What’s Left Behind
Content warning: Mentions of gun violence, mentions of death and distressed/loud voicea
Description
What’s Left Behind is a short film. Instead of a standard script, the dialogue is comprised of poems written By Cassidy Howard and Felix Owinga. It shines a light on the unique perspective of a generation that had to grow up surrounded by the threat of school shootings and gun violence as a whole. It tells the story of how your view on the world changes as the threat looms closer to you and your loved ones over time.
It shows that every piece of art can be political commentary because it is a reflection of the time it and mindset it was born from, and yet when you are eleven years old (as is the opening character) your art and your presence in a school should not be a political statement.
With respect, love, and the hope for change: we keep everyone who knows anyone affected by gun violence in our thoughts now more than ever. May this storm run out of rain. To all lost, you will always be more than a statistic.
About the Artist
A junior studying journalism and creative writing at Michigan State University, this is their first time being involved in a short film (though hopefully not the last!) Cassidy was a member of the 2021 InsideOut Youth Performance Troupe sponsored by Toyota, had work shared globally in the Corona Multimedia Showcase, and is a two-time FemFest performer as well as a frequent participant of UAB open mics on campus and the 517 Poetry Room.
An activist, and optimist, Cassidy firmly believes that words and ideas can change the world, and encourages people to continue to write whatever they are unable to say. She extends the utmost gratitude to MSU for the grant to create this, to the incredible team that helped pull it together, and for the support of family, as well as Professor Divya Victor, and her partner, Joshua.
Reflection
The microgrant helped us get our props, and some of our equipment. It also allowed artists and crew to be (justly) compensated for their work and was able to help pay for some food on long film days. I am grateful to have this opportunity to combine poetry and activism in a genre I would have never though imaginable if not for the support of this university and Professor Divya Victor. Dead Poets Society was a formative movie for me, and there are two quotes from it that have been cycling through my head over the course of this entire project:
-”No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world.”
-”We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race”
There is something I have always found so human about poetry, and when it comes to issues of violence we must call on our humanity more than ever. Through this process I saw that fact through an even more detailed lens, I heard what drew every member of the cast and crew to care so deeply about these subjects. Being able to make something out of years worth of work like I was able to do with this project, it is one of those things that reminds me why it matters so much. It shows that people will listen, that somewhere there is someone who wants to make a change just as badly as you do, and somewhere there is someone else who will boost you and your voice up loud enough to be heard. It taught me that we can do things we have never thought of, never dreamed of, and they can happen. Truly the first time I met with the team I was moved to tears. I amso proud of this team, and of this generation for the good it is trying to do. I am grateful for the microgrant for giving us the space to do it.