My introduction to Persistent Productions was at my WLP admitted students day. Each spring, incoming freshmen watch a beautiful piece highlighting and showcasing the promises of the Women’s Leadership Program—an incredible connection with other women, a chance to explore the city, and classes tailored to help women succeed. This very video was one of the reasons why I decided to join the program.
Unbeknownst to me, the creator of the video was Meghan Shea, a former WLP alumna and founder of Persistent Productions. Professor Buckley, director of the WLP, connected us a year after I saw the video to assist Meghan with another WLP project, 20x20, to commemorate the twenty year milestone since the program’s founding. As I assisted her and her team in interviewing spectacular women leaders who grew their character in the program, I recognized that production and documentary is my life’s passion. Meghan was incredibly helpful and insightful and offered me an internship at Persistent Productions for the following semester, which I have been graciously supported by with the Humphries Award.
In this production internship, I have been challenged to find my own story and create a short documentary piece on it. As a 2018-2019 member of the International Arts and Culture cohort, I was naturally drawn to artistic pieces and landed on interviewing New Yorker cartoonist Liz Montague. I dove into Liz’s story and her boundary breaking experience as the first woman of color cartoonist at the New Yorker. She has an incredible passion for accessibility in the cartoon space and hopes that her work pushes readers to educate themselves on disparities in cultural representation in cartoons. With the guidance and support of the Persistent Productions team, I was able to interview her in her studio and edit the piece.
Another project that I have been able to work on is a global documentary on international architects CHOI + SHINE. I was able to film an exhibit in Georgetown for a documentary that Persistent Productions is creating. I have learned all about documentary funding and distribution as I have researched grants and mapped out a synopsis for the piece.
This incredibly enriching experience has taught me so much and allowed me to grow in my knowledge of production. It has also allowed me to build on what I learned while in WLP and apply it to a future career. I remember on the first day of WLP orientation, Professor Buckley asked all of the International Arts and Culture students what our “art form” was. I told her that I was unsure, but eager to find out. Now I feel that I have truly discovered my art form and passion for documentary production.