Jackson Reeves Staff Writer

Five senior film majors are working behind the camera as directors of 20-minute documentaries for Professor of Film Ken Robinson’s and Assistant Professor of Film Kathleen Man’s Documentary Workshop course sections.

“I think [the documentaries promote] really valuable organizational skills, and it would be really sweet to graduate with a portfolio,” said Caitlin Burke ’08. A screening of the film department’s senior films will take place at the end of the academic year.

Caitlin Burke ’08 is directing Riding Tall: A Horse Connection in the Hudson Valley, which is about hippotherapy—therapy involving horses—for individuals with debilitating disorders, such as mental retardation, in the Poughkeepsie area. Burke and her team—fellow seniors Katie Hickman, who filmed the movie, editor Erica Tronstad and Sarah Holland on sound—shot the majority of their movie at a barn in nearby Rhinebeck.

When asked to submit a documentary topic, Burke drew from her four years of experience on Vassar’s equestrian team. She chose hippotherapy because, unlike her other idea, diorama building, a successful documentary about hippotherapy could be socially responsible.

“You need a lot of sensitivity to portray these people fairly,” said Burke. “With one or two editing moves, you can either make them look totally inept and more like objects than people, or you can have more sympathetic subjects.”

Burke has made her commitment to the documentary clear. “This film is my boyfriend; my boyfriend is this horse and this four-year-old kid that we’re following,” she said.

Clyde Folley ’08’s New Uke City depicts a group of ukulele players in eponymous New York City. As the pun-inflected title of the documentary indicates, the film analyzes its characters in a light-hearted manner. But Folley insisted that “it’s playful but playing-with,” as opposed to mockingly playing-at.

“I’ve been trying to find a lot of footage of people doing stuff to illustrate their personality and their lives,” said Folley. He and his crew of seniors Ari Neiditz on camera, film editors Ryan Cadrette and Rebecca Burke, and Christina Slater on sound have shot nearly 20 hours of footage, which they must cut down to a 20-minute film.

Midnight Ukulele Cabaret, a monthly gathering of ukulele players in New York City, served as the centerpiece of Folley’s work. “The ukulele cabaret functions in these people’s lives as a place for them to really express themselves and let their inner rock-star get out,” he said.

“The contrast between cold, unfriendly New York and the warmth of the cabaret [is] one of the visual motifs I’m going for,” said Folley.

Post-traumatic stress disorder found its way to the center of Sam Lindy ’08’s documentary Heart in Hands, about a Vietnam War veteran who crafts drums and whistles to cope with his past. Lindy discovered veteran Dwight Grapes in a book of photography entitled Heart in Hands at his doctor’s office.

“We have all these veterans coming back from Iraq, and even though it’s a totally different situation, my hope is that just by focusing on one man’s story about how he was able to reclaim his life after being through something as horrible as the Vietnam War through art,” said Lindy. “People who wouldn’t give art a second chance would maybe reconsider [either it] or some other outlet instead of just trying to keep everything inside.”

The backcountry of Warner, N.H. set the contemplative tone of the film. Grapes makes pottery and plays music on his self-made drums and whistles in his ’70s-memorabilia-themed club house near the foot of Mt. Kearsarge. He also takes long, peaceful motorcycle rides through his wooded neighborhood. “His house and being on the road and this idea of traveling is kind of the theme,” said Lindy.

Lindy worked on the film with seniors Tristan Jemiolo, who did the cinematography, editor Robb Ross and Nick Jozefczyk, who did the sound.

Catholic priest Harry Giroux has Alzheimer’s disease, and Steve Madeja ’08’s documentary Garry and Harry,/i> details his story of loss as articulated by his twin brother, Garry, who is also priest.