Bringing the brigade home

At the lab in the Takoma Park Long Branch Recreational Center, junior Michael Morris, a cameraman and editor for the 9/11-based documentary "From Out of the Blue," concentrates on the computer screen as the completed film appears. Months of editing have boiled down to this moment. He watches the three hours of raw footage he captured that have now transformed into a 10-minute film. Passing over his face are shock, disbelief, but most vivid, pride that this is, in part, his creation.

This documentary is the very first product of the Gandhi Brigade, an alliance of young adults and media professionals who use the film arts to promote understanding of societal issues in the Silver Spring area. The media professionals mentor youth in the art of storytelling by expanding a simple idea into a film, says independent film producer and editor Beezhan Meezan, who is also a volunteer leader in the brigade.

For students like Morris, the Gandhi Brigade helps them to develop more than filmmaking skills - it helps them develop the confidence to express their voices in the community.

The vision

Richard Jaeggi, the Director for Community Technology at the Howard University Center for Urban Progress, has long been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi's vision for social justice. He believes that bringing this vision to life can build a stronger community. With this in mind, he met with Meezan, his longtime friend, to create the Gandhi Brigade last August.

The brigade picked up speed in September. On the fourth anniversary of Sept. 11, Morris, along with 2005 Blair graduate Jess Samuda and other local participants, began shooting "From Out of the Blue." In groups of three, they carried their cameras around the Silver Spring area and recorded their neighbors' remembrances of that fateful day. Morris felt nervous because he was new to the task of interviewing complete strangers, a nervousness that worsened when the first group of people he encountered declined to be on camera.

But upon reaching Takoma Park, the atmosphere changed. When he approached people, they were willing to speak at length about their memories, he says.

In the documentary, a woman in downtown Silver Spring speaks about a friend who was in one of the Twin Towers and survived. Her friend had watched a couple jump from a window, hand in hand, to meet their death on the pavement - stories below, she says. She pauses. Her friend said it was the scariest day of his life.

Testimonials such as these provided the amateur filmmakers of this brigade with fuel for inspiration as they underwent their task. Though deeply inspired, after a day of interviewing, Morris was physically spent. Nevertheless, with the group's nearly three hours of raw testimonial footage, he looked forward to the next step of the filmmaking process.

At first, progress on the film went slowly because the students were unfamiliar with the new editing software. The early morning hours made them feel even more sluggish and tired. But once Meezan motivated them with the idea of submitting the film to the D.C. Independent Film Festival - a yearly event where industry professionals and the general public watch the latest independent films from the United States and abroad - they worked frantically to meet their Dec. 15 deadline - just three days away. Meezan took the unfinished film home and worked nearly 48 hours straight to do the final editing and finishing touches to the film.

Because the students were rushing at the last minute, Morris hadn't expected the film to come out as well as it did. He was surprised by the professional touch that Meezan added to the film. Once all the participants of the brigade saw the final product, they admired how amazing it turned out, he says. He is confident that the film will be accepted into the festival and hopes that it will win many awards.

At home, Morris's amateur film career continued to develop after he received video editing software for Christmas - software which Meezan and Jaeggi no doubt convinced his parents to buy, he says. While Morris was making a mini-documentary of his family during the holidays, he started contacting Meezan with any difficulties he had. Morris compares this to a student-teacher relationship because he can rely on Meezan for guidance.

Building the brigade

Toure agrees that the guidance of the media professionals is an asset to the brigade, but more importantly, she feels that the brigade provides a medium through which she can publicize her views. Because she felt that her teenage opinion was viewed as unimportant, she hoped that she could at least find a voice with her peers in the brigade, she says.

When Toure started participating in September, although she was opinionated, she rarely contributed to group discussions because she lacked confidence in articulating her ideas. "I was scared to say anything stupid," she says.

But noticing her reluctance, Meezan compelled her to speak up by frequently calling on her during discussions. Before long, Toure's timidity was gone.

Toure feels that the encouraging environment and opportunities offered by the brigade, in addition to the free service, should attract many people to this relatively unknown project. Morris feels that students will take the brigade more seriously once their first film earns more publicity.

The participants of the brigade will not know if their film is accepted into the D.C. Independent Festival until early February, a month before the festival begins. While they wait, the film is gaining exposure at community events. On Jan. 10, "From Out of the Blue" was screened at the Gateway Coalition's 3rd annual "Dinner and a Movie" night, which features short films by local film makers at Los Arrieros, a Mexican restaurant in Silver Spring.

Toure hopes that this film marks the beginning of effective films the brigade will produce to raise public awareness of community better problems.

The brigade has had an even more profound effect on Morris - one that is destined to be long-lasting, he feels. With the guidance and encouragement from Meezan and Jaeggi, he is now certain that filmmaking is the career for him. He has chosen his top three prospective colleges for their television and radio programs.

Morris is immensely proud of his work on this project. In the beginning, he thought that this film would be just another amusing project to show to his family and friends. It exceeded his expectations by far when it took on a more serious note and became a film shown to the larger community. "It made me feel good to say that I've helped make a movie that I'm serious about. This is a movie I will probably cherish for a while," he says.

Interested in the Gandhi Brigade?

To contact Meezan Beezhan, email him at beezhan@beezhan.com.

To contact Richard Jaeggi, email him at rjaeggi@bigacorn.com.

D.C. Independent Film Festival in Washington, D.C., at www.dciff.org:

The mission of the DCIFF is to provide a yearly event where industry professionals and the general public come to see the latest, most exciting films - features, shorts, animation and documentary - from the United States and abroad.

For 11 days in March, the DCIFF provides an opportunity for independent filmmakers to showcase their work at Washington, D.C.'s most exciting festival, attend informative seminars, access a unique film market and participate in a trade show.

The trade show provides an exclusive opportunity for leading production companies to showcase their production services and latest technological advances in our nation's capital; and network in the country, third most important production communities.

This year's special features are:
-John Daly (producer of "Platoon", "The Last Emperor" and
scores of other renown independent films by Ken Loach,
etc.
presenting the world premiere of "The Aryan Couple"
-A tribute to Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Films a cult producer of
such classics as "The Toxic Avenger"
-Over 110 world and US premieres of feature films, shorts,
animation, documentaries
-Discussions with filmmakers after every screening
-20 leading industry seminars
-Forum on International Trade & Cultural Diversity Issues
relating to film
-National Advocacy Forum
-International Women's Day sponsored by Amnesty
International
-A cafe...VIP lounge... and lots, lots more.