Student-Run Film Festival and Expert Panel to Highlight the Power of Democratic Participation

Eroding trust in public institutions, waning civic engagement, and widening political divisions all point to a troubling trend: Americans are participating less in the democratic processes that shape their nation and their lives.

Addressing these issues, Rutgers students in the course Digital Media Production, taught by documentary filmmaker and Assistant Teaching Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Alyse Shorland, will explore storytelling and democratic engagement by planning and hosting "The Active Voice: Reimagining Civic Storytelling” - a film festival and expert panel. The event will be held December 9, 2025 from 4-6 p.m. at the College Avenue Student Center.

Through short documentaries the students wrote and produced in the class, they aim to demonstrate how Americans, by actively engaging in democratic processes, can help strengthen their communities, influence local and national policy, hold officials accountable, and contribute to the effectiveness of our democratic system of government.

The event will also feature a panel of experts, invited by the students, to bring to the conversation "new perspectives and approaches to civic storytelling –– either from the view of a grassroots campaign, a legacy media institution, or even comedy," Shorland said.

Panelists include Olivia L. Becker, a documentary filmmaker who created the viral shorts for the fall 2025 campaign to elect Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York City.

"As a class, collectively, we're trying to spread a message that being civically engaged, in any form, whether it's by voting, doing community service, watching or reading the news –– is something that we can all do, as part of the Rutgers community, as New Jersey residents, and hopefully as citizens of the country as a whole. We need to become engaged in some form because many people of our generation are not engaged in democracy or are only half engaged," said Devin Davis JMS'27.

Amillia Keagle, who suggested that the class invite Becker, said, "All of our stories have to follow the theme of inspiring democratic engagement, and what they reveal are the many different avenues civic participation can take. We have been challenged through this course to turn our cameras towards stories of people coming together as a collective to inspire democratic engagement within their communities and beyond. I believe that through our stories, the face of democratic participation can be reimagined, and I hope that our audience takes that away."

The student's films focus on a wide range of subjects pertaining to civic engagement, including: the New Jersey Transit System and New Jersey Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill's plans to fund the Gateway Tunnel; @RutgersBLKAlum, the online community of the Rutgers African American Alumni Alliance (RAAA); sports; voting; and how crafting one's own zines is a form of democratic engagement.

Omi Monét JMS'26, whose film focuses on the @RutgersBLKAlum, said, "Professor Denniston Bonadie, an adjunct professor in the Rutgers Department of Africana Studies, started @RutgersBLKAlum through the Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance to not only document what Black, Latine, and Kreyòl students are doing on campus, but so that as marginalized communities, we participate in creating our own image. He talks about inspiring storytelling as how we remember our history and maintain our spaces.”

Creating a film about voting, Elspeth Allen JMS'26 said, "I have a friend who's trying to go into social work. Before the NJ gubernatorial election, I recorded her talking about how the election would determine how she would be able to work, and also the programs and policies that help people who get aid from the government, like SNAP. She discussed what was on the line in this election, what it would mean for her and others in New Jersey, the power of using your voice, and how politics can be a really personal expression in society."

Focusing on sports and how college athletes can now be paid through NIL name, image, and likeness, Anthony Palumbo JMS'28 said his project looks at "a much broader story, something that relates to sports but also branches out into democratic engagement, because this is not just about sports. I found it really awesome and challenging for me to get out of that sports-centered mind and find bigger applications outside of it from what I'm usually working on."

Spencer Finkler JMS'28 added that while he always knew he wanted to go into video production or news, this class and planning the event helped solidify his career plans. "Being able to go through the process of just pitching, and then learning how to write outreach emails, and then actually filming and coming up with good interview questions that are not just generic, but very specific, so the person can give detailed answers, then writing the script to complement that, and film things to basically show, not just tell –– I think being able to do all this has really helped me be able to produce higher quality videos."

Emphasizing the power each of us has to make an impact, Sarah Werkmeister said, "I feel like democratic engagement and civic engagement, to students and young people, can be big, scary, overwhelming words. But I think doing these stories, and hopefully the people who see these stories that are student written and student produced, will recognize that even as one person, even as one Rutgers student, you can make a difference, and it doesn't have to be this overwhelming thing. You can make a difference as one individual person."

Event Details:

• Date: Tuesday, December 9, 2025
• Time: 4-6 p.m.
• Location: The College Avenue Student Center Multipurpose Room, 126 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08901
• Free and open to all
• Dee Jay, and free food (while supplies last)
• Parking information: https://ipo.rutgers.edu/parkin...

The festival is sponsored by Rutgers School of Communication and Information (SC&I) and the Rutgers Democracy Lab at the Rutgers Eagleton Institute of Politics and supported with a grant from the Rutgers Democracy Lab.

Learn more about the Journalism and Media Studies major at the School of Communication and Information on the website.