Remember: Day one of Filming

Day one of filming was a success. Five hours of tape, one Kleenex box, and countless memories later, Grace and I managed to wrap filming three of our six interviews for the project.

Marti and Sue, two of our interviewees, were already waiting, snapping photos of themselves in front of the Jinks Room murals in various poses mimicking the figures in the murals. Both brought folders, documents, Anoakia memorabilia, and photographs to share. They each told their respective stories, shared memories and reminisced about different wild things they did together years ago– both on and off the record.

Both told stories about sneaking back into Anoakia after its closure in the 1990s, and both regretted not having a grand sleepover at the mansion, which was believed to have been the home of several legendary ghosts! The interview was an emotional process for both of them – both Marti and Sue shed tears for their nostalgia for Anoakia, and explained how important the school was to them and how they hoped it would carry on in the future through our memories. Both women were wonderful to work with and provided a ton of new information about Anoakia.

Bede, our third interviewee, was a student at Anoakia from the 3rd to the 5th grade. He provided interesting perspective into how his experience of the murals had changed from when he was a child to his current experience as an adult. He was kind and very thoughtful, and we’re also thankful for his help.
By the end of the day, we had a ton of new material to work with and a pretty sound idea of the direction in which to take our film. We’re excited for day two, and will give more updates in the near future. That’s all for now!