Odell Winfield of Hempstead Mentors Aspiring High School Filmmakers

2013 Sep 20

Odell Winfield, a Master of Fine Arts student studying Documentary Studies and Production at Hofstra University, mentored aspiring teen filmmakers as part of the School of Communication's Documenting Diversity program. Documenting Diversity is an innovative summer initiative that teaches and challenges selected high school students to examine each other's cultures through the art of documentary filmmaking.

Now in its seventh year, the program is funded by the Rosenthal Family Foundation, a charitable organization established by Hofstra alumni Monica Horan Rosenthal and Phil Rosenthal, creator and executive producer of the award-winning television series "Everybody Loves Raymond."

The five-week program allows students from diverse social and ethnic backgrounds to partner up and make documentaries about each other that explore the similarities and differences that shape their points of view as emerging adults. The participants work under the guidance of Hofstra's award-winning television and film faculty and student mentors, including Winfield.

They learn not only the technical elements of professional filmmaking in a rigorous academic environment, but also establish lasting friendships and gain a more informed outlook on other cultures and ways of life. They return in the fall for a red carpet screening of their completed films.