This past May, I had the pleasure of returning to Paros for another study abroad experience. It was my 8th trip since starting in 2015, and this time I was honored to return as program director.
Since 2015, a colleague and I have been taking students from IU Indianapolis to Paros for a 3-week deep dive into producing short documentaries about (and for) the people of Paros. This past year, my colleague retired. I just wasn’t ready to let the program go, so this summer I returned with a co-director: Jason Peercy, a former graduate student who first joined us in Greece back in 2022.
By the Numbers
With 12 students, we produced 16 films, plus two additional films students made on honors college contracts (18 films total). That might sound like a lot of work for three weeks, and it is.
The breakdown:
- Four team-based films
- 12 profile films about people on the island
- One piece on two local musicians
- One behind-the-scenes look at the student experience
This Year’s Stories
Our main film topics captured a wide range of island life. One looked at the ancient Parian marble quarries and the ongoing efforts to preserve them, improve accessibility, and eventually earn UNESCO World Heritage status. Another told the story of the Mythodia choir and the joy its members find while preparing for an upcoming performance.
We also documented the work of Animal Action Greece and The Cats of Antiparos, an organization helping foster a healthy cat population on the island. Finally, one film explored the story behind a local farm and the store it runs in Naousa.
Beyond the Camera
Filmmaking wasn’t the only work happening this trip. In addition to the 18 films, we created 3D Matterport scans of multiple locations, along with a large photogrammetry drone scan of the ruins of an old farmhouse.
The Logistics (and the Faith It Takes)
As usual, production got intense. Coordinating with students is already a lot of moving parts, and once you add people’s availability and constantly changing schedules, it quickly becomes a logistics nightmare. The way I keep my sanity everytime is by renting a bike, getting up at 4:15AM, and riding around the island.
No matter how chaotic it gets, though, I somehow always keep the faith that it will come together in the end. It has to: at the end of it all, we hold a public screening of every film.
Thank You
I want to thank the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering at IU Indianapolis for their continuing support of the program. Thanks also to Jason Peercy for doing a great job as my co-director, to the people of Paros who have supported our program over the years, to everyone on the island who participated in our films, and, finally, to all the students who stuck it out through the hard work, twists, and turns to complete everything we set out to do.
The Films
I want to put the student experience video at the top of the list so people can get an understanding of the impact of this program on students and a sense of who is behind the making of the following films.
There is some Greek, so be sure to turn on the english subtitles! Some have multiple languages, so be sure to select the language under Settings (the gear) and then turn it on by selecting CC.
Into the Hallowed Ground: Saving the Marble Quarries of Paros
To Melssi: Keeping Tradition Alive
Bringing People Together: Mythodia Choir
Catalyst for Change: The Work of Animal Action Greece and The Cats of Antiparos