While protests in the wake of George Floyd’s death erupted in cities across America, including Naperville, 17-year-old Jack Cannon was getting involved in other ways.
After graduating from Waubonsie Valley this year, Cannon enrolled at the California Institute of the Arts. A fellow student messaged classmates on Facebook to see if anyone was interested in a project focusing on racial injustice.
“She decided to put a note out there saying, ‘Hey I want to get some artists together and I want to create work that kind of calls to action to fight against social injustices that we see throughout the world,’” Cannon said.
Why We Protest
Their short film “Why We Protest” was recently named a semi-finalist at the Burbank International Film Festival for the newly created “Made at Home” category.
“None of us knew each other at all,” Cannon said. “All of us were just accepted students at California Institute of the Arts and decided that we wanted to fight for change. And the entire film was just made via Zoom calls and a Facebook messenger group.”
“Ars Longa Vita Brevis”
Cannon said he could see himself taking on more projects that tackle injustice.
“One of the terms that I kind of go by in all my work is the Latin phrase ‘Ars Longa, Vita Brevis’ which is ‘art is long, life is short.’ So whenever I create something I want to make it so it leaves a lasting impression on whoever sees it,” Cannon said. “So something like this, like Why We Protest, which gets people thinking about what they can do – that’s something that I want to continue working on and continue making.”
The Burbank International Film Festival will be held September 9-13. You can watch “Why We Protest” here.
Naperville News 17’s Casey Krajewski reports.
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