Inspire Films will kick off its annual Symposium on Social Issue Media today at Norris University Center’s South Lawn with “Style Your Sole,” the first event in a lineup that includes keynote speaker director Steve James and the premiere of projects funded by Inspire’s film and media grants.
The Symposium, which runs May 6-8, will focus on the theme of race and media.
Nathalie Rayter, outgoing executive co-chair for Inspire, said the goal of the weekend is to get the campus to think about how the media are able to represent issues of social justice and consciousness.
“The overall purpose of the Symposium is to engage Northwestern and the community of Chicago in thinking about the role that media plays in activism and creating positive social change,” the SESP junior said.
Keynote speaker James, the director of the 1994 Kartemquin Films documentary “Hoop Dreams,” will speak at 7 p.m. Friday. The film follows two young, inner-city black men as they try to achieve basketball stardom.
“He’s going to be speaking to us about his experiences in the entertainment industry and dealing with real issues,” said Emma Forman, co-vice president of the Symposium.
James brings a different perspective to the event because his work goes beyond socialadvocacy’s traditional documentary form, the Communication sophomore said.
“‘Hoop Dreams’ is a movie that, while it is about serious issues, can also be a mainstream film,” she said. “So that’s something that’s really interesting to show people, that you don’t just have to make documentaries to actually have a voice and pass opinion.”
The documentary “Western Divided,” the 2009-10 recipient of the Inspire film grant, will premiere at 8 p.m. Saturday. The film, directed by Weinberg junior Julian Zlatev and produced by Medill senior Chris Gonzalez, chronicles the noticeable disparities and segregation of Western Avenue in Chicago.
After the screening, there will be a discussion panel with the director and producer, as well as the film crew and subjects.
Inspire is increasingly concentrating on reaching out to other forms of media besides film, Rayter said. She and co-chair Andrew Glor, a Communication junior, started the pilot initiative this academic year for open media grant projects, which include painting, photography, music, dance and theater, among others. The media grants run as much as $500, compared to the single film grant of $1,500.
This year the grants funded a photography project on political graffiti in Chicago by Communication sophomore Ed Paget; an audio documentary of the Chicago Transportation Authority by Communication sophomore Liz Miller and Weinberg sophomore Kelsey Sheridan; and a painting commentary on race in higher education by Medill senior Scott Olstad.
Although Inspire was founded to fill a perceived void in undergraduate documentary work on campus, Rayter said she is excited the group is becoming more interdisciplinary.
“I sometimes feel that the ‘Films’ in our name is sort of a misnomer because we’re so much more than a film group,” she said.
Nolan Feeney, co-vice president of publicity for Inspire, said non-film majors shouldn’t be intimidated to apply for the film grant.
“Really, at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter how well you can use a camera,” the Medill freshman said. “It matters what ideas you have and what stories you want to tell.”[email protected]
