Experiencing Interruptions?

Our Show Must Go On

Middle School years are some of the toughest times of a young person’s life and can be emotionally challenging for any number of reasons. Imagine navigating these formative years amidst the isolating grip of COVID closures and restrictions. So much socialization and developmental opportunities were missed at this pivotal stage.

Our documentary, "Our Show Must Go On," follows the poignant journey of an inspiring teacher and his students as they return to school immediately post-pandemic. Uncertainty looms large as they grapple with the daunting task of rediscovering normalcy, yet amidst this uncertainty, they find solace and growth through the production of a school play.

With keen insight, we witness their struggle to reforge social bonds as they are expected to conform back to a structured in-school environment. Through the lens of this documentary, we observe firsthand the resilience of these students, buoyed by the unwavering guidance of their teacher. Each moment captured serves as a testament to the transformative power of social enrichment, especially in times of adversity. We gain inspiration from this teacher and these students who persevered against all odds and got back to doing what they do best – being kids again.

  • Philip Snow
    Director
    Undeaducated
  • Philip Snow
    Producer
    Slayed, Restitution, Telephone Bingo
  • Philip Snow
    Writer
    Telephone Bingo, Undeaducated
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 9 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2024
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Distribution Information
  • Global Digital Releasing
    Distributor
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Video on Demand, Free TV, Paid TV
Director Biography - Philip Snow

Philip spent most of his working career in public service with 21+ honorable years in federal law enforcement. Concurrent with his public service, he's an award winning filmmaker and has been professionally producing video, film, and new media projects since 1992. He earned a Masters of Business Administration with concentrations in marketing and management from the University of South Florida’s Muma College of Business. Philip is executive producer of Code 3 Films holiday horror film SLAYED, co-producer for the soon to be released Ninth House/Code 3 Films/Terror Films thriller RESTITUTION, and was the production supervisor for the Ninth House thriller ONE NIGHT STAND. He is producer of the podcast NEW THOUGHTS FOR ACTORS AND FILMMAKERS starring Jim Klock and Nathan Gist. He’s the co-producer of the episodic TV comedy series COFFEE WITH CARL and director of the episodic TV comedy series TUCKER O’MALLEY FOR CONGRESS. Philip was producer of the short film TELEPHONE BINGO which has won two awards on the festival circuit including best filmmaker award and the coveted people's choice award. Additionally, he's been mentoring local middle and high school students in video and film production for over 8 years. He demonstrates to them all aspects of the production process from story development and writing, to directing and shooting, through the entire post-production process. As part of this mentoring program, he produces an annual original feature film with them as a capstone project for the year. Notable projects he has produced and directed with the students include the thriller SOUL REAPER: THE CURSED GEM OF AHRIMAN and a dramatic mystery BRINKING NEWS. Another one, UNDEADUCATED, a zombie horror film, has been an audience favorite. Most recently, leveraging his access into the local school system, Philip wrote, directed and produced the documentary feature film OUR SHOW MUST GO ON which was just picked up by Global Digital Releasing for worldwide distribution. This film documents students returning to school and producing a play after a year and a half of virtual learning. Still in the midst of the COVID pandemic, they faced and overcame challenges to bring their play to life in what ended up being an emotionally moving social enrichment experience for all.

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Director Statement

2021 was the first full year where the students were returning to in-person learning and unfortunately, we did not have the opportunity to host normal film club activities due to COVID restrictions and general uncertainty hanging over that entire school year. I was just itching to create something original with the students. It happened that I’ve wanted to document the wonderful journey of producing a high school play for years and when I heard our middle school was moving forward with producing a play, I decided to do a ‘test run’ using the middle school production before documenting it for ‘real’ with a high school theater department.
What started out just as an experiment ended up turning into something very special. We documented a moment in time when, due to COVID and its related restrictions, kids were in a uniquely difficult place. Through the play production process, the students had an opportunity to acclimate back into the school environment, and learn how to make new friends, all while relearning how to socialize: basically, they got back to just being kids again. It was so rewarding to capture this experience for them and to now share it with you.