Month: April 2022

Link: https://vimeo.com/694593863

I want to cover my short doc on autistic kids and their education. I feel like after the pandemic the comeback has been a struggle since kids were so used to being in their houses doing their school work to now being in a classroom setting once again. The kids I wanted to cover are adolescents so between the ages of 6-and 11.

Some of these kids haven’t even seen a classroom setting before the pandemic and some have forgotten what it’s like to be in a classroom setting with that one-on-one learning, especially autistic kids. For those, that do remember I want to cover what it was like being taken out of the classroom setting and how it was adjusting for the child and especially the parent because some parents became that teacher and had to make sure their children were learning the material since the teachers were virtually teaching the hard class.

For the short doc, I want to focus on how the pandemic suspended essential services and learning for Austin children and how the child, teachers, and parents were affected. I also want to interview the teachers on the difficulties of bringing autistic kids back into the classroom setting and what challenges they faced since being back in the classroom and if it has any long-term effects on these kids. Especially with the constant changes in regulations with the mask being required, vaccines being required then both mask and vaccines being optional and has it affected the attendance, have they gained kids or lost kids, etc.

I believe that this could be interesting because I haven’t heard many things about autistic children learning being suspended. I know the news has focused on children in school as a whole but I want to know specifically the challenges for autistic kids since they require one on one learning, essential services, etc.

This semester, because of my cultural reporting class, my interest in Staten Island cultural organizations has grown. I am particularly interested in non-profit organizations. 

I plan to focus on a few topics. Which are: How does a non-profit get started, what keeps a non-profit running, who funds their educational programs, why non-profits/the arts are important to our youth. how were they affected by the pandemic and how they’re doing now.

Covid-19 caused a number of changes to cultural institutions, such as the switch to virtual operations. Especially smaller local places, such as Alice Austen House Museum, Emma’s Place – grief and loss center, St. George Theater.

These non-profit organizations that I am featuring, aside from Emma’s Place, all have educational programs for children – I want to try to highlight the educational programs, by including descriptions, with b-roll of the locations, just incase the timeline does not pan out or if permission is not granted to film in a educational setting. (Emma’s Place does offer grief training in schools and workplaces after a loss, so maybe that also counts as educational?)

My reason for including Emma’s Place among all these cultural organization non-profits is because over the last two years – many of us have suffered numerous losses,from in person interactions to jobs and income to the loss of a loved one due to Covid-19. With the interview I already conducted, I feel the importance of working through grief will be conveyed. 

Main Characters: 

1. Karen Goldman – Founder/ Executive Director of Emma’s Place
2. Doctor Carolyn Taverner – Co-founder / Program Director of Emma’s Place
3. Victoria Munro – Executive Director of Alice Austen House
4. Doreen Cugno – President/CEO of St George Theater

Possibly Staten Island Museum & Staten Island Lighthouse Museum as well

Filming Locations:

1. Emma’s Place – Cottage Row; Staten Island, NY
2. Alice Austen House Museum – Rosebank, Staten Island, NY
3. St. George Theater; Staten Island, NY

Crew: Cristine Trimarco

Filming timeline: April 2022. 

Edits complete: May 10, 2022.

PITCH: Ramadan 2022 has begun. It is the first Ramadan since the COVID-19 pandemic started, which most Muslim college students will be observing during in-person classes throughout their spring semester. This main act of worship that all Muslims partake in throughout this religious month is fasting every day, which requires them to abstain from eating from dawn to dusk. Fasting might be more challenging to practice on campus. 

Two years ago, when lockdowns began worldwide, Muslim students were able to observe Ramadan at home, with the comfort of praying there, breaking fast with their families, and having enough time to stay up late and go to the mosque for Taraweeh prayers since classes were online and their schedules did not include commuting throughout the day. That comfort is no longer an option for some college students at schools such as Baruch, and they will be adapting to this circumstance. For some freshmen, sophomores, and juniors this will be the first time they spend Ramadan on campus. 

For these students, their spiritual connection to this month does not have to be tethered, since it could be tied down to Baruch’s Muslim Student Association which some would consider a gem and a necessity. Correlation and community are made possible through this prayer room and through the activities this religious club offers. In Ramadan, they will be supplying students with meals for Iftar, which are Zabiha Halal, ensuring that anyone on campus during that time can break their fast in union with their peers when they are far from home. 

This short documentary will follow characters such as the board of Baruch’s MSA as well as members who frequent the prayer room, from sharing the history of the club to the importance of it for each individual, how it functions as a crucial part of their college experience, and whether they have faced inaccessibility in professional settings when it comes to praying or breaking their fasts. The arc for the narrative will be the main characters’ need for a prayer space/Muslim community on campus, their search and discovery of the MSA, their experiences before finding it, and finally, the way it has changed them. It will capture the necessity of the room and the sisterhood/brotherhood that it fosters. The shooting plan involves shots located at Baruch’s campus and shots from mosques and homes to show various prayer spaces and iftars that the Muslim community is acquainted with during this month. 

Main characters: Hadiyah Jalloh, Baruch MSA’a President Zoya Cheema, Baruch MSA’s Co-Secretary  Ibrahim Rauf, Baruch MSA’s Co-Events Coordinator Brandon Nordin, Bauch MSA’s Assistant Treasurer	Crew: Producer/ Director: Siddrah Alhindi  Producer/ Shooter: Siddrah Alhinid
Filming locations: Baruch College, New York, US MAS Staten Island Center, New York, US	Shooting timeline: April 2022 New York, US

Edits complete: May 10, 2022

PITCH: Selaedin Maksut, the youngest Executive Director of all the CAIR chapters nationwide carries the heavy burden of helping out the Muslim community in any way necessary. CAIR NJ, a non profit organization, has been working towards enhancing the understanding of Islam, encouraging dialogue, protecting civil liberties, empowering American Muslims, and building coalitions that promote justice and mutual understanding. This is no easy task, considering hate crimes and islamophobia has increased in New Jersey since 9/11. Not to mention, the CAIR-Ohio director was fired just three months ago for allegedly sending spying on muslims and sending information to an anti-Muslim group.

I would like to tell the story of the muslim community through the eyes of the people that work for this nonprofit since they are working towards bringing justice to various victims in this community every single day. I want people to see what muslims have to face on a daily basis, and why it is important to be educated on Islam, not through the media, but through their typical muslim neighbors.

I want to execute this vision by conducting various interviews with the ED of CAIR NJ and his co workers, I also want to talk to any of the people that they represent, and I want to portray muslims not as victims, but as a strong knitted community that stands up for themselves.

I want to use b-roll of the CAIR NJ office, the mosque, and any other environment that I find myself in that is connected to the story and the vision of what I am trying to portray.

Main characters: Selaedin Maksut  Lawyer  Interns	Crew: Producer/ Director:Yasmine Mohamed
Filming locations: New Jersey, CAIR office Mosque	Shooting timeline: April-May

Edits complete: Beginning of May

Pitch

Mahmoud Adel aka Big Moe Kicks has been in the sneaker business for over 10 years. Although I was never really a sneakerhead I was always fascinated by the commitment I see in both the seller and buyer. The more I saw my cousin doing this the more I wanted to know more about it. 

So for this short documentary, I want to do it all about my cousin and how it has been being in the business for this long. i want to also highlight the past two years, I am sure covid has impacted him tremendously. I want to know what his journey was like, how he got started, and know what it’s been like. 

The growth in his business is something I witness personally so I want to know how did it go from selling a bunch of random sneakers from his garage to two fully stocked storge units and almost 35k followers on Instagram. 

I believe that this could visually be very interesting. I want to film his storage units, him delivering the sneakers, and possibly what a regular day would be like for him. I am sure he also has friends who have been with him from the start and customers who he might have had from day 1 so if i could get them to be a part of this as well it would be great.

 

Main Character

Mahmoud Adel

Ziad employee

Timeline

Filming: April 16– April 24

Editing: April 25 – May 3

Filming Locations

New York City if possible but mainly in Bayonne New Jersey

 

Pitch

Throughout her life, Anna Tripolitis has overcome an eating disorder, dealt with sobriety issues, and fled a cult. She is now an activist and has accrued a considerable following on social media and several blogs. She will be the central character of this short documentary. The piece will focus on body neutrality and eating disorder recovery as a whole.

As a character driven piece, this film will look closely at Tripolitis’ experiences with body image and how that plays into her relationship with food and exercise. I want to get a good idea of the growth she has made. 

There will be some establishing shots and a talking head shot of Anna towards the beginning of the short doc. Then I will follow with b-roll of her around the city, with her wife, and possibly eating a meal. I don’t want the film to be too on the nose when it comes to food and exercise shots. I want to focus on the positives of life after recovering from disordered eating patterns and thus the focus shouldn’t entirely be on food/exercise/body image.

I would love to include Lexie Kite in the film as an expert source, as well, but I have a feeling it may be a stretch to get her. I also have two backup sources to include in the piece for b-roll and interviews. Ideally I’d like to get a few perspectives on the subject.

Overall, I want the piece to be timely and punchy. I don’t want it to be an entirely serious tone and I want Anna to have fun with it. It should evoke emotions of hope and happiness, not the typical emotions that go along with coverage of eating disorders. I want to emulate the Vice short doc we saw on trans kids in Texas. I liked how lighthearted, yet important that piece was.

Main Characters

Primary: Anna Tripolitis

Expert Source: Lexie Kite

Backup: Lauren O’Leary and Jackie Rafferty

Timeline

Set-up: April 4 – April 11

Filming: April 11 – April 25

Editing: April 25 – May 3

Filming Locations

New York City

New Jersey

 

Pitch: Art is a creative form of expressing ideas our words can’t form. Art is unique, and it is what drives people to go further, some more than others. Most people are really passionate about art and it leads them to create such beautiful visual pieces for people to look at. When we hear the word art, one image or several images appear in our minds because art is such a powerful tool that helps us heal or remind us of certain moments. We see art when we open our eyes and look around. Whether it’s on the train, in our humble abodes, or even on our cellular devices, art is inevitable. The rise of modern art started during the time of the industrial revolution and has since risen. Many different forms of art have also become known and popularized. 

With art, we only see the final work. Never the entire process. We miss the moments when the artist smiles at his or her own work or when the artist is upset that his or her vision is not what’s reflected in the art.

This short documentary will capture the moments when the artist is engrossed in his or her art.  I plan to first open up with an establishing shot, to show the building that the artist works in, then I want to capture some of the other pieces the artist has worked on as a way to introduce the art, then the artist. As the documentary picks up, I plan to capture the process and shoot from various angles when I’m with the artist. I also plan to ask questions such as why they got into art or how. Also, what is it about this particular art that keeps them so focused. Then I want to show the final piece of the art and close it off with some more B-rolls and fade to black.

Location:

Manhattan, NY

Start Date: April 15 or earlier 🙂

 

 

 

 

https://www.kennethsousie.com/