A documentary produced in the fall FS30: Documentary Videomaking class has been selected for presentation at the Global Impact Film Festival in Washington, DC. Under the Bridge (Matthew Gannon '21, Daniela Armas '20, Leatile Monthe '20, 10 minutes, 2019) looks at a homeless camp in Hartford, VT, through the life of one of its inhabitants.
"I'm very proud of the work that Matt, Daniela, and Malets did on Under the Bridge." reflects Professor Jeffrey Ruoff, who taught the Film Studies 30 Documentary class. "During a busy term, they spent literally hundreds of hours developing rapport with their subject, shooting, editing and re-editing. In the end, the final film resembled and amplified the proposal that Matt Gannon initially submitted at the beginning of FS30: Documentary Videomaking. The students completed a sensitive, ethical, and moving portrayal of one homeless man, whose story illuminates that of others in similar conditions. Before its public premiere, Matt arranged to screen the film for several members of the homeless camp, who were themselves very touched by the portrait. The students were also acutely aware of wanting to give something back to the homeless community and the film proved remarkably effective in raising money to this end. "
A Gofundme site mentioned at the end of the film raised several thousand dollars to aid the homeless there.