When Vermont State University administration announced their plan for an all-digital library in Spring ‘23, many students and faculty took major issue with this decision.  It sparked major controversy and prompted activists on campus to act.

 A group of student filmmakers got together to shed light on the situation, creating an informational documentary that has been screened throughout the University, and at future film festivals. On Wednesday, Sept. 4, three of the filmmakers – Vermont State alumnus Will Smith and Jacob Gonzalez, and current senior Maddie Lindgren, joined an Activism and Media class held in Leavenworth Hall to discuss their film and the process of making it. 

 Everyone was pumped to learn more about what went on behind the scenes as students began asking questions. 

Some excellent questions were asked from students from the very start.  For instance, when asked about the process and prepping for the film, Gonzalez gave a somewhat surprising answer.

 “Honestly, I think, there wasn’t really a lot of planning just because it was happening in real time, so it was almost kind of like…so let’s film this part…we kind of just let the story unfold into the point where…we had a complete story and we were able to put it together,” Gonzalez said.

 He went on to describe how “picking out key points” was a big part of how the pieces came together.   

 Will Smith, who did a lot of behind-the-scenes work, also gave some input as to how everything unfolded.

 “I want to add that, a lot of it, we had…a week run time from event to event with everything that was happening.  So, we didn’t sit down and plan…ok, this week, we’re gonna do this, and in a monthgonna go film the board of trustees,” Smith said.  “It was literally…This is happening.  We need to go film it.” Smith continued.

 When asked about how they chose which parts of their film to leave in and take out, Smith gave a very thoughtful and metaphorical answer that really spoke to the creativity of the film crew. 

“In my previous life, I was a chef, and I kind of look at it as making soup,” Smith explained.  “You take a foundation of whatever the story is and just…whatever brings the most flavor and most passion to that project.  It depends on the flow of the story,” Smith added.

   The time frame, as pointed out by Gonzalez, turned out to be much more time-consuming than originally planned.

 “It was a long, long time…We initially wanted to finish it in 2023, but it got to a point where…this is gonna be a lot longer than I thought,” Gonzalez said.  “And also, we completely missed out on two key interviews…that quite literally changed how the story was gonna go,” he added.

            Two others who were a big part of the project were Lily Doton and Jacob Ruben, who were unable to attend the interview, but were certainly huge contributors to the film.  Fellow student and contributor on the film, Maddie Lindgren was, however, present and deserves as much praise for her part in the project. 

It was clear to see how much this documentary meant to all of those involved.

“I think, for me…I’ve been a part of some pretty crazy things, but this is probably one of the only things in my life where it was something that was bigger than myself,” Gonzalez said.  “I felt the due diligence of using my creativity and using my voice to make this film,” he added.

Smith also added to this sentiment with a heartfelt message to his audience.

“What I want people to take away from it is that…you have a voice, and to use that voice,” Smith said.

It has been a crazy journey for these creators, but they are far from done with getting the film’s reach out.  According to Professor Sam Davis-Boyd, the film will be shown in film festivals as well as having a showing at the Castleton Campus at Vermont State University on Dec. 11, 2024.