What's A Cooper? Bergen County Student Helps Create Documentary About Wine Barrel Making

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — The type of cask and the type of wood used in winemaking can significantly influence the taste, aroma, and characteristics of the beverage. Recently, a Bergen County resident helped put together a documentary called “The Cooper: Crafting the Soul of the Cask” that will premiere this week.

Pace University’s documentary film team — PaceDocs — will show the film at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, 2024 at the Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville, N.Y.

Lorenzo Osorio, a junior majoring in digital cinema and filmmaking who hails from Dumont, played an important and unique role on set.

“My primary roles were on-location translator and editor,” said Osorio. “I was one of only three people that spoke Spanish fluently on [a research] trip, so I felt like I was contributing something unique to the film. Aside from basic interpreting, I especially had to be involved in interviews, either conducting them or scribing notes.”

“The Cooper” is an exploration of the art of cask making, also known as cooperage. Its rich history that can be traced back to ancient civilizations, with evidence of wooden containers used for storing and transporting liquids found in archaeological sites dating as far back as 2690 BCE in Egypt.

The documentary was filmed in the Andalusian region of Spain, specifically Montilla-Mariles over the course of several weeks.

“The PaceDocs team, under the leadership of Professor Maria Luskay, has once again produced a professional, fascinating and timely film,” said Marvin Krislov, president of Pace University. “ ‘The Cooper’ is another great example of the hands-on experience that uniquely captures the tradition and rich history of cask making. I marvel at the consistent excellence and talent in this program and am impressed by this group of filmmakers.”

The documentary is the focus of the popular class, “Producing the Documentary”, which is part of the Dyson College of Arts and Sciences atPace University’s highly regarded film program. It requires students complete a full-length environmentally themed documentary within 14 weeks.

During the process, students learn teamwork, problem-solving, research, and organization, along with technical skills such as lighting, sound, camera work, interviewing, and other real-life lessons necessary to complete a film.

For the first time ever, PaceDocs will be premiering a documentary in both English and in Spanish. The English version will premiere at the Jacob Burns Film Center while the Spanish version will debut in Montilla and Cordoba, Spain.

The documentary was produced by Dyson College of Arts and Sciences Professors Maria Luskay and Lou Guarneri, and Pace University’s documentary film team.

The PaceDocs team collaborated with José Buendía Picó, a well-known Spanish musician and composer, to provide the music to an audiovisual story. Pico has won 14 composition awards.

Tickets for the reception and screening are available, though space is limited. (Use code PaceDocs24 for free tickets.)

“The Cooper” continues a tradition of creating meaningful films. In recent years, Pace filmmakers have produced documentaries around the globe focusing on a number of topics, including the farm-to-table food movement in France (2023); how oysters depend on the ebb and flow of tides (2022); the importance of bees as pollinators in our food supply (2021); the impact of earthquakes in Hawaii (2019); the endurance of the people of Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria (2018); Cuba at a cultural crossroads (2016); and other poignant films.

“Dyson College’s student filmmakers have produced another moving documentary that delves into the important and fascinating history of cask making,” said Tresmaine R. Grimes, dean, Dyson College of Arts and Sciences and School of Education, and interim dean for the Sands College of Performing Arts.

Get tickets and find out more here.