RE LOG Fall 2017

38 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2017 Through the generosity of the Bowden Fellowship grant, this summer I was able to shoot my first feature film, To the Moon, which was partially based on a play I wrote and directed on campus. The script tells three intertwining stories of college students on the precipice of entering the real world, tackling themes of idealism, nostalgia, responsibility and aspiration. I assembled a 12-person cast and crew composed of a mix of professional South Florida actors and Ransom Everglades students ( Hannah Tacher ’18, Thor Wahlestedt ’18, Chris Duyos ’17 ) and spent much of June and early July rehearsing, scouting locations, acquiring props/set pieces, practicing with film equipment, researching shooting and editing techniques, and revising the script. The grant enabled the purchasing of professional film equipment, props and set pieces. We spent roughly four weeks shooting in Coconut Grove, Coral Gables and Miami Beach. Filming was a challenging but incredibly rewarding experience. On a typical day, I (serving as writer, director and producer) would do everything from coordinating food services, rearranging set pieces, writing shot lists, organizing props/costumes, rehearsing with actors, synchronizing camera movement, recording sound and managing personalities on set. Shoot days frequently ran from 10 a.m. to past midnight. Yet despite the long hours and taxing labor, I loved every minute of it. I cannot thank Ms. Jen Nero, Ms. Kate Hamm and Dr. John King enough for all of the wisdom and guidance they provided on the project! I grew as a leader, filmmaker and person, and I couldn’t have spent my summer in a better way. The film is currently in post- production and will be submitted to film festivals across the country and abroad this winter with premiere details to follow. The story of the Jewish migration and survival in Shanghai during World War II is an amazing story, which has brought to life world history for me. It has been overshadowed by the chaos of the 1930s and 1940s and the Nazi atrocities of the Holocaust. The Jewish people were able to survive in Shanghai as a result of a preexisting Jewish community and Japan’s favorable history with Jews prior to WWII. Additionally, to understand how China permitted these refugees to migrate Andrew Lorenzen ’18 : Creating a feature film Stephen Kaiser ’18 : Historical research in Shanghai to Shanghai, I had to do in-depth and detailed historical research on modern post-imperial Chinese history. I researched a tremendous amount of history involving interactions between, the Middle East, China, Japan, Russia, Europe and North America before and during this time period. Dr. John King, Dr. Kathryn Bufkin and Mr. Youming Che have been instrumental in assisting me throughout this project, which culminated in a paper I submitted in August to the Concord Review. As I pursued my studies, I met extraordinary people and had incredible interactions. The adjacent photograph shows an interview I conducted with Shanghai artist Li Shoubai, who had recently released a painting about the Shanghai Jewish refugee experience and the relationship between the Jews and the Chinese. In this photograph, he is explaining to me his inspiration for his painting and is describing in Chinese his memories from his childhood of the Jewish people. I am extremely thankful to the Bowden Fellowship and Ransom Everglades for the amazing assistance and encouragement that facilitated this project. Fellows Bowden