By Kalena Reynolds | Reporter
Next week at Art Center Waco, the Waco Independent Film Festival is hosting its second annual “Reel Stories” — an event featuring four different films. Each film is hand-picked and represents a different message, from wildlife conservation to civil rights. One film shown at the Hurd Welcome Center will be eligible for Creative Arts Experience credit.
Reel Stories began when people behind the Waco Independent Film Festival wanted to make a more intimate and intentional version of the annual film festival that is put on in July. The event is catered to spark conversations about diversity, equality and community.
“It opens up the opportunity to learn more about each other’s real stories and enhance upon that because we take these films and we get to have really deep discussions about them,” Louis Hunter, operation director for the Waco Independent Film Festival, said.
At 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, there will be a viewing of “Join Or Die” for Baylor students in the Fudge Auditorium at the Mark and Paula Hurd Welcome Center. It will be the first movie showing at the Welcome Center, and it will count for Creative Arts Experience credit.
The viewing of “Join Or Die” was envisioned by Baylor’s assistant director for Chapel, Matthew Aughtry, after his friend — a Baylor alumnus and the film’s editor — invited him to watch it at South by Southwest. Aughtry immediately began brainstorming ways to bring the documentary to Baylor for students to see.
“When I saw it, I was just like … we have an alum who’s worked on this film, and an integral role in it, and someone we can sort of be proud of and say, ‘This is something one of the graduates of our film department was part of,'” Aughtry said. “This is the kind of film Baylor needs to showcase. The Baylor community needs to see that we need to have discussions, and we need to think of what are all the implications for this.”
The film centers on the decline of community and lack of in-person relationships in America, and it focuses on the work of Dr. Bob Putnam and his book titled “Bowling Alone.” After the viewing, there will be a discussion session with the director’s siblings, Pete and Rebecca Davis, and the head of Creative Waco, Fiona Bond.
The other films being shown are “Deep in the Heart: A Texas Wildlife Story” on Nov. 16, “Juneteenth: Faith & Freedom” on Nov. 17 and “Honoring Jules Bledsoe” on Nov. 18. A discussion session, live music and food will follow each film at Art Center Waco.
“We choose films that have a social issue, or they have something where we can inspire change within our community,” Hunter said. “It ends up being a great evening. It’s really worth being able to explore these issues and have discussions and see how we can get back and then improve our community around us.”
Art Center Waco will also be featuring a special exhibition honoring its 50th anniversary with artwork it has curated over the last half century. Tickets are free, and attendees can view the artwork while at the film viewings.
“It is a community celebration,” Hunter said. “We’re able to celebrate these independent voices. We’re able to learn more about the world that we’re living in. We want to make it really informal. We don’t want this to feel like a history lesson or anything, but we do include live music with it, and we have food available.”
