California Story Fund
This Is the L.A. River
Echo Park Film Center
Los Angeles
Project Director: Paolo Davanzo
Youth to make documentary film about the L.A. River
This project will involve 20 young people between the ages of 14 and 19 in making a short documentary film about the L.A. River. The youth will make the film, “This Is the L.A. River,” as part of a 12-week after school program run by the project sponsor, the Echo Park Film Center, a Los Angeles media arts organization.
Working under the tutelage of Echo Park Film Center instructors, humanities experts and guest lecturers, students will identify and contact potential subjects with unique perspectives on the L.A. River and subsequently collect individuals’ stories on film and in recordings.
The project will bring together a wide array of individuals affected by the river, including long-time residents, urban planners, artists, environmentalists and politicians.
“This Is the L.A. River” will be screened at Echo Park Film Center’s microcinema and at the School of Social Work Theater on the University of Southern California campus. Each screening will include introductions by the young filmmakers and audience discussion.