Earlier this year, Rhode Island PBS invited the friends and residents of South Kingstown to participate in the Our Town documentary series – a community project that shares the essence of a Rhode Island town and its villages. A virtual town meeting was held on August 31, and volunteer filmmakers have been hard at work capturing stories of their own choosing. As production deadlines approach, filmmakers are asked to submit the subject of their film segments via email to ourtown@ripbs.org by Friday, September 25.
The deadline for final video submissions is Saturday, October 3. Between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. on that Saturday, the Rhode Island PBS station is scheduling safe, sanitized, socially-distant one-on-one in-studio interviews with each volunteer filmmaker. Participants will be contacted by email to schedule the brief 20-minute interview.
“The content is decided by the participants. They pick what will be in the film. Residents have some wonderful stories already lined up, and we look forward to seeing what else South Kingstown will choose to do,” said Jodi Mesolella, Our Town project director at Rhode Island PBS.
“We offer guidance, technical advice, and support to our volunteer filmmakers, but these are definitely their stories as told by residents and friends in their community,” said Nicole Muri, Our Town producer. Video recorded by the volunteers is edited together by Rhode Island PBS to create a film about one-hour in length. Our Town: South Kingstown will premiere on Rhode Island PBS in December 2020.
For information about participating in Our Town: South Kingstown, and for details about video submissions by October 3, scheduling the in-studio interview on October 3, and other details, please email ourtown@ripbs.org, or call Jodi Mesolella, project director, at 401-222-3636, extension 209, or Nicole Muri, producer, at extension 225.
