Award-winning nonprofit Ghetto Film School (GFS) and REI Co-op Studios created the “Inside/Outside” mentorship and incubator program to help three filmmakers as they navigate the development and production of their films.
Kristy Hyunsoo Choi (she/her or they/them), Julieta Lozano (she/her) and Alyse Arteaga (she/her) were each invited to develop and produce a project responding to the prompt: What does time outside mean to you or your community? Each filmmaker received a $50,000 production award to develop their projects, as well as mentoring and insight from industry veterans who offered guidance throughout production.
All three projects are now available to watch.
Excerpts from a Field Guide
Film Synopsis: Excerpts from a Field Guide is a poetic journey into the rituals of foraging, documenting how three generations of the Kim family transmit knowledge.
Kristy Hyunsoo Choi (she/her or they/them)
kristy-choi.com
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Instagram: @mybodymychoi
Director’s Statement: This film delves into the relationship between my community and the outdoors. Sunny, an older Korean woman energetically foraging on a neighborhood hillside, embodies a refreshing and radical antidote to the popular images of immigrant women. In short, she’s unbothered.
Sunny’s daughter, Dakota, shares her mother’s innate curiosity and sense of play. She wants to understand how Sunny learned to forage wild plants. In an article she writes for Salon, Dakota poses a thoughtful question: “Why do I accept foraging with [my mother] when we’re in Korea, or when no one is watching, but find repulsion in it in an affluent American neighborhood?”
The project is an experiment of visual and tonal contrast. I produced elevated images of Dakota as an alchemist, researcher, and spiritual being, then placed them side by side with the more quotidian moments of her life. I wanted to show nature from as many angles as possible.
The film begins and ends with long takes of free-flowing conversation between Sunny and Dakota—the intuitive caretaking and tiny bickering of their “mother-daughter” rhythms becoming immediately familiar—and, later, between Dakota and her young son. My intent with this varied cinematic language was to accomplish a feeling of both close intimacy and sublime expansiveness. It was the gentle interplay of the two that enchanted me most on those lovely summer mornings I spent with the Kims. I still feel lucky to have witnessed even just “excerpts” of their relationships with each other and the land. And I hope you do too.
Plantas de los Dioses
Film Synopsis: Set against the backdrop of Mexico City’s vibrant Mesoamerican history, Plantas de los Dioses documents the Indigenous traditions of plant therapy. Using a blend of animation and photojournalism, the project sheds light on the purpose of ceremony, the role of holistic guides and the work guardians do to teach younger generations about our responsibility to sacred plants.
Julieta Lozano (she/her)
julietalozano.com
Location: New York City, NY
Director’s Statement: My intention with this project was to share the essence of plant medicine, which I experience as love and empathy for our mother Earth. It has given me a sense of personal self-reflection and evaluation. These practices are cornerstones of Indigenous culture in Mexico and are often misunderstood. With this project I intended to celebrate these communities and to demystify plant medicine for a broader public.
My aunt, a holistic coach and healer, introduced me to everyone interviewed about Mexican plant therapy. This project is my effort to thank the guardians, shamans, healers and environmental activists doing the hard work of protecting the sacred land nurturing these medicines. Their efforts don’t go unnoticed. I hope this project captures even a fraction of the incredible work that this community does.
Sheep Over Venice Pastures
Film Synopsis: Lena Adams is known as “Sheepish Skater” at the Venice Beach skate park she frequents, but she also demonstrates the grit, openness and curiosity of someone yearning to find community in a place that can be as unsupportive as Los Angeles. The film follows Lena as she describes surviving in transitional housing, living and working as a voice-over artist in her truck “studio,” and searching for somewhere that feels like home.
Alyse Arteaga (she/her)
workofarteaga.com
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Instagram: @alysearteaga
Director’s Statement: When tasked with exploring the outdoors, I first took notice of my city’s transformation. For many, LA represents opportunity, recognition, and resilience, but for Lena, it’s simply home. From navigating a competitive entertainment industry to a housing crisis, Lena blazes a new trail with a big smile.
When you grow up in Los Angeles, it’s easy to feel like the city is closing in on you. It’s why Venice Beach became the heart of this film, representing the many layers of Lena’s community and personal journey. While making this film I began to foster a community of storytellers. Together, we captured Lena’s odyssey through a 16-millimeter camera, serving as a visual marker of beauty, grit, and intention.
My goal is to ignite empathy, foster introspection, and kindle a sense of responsibility we have for our community and the people who live around us. This project morphed from an exploration of the outdoors into a tale of triumph, friendship, and home. Lena’s journey becomes a mirror, reflecting the collective experience of change and the comfort of community along the iconic boardwalk.
Additional editing and reporting assistance by Briseida Pagador (they/she), a writer in the Peruvian diaspora living on occupied indigenous lands of the Columbia River.