{"id":14906,"date":"2017-03-17T08:56:09","date_gmt":"2017-03-17T16:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=14906"},"modified":"2019-09-30T12:33:54","modified_gmt":"2019-09-30T20:33:54","slug":"filmmakers-lou-pepe-and-keith-fulton-interview","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/dipsy.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/filmmakers-lou-pepe-and-keith-fulton-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Filmmakers Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton Tell Story of At-Risk Youth Getting Last Chance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Filmmakers Lou Pepe and Keith Fulton have gone from the deserts of Spain (for their acclaimed film Lost in La Mancha<\/em><\/a>\u00a0about Terry Gilliam’s ill-fated attempt to make a Don Quixote film) to the Mojave Desert in California, for their latest documentary, The Bad Kids<\/em><\/a>, which premieres on Independent Lens<\/em> on PBS March 20 at 10pm [check local listings<\/a>].<\/p>\n

They’ve dabbled in feature films as well \u2014\u00a0Brothers of the Head<\/em><\/a>, about Siamese twins who become a rock music sideshow, is a cult favorite \u2014 but making documentaries gives them more freedom to follow their passions.\u00a0“We have at many times in our career lost hope and confidence, particularly when spending many years trying to develop and mount productions within the Hollywood independent film world,” they told us. “We have the skill set to tell stories of positive social change, and because it doesn\u2019t take a huge amount of resources to get a verit\u00e9 documentary off the ground, we feel much more in control of the means of our productions.”<\/p>\n

The Bad Kids<\/em>, “an insightful, affecting film that casts a\u00a0sympathetic light on a neglected educational sector,” wrote Justin Lowe in The Hollywood Reporter<\/em><\/a>, is a perfect example of that, and it came about a bit by chance. The filmmakers talked to us about how it came to be, about what the title means to them, what they learned about alternative education and at-risk youth while making it, and films that influenced them, in this interview.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

How did you first hear about\u00a0Black Rock Continuation High School<\/a>, and what led you to focus on it for a feature documentary?<\/strong><\/p>\n

A few years prior to making The Bad Kids<\/em>, we worked on a number of short documentaries for a Gates Foundation initiative called Teaching Channel, for which we traveled around the country filming public schools and educators who were working with limited resources but making a huge impact in the lives of America’s public school students. On one of our research trips out to the Mojave Desert, our contact in the Morongo Unified School District was taking us to see schools and meet teachers and said that she had a school that she really wanted to show us. It didn’t fit the specific criteria for the projects we were working on, but she insisted that we see it.<\/p>\n

\"The

The Bad Kids filmmakers: Lou Pepe left, Keith Fulton right<\/p><\/div>\n

When she described that it was a school for at-risk youth \u2014 many of them dealing with teen pregnancy, homelessness, neglect, abuse, addiction, probation \u2014 we were a little cautious. Like most people, we had preconceived ideas about these young people (hence the film’s title*). But the moment we entered the school, we were struck by what a positive environment it was. And after meeting Principal Viland<\/a> and hearing about the school’s philosophy and success rate, we decided that even though Black Rock didn’t fit the brief for the jobs we were working on, it was definitely an amazing story that we wanted to come back to on our own.<\/p>\n

We wanted to shed light on the trials of at-risk teens in our public school system and to deepen a national conversation about the fact that our rural and inner-city schools are not \u201cfailing.\u201d Rather,\u00a0we<\/em> are too often failing to recognize that young people raised in poverty cannot be held to the same standards that policies like No Child Left Behind impose. At-risk youth have special needs that can be affordably addressed by schools such as Black Rock High School.<\/p>\n

*What does that label and the title mean to you, “bad kids”?<\/strong><\/p>\n

People often ask us why we called the film The Bad Kids<\/em>, especially because they don\u2019t think that there is anything “bad” about the film\u2019s subjects. We think that there\u2019s a discomfort about the use of the label because people are well aware of their own prejudices about kids \u201cfrom the other side of the tracks.\u201d In presenting the film to audiences of kids from alternative high schools, we\u2019re often approached by students who love the title and embrace the moniker with a sense of re-appropriation.<\/p>\n

How did you gain the trust of the kids in order to film them so naturally?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We never begin a documentary production like this by simply barging in with the camera. We spent a great deal of time meeting, hanging out with, and pre-interviewing the Black Rock students before filming. We became part of the fabric of the school in the course of our two years of filming.<\/p>\n

\"Principal

Black Rock School Principal Vonda Viland<\/p><\/div>\n

What shocked you the most as you made this film and learned more about American alternative education and at-risk youth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Was refreshing to hear an attitude about alternative education that views it as an investment in at-risk youth rather than a process that demands instant results.<\/pullquote>The biggest shock for us was seeing just how effective the philosophy at Black Rock High School really is. When Principal Viland talks about the power of positivity, it’s very easy to be cynical and dismiss her approach as naive optimism. It’s a different thing, though, when you witness the effect of that positivity on a young person. We forget how much it can mean to a student to have an adult say, “Good work!” or “I’m really proud of you for how you handled that situation.” Not only would it elicit a big smile but it would motivate the student to work even harder.<\/p>\n

This effect was especially surprising to see over a period of time. The first day we filmed at Black Rock, there was a girl who got in a fight. Even we found her somewhat intimidating \u2014 cold eyes, mean-spirited, and aggressive \u2014 so we steered clear of her. But six months later, she was a different person: cheerful, smiling, and rapidly making progress towards graduation. In hindsight, her dramatic transformation makes perfect sense. Principal Viland and the teachers at Black Rock didn’t take a punitive approach to her and treat her like a “bad kid.” Instead, they rewarded her, with approval and acknowledgment, for anything positive she did, and that positive feedback motivated her to continue to learn, improve, and do well.<\/p>\n

Of course, this approach doesn’t work for every kid, and our film shows that not every student at Black Rock ends up a “success story.” But one other surprise occurred when we asked Principal Viland about the students who don’t succeed, about “the ones who got away.” Even when kids drop out, she doesn’t view them as failures. Rather, she says, “We, as educators, plant seeds, and we might not always see those seeds take root and bear fruit. It might not happen while they’re at Black Rock \u2014 it might take years. But they absorb those lessons that we teach them, and sooner or later those lessons have an impact on their lives.” It was surprising and refreshing to hear an attitude about alternative education that views it as an investment in at-risk youth rather than a process that demands instant results.<\/p>\n