This student film, made by Joey Arcidiacono, uses archival footage from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image to explore what it means to be a Texan. Arcidiacono discusses his early immersion in Texan culture, his rejection of it as a teenager, his move to California to escape Texas, and his eventual realization and acceptance that Texas is home. Footage in this film comes from the Corey Welch Family, National Archives and Records, and W.H. Tilley collections.
The films in this collection are a result of a partnership between St. Edward’s University and the Texas Archive of the Moving Image to produce documentary student films. Students in Scott Christopherson’s Documentary Production class were assigned to create a 3-5 minute film using archival footage from the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI) website with an emphasis on creating story arcs. Using four films from TAMI, the students could choose to narrate the clips using a personal story or memory from childhood; explore what it means to be a Texan or living in Texas (focusing on one or two aspects of Texas Culture); interpret the footage using a series of audio interviews that somehow correlate to the images; explore what is means to be Latino or Chicano in Texas; or create sound effects, narration, and a story for the images.