(Credit-Photo provided by: Nicholas Stange/Harlem High School)
On May 18, Harlem High School students will have the opportunity to showcase their own films in a showcase located in the school’s theater.
Starting off as the Harlem Veteran Documentary class. In the class, there has been a transition from documentaries of all kinds to short films now encompassing some of the class work.
The class is taught by Nicholas Stange. Stange has been teaching at Harlem for nearly twenty years. He has held the showcase for about ten to twelve years.
“I think at the end of the year, it’s cool to see the kids get the recognition and to experience the excitement of sharing their finished product and getting to watch their growth,” Stange said.
Avery Martin, a junior in the class, is doing her documentary on the importance of organ donation and her sister’s story of getting a liver transplant as a child. Avery is excited about the end-of-the-year showcase.
“I guess I never had sports events for people to go to or club events or anything. So this is important to me because not only will my family be able to see this, but my friends will be able to see it, too. I’ll finally have something to show for what I’ve been working on all year, so I’m very excited for people to see it,” Avery said.
This year, there are five documentaries and five short films. This is the first time the event has expanded past documentaries, and only the second year it has been more than veteran-focused films.
Bryana Traveiso, a 2023 graduate, took the class twice and completed two documentaries. “Strength in Her Voice: The Story of Lana McCants” and “The Montgomery’s.” You can watch both on the Harlem Veteran Project YouTube page.
Bryana shared some of her perspectives on taking part in this class.
“Looking back, I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to work on these projects,” Bryana said. “I got to preserve very important stories so that future generations can know what others before us went through to be where we are today.”
She believes that coming to the event is about more than just watching films.
“By attending the showcase, you are not only supporting local high school creatives but also learning about real-life stories, important issues and gaining different perspectives,” Bryana added.
This event is free for all. The first round of screening will take place from 2-4 PM. There will be a break for the jazz band to play, as well as free desserts from 4-5 PM, and the second round of screenings at 5-7 PM.
