Racial Justice Reel Camp Summer 2022
day-by-day + films produced
Day 1
The first day of our Racial Justice Reel Camp is quite the busy one. With participants filling the space and getting to know each other well before our start time, we begin our opening circle early and start to learn more about one another. Our social worker Pumehana introduces all of us to the ahupua`a that we are holding our reel camp on and through this acknowledgement reminds us all that this is indeed Kānaka Maoli land. After guiding us through introductions in `ōlelo hawai`i and everyone sharing a bit about where we come from as well as the places we call home, we delve into the creation of our community agreements document. Every participant adds an agreement to their papers during this time, creating a braid of accountability, trust, and the understanding that we will respect and take care of each other and ourselves while sharing this space together for the week.
After our community agreements and a brief exercise focusing on personal perceptions and reflections of race given by Akiemi Glenn of The Pōpolo Project, we have a short lunch before diving right into a lecture on camera and hands on practice with the film equipment. The lectures and practice sessions seem to zoom by, with a lecture on film genres and a writing activity quickly following behind. Though a fast-paced day, the participants are along for the ride at every stop.
Earlier in the session, Akiemi reminds the room of the importance of coming to these projects and our communities as a whole from our own experiences; to let that be our guide when interacting and creating with people. As we close the day with our circle and some small reflections, it’s evident this reminder has been taken to heart. We have a room full of participants who are excited to tell their stories and listen to others as they do the same.
Looking forward to seeing and hearing every single one.
Day 2
We begin our second day with conversations regarding race and ethnicity in film. With Akiemi and Pumehana leading us through the presentation, participants are given not only a wide range of possibilities when it comes to the types of subject matter and focus, but they are also shown that there are multiple genres in which to explore them through. From being Chinese growing up in the American South to questions surrounding Kānaka identity and wrestling between staying in the homeland or moving thousands of miles away to New York City, race, ethnicity, and belonging are complex, layered, and constantly shifting realities. These examples, as well as the short film “VOICE,” allowed participants the opportunity to think hard on what genre/lens best fits their stories and what stories they think need telling.
After this presentation, the rest of the day is spent going back and forth between lectures on editing, production roles, and expectations, and hands-on practice and planning. The biggest event of the day was definitely when groups began the process of storyboarding and script writing. Having received ample instruction by Aleta and Keana on what a solid storyboard is comprised of and what one can expect from having such a valuable resource on hand throughout the filmmaking process, participants took their time assembling themselves into teams and then *boom*-- straight into storyboarding. Some teams seemed to already have dialogue written by the day’s end and are well on their way to getting in those first shots of their film.
We end the session with excitement in the room. It’s only the second day and already participants are shaping their movies! I can only imagine the awesome stuff that’s going to come out of this.
Day 3
Our third session marks the official beginning of production for the crews. After our opening circle and a short but important reminder on pronouns, safety, and mindfulness, Vera walks us through the stages of the filmmaking process once more. Now that the teams have assembled and found the people and stories they want to work with, actually getting to work with those people and those stories is the main objective for today and tomorrow. In these next two days, the space transforms pretty rapidly from Ka Waiwai to whatever world(s) the crews need them to be: a bedroom, classroom, stage, living room, or the entrance to a school if folks decide to film outside. As befitting a space that is a literal circle, Ka Waiwai has been through several rebirths and cycles with these imagined settings taking temporary root time and time again. I can’t think of a better place to produce these short films on such powerful topics and discussions.
The majority of the day is spent going over the storyboard and getting some of the first shots of the films done. Filming multiple things in a shared space at the same time can be tricky and requires communication and patience. Thankfully our community agreements and what I think is a healthy sense of respect and appreciation for one another as creatives/human beings ultimately ensures that communication and patience are steady presences in the room the entire time. Everyone is able to get a few shots in before the day’s end.
We end the day with a question for the participants to take home with them and marinate on a little. Pumehana asks folks to think about what they want to explore with the films they’re making. Specifically, what are folks curious about exploring? Even if we know some of the core parts of something, there is always room for wonder. Especially when creating.
I look forward to seeing some of that wonder in the days to come.
Day 4
The fourth day is off to a busy start as expected. Once our closing circle ends, the crews quickly assemble and start setting up their spaces, going over lines, and running equipment checks. While the editing process tends to be the most intense and focus-heavy phase for a lot of folks, there is something to be said for the kind of focus one must have during the production phase; especially when multiple people are all doing it in the same room at the same time. The resolve required to keep going, re-shooting, re-wording, and re-configuring until that sought after shot is captured is one that only gets more polished as production moves along. As the clock ticks ever closer to Saturday, the participants are fine-tuning their skills as creatives and filmmakers with every shot and artistic decision made.
With the majority of the day spent filming and even editing a bit with the spare time available, we close the session with Pumehana asking the participants an important question: what do you want the impact of your film to be? In the quest to create films and art that propel thought, action, and the dismantling of racism and discrimination, this is a necessary thing to think about. What will these films contribute to the conversation? What will they do for the audience? What will they do for the movement(s)? While these may be at the forefront of the mind during the entire creative process, it is an entirely different thing to name those things out loud and bring them into the space; there is mana in naming the purpose and the drive.
As each participant went around the circle and shared how their films are meant to inspire accountability, action, awareness of self and others, and a desire to be better in a world that is so much of the opposite, that mana filled the room.
Once Saturday rolls around, there’s no doubt that mana will grow.
Day 5
Our last day for post production is here. Or, rather, our last full day for post production. In this stage of the camp, aka the last day before the big reveal, there really is only one full day where participants are able to completely dedicate themselves to post. Our final day has some time set aside to get some last minute touches and polishing in but it’s not as centralized as the previous. The fifth day is where the majority of the work gets done, with some participants taking the work home and finalizing whatever they can there before bringing it back to the larger group the final day. It’s concentrated, focused, and everyone involved is truly immersed in the entire process.
I never stop being fascinated by the fifth day. By this aspect of filmmaking. By post. The space shifts from so much volume and activity to relative quiet. People are talking but not in as much of a frenzy. People are moving but not rushing. Everyone is sitting around the computer but with more watchful, keen eyes than before. All of the lessons of the week, the thoughts and the feelings behind the topic and the message, time spent learning the difference between shutter speeds and levels, tips and tricks for ensuring a shot comes out perfect as opposed to “good enough”-- all of it leads up to this. The external still but internal loud that is editing and creating the final product. The way everything is stopping and going at the same time. Green and red lights. Slowed down and sped up. A truly unique moment in time.
Or maybe I’m a poet and I am trying to find the language to describe such a particular process. Either way, this is work that is not easy. And it takes commitment. And I am so inspired and grateful every time I get to be around it.
Day 6 + Screening
In the interest of maintaining oppressive systems of governance, commerce, and keeping the great beast known as Revolution asleep a little longer, we are taught from day one to eliminate race and racism from our vocabularies. Do not shake what fragile foundation we still have left as a species. If it comes up, quash it. Memorise the sham of "I don’t see colour.” Shock ourselves back into some semblance of “normal” conversation when a friend or relative brings up an encounter that feels a little too close to discrimination, prejudice, or injustice. Do the same if it happens to us individually. Keep your head down and away from the violence. We do not hear, see, or speak it. If we ignore something long enough as a world, then eventually it will not be a problem, right? Surely. This is the way.
Racism persists anyways, though. Whether or not we are ready to discuss it, it doesn’t wait. And unlike what the news and mainstream media would rather people believe, racism is not relegated to the major displays of violence and destruction that we read about and see on television. While racism manifests itself repeatedly and devastatingly in mass shootings, white supremacist mobs, and police violence, it also finds its way into our daily interactions with one another. In fact, this is the birthplace for many of us.
This point is demonstrated poignantly in The Store by The Shorties and The Love Thoughts by H.E.A.R.T Productions. In The Store, a young Black woman is accused of stealing money out of the register by a cashier, and another young woman is then brought into the fold and soon a triangle of blame commences as each person accuses the other of theft. After convincing the cashier to finally take a look at the security footage, the real culprit is revealed to be an elderly white woman who managed to get in and get out with the money quickly. The triangle of blame dissolves but this young Black woman is once again forced into the reminder that nowhere is safe from this kind of treatment. A similar thread runs through The Love Thoughts, a film focusing on a day in the lives of two young girls who experience racism in different settings and through different lens, but who relate to each other as victims of discrimination all the same. After one girl is pulled over by a cop for no reason other than her skin colour and the other gets in trouble at school because her white teacher doesn’t want her contradicting a racist history lesson on Japanese involvement in World War II, they come together at the end of the day and comfort each other. Two different experiences but the intersections lead everyone back to the same place— the hatred and intolerance for those who are different.
Both films show us that racism and racist experiences go far beyond what we imagine them to be or how we are taught to view them. Racism is not regulated to large gatherings and events happening beyond the classroom, grocery store, library, or playground— it is everywhere. It is in the expected places and it is in the last places we would expect it to be. It is in the halls of congress and it is at the bus stop. Race Explained from FMK Productions gives us a grim but important reminder that the indoctrination into racism starts for many at childhood, when the film shows us a young person wanting to play with another child but being rejected because of her hair and other racist, anti-Black characterisations. Through a basic but thorough explanation of racism from her older sister, this young person is introduced to the reality of what’s just happened; she was discriminated against based on how she looked. In the next encounter with the other child, she is equipped with the knowledge on what these interactions are steeped in and is able to stand up for herself with this new mana at her back.
Since racism is forced into us from childhood onwards as this film shows, many of us don’t put in the work to fully cleanse ourselves of the mess it makes in our bodies and minds. We grow up and realise that certain words and perceptions of people are bad or perhaps aren’t good to say out loud in public— but we still harbour them. We hold them close. We keep them in the home. This is touched on in Blinded by Habibi Productions. In Blinded, a young person finds herself struggling between not only racism she is experiencing at the hands of bullies at school who want her to feel she’s not capable of playing volleyball since she’s Asian, but also she is having to come home to a mother who holds intense prejudices of her own. Throughout the film, we watch as this young person deals with conflicting narratives and the turmoil of not feeling safe at school or in the place that one should feel the most safe, which is at home. At the end of the film, she is able to stand up to her bullies with the help of her mother, who has also finally recognised her own issues with discrimination and is beginning to remedy them.
There are no easy ways to start a conversation on racism. No form of discussion that presents it as more approachable, effortless, or even natural. Even when millions of people around the world deal with it directly and intimately on a daily basis, it is still an intensely awkward topic to broach. To utter the words, to conceive of the thought, is putting yourself in the line of fire. To be a PoC/WoC/QPoC/TPoC, this is magnified tenfold— at times literally. The work to enable oppression, violence, and death to continue uninterrupted is careful and constant. And while there is work going on to achieve the absolute opposite and build a more just, open, and loving world in spite of the cruelty of our current one, it is difficult. Dangerous. Exhausting. When a brief mention is enough to close a door or start a riot, it can be hard for many of us to know where to go next.
Enter dreams. Enter brush stroke. Enter poem. Enter art. A community space where four groups of young people gathered to make films. Under the guidance of mentors, instructors, Akiemi Glenn from The Pōpolo Project, and personal as well as shared experiences, these young people spent a week learning about race, racism, the basics of filmmaking, and the universe of potential that is generated when we realise that art and action can become one. On this hot, summer day in the middle of University Ave, art welcomes us into dialogue. Into listening. Into prying open the door a little bit and seeing what’s waiting for us on the other side. Through these four films, we are being spoken to. We are speaking back. We are listening and being listened to. Through art, we are able to place fear in a different light. We can shape it into something that everyone can recognise. Find a piece of ourselves in and, perhaps, transform into something resembling hope at the end. Through art, we can start the conversation(s). Keep it going. Moving. Changing.
Until an entire new world is in sight.
The Films
The Racial Justice Reel Camp for Girls was organized by Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking in collaboration with the the Pōpolo Project and the Hawaiʻi Food Bank, and the generous support provided by Advancing Girls Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation. and the City and County of Honolulu GIA.