2ND PLACE - Latest Generation Film Contest

2ND PLACE

"Hell, They’ve Got to Eat, Too”: How Federal Project Number One Shaped America’s Cultural Landscape

Sasha Allen

Eden Prairie, Minnesota

Director's Statement:

During my freshman year of college, I took a history class taught by Professor Kevin Kruse titled The United States, 1920-1974. We learned about FDR’s New Deal and how his administration’s unprecedented support for public welfare revolutionized the way in which government plays a role in the lives of the American people. While studying this era, I came across Federal One. Launched during the Great Depression, this program publicly funded artists, writers, and performers across the country, transforming the American cultural landscape. I was amazed that so many artists including Arthur Miller, Mark Rothko, and Jackson Pollock were supported by Federal One. FDR’s decision to “think anew” and “act anew” in creating Federal One permanently transformed the relationship between art and the American people. His administration supported artists on an unprecedented scale, enabling them to artistically express culture, belief, identity, and community in a way that for the first time, captured the complex and authentic American spirit. I wanted to immerse the viewer in the time period and the art created by Federal One. While researching, I read countless oral history testimonies to gain a better sense of artists’ work with Federal One and its impact on them. By sharing this project, I hope to bring the story of Federal One to a wider audience and help others to understand how art came to be a medium of the general public, not just the wealthy or the private sector. Today, the rise of AI is redefining how we look at art. Generative tools like Sora and Midjourney are allowing people to create visual works faster than ever before, something that is considered by some to be a way to make art more accessible. But do we really consider this art? Will these tools become a tool for artists to bolster their creativity, or will they be the downfall of true human creation? Only time will tell what kind of effect this revolution will have on the world of art.

Quotes from Reviewers:

"This was a professional-level film. I wouldn't hesitate to use this in high school course."

"Well written, great archival research, inspirational and relevant today." 

"Clean and organized with great support from supplemental graphics, Smart edit that is expertly curated for engagement, Deft expression of the concept despite relying primarily archival footage.

This was quite informative with flourishes of style that increased viewer interest."