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Emily Rizzo '18 extended her stay in South Africa to work with a production company on social justice documentary films.

Last semester I studied social and political transformation in Durban, South Africa. I came here wanting to tell stories in creative and effective ways, stories that are real and inspire social change. I was supposed to leave the country in May, but when my abroad program ended, I did not feel like my time was over. I felt there were too many stories left to collect.

With the help of the Elizabeth Marie Glotzbach Film Industry Award, I stayed in South Africa for an extra two months, interning for a documentary film production company and working on my own audio documentary and podcast about comedians in Cape Town.

Interning for Big World Cinema was an extremely rewarding educational experience. I developed my storytelling skills, learned the ins and outs of producing social justice films and the small details of post-production. Big World directed my focus on a documentary film about an environmental and political activist in Liberia called Logs of War. Every day I was in communication with and working alongside the directors of Logs of War. I completed extensive archival research for the film and thus learned much about Liberia’s history and the skills necessary for successful archival research.

Outside of the internship, I continued to interview comedians for my podcast, which will soon be finished and published. I could not be more grateful to ³Ô¹Ï±¬ÁÏ for giving me this opportunity to learn and work with professionals in the field and for allowing me to grow my passion for documentary production.

—Emily Rizzo '18