4
Clackamas Print
Featur
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Former student’s ‘Passioni
l Adam J. Manley
I f The Clackamas Print
Standing before the crowd
assembledinPortland’sHoilywood
Theatre, filmmaker and former
Clackamas student Devin Graham
glowed with excitement.
This was his night - his film.
After months of shooting, sev
eral complete plot overhauls and
enough frustration to kill a prom
ising career, it was suddenly all
worthwhile.
“I realized,” Graham remarked
later, “this is why I’m doing it:
when you get out on the stage
and you realize how many people
support you and everybody who’s
helped you get to that point.”
Though he had experiment
ed with movies before, Graham
first realized his passion for film
during a church mission trip to
Jamaica.
“I got really into photography
there,” he said. “After my mis
sion, I realized how much I loved
it and wanted to pursue it as a
career.”
Allowing the idea to take root,
Graham set out turning a bur
geoning dream into reality. He
recruited family and friends (and
friends of friends) to help with a
variety of different projects with
which to hone his skills.
Among other things, he com
pleted a film about miniature peo
ple that relied heavily on green
screen, shot a promotional seg
ment for the Speech Department
(in which he was active), served as
a cameraman on the self-defense
film Just Yell Fire, and was even
flown to North Carolina to shoot
a project for the truck company
Freightliner.
It was during his time at
Clackamas, amidst these other
projects and his classes, that
Graham’s crowning achievement
to date really gained a life of its
own.
Passion', a movie shot to look
like a documentary of fictional
events.
It was this movie, a tale about
Oregon passing a law prohibit
ing dancing, that premiered at the
Hollywood Theatre on Dec. 29.
“Everybody’s dream is to
make a movie,” said Graham.
“Everybody talks about how
they’re going to do it, but nobody
does.”
“A lot of people look at me and
say I can’t do it,” he continued,
“that it’s too hard, or no one else
makes it. But I want it more than
anything else, and I’m willing to
do what it takes to get it and to
prove that you can really make it
if you want it bad enough.”
“He’s one of the most driv
en people I know,” said Adam
Young, who first met Graham
when some of his friends told him
to come along to a shoot. “When
he starts a project, or anything for
that matter, he puts his whole self
into it”
But even Graham’s determina
tion took its fair share of knocks
on the bumpy road to Passion.
The plot was revised several
times as the project expanded,
and when Graham was faced with
the deadline of his departure for
Brigham Young University, doubt
mounted.
He recalled, “I kept wonder
ing, ‘Is this even worth my time?
Why am I doing this?’ Pursuing
my goal as a filmmaker can be
very discouraging at times. I often
feel like I am trying so hard and.
getting nowhere.”
“However,” he added, “it’s all
worth it when you get to show
your movie on the big screen.”
And Graham certainly isn’t one
to settle for any screen smaller
than enormous.
“I don’t want to be an indepen
dent filmmaker,” he said. “A lot
of people say they want to be an
independent filmmaker. I want the
world to see my movies, and if I’m
an independent filmmaker I can’t
do that, so I’m not going to be
happy until I make it.”
After Passion premiered,
Graham headed off to BYU in
the hopes of getting into what he
describes as an excellent film pro
gram there - but that wasn’t the
only reason he chose thatfoute.
“I don’t want anything that
would take away my morals or
values,” he explained. “I knew that
[BYU] would help me not lower
my standards. And that’s some-
thingthat’s
really
important
to me.”
While
Graham
has yet to
be
fully
accepted
into
the
Provo,
Utah col
lege’s film
program,
he hasn’t
been sitting still.
In addition to assorted activi
ties in Provo, he has been planning |
new projects. He’ll be returning to I
Oregon for the summer, where he ]
intends on shooting several new
projects.
And then there’s still Passion
- treating December’s premiere]
as what the film industry would
call a prescreening, Graham has
listened to the comments of his
audience and intends to create a
new cut of the film.
“In my opinion, it’s going to be
a completely different movie - but
better,” he said, adding that there
are still some things he needs to |
re-shoot come the summer.
“This is what I love doing, i
more than anything in the world.
And if I can make a living doing I
what I love, then I’m going to
do it.”
“And nothing,” he said, “■
going to stop me.”
Adam J. Manley Clackamas Print
ABOVE LEFT: Graham dances outside the Hollywood Theatre in downtown Portland.
ABOVE RIGHT: Graham signs autographs on copies of Passion after its premier.
ASG presidency: meet I :
the candidates
I [
Katie Wilson
Co-Editor-in-Chief
They are the students’ voice,
and the students get to elect them.
Associated
Student
Government elections for the
president and vice president posi
tions begin today. Students may
vote by going online to www.
clackamas.edu or stopping by the
ASG Office.
Unlike last year, there is some
competition this time around:
There are two presidential candi
dates and two candidates for the
vice president position.
The candidates for president
are current Student Ambassador
Felisha Borg and Incumbent ASG
President Tim Lussier. Bethanie
Adamson and Tracie Miller are
both candidates for the vice presi-
PG-131 PARENTS STRONGLY CAUTIONED «g»
Text INVISIBLE to 55444 for wallpapers and ringtones
theinvisible-movie.com
VIOLENCE, CRIMINALITY. SENSUALITY,
AND LANGUAGE - ALL INVOLVING TEENS.
Ie
Ie
I
HOW DO YOU SOLVE A MURDER
WHEN THE VICTIM IS YOU?
SOME MATERIAL MAY BE INAPPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN UNDER 13
dent position.
Both the presidential can
H
dates see service to students as the A
role and goal of ASG.
A
However, Borg thinks the sH
dent leaders could do a better job.
“I definitely want to see more h
change,” she said. “Not many peM ÏC
pie know we exist.”
She feels that ASG could w oik h
more at making connections and .0
building trust with the student
body.
hi
Borg has been a part of ASG!
since Fall Term.
Lussier has been with ASG for I01
two years. He worked as president [tie
for one year and is running a sec
ond time.
“I’ve seen this^year what it
really takes [to be ASG preB
[ha
dent],” said Lussier. “It’s such an let
important role.”
This last year, he took an active I
rei
role in the legislative sessions'
lie
down in Salem.
I
“That
had
such an impact’
r
he said.
Lussier -ees i
the primary rede lor
of the ASG presi
dent to be that of ter
a iiaison between
k
the students and kl
the board of edu lie
cation and the
college’s adniK-
II
istration.
Voting
tins
today through®
p.m. on Friday®
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