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Smile, Laugh, Cry (2013)

Scott Christopherson

Sound | 2013 | Color | English

Categories:

2000s

Austin

St. Edwards University Documentary Project

Student Films

Texas Locations:

Travis County

Austin

This student film, made by Charlie Sanchez, uses archival footage from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image to explore the experience of growing up with family on both sides of the Texas-Mexico border. The film examines how the border divides two societies, but Sanchez, through the experience of getting to know his family in Mexico, ultimately concludes that on both sides of the border are 'people, who smile, who laugh, who cry.' Footage in this film comes from the Mendez Family, A.M. Harper, Flores Family, Gordon Wilkison, Amparo Rivera Family, Alton Abbot Family, Alan Frye, Texas Conjunto Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and Horak Family collections.

The films in this collection are a result of a partnership between St. Edward's University and the Texas Archive of the Moving Image to produce documentary student films. Students in Scott Christopherson's Documentary Production class were assigned to create a 3-5 minute film using archival footage from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) website with an emphasis on creating story arcs. Using four films from TAMI, the students could choose to narrate the clips using a personal story or memory from childhood; explore what it means to be a Texan or living in Texas (focusing on one or two aspects of Texas Culture); interpret the footage using a series of audio interviews that somehow correlate to the images; explore what is means to be Latino or Chicano in Texas; or create sound effects, narration, and a story for the images.

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