Junior Workshop Highlights

The project: A documentary filmed in Havana, Cuba where I interviewed young people about their lives and the challenges they face.

The inspiration: I've been to Cuba a couple times before, and my idea for the project really started when I was on the street one day and came across a street vendor who told me about his job of selling fruits and vegetables. I asked him, “Is this something that you want to do your entire life?” And he said, “I don’t have an option to think beyond this. If I dream more, I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to achieve it because of the situation the country is in.” I thought it was really interesting and it inspired me to see how all these young people live – what are their voices, and what do they want to say? I wanted to go back and really open that question up to everyone in this age group.

The process: The documentary was more of an investigative project rather than something that was completely planned out or scripted. It was really something to discover for me. During spring break, I traveled to Cuba and spent a week filming. When it came to interviews, the transportation in the country was very complicated, so sometimes I had to come up with a plan B. I decided to go for what I could get and take every opportunity to connect with someone, even if I just met them on the street or had a chance to chat with a waiter. It's always best to film everything that you can get. When I came back, I edited the film every day to bring it together. Watch the trailer & the full documentary.

What I learned: Junior Workshop is a good opportunity to express your feelings and your inspiration and really do what you want to do. What I learned from this process is that genuine inspiration is the root of making something good and turning it into a piece of art. I think that everyone should find something that inspires them, or that sits with them in their heart, and then turn it into a project or something that people can learn from.

What’s next: This project definitely sprouted my interest, and I’m planning to major in film in college. I think that will bring a lot of new opportunities for me, and I'm going to be able to continue what I’ve started. When I was in Havana filming, I remember thinking to myself, “This is what I want to do with my life,” because I'm just so interested in it. I plan on going back to the city and perhaps hearing other people's voices.

Next, I want to work on documentaries about social situations that people often don’t notice or don’t question. Over the winter break, I filmed in Egypt a new documentary, focusing on how many public spaces often exclude women. While filming, I kept stopping and wondering what it meant for me to be behind the camera in that context. The project ended up being less about explaining what I saw and more about recognizing the limits and responsibility of showing it.