On Sept. 20, attendees of the One Earth Film Festival in Chicago had the chance to view a documentary by seniors Joshua Chan, Sophia Faraone, Christina Labban and Celina Ren.
The four seniors came together to film a video about car-centric city planning in October of last year for their MAP 11 American issues documentary project. In June, they learned that their roughly 5-minute film, called “Speed Bumps Ahead,” won the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest.
When the video won its category at SMASH’N in May, Ren decided to submit the group’s video to the competition after discovering it through Film Freeway, a submission platform for contests and film festivals.
“Speed Bumps Ahead” covers the prioritization of cars over pedestrian travel and safety. After noticing how Saratoga and other suburban neighborhoods were structured around cars, the group used the video as a push for change. Inspired by the walkability of European cities, the group wanted to highlight how walkability affects the environment of cities and neighborhoods.
Filmed mostly in San Francisco, the documentary covers the use of public transportation in places like Octavia Boulevard — which transitions from a highway to a more walkable area with sidewalks.
Each member of the team played a key role in the process: Labban made the drawings and music, Ren animated, Faraone edited and Chan wrote the script. However, all members looked over each part and added their own touch to every element. They attributed the success of their final product to the high morale and passion for the topic.
“Everyone did different aspects of the same thing so it wasn’t just one person doing sound or editing,” Faraone said. “It really brought the team together.”
The group was one of 10 groups, ranging from elementary schoolers to college students, that won first place out of 500 submissions, with their video receiving the Environmental Law & Policy Center Activism Award.
They had the opportunity to air their video at the film festival and receive $500 sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency (ELPA). Their film was also featured on the ELPA website.
The organizers told Chan, who attended the festival, that the documentary had such a strong impact that it sparked public interest and protests to change the transportation in Chicago.
While creating the project, the group also volunteered for the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition at a Stanford University football game to ensure the safety of public bikes, involving themselves in activities they hope others can take on to solve the issues of codependency with cars.
Ren, having lived in China, experienced firsthand the lifestyle and contrast between a city with cars and a city with a large emphasis on walkability. Other members, having all traveled to other countries, specifically European countries, also saw the apparent contrast in daily life.
“We’ve all lived or traveled to countries where walkability is the number one priority, so we were pretty envious of that,” Labban said. “We all had that drive and were very passionate about this topic, which is what made it such a good documentary.”
