Alum’s fish film nets attention
December 28th, 2018 | Alumni, SIT Study Abroad
For Rice University senior Antonia Brown, SIT鈥檚 program was a great fit 鈥 a chance to do real field research. But that opportunity, she admits, was one she found daunting at first.
鈥淚鈥檇 never done field research before. The week before, I was really worried,鈥 Antonia says. 鈥淚 was asking myself, 鈥楧o I even like nature?!鈥 I was really scared. But once I was there? It was amazing. We had a rainforest unit, and we took samples of leaves and bugs, and did statistical analyses of different areas. Then we went to the mangroves 鈥 we cut roots, dissected them, and looked at the biodiversity of roots. With corals, we compared biodiversity at different depths.
鈥淚 loved it,鈥 Antonia says. 鈥淚 learn more when I鈥檓 out doing things instead of just listening to lectures.鈥
When it came time for her ISP (Independent Study Project), Antonia encountered another big challenge. In addition to her ISP paper, she chose to make a film. It fit well with her proclivities 鈥 Antonia came to Rice interested primarily in the arts, then discovered ecology and evolutionary biology. Now she鈥檚 interested in combining them. , is a look at the fishing practices of Panama鈥檚 indigenous Guna people, who live on a group of around 300 islands in the Caribbean.
Antonia studied Spanish as part of SIT Panama, but for the film, she needed to interview fishermen in island villages where most spoke Guna, not Spanish.
鈥淚 needed a Guna-Spanish translator,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 was very worried 鈥 I didn鈥檛 want to feel like I was taking their stories from them or taking advantage. I didn鈥檛 know the language, and I had a camera. My advisor said at the beginning, just don鈥檛 take out your camera. Make sure everyone鈥檚 comfortable around you and understands that you鈥檙e just a student trying to learn more.鈥
Her trepidation proved to be unfounded. Antonia says that, once the camera came out, there wasn鈥檛 much stress at all. 鈥淚 asked if I could film, and fishermen just said, 鈥榊eah, sure! If this is your project, and you鈥檙e interested in my life, why not?鈥欌
Her short documentary has done well. In August, she traveled to Austin, Texas, for the Capital City Black Film Festival 鈥 her first experience with a festival. There it took third place for Best Short Documentary, and she offered a Q&A after the screening. In October, A Fishing Story was part of the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival in New York City, where hers was one of several films examining fishing practices.
Antonia isn鈥檛 completely sure what she鈥檒l pursue when she graduates from Rice, but for now, she hopes to continue combining arts and science. She sees a particular need for film to explain scientific findings. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 really important for scientists to communicate well to the public, to inform people about what鈥檚 going on in conservation and in biology.鈥
With SIT, Antonia found it possible to do what she simply couldn鈥檛 do as part of a regular school semester. 鈥淚t allowed me to do biology and conservation in a way my school couldn鈥檛. I really couldn鈥檛 go snorkeling with the corals. A lot of people do things like that after college, but not in. SIT helped me learn more about the world, and I got to meet amazing people. I stayed with five host families, and I also got to meet lots of other American students who share the same interests I do.鈥