After a pandemic pause, a favorite Homecoming tradition returned in October, showcasing the creative talents of Kalamazoo College film and media studies students. A film festival featuring the introductory and advanced students in classes led by Visiting Instructor Danny Kim, allowed alumni to peek behind the curtain and see how students hone artistic skills through documentary filmmaking. After the screening, alumni asked questions of the filmmakers to learn more about the projects and applauded the students’ talents.
The projects required students to take B-roll footage to supplement the main footage, conduct about four interviews and use a filming technique called framing that shows the interviewee looking somewhere other than at the camera. Three of the student producers recently shared what they learned from their experiences.
‘Saturday Night Live’ if it Had No Budget
Davis Henderson ’25 put K’s TV-production class in the spotlight with “ARTX-200,” a film named for the course taught by media producer and studio instructor Jaakan Page-Wood.
“To quote Jaakan, it’s very much like Saturday Night Live if Saturday Night Live was filmed on a Thursday afternoon by amateurs with no money, and was at 4:15,” Henderson said. “It was a great time, and I wanted to give it more attention. It’s definitely helped me find a space at K where I’m able to make stuff.”
“ARTX-200” presents Henderson’s peers as they explain how the course provided a creative outlet they had yet to find elsewhere on campus. Henderson, a theatre major who plans to pursue voice acting, developed an interest in filmmaking as a child when he and his brother began making skit videos with his mom’s photography equipment along with editing tools such as iMovie.
“Documentary filmmaking is interesting to me because it’s challenging,” Henderson said. “When something unexpected happens, you can’t restart. There’s no script and you pick it up as it goes. I can open up a history book and get bored. But being able to open a documentary, and see and hear what people are talking about, provides demonstrations that allow your imagination to take over. This is probably the most influential and crucial class I’ve taken here at K. I was able to create something tangible that will go in my portfolio and use it to get a job.”
An Art Form That’s Interesting and Exciting
Jane Bentley ’25 took a much more serious issue of importance to her and created “Students for Justice in Palestine,” a film about the student organization of the same name.
The film opens with Suha Qashou ’24—then president of K’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)—leading a vigil outside the Light Fine Arts building, surrounded by signs and supporters. She discusses her desire to commemorate the lives lost in Gaza in an honorable way.
The subject matter provided Bentley with some challenges.
“Between rallies and meetings, I set up a lot of my shots so a lot of people wouldn’t be identifiable for two reasons,” Bentley said. “First, I wasn’t confident that I was going to get a release form for every single person who might be there. And also, when you’re making something about the pro-Palestinian movement, especially in the immediate aftermath of October 7, you have to consider that leaving someone recognizable could put them in a vulnerable position.”
Regardless, Kim’s class provided Bentley a chance to be expressive in an inclusive fashion that was supportive of all the student members of SJP.
“If you have something in your life that you think is worth talking about, the best way to get people interested in it is to package it in a form that’s interesting and exciting,” Bentley said. “I think a documentary can be the best way you to do that.”
A Day to Live Graciously
Unlike Bentley or Henderson, Ethan Galler ’25 had the problem of being uncertain when circumstances would allow him to film the bulk of his footage given his subject matter, K’s Day of Gracious Living.
“This is DOGL” captures student voices and some thoughts from Vice President for Student Development Malcolm Smith the day before DOGL 2023. They discussed the importance of the traditional day off toward the end of the spring term as well as the history of it being a secret date selected by student government representatives and revealed in advance only to a few administrators.
Thankfully, Galler scheduled the interviews in advance through some sleuthing and logical conclusions.
“It was getting close to the end of the term, and either DOGL was the day it was or there would’ve been conflicts with other student events,” he said. “We picked the day before for interviews and hoped for the best.”
Despite cloudy and cool conditions for DOGL, Galler collected footage of a good number of students having fun at the beach in South Haven and supplemented it with footage from K’s archives of previous DOGL activities.
The end product and his enjoyment of the creative process led him to echo Henderson and Bentley’s praise for their instructor and the advantages of taking the class.
“It’s always good to have a little variety in the classes you take, especially if you’re a K student,” Galler said. “Everybody can be a fan of film in their own way, and making a documentary, you get to see behind the curtain with a production. It’s a fun experience.”
All the student videos from the film festival are available on YouTube. Click the links below to watch the others.
Featured Filmmakers
The other student filmmakers featured in the film festival and their projects included the following. Links are included where available:
- Ian Burr ’24: “Football,” spotlighting K football players and what their sport means to them.
- Sam Douma ’26: “Via Ferrata,” in which a voracious duo aims to harness their raw musical energy despite being young and distracted.
- Emma Frederiksen ’25: “Growing with Disability,” showcasing three K students who describe their experiences navigating adulthood and transitioning into college while living with a disability.
- Alek Hultberg ’26: “Tom Evans,” showing students and friends of Music Professor Tom Evans honoring him as he prepares to retire.
- Caleb Kipnis ’26: “How to Run Hillel,” presenting insights into the Jewish student organization Hillel and its board members’ roles in planning and executing an event.
- Megan McGarry ’25: “Clay and Community,” with ceramics students collaborating to make art pieces in response to a problematic mural.
- Alex Quesada ’25: “Train Swag,” featuring cities, states and people that can seem far apart, but with a train, the world becomes smaller and connected communities get bigger. 
- Amalia Scorsone ’24: “A SuperKut of Us,” with friends discussing the importance of their time at K as they approach graduation.
- Luke Torres ’25: “Squishmallows,” in which Jenna Paterob ’23 reveals her obsession with Squishmallows toys.
- Tariq Williams ’23: “Sustainability at Kalamazoo College,” showing K’s efforts in sustainability and the impact of recycling on campus.