homeroom

In Homeroom, Oakland High School’s class of 2020 confronts an unprecedented year. Anxiety over test scores and college applications gives way to uncertainty springing from a rapidly developing pandemic. Efforts to eliminate the school district’s police force unfold against the backdrop of growing nationwide demands for systemic change.

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Director’s Perspective

The title for Homeroom was conceived well before filming began. To me, the homeroom in a school was always an apt metaphor – a stage, much like the waiting room, where life unfolds in unexpected ways. It also carried a theme central to both Ryan’s and my work: family. As I visited schools across Oakland, I saw in these remarkable kids reflections of Oscar Grant (the subject of Ryan’s first film), of Ryan himself, and of my own children – young people of color navigating an increasingly complex world.

Then, unexpectedly, as many now know, a tragedy unfolded. Not long after filming began we lost our 16-year-old daughter Karina. Many of her friends attended Oakland High, where we were filming, and suddenly, the project carried a deeper, more personal resonance for all involved. It was initially uncertain what would become of the project. But my producer/DP Sean Havey and associate producer Gaby Arvizu, who is now an executive at Proximity and also an alum of Oakland High, made sure that the film would be completed.

Then came the pandemic, forcing us all to retreat into our homes. In an unexpected way, the title of the film became prophetic. As the team sifted through the footage, we uncovered a story of young people forced to let go of dreams they had carried since childhood – school plays, prom, walking the stage at graduation. But we also discovered something unexpected and deeply moving. In the wake of what felt ungraspable, these kids – many underestimated because of poor grades or test scores – had discovered their voices and, in doing so, reshaped their city for the better. In them, I saw Oscar, Karina, and all the young people we’ve had to say goodbye to too soon. Homeroom became an anthem of a generation – of their resilience, their collective strength, their fight for change. It also became a reminder that our proximity to one another can produce powerful storytelling – films that allow us to bear witness, to heal, and to inspire one another to keep moving forward.

Pete Nicks
Director/Producer

“The power of youth in oakland and beyond”

When Director Peter Nicks first approached me with the opportunity to join the HOMEROOM crew as an associate producer, I was deeply honored. As a filmmaker raised in Oakland, I had a profound calling to be part of a film dedicated to the city that raised me. I was also eager to collaborate with the award-winning Director Peter Nicks, renowned for his compelling films about Oakland's public institutions, alongside producer and cinematographer Sean Havey. We had the perfect crew, and we anticipated a certain degree of unpredictability, as any documentary crew would. However, we could never have foreseen the extraordinary events that would unfold during the 2019-2020 school year.

From the beginning, Pete’s vision was to capture the emotional lives of high school students. While some of the issues they faced were typical—passing exams, prom preparations, and dating drama— their lives were far more complex. Although I am an Oakland High School alumni and all of our crew members have roots in Oakland, we knew that we had to earn the trust of the students, teachers and their families for them to share their stories with us. In addition to being an associate producer, I was also the sound recordist for the film. Once the students opened up enough for me to put a lavalier on them, an entirely new world unfolded through the conversations we were able to capture on both film and audio.

We uncovered the multifaceted mental, emotional, and financial struggles these students were facing, while bearing witness to their remarkable courage to confront the adults in power. Our subject, Denilson Garibo, a student on the board of the Oakland Unified School District, along with several other student activists were trying to disband the Oakland School Police Department and reallocate funds towards mental health services for students. The students were gaining momentum.

Then March 2020 hit.

Everything stopped - or so we thought. Despite the pandemic, the students continued to mobilize and our nimble crew was there to film with them in protests with up 15,000 people. Never did I ever imagine that I would be producing and running sound on a flatbed truck full of youth protestors heading to the Oakland Mayor’s house at the height of the pandemic alongside our crew. We captured moments that no one could have prepared us for.

By far this was one of the most powerful experiences of my filmmaking career. It reminded me of the power of youth in Oakland and beyond. As the Oakland youth say:

“Ain’t no power like the power of the youth, cause the power of the youth don’t stop.”

Gaby Arvizu
Associate Producer and Sound Recordist