Jeremy Levine arrived at Working Films for a summer internship as a Park Scholar from Ithaca College in 2005.
During that time he redeveloped our website, both increasing it’s usability and functionality. He has since graduated from Ithaca College and relocated to Brooklyn, NY where he has launched his filmmaking career with familiar partners, a new film and exciting projects. I recently had the honor of talking with him about his past experiences at Working Films and his current projects.

Kristin Henry: You came to Working Films through the Park Scholar program offered at Ithaca College, which gave you an opportunity to choose where you would like to intern. What attracted you to Working Films?

Jeremy Levine: When I decided to study film, I wanted to be able to tell stories that were compelling and at the same time be able to make a positive impact on the world – but I was lost as to what that really meant. When I read that the mission of Working Films was to use documentaries to provide meaningful change, I knew how I wanted to spend my summer.

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In 2007 the issue of torture made its way to the forefront of political current events. Leaked memos condoning harsh interrogation tactics in October were followed later that month by evasive testimony from Attorney General Michael Mukasey on the legality of waterboarding during his confirmation hearings. Then in December it was revealed that the CIA destroyed at least two video tapes depicting the brutal interrogations of two al-Qaida suspects.

As the reality of the Bush administration’s torture policy is unraveling on the world stage, what has clearly changed since the heinous photos of Abu Ghraib prisoners were released in 2004, is the public perception that torture is an act that only occurs when a few “bad apples” behave badly. With the help of diligent independent media makers such as Rory Kennedy, director of the Emmy award winning documentary Ghosts of Abu Ghraib, Americans are beginning to understand that the responsibility for recent U.S. sponsored torture goes straight to the top of the chain of command.

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“If there’s one thing that Latinos have in common, it’s a complete lack of commonality.”

This line in an NPR commentary by Daniel Hernandez caught my attention as I drove home from work recently. Hernandez, a Mexican American blogger in his 20s, was expressing his indignation at pundits’ stereotypical assumptions about the “Latino Vote” in the democratic primaries of Super Tuesday.

As Hernandez spoke, my mind jumped to the photos that illustrate the homepage of Working Films’ multi-media curriculum project New Faces: Latinos in North Carolina – the youthful grin of a middle school student, another face lined from work in the sun, the wire rimed glasses of a hotel manager, the black curly hair of a parent liaison… their skin ranging in shades from beige to coffee. The faces in these photos introduce website visitors to a curriculum project designed to challenge stereotypes and illustrate the varied realities and contributions of North Carolina’s growing Latino population.

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