On Jan. 23, in collaboration with musician and actor Steven Van Zandt’s Rock and Roll Forever Foundation, the New Jersey School Boards Association announced the winner of the first TeachRock Hometown Documentaries Student Film Festival.
After researching the histories of their hometowns, students created documentaries with music serving as the cornerstone to each story. The winning entry was submitted by four students from Chartertech High School for the Performing Arts in Somers Point.
Their film, “Atlantic City – Songs of Stories Untold,” is an extraordinary glimpse into the musical history of Atlantic City, from the Steel Pier in the 1940s until the modern casino era.
Students Elijah Terrence, Bertie Moses, Jeremiah Watson-Sheperd, and Nafi Hinson, under the guidance of instructors David Roehm and Jason Gates, produced a thoughtful, visually stunning portrait which can be accessed here:
A video about the project and the Jan. 23 award ceremony can be seen here.
Films submitted by students were shown during the NJSBA’s annual Workshop conference in October 2018.
“Meeting all these different people, learning about their different backgrounds, learning about the city that I’m from, it’s always good to know the history of where you’re from,” said Terrence, the 17-year-old director of the film.
The students were presented with new film equipment courtesy of the Rock and Roll Forever Foundation.