5 Lives: Wittenberg Wisdom

      https://vimeo.com/43628366

     https://vimeo.com/42211409

WOW's first video art project, "5 Lives," celebrates local history by bringing to life the stories of five elderly residents of the Homme Home for the Aging of Wittenberg: Floyd Doering, Agnes Medo, Mary Ann Peters, Pastor James Primley and Edna Zwirschitz.  Local filmmakers Laura Hunt and Jordan Innes took on five Wittenberg Birnamwood High School students who had an interest in journalism, photography and new media communication: Anna Anderson, Charlene Cocciola, Dakota Crowell, Sean Martin and Steven Weller.

 

They interviewed each of the elders about their memories of growing up in Wisconsin during very different times. The filmmaking team then took videos of images and scenes around Wittenberg, as well as archival still photos and video clips, to bring to life the stories.

 

The process was an extremely meaningful inter-generational exchange in addition to being a learning experience for the students.

 

The result is five short video art pieces that celebrate our local elders and preserve a piece of Wisconsin history.

 

"Five Lives: Wittenberg Wisdom" has been screened in a variety of community forums, provoking lively discussions and bringing people of all ages together.  The videos are installed as part of WOW's permanent collection and have been given to the Wittenberg Area Historical Society, the Homme Home and the Wittenberg Birnamwood High School. 

 

This project was funded by:

Walls of Wittenberg, Inc.

The Community Foundation of the Fox Valley, Community Arts Fund

I spent my summers in Wittenberg with my grandparents and always knew I would live here some day.  I loved the natural beauty of the area, the pace of life, the people.  After moving here I started to get more involved in the community, especially through the Walls of Wittenberg. I love WOW and am so pleased that this amazing, volunteer-run arts group exists here in Wittenberg; it's a treasure.  

Working in communications in LA, I fell in love with doing community and social-issue video projects that centered on a specific population and involved the subjects in the making of the process, allowing them to really have their own voice to create intimate and honest videos.  I had done a variety of community video projects in the past, mostly focusing on foster children and youth.

 

The Homme Home is such an integral part of the community and I started thinking about the stories and life experiences of the residents and how so many of them would be lost. I couldn't believe all that they've lived through in their lives: their wisdom is always so powerful, their humor often surprising, and their candor refreshing.

 

I worked to figure out a project with Homme Home that could also incorporate high school students.  I love working with students and thought that, as part of a rural community, WBHS students might not get the chance to work on many video shoots or video art projects.  

 

Overall, the experience was incredibly rewarding for everyone involved, most of all me.  I learned so much from each resident, and go back to visit them on a regular basis.  The students were outstanding, enthusiastic, talented, and extremely interested in the elder's stories -- it was refreshing and filled me with hope and energy.  The project was meaningful every step of the way. I am so proud of the video art pieces we created and the small piece of local history we've been able to celebrate and preserve.