Tuesday, June 10 marked the premiere of two short documentaries made by newportFILM’s newest batch of homegrown filmmakers. Screened at the Firehouse Theater in Newport, “The People’s Policy” and “Talking Ghostly” were the semester-long capstone projects made by students participating in newportFILM’s Documentary Unbound (or “docUnbound,” for short) program.
First beginning in February of 2022, docUnbound “started as a partnership with FabNewport, where it was more of a discussion-based program,” similar to a college seminar, Devon Torres, newportFILM’s education and community coordinator, explains. “Then, based on student need and the teaching artists that got hired to come in, it became a program where they [the students] actually made documentary films.” Talking about the craft is great, but the participants in the program – a mix of high school students from schools around Aquidneck Island like Rogers and the East Bay MET School, as well as adults from Looking Upwards – were more interested in the craft itself: the “how-to” behind making films up to industry standards.
At docUnbound, students now learn a “well-rounded, holistic approach to filmmaking,” says Torres. “So, what it takes to be in front of the camera, behind the camera, all the different pieces that go into the pre-production process, the production process of an actual film, and then the post-production process, which is more closely related to editing.” Industry professionals serve as teaching mentors for the program, including notable names such as Jennifer Tuttle (producer at MSNBC, serving as a mentor this year), Matthew Chausse (producer, also a mentor this year), Satya Sullivan (cinematographer), and Chris Fagan (set designer).
Last year, students in the program worked together to create a documentary short film, “Seal You Later,” about the harbor seals in Narragansett Bay. The class interviewed Save the Bay employees and took a boat tour of the harbor to create their end-of-year project.
This year was slightly different. During the fall, program attendees had a lab-style class so they “could build up all of the technical skills that were necessary before they went straight into a production,” like how to operate a boom mic and how to use video editing software, Torres lists.
At the end of the fall semester, program attendees pitched Chausse to build out two ideas for projects to lead in the spring. Each student pitched one idea, and the group voted for two winners, one of which was The Met School senior Bella Quiroa’s idea.
The two projects had “wildly different tones,” Torres laughed. One documentary, “Talking Ghostly,” delved into hauntings around Newport and focused on a “really lighthearted, unsolved mystery” tone. Quiroa’s film, “The People’s Policy,” spoke to the heart of civic action and how any individual can have a big impact on their local community. With the film runtimes capped at ten minutes, students had to learn the art of powerful, concise storytelling. However, the time constraint challenge is also present to ensure students can complete their projects. With a seven-person crew that only meets twice a week for two hours, the timeline for the entire production and finalizing the short film can come down to the wire.
Quiroa joined docUnbound in her freshman year of high school, jumping at the opportunity the program provided to learn more about film as an industry. “What I had originally seen as just a hobby, which was video production and video editing, was more of something I could utilize to connect to other people.” From making new friends to putting herself in her subjects’ shoes, Quiroa sees her time spent making documentaries as time spent on empathy.
Her short film, “The People’s Policy,” aims to “amplify that message that community members can be much more involved in policy than they think,” Quiroa explains. “We were able to uplift that story by focusing on the Newport community by interviewing folks like Ellen Pinnock, a city councilwoman on the Newport City Council, two individuals from the Aquidneck Community Table, a local nonprofit organization, as well as Josh Daily from the Rhode Island Food Policy Council.” Her team was also able to interview Dr. Robert Putnam, a political scientist at Harvard University, with the help of the resources offered by newportFILM.
“I wrote it down as a one-off idea, not really thinking it would be something that we’d end up doing,” she recalls. But with the vote cast for creating “The People’s Policy,” Quiroa was thrust into a leadership role, suddenly transitioning from behind-the-scenes work like video editing to running, essentially, a mini production company and directing a short film.
But with the expert guidance of docUnbound’s industry mentors and her own passion for filmmaking, Quiroa has championed each project she’s been involved in to success. “[She] has won first place in the statewide SkillsUSA competition for video production two years in a row – and will go on to compete at Nationals in Atlanta for the second time in a row at the end of June” in the Digital Cinema Production category, Torres proudly says. Last year, she placed eighth in the national competition.
Crowds closer to home have also been quite receptive to Quiroa’s projects and the student films docUnbound has produced. This year’s screening completely sold out, but for those who missed the premiere, the documentaries will be up on docUnbound’s YouTube channel and on their website once the students have polished their capstone projects to their complete satisfaction.
Torres hopes that the program will continue to grow. They have a capacity for 25 students, hosted at FabNewport, and there is no barrier to entry; “if you can find a ride to our location, you are more than welcome to attend,” Torres affirms. Students can join the program at any time throughout the year, and interested parties should reach out through the docUnbound website for more information.
