An eye for change: documentary by GJHS student filmmaker focuses on gender equality, history | Western Colorado

And it was at that moment that Cameron Kirkegaard and Lily Goldberg, who asked questions as Kirkegaard filmed the interview, knew his documentary had to take shape around gender inequality.

Kirkegaard is 16, a junior at Grand Junction High School, and making documentaries is a passion of his, as well as an occasional class project.

His latest film, “Our Time: The Development of Gender Equality in School and Society,” premieres Friday at 7 p.m.November 1, in the Grand Junction High School auditorium, 1400 N. Fifth St.

The film is 33 minutes long and features interviews with Grand Junction High School alumni and staff.

It was a project born from Kirkegaard’s desire to improve his filmmaking skills, which came into the public eye more than a year ago with the film ‘A Relentless Climb’.

That documentary focused on the long struggle of black Americans for social, economic and political rights. There were several community displays in 2023, including one organized by Black Citizens and Friends for Black History Month.

Kirkegaard created “A Relentless Climb” for an eighth-grade social studies assignment using mostly found photographs and video and audio clips.

“Our Time,” however, was a “passion project,” he said.

He wanted to change the formula he used for “A Relentless Climb” and film most of the footage for a documentary himself. “I wanted to do something better,” he said.

With Grand Junction High School moving into a new building this year, Kirkegaard thought he could interview alumni about their memories of when the last school building — the one built in 1956 and now being demolished — was new.

He borrowed a camera from his father and another camera from Steve Fox, the journalism teacher at Grand Junction.

To purchase additional equipment, Kirkegaard applied for and received a $750 film education grant from the Colorado Office of Film, Television and Media. And then he sought advice from Fruita filmmaker Cullen Purser on what to buy.

The two had met at a screening for “A Relentless Climb” when Cullen Purser was filming a story about Kirkegaard for Rocky Mountain PBS. If Kirkegaard has any movie-related questions in the future, “I’m happy to help,” Cullen Purser told the teen.

So when Kirkegaard called, they talked about his documentary idea and film equipment – ​​using the grant funds, Kirkegaard bought SD cards, microphones, lights and batteries for the lights – and coincidentally, Cullen Purser knew a 1960 Grand Junction graduate: his mother .

Judy Purser has many fond memories and good friends from high school, she said. One of her memories, however, was of taking a shower at the end of gym class.

There was also a story about how during their gym class on Monday during the boys’ wrestling season, she and her female classmates had to use Clorox water to wipe down the mats the wrestling team had used over the weekend. “Blood, sweat, tears, body hair and whatever else came out of those guys,” Judy Purser said in the documentary.

“It was just assumed that girls would do that,” she said during an interview earlier this week. “No gloves.”

‘I remember feeling like it wasn’t right, even then. It didn’t seem right to me,” she said. “You didn’t really question that out loud.”

There were also dress codes requiring girls to wear modest dresses or skirts, Judy Purser said.

Boys also had to dress a certain way. No T-shirts unless worn as an undershirt. Trousers had to be clean, pressed and worn with a belt, but at least they had to wear trousers, which would have been especially nice in winter, she said.

“I don’t know when it dawned on people that girls get cold in the winter,” Judy Purser said.

Kirkegaard’s interview with Judy Purser led to interviews with other alumni and some current and former Grand Junction employees. Goldberg, a classmate and friend of Kirkegaard’s, went along to many of those interviews to ask questions while he filmed.

The interviews revealed several important topics, including dress codes, career opportunities, the impact of Title IX, feminism and the League of Women Voters.

“It’s a very mature thing to change gears or see something bigger,” Cullen Purser said of Kirkegaard’s decision to move away from his original documentary idea.

“I want to say Cameron is a young Ken Burns,” Cullen Purser said, naming one of America’s best-known documentary filmmakers. “(Kirkegaard) catalogs the voices of history. He documents them and puts very little Cameron ego into them, and that’s amazing.”

“Our Time” is locally focused in its ties to Grand Junction High School, but is relevant to history that extends nationally, said Cullen Purser, who previewed the documentary and will host a question-and-answer panel after the screening moderate.

While he’s impressed with Kirkegaard’s development in terms of ideas, he’s also excited to see his technical development in things like shot composition. “It’s a big effort for a young person. It’s a big effort for everyone,” he said.

“My editing skills have definitely improved,” said Kirkegaard, who is taking some film classes at CMU Tech.

“I would say that with any documentary, the hardest part is putting all your footage together into a story that you can follow, that is emotional and can make the people watching feel something,” Kirkegaard said.

With each person he interviewed and filmed, Kirkegaard was “impressed and grateful … just for their ability to be open and vulnerable with me,” he said.

“This young man ended up on a good project,” Judy Purser said. “I think it’s an important history.”

She is hopeful that she will see many former classmates and Grand Junction alumni at Friday’s screening. She also hopes many younger men and women and students will attend.

“I would just be happy if they saw that things have changed… for the better,” Judy Purser said, then added. “There are ways to go.”

SEE THE MOVIE

“Our Time: The Development of Gender Equality in School and Society,” a documentary by filmmaker Cameron Kirkegaard, will screen at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, in the Grand Junction High School auditorium, 1400 N. Fifth St. Admission is free . The documentary lasts approximately 33 minutes. It features interviews with Grand Junction High School alumni and staff, as well as photos and video from the high school’s past. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A panel discussion with Joan Edmonds, Sheila Dawson Zipse and Judy Purser, all of whom appear in the film, and Kirkegaard. It will be moderated by Cullen Purser.