J-School Journals Comes back to Lee Hall

Florida A&M School of Journalism & Graphic Communication will be hosting J-School Journals, a series of documentaries produced by journalism students, at Lee Hall Auditorium Saturday at 4pm. Eight students were selected to premier their films on controversial issues affecting our communities. J-School Journals is apart of the week-long event “Artist in Bloom,” a festival which specializes in music, film, literature and theatre.

Several award-winning students will showcase their short documentaries for the festival. Kenneth Jones,  associate professor at the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication, has continued the event since fall of 2006. Jones has been producing documentaries for over 30 years.  The last time FAMU SJGC debuted the student films was fall of 2012.

This year’s lineup will feature:

“Return to Sender” by Donovan Long and Majorie Pierre

From left: Majorie Pierre, Quintin Gee, Brittany Collins, Donovan Long,
Toya Womack, LaCrai Mitchell and Jordan Kinsey

This film focuses on letters from fathers to their African-American sons.

Donovan Long,a graduating broadcast student from Indianapolis, IN. said the hardest part with this documentary was creating an angle that tailors the story to all of society..

“There’s a problem with African-American young men being killed in this society unjustly,” Long said.

“Stage 5,” by Jordan Kinsey and Toya Womack, takes an in depth look on the impact that cancer has on patients and loved ones.

“Trapped: The Restricted American Dream,” by Brittany Collins and LaCrai Mitchell

“Trapped” explores how Americans all across the nation find themselves stuck in neighborhoods because of various reasons: education, financial hardships, and other circumstances.

Brittany Collins, a senior broadcast journalism student from Saint Petersburg,Fl said, LaCrai came up with the idea when she watching a documentary with professor Jones.   

“We want the audience to understand that people live different lifestyles everyday that we may not know about because we take life for granted, “ Collins said.

“The Redzone: State of HBCU Sports,” by Quintin Gee and Jason Joseph, explores the continuing struggle of HBCUs.                                                                        

Admission to the screening is free and open to the public. The event will include a brief Q&A with the filmmakers. If you would like to catch a sneak preview before Saturday the trailers for these features are shown on YouTube. For more information about the Artist in Bloom events visit www.famu.edu/ABF