News Release

Student Films Premiere at 5th Annual OWU Documentary Film Festival

April 10, 2009

DELAWARE, OH – Four documentary films produced by Ohio Wesleyan University students will premiere Saturday, April 18, at The Strand Theater, 28 E. Winter St., in downtown Delaware. The 5th Annual OWU Documentary Film Festival is co-sponsored by the Department of Sociology/Anthropology and the Beeghly Library AV Center. This event is free of charge and open to the public.

• 7:30 p.m., “In Search Of a Home,” produced by Prakrity Silway ’10 and Jaclyn Chauvaux ’09, will present an overview of the people and services offered at the Delaware Area Humane Society. This film documents the challenges created by an ever-increasing number of stray pets, and features interviews with staff, volunteers, and clients. (22 minutes, 2009)
• 8 p.m., “Empty Cupboards,” directed and edited by Renee Colvin ’09 and Jen Shepard ’11, shows how Columbus’s food pantries have been challenged by rising food prices and decreasing public donations resulting from the current economic crisis. (11 minutes, 2009)
• 8:20 p.m., “People At The Gates” by filmmaker Pam Skehan ’09, profiles the annual protest by thousands at the gates of the School of the Americas in Fort Benning, Ga. Some graduates of the federally funded school have been linked to human rights violations in Latin America. This year, 33 OWU students joined in the procession to honor the lives of those lost, to stand in solidarity with Latin America, and to celebrate U.S. democracy. (25 minutes, 2009)
• 8:50 p.m., “Sukumbashi: Life Under the Shadow,” produced by Prakrity Silwal ’10, who shows the harsh living conditions and daily challenges faced by people living in squatter communities in Nepal. Silwal shows people in their struggles to find employment, food, and clean drinking water. This documentary also shows the community’s grass-roots efforts to protect their rights and educate their children. (21 minutes, 2008)

The student film producers will be present for short discussions following each showing. The films being screened are the final class projects for students enrolled in the Ethnographic and Documentary Film and Filmmaking course taught each fall at the Media Center.

“It’s really remarkable to work with the students as they learn the process of making these films,” said Chuck Della Lana, manager of audio visual services, who teaches the course with Mary Howard, Ph.D., a sociology/anthropology professor and department chair.

Ohio Wesleyan University is an undergraduate liberal arts college that transforms the lives of its students through a combination of rigorous academics, mentoring relationships, and real-world experiences. Featured in the book “Colleges That Change Lives,” the private university’s 1,850 students come from 47 states and 50 countries. Visit www.owu.edu for more information.