Over the course of the past few decades, documentaries have been used to capture the harsh conditions of communities throughout the world in real-time, preserving it for the future and providing a lens through which anyone can learn. However, there is a common problem in the making of documentaries, and Nevil Jackson attempted to address during his talk at Dickinson.

Nevil Jackson is a documentary filmmaker, writer, cinematographer and photographer, all of which Jackson incorporates into his role as a storyteller. He was inspired to get into filmmaking in order “to get people to think and feel in a way they hadn’t considered before.”

As he was working on his first project in Tanzania creating videos for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that were providing humanitarian aid in the area, he realized that his films heavily focused on the work and aid of the NGO itself more than affected community members’ efforts to improve and solve their own issues. Jackson emphasized that this is a big issue in humanitarian filmmaking because it creates a distorted reality by focusing on the communities’ adversities and the NGO that is helping them solve it rather than highlighting the role that the community members played in their own progress. 

When working on a project, Jackson does not want to frame his subjects as disadvantaged or in need, nor does he want viewers to feel sorry for the communities he films. Rather, he strives to present the strength of the communities in achieving the progress they seek. He works to show their efforts to rebuild and strengthen their areas, not just the help they may receive from a western entity. 

Showing how this problem comes into fruition, Jackson introduced the three components involved in filmmaking and representing stories: the full reality, the storyteller and the story you tell.

“The story you tell becomes a representation because of what you’ve decided to include, and what you’ve decided to exclude,” he said. 

He proceeded to show two examples of his efforts to use these three components to display an accurate representation of the communities he encountered. The first short film focused on drought relief efforts in Kenya, while the second covered efforts to revitalize the livestock industry in the northern region of Kenya. Although both videos showcased the adversities the communities faced as a result of the changing climate, Jackson did not center the majority of the videos’ content on the help of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Instead, he showed Kenyan leaders talking about their personal work to bring about change in the community, and the common people who were starting businesses to help themselves, such as beekeeping or milk and egg production. USAID donated the funds that helped these communities overcome their challenges, but Jackson emphasized that it was a collaborative effort that involved both parties’ commitment. 

Currently, Jackson implements the knowledge he gained from these experiences into his project with Anna Neumann, assistant professor of American studies, in their film titled “Here I’m Unbroken.” The film centers around a group of fathers from south central Los Angeles and how krump dance serves as a critical tool for self-discovery.

“The documentary is an attempt to reframe the representation of Black communities,” Jackson said before showing the audience a preview of the film. 

Jackson and Neumann are doing this by presenting these men in their fullness, showing how each individual’s life experience influences how and why they krump, and how krump enables these men to become better fathers. 

Following the preview, Jackson spoke more about their motives for filmmaking. “In general, we want people to be seen the way they want to be seen. Without the parameters of what people expect, or what we want [to show],” he explained.

Jackson recognizes that the choices he makes when creating are extremely important. The clips of footage he presents either reinforce or break down the stereotypes that exist regarding various communities. “What you exclude is just as important as what you include. And it’s what you exclude that feeds into why people have the perception of certain groups as they do,” he said.