Students Recognized for Documentary Films Telling NH War Stories
(DURHAM, June 3, 2008) – Armed with video cameras, questions, and research on the interviewee, New Hampshire middle school and high school students recorded oral histories from survivors of past wars, their friends and families. What resulted were several moving and poignant films about these veterans’ experiences in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. “The War,” “Memories from the Homefront,” and “Navyman” are just a few of the titles given to these documentary oral histories submitted by students to New Hampshire Public Television for the NH War Stories Student Documentary Project.The top selections from the NH War Stories Student Documentary Project will be recognized at a screening and ceremony Saturday, June 7 beginning at 10 a.m. at the NHPTV Broadcast Center in Durham. Fourteen entries were received from schools across the state and five are being honored for outstanding achievement. NH First District Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter will offer welcoming comments at the ceremony.There were two divisions, middle school and high school/college, for entries. The top entries came from the Barnard School, South Hampton; Great Brook Middle School with The Francestown Improvement and Historical Society, Francestown; Rochester Middle School, Rochester; Concord High School, Concord; and Timberlane High School, Plaistow. Each school will receive a certificate signed by Ken Burns and a DVD set of “The War” series also signed by the acclaimed PBS filmmaker. “My hope is that our project will inspire schools to make collecting oral histories an ongoing part of their curriculum,” said Susan Adams of NHPTV’s Knowledge Network – Educational Services division. “Teachers and students were really inspired by this opportunity. In Sandwich, the junior historian program was revitalized by the school and historical society working together again.”The NH War Stories Student Documentary Project started in September 2007 in conjunction with the broadcast of Ken Burns’ documentary about World War II, “The War,” and as part of NHPTV’s “Connecting and Collecting New Hampshire’s War Stories” community engagement project. Students in grades 6 – college were invited to be part of a statewide effort to record and preserve the Granite State’s war stories for future generations. Students interested in filmmaking and preserving New Hampshire’s stories were invited to “make history” by producing a 5 – 20 minute film incorporating oral history interviews with individuals affected by past or present wars.Special note: Two clips from these student documentaries will be shown during a special appearance by Ken Burns at the Wright Museum in Wolfeboro Thursday, August 7th @ 7 p.m. “America’s storyteller” will describe the massive undertaking entailed in guiding “The War” documentary series from idea to reality. For more information about this event, go to www.wrightmuseum.org/flyer.pdf. The Knowledge Network is New Hampshire Public Television’s educational services division. It provides outstanding media-rich programs, services, and resources to enhance learning outcomes for students, educators, and learners of all ages. The Knowledge Network is recognized as a trusted and highly valued resource for quality media-rich curriculum content and professional development services. It promotes teaching excellence and seeks to meet the needs of educators, childcare providers, parents and students through New Hampshire-based programs.These oral history projects are an offshoot of a national outreach project from Ken Burns’ documentary series, The War, which recently aired on NHPTV. The seven-part series by New Hampshire’s own Ken Burns explored an American perspective of the history and horror of the Second World War, through personal accounts from the homefront to the frontlines. Support for the “New Hampshire War Stories” Student Documentary Project was provided by NEA-NH.
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