Honors Experience program draws film makers to Cincinnati State
As part of its Honors Experience program, Cincinnati State hosted a three-week series that brought several of the region’s leading documentary film makers to campus to share and discuss their work.
While designed for students, the screenings were open to the public free of charge.
Each of the films was shot in Cincinnati. After each showing, audience members were invited to participate in a discussion with the producers.
In recent years the Honors Experience has been bringing a recognized scholar or professional to the Cincinnati State campus to meet with students and faculty. According to Marcha Hunley, director of the Honors Experience, the panel responsible for the program decided this year to expand it over a three-week period and discuss how documentary films engage citizens on a variety of topics.
Cincinnati State President O’dell M. Owens said the documentary series was designed to have broad appeal on campus, since the college has a large and growing film production program, in addition to its Honors Experience and traditional liberal arts offerings. Since all the films featured Cincinnati settings and filmmakers, he said the series was also designed to attract non-students to the Cincinnati State campus.
“It’s time to shed our reputation as Cincinnati’s best-kept secret,’’ he said. “We have Honors. We have one of the best production studios in the region, and some of the best instructors. We’ve got students and faculty who routinely move to and from the other universities in Greater Cincinnati,’’ he added. “I want to open some doors around here, invite people in.’’
This year's program included:
Runaway Train and The Making of Runaway Train by Melissa Godoy and Mercy Franciscan at West Park DaySTAE
Godoy worked with the Mercy system to produce a short film about a group of soldiers, dancing girls, two con artists and one mysterious spy taking a train trip to California. The cast of the film are dementia patients. Godoy also produced a short documentary about the making of the movie. The film grew out of improvisational activities that are a part of DaySTAE’s mission to improve residents' lives, and to counter the misconceptions the public holds about Alzheimer's disease.
Cincinnati’s Abandoned Subway by Paige E. Malott and Leland Schuler
The film explores the creation of the subway, why it failed, and how the unfinished rapid transit loop impacts the present-day metropolis. The ongoing debate over public transportation encourages citizens to look to their past to understand how the lack of the subway affects them today, and challenges us to think creatively about the future transportation needs of our community.
A Crack in the Pavement by Andrea Torrice
The film by this Cincinnati resident and award-winning documentary filmmaker focuses on Elmwood Place and Madeira, representative first suburbs that were once the embodiment of the American dream, now struggling to maintain viability and quality of life due to a vicious cycle of financial problems. It explores complex challenges facing America’s first suburbs, communities that were built after World War II.
After the showing of her film, Torrice was joined by Godoy and Malott for a panel discussion of the function and importance of their medium in our culture.
