On the Road

We are currently raising funds for our cross-country tour. We will be presenting the process and resulting films in workshops, giving troubled kids and parents a "reality check" about where their lives are going and how they might choose another path. The workshops will offer the project as a model to other communities in creating their own youth violence projects. In this way, we hope to share our concerns for the safety and future of young people everywhere.

From the beginning, the many factions of youth violence have been involved in our work on every level. We have worked closely with violent kids, parents, teachers, policemen, and youth services providers. As we had hoped, they not only talked to us, but they talked to each other. We consider the making of these films as an exercise in creating a caring community — an entity that can be effective in dissolving violence at its core. In our way, we were participating in trying to heal the problem.

We have hopes that our process can be a model for other communities to follow. Film was our tool, but any tool will do. As we take our films to other cities we will be encouraging others to create their own community projects — using whatever tools are at hand — to try to bring about dialog which, in itself, can be the most powerful healing tool of all.

About the Project

Thirty of my students and myself have been working on "The Youth Violence Project" for three years. The first year we interviewed over 50 people who were involved in youth violence in some way (gang members, incarcerated teens, parents, teachers, psychologists, law enforcement officials, and social workers). The second year we created composite characters and storylines based on these interviews and produced a feature-length dramatic film for the purpose of creating a subjective ("inside the skin") experience for viewers. We shot in 15 locations using 80 volunteer actors. The third year we edited the original interview footage into a companion film allowing viewers to hear from the real people who experienced the events in our dramatic film. Now in our 4th and final year, we are using these films in workshops as part of a novel approach to youth violence education.

As filmmakers we know that we can't understand the actions of others unless we attempt on some level to experience their worlds. Film is a unique language that speaks to both youth and adults in a very personal way. We believe film is a practical tool for sharing experience and for rethinking who we are.