Dorothea Braemer of Squeaky Wheel borrowed the idea for "Channels" from a similar program in Philadelphia.

Squeaky Wheel Buffalo Media Resources has begun another production initiative. Channels—Stories From the Niagara Frontier is a new endeavor designed to match local documentary filmmakers with groups that are underrepresented in mainstream media. Dorothea Braemer, executive director of Squeaky Wheel, recently answered a few questions about the program via email.

Artvoice: Where did the idea for Channels come from?

Dorothea Braemer: The idea for Channels—Stories from the Niagara Frontier came from my experience as program director at Scribe Video Center in Philadelphia. Scribe ran a similar initiative called Community Visions, and the documentaries produced as part of this program were some of the most powerful I have seen. I am very impressed with the many grassroots initiatives here in Buffalo, and often, when I read about them in the paper, I find myself thinking, “Wow, that would be a good documentary.”

I distinctly remember reading in Artvoice about a Building Materials Reuse Association that is starting up here in Buffalo which is salvaging materials of abandoned houses on the East Side, and I was very impressed with that idea and felt like it would be really cool to make a documentary about that process. This is just one example. There is so much wonderful activism here in Buffalo, and documentaries and activism just go hand in hand.

AV: What is Squeaky Wheel trying to accomplish with this initiative?

DB: Part of Squeaky Wheel’s mission is to connect people and events through media, to empower people through media, and that is what Channels is designed to do. We want organizations and grassroots initiatives here to be able to benefit from the powerful medium of documentary film. We want to help publicize these initiatives to a larger audience. We also want to foster the filmmaking community by offering local opportunities to the many really talented filmmakers here. Channels, by the way, is made possible through a grant by the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation, which saw the potential of this new initiative.

AV: What are some of the similarities and differences between Channels and Squeaky Wheel’s Buffalo Youth Media Institute?

DB: The similarities are that both initiatives encourage filmmaking about Buffalo. The difference is that Channels is for grown-up documentary video makers and the Buffalo Youth Media Institute (last year called Portraits of Main Street) is for young people who want to learn how to make documentaries. Channels is based on the idea of collaboration between documentary makers and cultural groups and/or activists. The idea is that the documentary makers bring the knowledge on how to construct an effective documentary and the cultural groups bring the knowledge about the issues. And combining these two areas of expertise will hopefully create a powerful and energetic partnership that will result in great films.

AV: How many filmmakers and groups will be chosen?

DB: We will pick up to four groups and up to four filmmakers per year.

AV: Will there be a public screening of the finished work?

DB: We want to start the project in March and all the documentaries should be finished by November. We will have a premiere screening in November, hopefully at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Center, where we also showed Portraits of Main Street to a standing-room-only audience last June.

AV: Will any guidance be included or are the filmmakers expected to know lighting, audio, shooting and editing?

DB: The filmmakers are getting free use of Squeaky Wheel’s video production and editing equipment and a stipend of $1,500. We are expecting them to know how to create a video (be familiar with all areas of production, including editing). We will help out, but we are not in a position to teach people basic video making skills.

AV: I noticed the call for applications is very explicit about the documentaries not being propaganda pieces. How is Squeaky Wheel going to monitor that?

DB: We just wanted to make sure that people keep a larger audience in mind. Of course each documentary will have a point of view, as it should have, but we are also hoping there will be a compelling story and a willingness to embrace the complexities of an issue. There will be a meeting at the beginning of the program and one halfway through, and we will be in touch informally with the filmmakers and cultural groups throughout the entire process. We will not tell people what to do, but hopefully participants understand where we are coming from!

The deadline for applying for Channels is tomorrow, Friday, February 2. Filmmakers and grassroots groups should visit www.squeaky.org for an application form.