EMST class project wins first place for documentary about local artist
A short documentary that started out as a class project won First Place in the Documentary Category at the 2017 Georgia Communication Association Student Film Festival.
The winning documentary, “Michael Davenport: The Armless Artist,” provides a sympathetic portrait of Davenport, an Athens, Gerogia resident who lost both hands in an accident but who recovered and has thrived as a visual artist.
A total of 41 entries from 13 universities throughout Georgia were submitted to the festival.
The student crew consists of Lindsey Smith (producer, director, camera, editor), Johnny Morgan (camera, boom operator, audio engineer, music composer), Henry Widjaja (camera), Josh Remmele (camera), Andie Leeds (audio assistant), and Sarah Guirguis (production assistant).
Their work was guided by Stephen Bridges (ABJ ’06) as part of EMST 4250 in Fall semester 2016. Bridges was a temporary part-time instructor and is an instructional designer/lead media producer for the Office of Online Learning at UGA.
Bridges said how “incredibly proud” he is of the students involved with this project. “Lindsey and her group tackled this task with an admirable work ethic and emerged on the other side of the course shining brilliantly,” he added.
Smith recalled how “that guy who draws with his mouth” remained a mystery to her and so many other Athens residents. Upon meeting him last fall, she decided “he had a story that needed to be told.”
After surviving a tragic accident at age 13, Davenport had to adapt to life without his arms. Unable to draw even a stick-figure before his accident, he found a passion for drawing with his mouth and has been a local inspiration for decades.
Smith said how grateful she is for “my crew, for all the support received from friends, family and faculty and for the Georgia Communication Association” for hosting the competition.
Date: March 9, 2017Contact: Jay Hamilton, hamilton@uga.edu
