Space for discovery: Greenacres Project producer Claire Collins draws on journalistic background in working with Arts Academy students
A five-year stint at the Los Angeles Times and experiences interviewing people from society’s outskirts have made Collins a compassionate, detail-oriented filmmaker.
Born in Hong Kong and raised in Jordan, filmmaker Claire Hannah Collins has brought curiosity and warmth to their work documenting former inmate firefighters, homeless individuals in Hollywood, and more. Now, they’re sharing their experiences and insights with students at Interlochen Arts Academy as producer of the Greenacres Project. Here, they note highlights from their filmmaking journey and open up about some of the major shifts in perspective they’ve experienced along the way.
Overcoming otherness
Collins grew up in the Middle East as the child of American parents. Surrounded by Jordanian culture, they developed a deep appreciation for storytelling, as well as a unique outlook on culture. Many Arabs they met in Jordan had perceptions of American culture based on film and television, and many Americans they met while in the U.S. were similarly limited by what they were seeing of the Middle East on T.V. Struck by the differences in perspective, Collins felt drawn to stories that embraced commonality and promoted understanding of cultural differences.
“From a really young age, I had an urge to be a part of telling stories of authentic representation, stories that could help us connect with people who are different from us rather than perpetuating the sense of otherness that I was seeing so often.”
Collins was exposed to extremes of both poverty and wealth, and quickly realized that injustice might be at play.
“When you're a kid, wealth inequality can have a really visceral impact on you. You're young enough to quickly recognize unfairness when you see it.”
In time, their interest in exploring stories of justice and injustice led to a journalism major at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. At UNC, Collins produced a short documentary in the wake of the police killing of Keith Lamont Scott. Created in less than 48 hours, the short caught the attention of staff at the Washington Post, who published it. The film’s quality and timeliness helped earn Collins a spot on the video team at the Los Angeles Times after graduation.
It's possible to form deep, meaningful relationships and friendships with people who come from very different backgrounds from you.
Collins (right) behind the scenes of Hollywood's Finest with Mckenzie Trahan. Photo credit Christina House.
Learning from diverse communities
Collins enjoyed considerable freedom at the L.A. Times to pitch their own stories and work on projects that interested them. Time and time again, Collins was drawn to the outskirts of society, taking a close look at the people most directly impacted by broken systems and most often ignored by mainstream narratives.
“I learned to question the idea of value—how people find meaning in their lives apart from wealth,” Collins commented.
Collins thinks especially of their work on Hollywood’s Finest, a film they created about Mckenzie Trahan, a woman experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles. Trahan had lived on the streets of Hollywood on and off since she was 13. At 22, she was nearly seven months pregnant and living in a tent above the 101 Freeway. The film, which deals with themes of addiction and incarceration, takes its title from its protagonist’s distinctive scalp tattoo.
“I felt so lucky to work on this film because of the women I was meeting,” says Collins. “Mckenzie’s community and her family are wonderful, vibrant people. Mckenzie herself is an artist and singer-songwriter. It's important to me when I'm exploring issues of injustice that I'm not just focusing on tragedy and sadness, because I find that approach to be dehumanizing and oversimplifying. People who are going through incredible hardships are still living extraordinary, beautiful lives that are worth celebrating.”
Collins spent 5 years at the L.A. Times, emerging with an Emmy award for The Buffalos, a short documentary about formerly incarcerated firefighters. For Collins, each film created was a new opportunity to learn from the experiences of others and build connections.
“It's possible to form deep, meaningful relationships and friendships with people who come from very different backgrounds from you,” Collins reflects.
The most impactful learning happens when you give students space to make their own discoveries.
Teaching young filmmakers how to listen
These days, Collins can be found hard at work alongside Interlochen Arts Academy Film & New Media students on the Greenacres Project, a documentary on regenerative agriculture. The film will feature interviews with farmers and scientists as well as data from agricultural research conducted by Greenacres Foundation and its partners.
Collins expresses excitement for this purpose-driven project, and sees it as a vital opportunity to share their skills with students. Instead of giving students all the answers or telling them there’s only one way to do things, Collins wants to give them room to grow.
“The most impactful learning happens when you give students space to make their own discoveries,” they say.
Asked what they hope students glean from working with them, Collins offers a clear response: the ability to listen with intention. Given how much time Collins has spent interviewing documentary subjects, this particular emphasis should come as no surprise.
“I want my students to come away from my classes with a sense of graciousness,” Collins says. “I hope they find a deep belief in the value of their own voices and, at the same time, an openness to finding value in all the voices around them.”
“I think the most important thing is to walk away being as good of a listener as you are a speaker,” they add.
Students in Interlochen Arts Academy’s Film & New Media Division enjoy world-renowned artistic training from gifted professionals alongside college-preparatory academics. Learn more about Film & New Media at Interlochen Arts Academy.
