Senior Preston Lieu, as Joseph Stalin, uses the FCCTV studio in the short film: Truman vs. Stalin Rap Battle. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Roe)
On Friday, April 25th, seniors in IB World History gathered in the auditorium, anxiously awaiting nominations for their self-created short films. Seniors were tasked with creating a short film about the content covered in their history class, which highlighted the Cold War, authoritarian states, and South African apartheid. The film A Hundred Deadmen won best picture. To dive deeper into the message behind the assignment, IB History teacher Ms. Roe described the process of creating the short films.
One of the challenges for the seniors was the quick turnaround and the short time to work on the project.
“[The seniors] were given 18 days, so not a lot of time,” she explained.
Students were allowed to make a short film from any genre. They had access to a large variety of resources, including the green screen in the MHS TV room. Many groups took advantage of it, and scenes in the films “Truman vs. “Stalin Rap Battle” and “Deutsches Leben” were taped there.
Ms. Roe’s new project took inspiration from other teachers at Meridian.
“Last year in IB History, students created podcasts and newscasts, and it was clear that using real-world media made learning more engaging,” Ms. Roe claimed.
This project was implemented for the first time this year. Ms. Roe recalled how the juniors in Mr. Fay and Mr. Rivera’s classes competed using debate and argumentation skills. Ms. Roe took inspiration from them to create something similar but added a twist.
“In IB HOA, Mr. Fay and Mr. Rivera host an end-of-year debate competition. A film festival seemed like the perfect way to combine creative energy, real-world application, and the spirit of competition for students to showcase their learning in a memorable way,” she explained.
Still frame from Mao is Back, features Senior Kai Mylroie as Mao Zedong conducting unscripted street interviews. (Photo courtesy of Ms. Roe)
Ms. Roe reflected on her two favorite things about the project. First, she was astonished by the variety of films.
“Different groups had dramatically different ideas. Some students did a comedic adaptation. We had one group that did a horror film.” Ms. Roe noted.
The second thing she admired about the project was how well-made they were.
“They absolutely exceeded my expectations.” Ms. Roe commented. “Considering that students only had 18 days to do this, I was personally blown away by some of the films that the students created. How much thought they put into it, the attention to detail, their editing skills, and the creative direction that they took some of our history content.”
Although the experience went well, there are a few changes Ms. Roe would make for next year. Since it was the first year the project was assigned, there were no student samples. She believes that next year, student samples will help students understand the project more clearly. Students will be able to analyze them for their historical messaging, technical execution, and visual storytelling choices.
While IB History is not a film class, this film project allowed students to apply their historical thinking skills with other valuable skills such as collaboration and problem-solving. This project will continue into subsequent academic years as a creative and competitive way to display understanding of IB History.
