Making Media That Matters
2022 January 22 - March 5, 2022
Week by Week
Week 1 - January 22, 2022
Persistence
The phrase ‘time flies’ seems apt for this moment. It feels like only a few months ago we had our Reel Camps going at full speed ahead in Ka Waiwai, Church of the Crossroads, and La Pietra, one after the other. Writing, blocking, filming, editing, screening. Repeat. It was a whirlwind and then it all came to a halt as the season was over. Wrapped up our equipment and returned home to plan for the next series.
Then Omicron hit. While Delta was no joke, Omicron shocked the world, particularly the United States, back into the mindset it should have maintained this entire time: oh yeah, we’re in a pandemic. We were reminded once again of the brute strength of capitalism, greed, and western exceptionalism and how the powers that be and privilege will literally work people into a whole new virus variant. The most marginalized in our communities had to once again re-arrange and re-configure ways to be in community, co-create, and continue building a better world in the safest ways possible. It was already hard pre-pandemic and everyday since has continued on with the same energy, just with more restrictions and last minute changes.
Week 2 - January 29, 2022
Energy, Drive, and a Steady Pace
It’s refreshing to be back in person and around the excited, productive, and creative energy that HWF programs always bring. While it would be great to not have to do this with a pandemic in full swing, we are here with masks, sanitizer, and preparedness like no other. Once one enters the room, it really does feel like stepping into an engine, in a way. Taking the literal heat, water, steam, and fumes out of the equation, everything those elements produce to enable the engine to do its job are there: energy, drive, and a steady pace. Stepping into the second MMTM session at Ka Waiwai had me feeling like the whole building could take off at any moment and ride off into the sunset— I am also a Libra and prone to dramatic phrasing. The point being that’s just how much creative energy and bounce there is for these participants and their mentors. It’s palpable. [...]
Week 3 - February 5, 2022
Like Watching a Rube Goldberg Machine
You know when you’re watching a Rube Goldberg machine and there’s that feeling throughout the process that everything is following a neat sequence of events? Like when the bucket of water falls into the pail which then spills onto a pen which then pierces a balloon and the air from the balloon leads to something else and so on and so forth till we arrive at the desired result? It’s kind of a nice feeling, isn’t it? To see something that, after the initial prompt, followed this kind of natural order of events. [...]