Last night IBC had the privilege of attending the premiere event of Ball High School's advanced media and technology class' Ike: A Documentary, The Story of a Torn City Rebuilt by Everyday Heroes. Calling themselves the Hurricane Story Tellers, the film makers took on the task of exposing the wrath and devastation Hurricane Ike brought upon our part of coastal Texas.
The opening of the film may be one of the hardest things I've had to sit through since sitting through lumbering news coverage of our Island as Ike circled ever closer. The emotions that squeezed me as I watched the beginning scenes made me feel like running away. I wanted to leave. Be alone. I didn't want to watch anymore. Instead I fell into the comfort of thinking that most of the audience may have found themselves with similar circumstances.
The Ball High students, along with their teacher Mr. Weiss and student mentors, put together a film that needles deep into the fabric of Islanders. The documentary included interviews with many different people, including Dan Rather, George Mitchell, the Mayor, and a woman who survived the storm surge along with her cat. In between interviews, scenes of Ike's approach flashed on screen as the sea exploded into the Seawall in addition to the damages from the storm. Viewers found soft giggles in the bashful comedic glances of footage and narration by Christian Dierlam. And the film's roots penetrated the audience in the narrative spoken and written by Mamie Aoughsten.
I'm honestly amazed by the dedication of this group of "young people."
Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and realized something. The Ball High students call themselves the Hurricane Story Tellers, or "HST" for short. What I realized is that they're actually Hurricane Ike Story Tellers. Or "HIST" for short. An anachronym or shortnening of history or historical, or even historian I believe they captured another piece of Galveston Island's unique and frightening history.
The group continues to accept donations. Funds are needed to continue the exposure of the documentary, which in turn extends Galevston Island's story.
Visit www.ikedocumentary.com for more information on the film and students behind it.
Truly a profound film. And I must echo your thoughts Mondo, the experience of watching the film was powerful, profound, and exquisitely intense and healing. It was the sharing of this collective experience of watching together as Islanders (well as many that could fit in The Grand 1894 Opera House) that I feel so privileged to be part of. I walked away reminded of what I love so deeply about our Island and as Mamie Aoughsten so beautifully called, "our people." Thank you HST (or HIST) for doing this for Galveston.