Program Guest Speaker and Video Discussion Report June 27, 2022

On June 27th, the BUF BLM Action Ministry team welcomed filmmaker Remy Strike to a Zoom discussion of his locally filmed Juneteenth video I Am The Hope And The Dream created for local school districts.  The film featured Black youth and community leaders from the area discussing the meaning of Juneteenth. Remy is a multi-talented musician and videographer working out of New Jersey. The Ferndale Chamber of Commerce recruited him to make the film.

Remy described the process of making the film from shooting to editing, how it was scripted, and how those interviewed reacted to the process.  Each participant was interviewed separately, and everyone had a lot of fun.  Remy was surprised at how comfortable and safe he felt in their company. One youth was inspired to learn more about videography.  30 hours of footage was captured covering a variety of interview topics, and Remy hopes to make a longer, broader video.

The participating BLM team audience asked a series of questions before Remy left the Zoom call. Then a general discussion of reaction to the video followed.  One remark was that the film crew and interviewees had created a beloved community during the filming.