Filmmakers document regional organizations and events
By Mary Ashley Burton
The main objective behind the Lexington Film League’s annual Doers contest – combining the storytelling power of film with individuals and groups committed to doing good within their communities – makes for such a natural marriage that it may have Lexingtonians wondering why nothing like this existed in Kentucky before last year.
“The Doers Video contest grew out of a desire to have a contest that paired filmmakers with non-profit organizations and have filmmakers tell inspiring stories,” says founder of the Lexington Film League and the Doers Video Contest, Kiley Lane. “The overall goal is to offer an opportunity for filmmakers to actively participate in an LFL event, for the filmmakers to build their portfolios, and to connect filmmakers to their community and the community to their filmmakers.”
For Natalie Baxter, this year’s Best Overall winner, the opportunity to connect with other filmmakers has provided an invaluable opportunity: “I think Lexington is filled with a lot of creative people and filmmakers and the Lexington Film League provides the perfect outlet for these people who are starting out to meet,” notes Baxter. “Filmmaking is such a collaborative process and…events like the Doers contest bring all these creative film people together in one room and showcases not only Lexington’s talented filmmakers, but all the wonderful organizations and do-gooders we have in our community.”
Baxter’s winning video, Kingdom Come Creek Stir Off, documents a community gathering in rural Kentucky which preserves the tradition of making molasses from sugar cane. Baxter explains that the film’s protagonist, Komos Ison, “is in his eighties and has been raising sorghum and hosting molasses stir offs for just as long. What I find attractive about Eastern Kentucky is the way people there, especially older folks, are so devoted to the land they inhabit and their customs and traditions…it makes me feel humbled and nostalgic for a simpler way of life that I think needs to be documented as we move further and further from the good ol’ days.”
Baxter has found the feedback from both this year’s and last year’s contests to be extremely important from an educational perspective: “I am currently pursuing an MFA at UK and have started to go down the path of documentary filmmaking. I have had wonderful guidance from professors Doreen Maloney and Joel Feldman, but I am the only student who is working with digital media. So festivals and organizations like LFL, where I have the opportunity to meet others who are working in filmmaking, have become crucial for my work.”
Of course, there were plenty of videos representing local non-profit organizations in this year’s contest as well. The collection of 12 entries represented a stunning range of both well-established community groups and new, unique initiatives. Broke Spoke, the winner of this year’s People’s Choice Award, falls into the latter category. For filmmaker Logan Lay, the publicity generated for non-profits is the most important part of the contest: “I think Doers is valuable if for no other reason than it gets some publicity and financial support for organizations that are doing good for the community,” says Lay. In addition, the contest’s deadline provided the necessary motivation for realizing a video: “Without that outside deadline, who knows when, or if, it would have gotten done.”
Community filmmakers and non-profits will have the opportunity to reap the benefits of the Doers contest again next year, although it will have a slightly different spin. According to Kiley Lane, “we came up with the idea to team with kyGREEN.tv, an Internet based TV station for all things green and sustainable across Kentucky. kyGREEN.tv and LFL will host the 2012 Eco Doers Video contest. The contest will be a little different from the past two years and we hope to bring more exposure to our filmmakers and environmental issues across the state.”
Filmmakers now have an entire year to choose their subjects and craft their stories into compelling videos less than 5 minutes long. For those looking to get inspired by this year’s set of videos, they are all available for viewing on Lexington Film League’s YouTube channel.
For a link to the videos, or for information on other LFL events, please visit http://www.lexingtonfilmleague.org.
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