality.
Barkley shared:
Francia Márquez Mina is so inspiring! I hope I can meet her one day. Her courage, resilience, and love for her community showed students how someone they can identify with can be vice president (and one day president!) of their country! I am inspired by and admire Francia's grassroots organizing with people. Students have been interested in discussing Colombian politics, so it was a blessing to have the opportunity to extend this conversation to learning with Juan Mejia and Juan Yepes — thank you!
Capitol Hill Day School
Maris Hawkins’ 8th grade Spanish class at Capitol Hill Day School was eager to dialogue with Igualada’s Juan Castaneda, Creative Director, and Juan Mejia, Social Documentary Director. The students were abuzz, peppering them with insightful questions about the film. Students were curious about the filmmaking process, for example, and Mejia and Castaneda shared about how COVID interrupted and slowed the production process, but the racial justice uprisings also contributed to the momentum of Francia Marquez’s — the film’s subject — campaign. Colombia’s geographic diversity was also a significant point of conversation.
The filmmakers were curious what moments from the film did the students find particularly powerful or poignant. Students highlighted:
Marquez’s speeches
The voter signature collection and how that built momentum around Marquez
The art people made for her
How she reclaimed the term “igualada”
Marquez and her campaign subverted “igualada,” a slur that loosely means “uppity,” in the same way it’s wielded against Black Americans who insist on equal treatment. Mejia broke the term down, asking students what the root word “igual” means, so they could better understand the power in how Marquez and her supporters reclaim the term. “Igualada, y que?” Marquez quips as part of her campaigning. At one point, students asked if Marquez ever lost hope in her campaign. Castaneda and Mejia noted that they almost lost hope in Marquez’s campaign, but she never seemed to.
Hawkins shared:
It was wonderful! My students really enjoyed the documentary, and the director and producer were engaging and interesting while they were talking to my students. I would look forward to other opportunities to participate in the future.
Read about the Teach the Beat visits at CHDS in 2023.
See all photos from classroom visits for Filmfest 2024. See all Filmfest DC stories.