Filmmakers Levi And Alma Interview a Brown Beret

Tucson youth have a lot to say about what is happening in their communities. From topics as diverse as SB1070 to skateboarding and drug abuse, 10 Tucson youth will screen their video shorts and participate in a discussion on local issues and filmmaking.

On the evening of Thursday, August 12 the Screening Room will host the youth in a program that is free to the public. All of the short videos are the result of Pan Left’s summer youth media program, Make Your Movie! Pan Left Productions, a Tucson-based nonprofit media collective, specializes in putting the tools of media production into the hands of people who are not equally represented in the mainstream media.

Levi is one of the filmmakers. He is also the son of one of the police officers suing the State of Arizona over SB1070. In his timely documentary, Levi explores how the passage of the law has affected his family and his neighborhood. On the day the law is scheduled to take affect, Levi is there with the camera to personally document the response from a personal and intimate point of view—spending the day with his dad.

Another filmmaker is also exploring issues through family ties. Kareem’s grandfather is Pinki Vargas, known in Barrio Viejo as a baseball legend. Using old photographs and interviews, Kareem documents his grandfather’s achievements and the discrimination he faced as one of the first Latino baseball players trying to make it into the major leagues in the United States.

“All of the youth are exploring large issues in a personal way,” said Mary Charlotte Thurtle, Executive Director of Pan Left Productions. “To shoot the skateboard trick tips video we needed to find a quiet, not crowded, yet still legal place. The youth making the video didn’t think that existed in our community.”

“Youth are often the target of media messages, yet many lack the skills to construct effective media messages on topics that are important to them” said Thurtle, “Make Your Movie! was designed so that youth voice can be a bigger part of civic dialogue.” Make Your Movie! was made possible through a grant from the Kresge Tucson Innovative/Tucson Pima Arts Council and sponsorship by the University of Arizona School of Theater, Film and TV and the Screening Room.

The screening starts at 6:30 pm and will go until 8:30 pm. The Screening Room is located at 127 East Congress Street in downtown Tucson. For more information, contact Pan Left at panleft@panleft.org or (520) 792-9171.

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