Documentary project opens teens' eyes

By: TANYA RODRIGUES - Staff Writer | Monday, November 29, 2004 8:57 PM PST ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Working on a documentary on Latino issues earlier this year gave students from Orange Glen High School new insights they hope to share with others, the teenagers said.

Several of the students from the predominantly Latino school said they were struck by statistics showing Latinos had the highest number of high school drop-outs among demographic groups ---- almost seven out of every 10 Latino youths.

"As (part of) the Mexican community, we don't want to see that number get bigger," said Paola Leon, 17, a 12th-grader.

The documentary by Paola and 14 other students assembles reports on public health, politics, education and Latino history. The film will be screened at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Performing Arts Building at the Orange Glen campus, 2200 Glenridge Road.

For 15 weeks starting in May, the students worked with instructors and equipment from the Media Arts Center San Diego, an organization promoting diversity in film, video and multimedia.

The students researched their topics, scheduled and conducted interviews, and gathered footage.

Later, they digitized their footage, edited their work, added music and titles, and shaped the pieces into a documentary.

Interviewed Monday, several of the students' eyes lit up when talking about their premiere.

"We put so much effort into it," said 11th-grader Rocio Rocha, 16. "We can't wait."

The students are part of the San Diego County Office of Education's migrant education program, which worked with the Media Arts Center and the Escondido-based Bravo Foundation to bring the project to fruition this year.

The program involved five schools and 52 students in North County last year, but was downsized after funding decreased this year, said Robert Bodle, the arts center's director of education.

The Bravo Foundation and a grant the Media Arts Center won from the California Council of Humanities "Communities Speak" Initiative paid the Orange Glen project's nearly $10,000 cost, Bodle said.

The project has impacted students deeply, said Fuen Lopez, a county migrant-education program advisor who works with Escondido students.

"It makes them analyze situations that they would probably not want to scrutinize, but it gives them an opportunity to see what is happening directly in their community, and how different issues are affecting their lives," Lopez said.

Other issues that struck the students deeply were the need for more Latino parents to become involved in their children's education, and the lack of knowledge Latinos had about elected officials in the city and country, and that Latinos had little representation in those influential positions.

The high school drop-out rates were particularly dismaying because Latinos seemed to think education doesn't improve one's circumstances, said 12th-grader Ana Estevez, 17.

"That's not true," Ana said. "The only way to survive in this life is to get an education."

At the premiere on Wednesday, people interviewed in the documentary will be present, as will the young filmmakers, so the audience afterwards can discuss the issues the pieces provoke.

"We hope the film will generate discussion in the community, and that will further the interests of Latinos in the area," Bodle said. "We are hoping the screening will bring people together ... it could be the start of a unique sense of community."

Contact staff writer Tanya Rodrigues at (760) 740-5420 or trodrigues@nctimes.com.