Rochester Teen Film Festival, which led to a partnership between Nazareth College and the 360|365 George Eastman House Film Festival. Each year the festival organizers collect student-produced films from youth in the greater Rochester area, judge the entries, and then screen the finalists’ entries. Working with a number of organizations in Nagaland, Bailey and Meru held the first-ever Youth Film Festival in Nagaland called GLOCAL (where global meets local) Film Festival. Some of the films screened included the finalists from the 2010 Rochester Teen Film Festival as well as those created by a group of young filmmakers who call themselves the Naga Headhunters Entertainment Group. “I was blown away by the quality of the Headhunters’ productions,” recalls Bailey, “especially the stereoscopic 3D music video for an original song. As with the Rochester youth filmmakers, I was amazed at the talent level and sophisticated stories.” In addition to the film festival and art exhibition, Bailey and Layton lectured at Nagaland University in Lumami about
the transformative power of art and education, followed by an hour of conversation with faculty and students about student life, politics, and culture in America. The conversation ended with one student saying, “Please tell them that we are not headhunters; we are hunters of knowledge.” Rather than just report back about his experiences with the Naga people, though, Bailey decided to take it a step further: He was determined to bring some of the Naga youth filmmakers to Rochester. In collaboration Bailey lecturing at the University of Nagaland. with George Eisen, Ph.D., executive director for Nazareth’s CenBailey. “By bringing the Naga youth here, ter for International Education, he has I hope to foster that reciprocal experience started the Nagaland Cultural Exchange of learning and cultural exchange.” Program, which will host a screening of And Bailey realized the opportunity Naga filmmakers’ latest productions. this summer: The Nagaland govern“It was cool to experience the stories of youth in both locations and to learn about ment agreed to fund the travel for several Naga filmmakers to journey stateside and their shared passion for filmmaking,” says participate in the 2011 Make Your Movie Summer Filmmaking Camp, co-sponsored by 360|365 and Nazareth College. The weeklong camp covered topics ranging from screenwriting and directing to postproduction editing and distribution. Bailey concludes that inevitably “a combination of globalizing forces will continue to bring all of us in contact with new people and new ideas. If this trip taught me anything, it’s the importance of listening to the stories of youth in general— here and abroad—as well as of my own students at Nazareth.” Read about Bailey’s trip to Nagaland at go.naz.edu/naga. Sofia Tokar is assistant editor in Nazareth’s marketing and communications department.
Dr. Brian Bailey and Prof. Heather Layton making new friends at the Hornbill Festival, a celebration of traditional Naga art and culture.
www.naz.edu
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