Film/Video Studio Journals

For more than 30 years, the Wexner Center’s Film/Video Studio has given both emerging and established artists the time and space to focus on their work without distraction. With unparalleled support at various stages in the postproduction process, it’s one way the Wex is still investing in creatives who advance the field of moving-image production. This is the first in an ongoing series of journals checking in with these filmmakers, in their own words; watch for future editions in upcoming issues of In Practice and online. The following entries focus on the challenges and rewards of the studio’s work in the pandemic era.

During the last year, the Film/Video Studio has continued to provide filmmakers free access to our postproduction services. Although we were unable to conduct in-person residencies, the studio team (editors Paul Hill and Alexis McCrimmon and myself) did what we do best: we pivoted to new ways of working with artists to move their projects forward. For Michelle Grace Steinberg and Leslie Koren, that meant remote color correction and sound mixing. For Catalina Alvarez and Aggie Ebrahimi Bazaz, it involved lengthy, in-depth editorial/creative feedback sessions. For others, such as Mary Jo Bole, it was simply offering regular check-ins and the reassurance that we’ll be together again as soon as it is safe. Our wall of Polaroids in the studio (pictured at left)—something like a hall of fame of artists who have completed work there—awaits our return and the addition of new faces. I’m grateful to share their stories.

JENNIFER LANGE, CURATOR, FILM/VIDEO STUDIO

“At the Wexner Center there is a little heaven for artists working in film. A team of professionals provide filmmakers with the structure, time, and attention their work deserves. They pore over the details of films in progress, extract subtle meanings and make new connections. Furthermore, they are committed to putting in the time it takes to move new work along: the first time I scheduled a remote appointment to discuss my work in progress, I was surprised and delighted that they suggested a four-hour Zoom meeting.”

CATALINA ALVAREZ

ABOVE: Sound Spring Seq. #6: The School and The Home (2020)

The Film/Video Studio’s “commitment felt like a turning point for our project [A Place to Breathe]; not only due to the importance of their huge material support in offering sound mixing and color correction, but also the moral support of [Jennifer’s] enthusiasm and understanding of the project. Our on-site artist residency was an inspiring experience. The collaboration and patience of Paul (sound mixing) and Alexis (color correction) allowed us to complete the film, in spite of the many obstacles of the COVID-19 context, to a degree of polish we could not have otherwise achieved.”

MICHELLE GRACE STEINBERG

ABOVE: A Place to Breathe (2020) “Recently in The D-Word forum (an online community of documentary filmmakers), filmmaker Shawn Convey wrote that ‘over 90% of first-time doc filmmakers never make another film again.’ Arriving at the Wexner Center in March 2017, I was overwhelmed. I was staring at over 300 hours I’d filmed for my first feature doc, which I began filming in 2014 while working with immigrant rights organizer Luis Magaña. The film follows the experiences of Mexican American farm-working families in California whose access to a unique, affordable housing option exposes the structuring of second-class citizenship. My teaching job left me little time to organize this mountain of material; I had been rejected by nearly every funder; and I felt pressure to shimmy a community portrait into a character-driven narrative. The work ahead seemed insurmountable and a little foolish. But we did forge ahead, propelled by my collaboration with Alexis, my editorial consultant, and the Wexner Center team who celebrated the depth, complexity, and potential in the material. What has fueled my progress is not only the studio’s technical apparatus, but being in community with values-aligned artists who are invested in the film, recognize its value, and who trust my approach….[This] filmmaker-centered support nurtures new voices (like my own as an immigrant to the US and the first in my family to pursue a career in the arts); makes the completion of a first film achievable; and cultivates a collaborative infrastructure for supporting subsequent projects. The alternative, unfortunately, is attrition: films never made, perspectives never shared, and analyses never ventured.”

AGGIE EBRAHIMI BAZAZ

“This is a program that took a chance on me— an older artist but a first-time filmmaker— and four years later they’re still taking that chance. Those initial and subsequent votes of confidence have meant the world to me during the many self-critical times making my project Family White Elephants.”

MARY JO BOLE

ABOVE: Walks in Green Lawn Cemetery offered a safe way for Bole and curator Jennifer Lange to check in during COVID. Photo: Mary Jo Bole.

Read more from these filmmakers at wexarts.org/blog and more about the studio’s work at wexarts.org/film-video-studio-residencies.