Workshop Scheduled To Help Delta High School Students Make Their Own Movies

MAY 24, 2021 – SUMNER, MS - After being sidelined by COVID-19 in 2020 like many other summer programs, a free young filmmakers’ workshop, designed to help high school students investigate and document their own video stories, is recruiting for their 2021 class.  

The Sunflower County Film Academy (SCFA) will conduct a two-week workshop June 21 through July 2 at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center (ETIC) in Sumner. A public screening of their final class film will be held across the street at the Tallahatchie County Courthouse. Professional filmmakers, Dr. Pablo Correa, Kyle Jones, and Sunflower County native Robert “RJ” Fitzpatrick will work with students as instructors and technical advisors during video shoots. Lunch and snacks will be provided, and the workshop will be conducted in tandem with federal and state COVID-19 restrictions. Hand sanitizer and masks will be on site and daily temperature checks will be taken by staffers. 

Dr. Brian Graves, who specializes in production and documentary storytelling, as an Associate Professor of Media and Technology, at Florida State University, will also be on hand as a volunteer instructor. 

The SCFA launched in 2018 and is part of the multimodal community driven project, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America. The comprehensive project, dedicated to the late civil rights icon and Sunflower County native, features a K-12 digital curriculum, an online resource and a new and original documentary slated for broadcast in early 2022. Correa and Fitzpatrick were videographers for the film.

Correa, who is currently the Assistant Professor and program director for Digital Media and Communication at the University of St. Joseph in West Hartford, Connecticut, also taught Media Techniques and Single Cam Video Production at Florida State University. Correa said this workshop allows Delta students to share their vision, voice, and creativity with others through their films. 

Students from the 2018 SCFA workshop at Gentry High School in Indianola, MS set up and learn to use the new production equipment.

"This is really such a unique opportunity for students to learn professional filmmaking skills combined with the civil rights history of the Delta,” he said. “Our inaugural workshop was quite successful with student work being premiered at both the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, and Crossroads Film Festival in Mississippi."

The SCFA works with 15 students from various high schools to plan, shoot and edit their own films using professional grade equipment and utilizing primary source research and oral histories. The 2018 class hosted students from Sunflower, Bolivar, and Washington counties. This year enrollment will focus on students from Tallahatchie County. Applications can be accessed through the website. The workshop also includes classroom discussions about racial equity and healing and modern-day injustices as it relates to them and their family history. 

“We strive to provide the best creative and professional workspace for the students while they learn throughout the workshop,” said Fitzpatrick, who mentors teens on  civil rights history in the Delta. “This allows them to fully immerse themselves into their film projects giving them the experience and knowledge they need to tell their stories. So, it’s a great opportunity that will inspire them and reassure them that anything is possible.” 

Workshop organizers partnered with ETIC and its executive director, Patrick Weems on this effort because they often host programs for young people, and their goal is to also mentor teens using the arts and storytelling, while helping to “process past pain and imagine new futures moving forward,” said Weems.

Correa said the SCFA also strives to interest more minorities in the digital arts field.

"The digital media and communication field lacks minority representation in creating and delivering media messages,” Correa said, “which often results in companies not reflecting the views of our diverse population or unintentionally offending diverse populations. One of our goals with the workshop is to equip students with the knowledge and self-efficacy to pursue a career in the digital arts field and through connections with professors such as myself and Dr. Graves, to help them navigate the road to college."   

Funding for the Sunflower County Film Academy was provided by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA), Phil Hardin Foundation, C Spire Foundation, the Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC), ATMOS Energy, Music Studio of Marin and HOPE Enterprises and Credit Union.