Dare To Be Sayre - SDP-Penn Film Program 2022 / William L. Sayre High School
Channel: PSTV Philadelphia
Date: 2022-05-12

SDP-Penn Film Program 2022
William L. Sayre High School (Sayre)
Dare To Be Sayre (16 mins.) 
This documentary explores the relationships between students and mentors, communities, and student empowerment through a variety of after school programs at William Sayre High School.

• Sayre Film Team: Oumar "Five," Ajay Livingston, Justin Morrison, Dakota Robinson, Giavonna Wood
• Sayre Afterschool Program Director: Joseph Brand
• Sayre Principal: Jamie Eberle
• Penn Film Team: Nathan Krebs, Jayne Pardys, and Shiqi Yang

Penn Teaching Team: Amitanshu Das, Sam Dellert

SDP-Penn Film Program Description
Penn students collaborate with high school students to create short films. This program was piloted in 2015 and began in 2016 soon after the re-launch of the district’s TV channel PSTV. It is connected to a University of Pennsylvania graduate level course series- Ethnographic Filmmaking and Community Youth Filmmaking, taught by Amit Das.

In the Fall semester, Penn students first learn filmmaking and are introduced to ethnographic principles, approaches, and methods. They visit Philadelphia high school communities- students, teachers, and staff- so that everyone can get to know one another. In the late Fall or early Spring, high school and Penn students meet regularly then choose a subject they would like to make into a film and decide what kind of film it should be. They spend the rest  of the Spring  researching, writing, filming, and editing their films, supported by the teaching team. In early May, these documentaries, narrative or experimental films about students, by students, reflecting the voices, interests, concerns, and perspectives of students -are first premiered at the School District of Philadelphia then broadcast on PSTV (the school district of Philadelphia’s television channel) and posted to YouTube.

Planning for this program starts late in the Spring before a new academic year begins. Philadelphia high schools are invited to apply to be one of very few selected schools. Communication between PSTV, Amit Das, and each selected high school begins early in the summer so that there is enough time to communicate, coordinate and prepare what is a logistically and technically complicated program. It also allows for time to sort out how the program will work, often differently, in each unique Philadelphia school. 

The SDP-Penn Film Program is coordinated by PSTV and Amit Das, sponsored by the SDP-CIO and Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships. Ethnographic Filmmaking &  Community Youth Filmmaking are Netter- supported ABCS (Academically based community service) courses offered by Penn GSE’s Education, Culture and Society department. The program is closely affiliated with other centers at Penn including Penn’s Center for Experimental Ethnography, CAMRA@penn, the CAMRA Mellon Undergraduate Fellowship Program, the Media Inequality and Change Center, and the Annenberg School for Communication.

For more information email Amitanshu Das at dasa@upenn.edu .