New Breed/Student Work: Lawrence Dortch - By Bill Gentile
My Backpack Documentary class this past spring semester produced some exceptional films that are worth sharing with a broader audience.
Graduate student Lawrence Dortch followed a young female boxer as she climbs the ladder of what typically is regarded as a rough, all-male sport.
Larry's film is another great example of the immediate, intimate work that is possible using the methodology that we refer to as “backpack video journalism,” or “backpack documentary.” And it's just a sample of some of the work being generated by our Backpack Journalism Project at American University's School of Communication. You can watch Larry's film, "One Punch at a Time," here: http://vimeo.com/22777706 or view the embedded video below.
We'll be posting more of my students' work here, so stay tuned.
- Bill Gentile
Best DMV Short Film of the year
Dortch was awarded the Best DMV Short Film of the year at the 2011 Reel Independent Film Extravaganza film festival in Washington, DC. "One Punch At A Time" has been accepted into a number of film festivals including the Alexandria Film Festival and the 2011 All Sport Los Angeles Film Festival (where Dortch took second place for student short documentary and nearly won the audience favorite award). Dortch says, "The acceptance into film festivals and awards really is a testament to the power of the Backpack Documentary methodology as taught by Professor Gentile."