Student Filmmakers Explore Tough Political Issues in C-SPAN "Studentcam" Competition
RSSJoan Oleck -- School Library Journal, 05/09/2007
A student video that explores the topic of illegal immigration in the filmmakers’ community of Jupiter, FL, has won the grand prize in C-SPAN’s 2007 “Studentcam” competition—whose winning filmmaker or filmmaking team receives a cash prize of $3,000.
“Jupiter or Bust: The El Sol Solution” was made by Zach Chastain, Bryan Cink and Ryan Kelly, all 17 and all high school students at Jupiter High School. The video is scheduled to air on C-SPAN on Friday, June 15, at 6:50 EST, followed by a live interview with the students.
El Sol, which means "The Sun," is a community resource center that was built for Jupiter area immigrants.
The students co-wrote the script and used interview segments with a local police sergeant, Jupiter’s vice mayor, a realtor, and members of the El Sol staff. “A lot of the footage showed upscale neighborhoods, showing how Jupiter is a nice town, dwindling down to [areas along] Center Street,” Chastain told a local newspaper.
“I wasn’t aware of the immigration problem here,” Kelly told the paper. “Editing and shooting this video really opened up the issue to me.”
The StudentCam competition encourages the YouTube generation to make serious political videos, all ten minutes or less in length. The competition named 45 winners, in two categories: high school and middle school. The winners have been awarded a total $25,000, and the top 25 videos are slated to air on C-SPAN at the rate of one per weekday, beginning on May 14 at 6:50 EST.
Top political issues for 2007 include global warming, the Iraq War, and No Child Left Behind. Also submitted were videos on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, affirmative action, same-sex marriage, and the human rights tragedy in Darfur. Winners come from 23 states.
The 45 winning videos are available www.studentcam.org online for streaming or downloading.
