Maryann De Leo

Maryann De Leo is an Academy Award winning filmmaker who directs and produces courageous documentaries of international scope for both film and television. Honored with numerous awards, including two Emmy Awards, an Alfred I. duPont - Columbia University Award, and a CableACE Award, De Leo’s work has premiered at the American Museum of the Moving Image and has been shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Her 2003 documentary, Chernobyl Heart, revealing the devastating effects of radiation on children after the 1986 nuclear accident at Chernobyl, garnered worldwide attention and won Best Documentary Short at the 2003 Academy Awards. De Leo’s other well-known titles include High on Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, Rape: Cries from the Heartland and Bellevue: Inside Out.

De Leo is also an internationally renowned photographer with the Sipa Agency, and runs her own production company, Downtown TV Documentaries. She teaches at the School of Visual Arts graduate program in social documentary.

Today we went to shoot at María’s school. This week is exam week, but when we arrived at the school all of the kids were in between classes and the hallways were packed. María was swarmed by kids asking questions, checking out the camera and following her at every turn. It was chaos, but fun and quite entertaining. Once it was time to return to class, María set up the tripod and filmed the test taking and conversation that followed. The fun began once the class was dismissed and some of the kids stayed behind to talk to her. She asked them what they wanted to do when they finished school and soon the kids broke into dance and song.

After class María interviewed one of the teachers that had given her great advice at a time when she was quite down. She sat next to him and told him why he was like a father to her and that when she was at one of her lowest points he had given her advice that has helped her through many hard times. He told her to never look back, and never give up. Always move forward, even if there are obstacles. During my past two weeks with María, she had mentioned this teacher and the advice he had given her on several occasions. After the interview, she said it was one of the most emotional moments for her. It was great to see her interview him and tell him how she felt.

Over the weekend, we spent both Saturday and Sunday with María and her family. When we arrived at her house on Saturday morning, we met María’s cousin Myra, who had a Band-Aid on her head. María’s younger brother Fidel and Myra told us what had happened to them on their bus ride home from school just the day before. As the bus was driving through one of the worst areas of Aguablanca, someone threw rocks at the bus. Myra said that the window was open and one of the rocks hit her in the head. There were other young boys and girls in the house while we were filming, and María asked them to talk about how they felt about the violence. They all said that it can happen at any time, and it is not unusual. Most of the kids were under 10 years old and seemed quite used to it.

The church was full, and María set up the tripod and shot the introduction to the meeting in which Sister Alba Stella introduced both her and the project. She later roamed the crowd shooting hand-held in order to get a variety of shots. She was so comfortable moving throughout crowd.

The meeting was quite moving when the Sister asked those who have been newly displaced to raise their hands. Some discussion followed with several people discussing problems with the government and its lack of support for the displaced.

After the meeting, María interviewed several of the displaced people who had attended. She interviewed an 85-year-old man who had been displaced just two years earlier. It was interesting getting the perspective of the displaced elderly. He said he couldn’t remember a time without violence. She was also moved by the story of a 40-year-old friend of hers, who told her that his father and brother were killed by the guerillas and that he just had to keep going because he had a family to support.

It was quite the busy and emotional day for María, as she heard sad stories from other displaced people, as well as new stories from some of her friends.

Film Mentor Susan Hoenig flies to Cali, Colombia, to work with 16-year-old Maria Ceballos Paz on the filming of BYkids:COLOMBIA. Susan is joined by New York filmmaker Carmen Vidal Balanvat on second camera and BYkids Program Associate Gaby Campagna who provides translation and logistical support. See Notes from the Field.