Desoni Cooper, Documentary Studies and Production with a minor in Finance, FLEFF Blogging Intern, Brentwood, New York
In the midst of the infamous COVID-19 virus, the annual Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival has been canceled for the first time in history. Due to the cancellation, I was unable to interview Jaylene Clark Owens who is a spoken word poet and author of AfroPoetic.
However, as a FLEFF Blogger, I had the pleasure of listening to brilliant innovators, musical professionals, professors, etc. who have or would have contributed to the festival.
The first guest that spoke was nonother than Provost and Co-director of FLEFF Dr. Tanya Saunders. Dr. Saunders had a well-spoken and humbling presence during the lecture. She explained how FLEFF unified with all five schools at Ithaca College so FLEFF can have multiple aspects of sustainability. As Dr. Saunders concluded her remarks, she advised the bloggers and me to remember the importance of formality as a form of respect.
Another memorable guest was the Executive Director of Cinemapolis Brett Bossard. What was fascinating about the work that he does is how he is committed to working with local art organizations. For decades, Cinemapolis has collaborated with agencies like Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County, the Hangar Theatre Company, and the Cayuga Museum of History and Art.
Cinemapolis has become a hub for cinema in which communities can engage in film, social dilemmas, and ideas. Additionally, Cinemapolis allowed several independent filmmakers to present their films since many of their films lack commercial appeal.
These classes added insight and value to FLEFF that I aspired to attend. Unfortunately, this won’t be an option but I was fortunate enough to obtain exclusive lectures from some of the brightest people in the media, education, and art industry.
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