MRD Featured in Salt Documentary Student Projects

During the fall term, two students from the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies at the Maine College of Art were regular fixtures at Maine Roller Derby practices and events. Alix Towler, is a documentary filmmaker from North Carolina, is at the Salt Institute in the visual storytelling track. Justin Sloan, a storyteller from the San Francisco Bay area is focusing on audio storytelling at Salt. Their final projects, showcased this week at MECA, are included below:

Alix Towler ’17 ‘Next Whistle Starts the Jam’ from Maine College of Art on Vimeo.

Next Whistle Starts The Jam: A short film by Alix Towler about the reasons players are drawn to the sport of roller derby, the power of the accepting and welcoming community they find, and an explanation of the rules and spirit of the sport.

Passion Aggressive: Radio documentary by Justin Sloan: Work-life balance continues to be a big topic of conversation in the U.S., and many people think of options like flex-time, on-site child care, yoga and mindfulness. But for April Fournier (a.k.a Jumpy McGee), an escape from a busy lifestyle means the body-crunching sport of Roller Derby.