The Bama Theatre will host the fifth annual Documenting Justice Screening this Tuesday, April 26, starting at 7 p.m. The screening will feature six student-created documentaries about justice and injustice in Alabama, with each film running about 10 to 11 minutes. The event is free and open to the public.
Andrew Grace, the director of Documenting Justice, described the class as “an interdisciplinary, year-long documentary filmmaking class designed for non-film makers.”
This year, Documenting Justice has two class sections totaling 13 students in all. The films are normally made in pairs, though this year three students worked on one of the films.
“[Attendees] will see six original short documentary films dealing with stories in Alabama,” Grace said. “They’re really great student films, which is kind of an oxymoron sometimes, but not in this case.”
Grace described two films as examples of what will be shown at the event.
“There is one film about catfish farming in Alabama, but instead of doing just a profile of the industry, it asks questions about free trade and globalization in a very compelling and interesting way,” Grace said. “It’s about how the industry is threatened by foreign competition and how it became an issue.
“Another film is about the current immigration debate,” Grace said. “The film examines a few Latino activists in Albertville, Ala.”
Chris Scott, a senior majoring in religious studies, said he and his partner, a third-year law student, made their documentary about Roy Moore, the former chief justice of Alabama who was removed from office after placing a monument of the 10 Commandments in the courtroom and refusing to have it removed.
“We chose this topic because the story is normally so polarized; there are either people who agree or people who think he’s ruining America,” Scott said. “We wanted to take a more honest and critical look at him as a person.
“It was a lot of work but really interesting,” Scott said. “You have to learn about a whole different way to make an argument that is unlike writing papers. It’s a different kind of storytelling. It was really fun to learn.”
Grace said students should come out to see the films not only because of their interesting subject matter, but also to celebrate the hard work and potential of their fellow college students.
“I think there are not many classes like this at the University that are as intense and as product-driven as this class is,” Grace said. “What these films represent is a year of really, really intense work by a group of students. It’s a celebration of the best part of what college can be; that is, work to create something that is original. In addition to students coming to learn and be entertained by these frankly very entertaining films, they are also celebrating hard work.”
Students in the Documenting Justice class agreed with Grace that the class involves a lot of hard work and serious time commitment.
Hillary Moore, a senior in New College, said she planned on graduating early but decided to stay an extra year to take Documenting Justice to supplement her studies. Her film is about a coalmine that began operating in 2010 and how it affects the small community of Rosa, Ala.
“This has been, by far, the hardest class I’ve ever taken,” Moore said. “But it has also been extremely rewarding. I’ve had the opportunity to meet people I would have never crossed paths with before, and I’ve had to push myself in ways I’ve never imagined. It’s been a frustrating, but fantastic, learning experience.”
Chris Izor, a junior majoring in English and French, is making a film about Greensboro, Ala., and how it’s a haven for students just out of college to do community work and how their “idealism is retained in the face of reality.”
Izor also described the class as one of his most trying academic experiences.
“It’s been the most exhausting experience of my entire life,” Izor said. “It’s also been what I’ve been missing in my college experience until now. I’ve slept in the car a few times; I’ve slept in Reese Phifer a few times; I’ve cuddled with my videotape. It was the most trying experience academically and in life.”
Izor, along with Scott and Moore, encouraged students to attend the screening for the interesting content of the films as well as just seeing what all the talk is about.
“You can see what the buzz is about and what your peers have done,” Izor said. “You can learn a lot from documentaries, especially things you didn’t know about. I think it’s going to be a fun screening.”
Moore said, “The films are fascinating. They cover issues I never knew existed, let alone existed in Alabama. It’s a great way to support a unique program and learn more about the state.”
Scott said anyone interested in the class should come to the screening to see what the final product is.
“Most of us, except a few, have no background in film,” Scott said. “Come see what you can do in less than a year and how far you can come in such a short time.”
Grace said Documenting Justice “represents something unique in the college curriculum that encourages students to go out of their comfort zone and hear a story from people who aren’t like them.
“It’s a meaningful experience for the students and one we can all share by watching these videos and sharing in that experience.”
Grace said applications for the Documenting Justice class for 2011-2012 are closed, but students interested in the 2012-2013 class can find information on the Center for Ethics and Social Responsibility website, or interested students can email him directly at [email protected].
