The filmmaking team behind Sundance docs WORDPLAY and IOUSA profiles an inspiring and innovative hands-on design classroom.
Two designers come to a rural NC town to run a high school class on design and building that culminates in architecture that benefits the struggling community. Emily Pilloton and her partner Matthew Miller are committed to using design to find practical solutions to address the problems of those most in need through their non-profit Project H. Bertie County certainly qualifies, recognized as the poorest and most rural county in NC. With the help of a forward-thinking school superintendent, the duo pitches a high-school curriculum to offer about a dozen kids direct experience with their mantra: “Design. Build. Transform.” Beyond learning how the process of design works, students learn to work together to actually create useful objects. Smaller initial projects culminate in a grandscale project that will benefit, and, hopefully, reinvigorate the entire town. Director Patrick Creadon and Producers Christine O’Malley and Neal Baer follow Emily and Matthew (and some of their students) for a year, through a challenging, but ultimately uplifting year.
With just over a week to go in the project’s Kickstarter campaign, the filmmakers have broken the halfway mark to their $36,400 goal for post-production expenses. While there doesn’t appear to be a dedicated webpage for the documentary just yet, more information about both the Studio H curriculum and Project H Design may be found on their respective websites.
Creadon and O’Malley have a proven track record, so I’m excited to see them bring another project to completion. The film’s other pair, Emily and Matthew, are likeable, smart subjects – individuals dedicated to using their skills and knowledge to make a difference. It’s clear that they make an impact on their students, whether design is ultimately in their future or not. It’s the confidence that they provide that is especially necessary – the sense that nothing is insurmountable as long as you have a well-thought out plan to handle it. If there’s one quibble I have, it’s the film’s title – it’s too insider and, as a result, it weirdly distances the audience. What does the “H” stand for? What does it have to do with design or this high school class? It’s not immediately obvious, and it’s only from looking through the Project H Design site that one can find out (“Humanity, Habitats, Health, Happiness, Heart, Hands, and more”). If I may be so bold, I would suggest considering a more inclusive title that lets a potential viewer know what the film is about, even if s/he hasn’t heard of Project H or Studio H before. That said, I hope the film reaches a wide audience and that Studio H as a curriculum becomes widely known and widely duplicated.
what (not) to doc 