The kids talk about what they learned from making a documentary, three hours a week, for one-school year.
Patience, team work and self discovery were the major themes. Documentary filmmaking can be an effective education tool for any group of people, no matter what the age.
Being a documentary filmmaker is like be a CEO of a startup. From establishing the initial idea to implementing and producing the film to marketing and distribution, the skills needed to produce a film are numerous and can be used in a variety of industries and job functions. Soft skills come to play here too; when to to be a leader and when to be a part of the team, how to negotiate with people and get them to trust you enough and share their intimate thoughts.
These middle school kids did it all.
It was an amazing experience to watch them throughout the year. Many times they got derailed, stormed out of the classroom and wanted to give up, but they came back the next day and kept at it.
Instead of me yammering on, watch for yourself on how the process impacted them.