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Rise Up

"Rise Up" is a short documentary written, produced, and shot by four African American high-school girls living in Chicago's public housing. Through a series of interconnected vignettes, the film explores the impact of violence on these young women- through their own eyes and in their own words.

Created through a partnership between the Chicago Housing Authority and DePaul University’s School of Cinematic Arts, 16 teenage girls were selected to participate in a documentary filmmaking program. Under guidance, four girls wrote, produced, shot and starred in their own documentary.

  • John Psathas (Faculty Mentor)
    Director
  • Shawntel Smitherman (17 years old)
    Director
  • Shawntel Smitherman (17 years old)
    Writer
  • Deja Flanagan (16 years old)
    Writer
  • Tay'rece Wise (15 years old)
    Writer
  • Franshay Lopez (17 years old)
    Writer
  • Liliane Calfee (Program Director)
    Producer
  • Deja Flanagan (16 years old)
    Producer
  • Tay'rece Wise (15 years old)
    Producer
  • Franshay Lopez (17 years old)
    Director of Photography
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 12, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Canon XF 100
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - John Psathas (Faculty Mentor), Shawntel Smitherman (17 years old)

Raised in Chicago, John Psathas has been working in film and video for the last 10 years as a director, producer and editor on commercial projects as well as independent and hollywood feature films. Several of John's films have screened at festivals internationally including his award-winning film, 'Milwaukee', which was a regional finalist for the Student Academy Awards and a selection at the San Diego Latino Film Festival, the Chicago Latino Film Festival, the Salt Lake City Film Festival, the Downtown Film Festival - Los Angeles, the Carmel Art and Film Festival and Court Métrage at the Festival de Cannes. John has been a producer or production manager on the last five of DePaul's Project Bluelight films, while continuing to produce and direct independent films in and around Chicago. He is a member of the production team at Chicago-based Digital Hydra as well as the founder and owner of Analog Productions.

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Director Statement

I have always been drawn to coming of age stories- the moments, choices, and relationships in our young lives that have far greater impacts than we are able to comprehend at the time. My 2011 film, Milwaukee, explored the borders and walls that gang violence created for Latino teenagers in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood. My latest projects, Bernadette and Happy Birthday Kevin, have fallen head first into teenage love and identity.

When the opportunity to work on Rise Up presented itself, it felt like a natural continuation of this journey.

Like Milwaukee, Rise Up gives a voice to those teenagers whose lives and families are impacted by violence in Chicago neighborhoods. Like Bernadette and Happy Birthday Kevin, it looks at how love- for family and friends- is closely tied with a young person's evolving identity from child to adult.

When I first met the young girls chosen as part of the documentary program, I did not intend to turn the camera on them. From different areas of the city, they spent weeks learning about each other before they carefully decided that they wanted to create a film that explored the problems of violence in Chicago- a topic that they had all experienced firsthand. Tackling this subject, they soon realized, was a herculean task.

Where to begin? What studies to research? Which experts to interview? How many news clippings to illustrate? How could they examine, with fresh perspective, the problems that had been dissected time and time again in their own city?

At this point, I made a suggestion- perhaps, instead of attempting to capture and examine every Chicagoan's relationship with violence in a general way, why not explore their own histories and perceptions of the violence that had caused very tangible impacts in their own lives?

Rise Up is the response to that question. The stories and voices in the film are the girl's own- raw, unafraid, thoughtful, emotional, and unfiltered. Rise Up is the calm reflection of these young women, directed to the world at large, about who they are and who they intend to be. I was honored as a filmmaker and, eventually, as a friend, to have been able to capture and help craft their declaration.