Learning Lab
WOUB’s 2022- 23 “Our Ohio” High School Documentary Film Festival Winners Announced
< < Back toATHENS, OH – Lexi Grisset from Alexander High School has been named the 1st place overall winner in WOUB’s 2022-23 Our Ohio High School Documentary Film Festival. (Full list of winners below). Grisset produced a short documentary called Together as One about how the support and connection in her small town of Albany, Ohio has helped her and her classmates grow with confidence and pride. Grisset’s film was one of 33 films submitted from students at Alexander and Wellston high schools. Two classes from each school worked with WOUB Public Media this year as part of the third year of the Our Ohio documentary film project. The students in Wellston were sophomores. The students in Alexander were sophomores through seniors.
The Our Ohio project challenges the students to learn about and explore independent documentary film, Appalachian cultural identity, media literacy and multimedia storytelling.
Through the course of the school year the students worked with a WOUB news reporter and documentary filmmaker, and an Ohio University professor to learn how to create documentary films.
“It’s so important to give young people the resources necessary to tell their story,” said WOUB Producer/Director Chris Flanery. “This project got them to think more deeply about what they want to say, and a way in which to effectively say it. Documentary is such a powerful tool for conveying messages, and it was a joy to watch these students take an idea or thought they had and evolve it into a fleshed-out piece of media.”
“Being able to tell your own story is powerful, but our region’s underserved communities struggle to find the resources to do that,” said Ohio University Media Arts and Studies Associate Professor Brian Plow. “The Our Ohio program is committed to supporting these communities and their young people as they find their voice and learn vital new skills. That is something I want to support as an educator.”
WOUB’s Learning Lab also worked with the teachers to identify resources and activities that align with educational standards to support the project. The Learning Lab had camera equipment available for participating teachers to check out, so students could use it in creating their films.
“WOUB’s Our Ohio provided me the opportunity connect to young people in our region through storytelling,” said Plow. “Working with Mrs. Beatty’s students at Wellston High School has been so meaningful to me, and I am so proud of them.”
“A lot of these stories were so fun to watch and offer unique perspectives into the worlds of young people,” said Flannery. “I noticed a lot of the things that matter to them resonate across generations and groups. Giving these students an outlet and opportunity to express themselves and say what they want to say will hopefully inspire them to continue using varieties of media to share their ideas and think more critically about who they are.”
| 2022-23 WOUB Our Ohio High School Documentary Film Festival Winners
Best Overall: 1st Place: Together as One, Lexi Grisset, Alexander High School 2nd Place: The Ride of my Life, Jossylyn Vickers, Wellston High School 3rd Place: Trains, Ian Buswell, Alexander High School
Honorable Mentions: Cryptids and Community, Paytin Peck and Elin Walters, Wellston High School Music is Life, David Harness, Alexander High School Social Media, Hannah Williams, Alexander High School The Importance of Dairy Farms, Tyler Brooks, Alexander High School Finding Myself in Music, Carlee Barnhouse, Alexander High School Growing Up with Art, Brianna Schickinger, Wellston High School |