March 29, 2024
Annapolis, US 46 F

Sen. Astle, Hospice of Chesapeake honor film students for Viet Nam documentary

From left, Hospice of the Chesapeake Volunteer Services Coordinator Kendall Sofia; Hospice of the Chesapeake Foundation Board member Susan Walker; Annapolis High School Performing and Visual Arts Department Chair Caroline Van Sicklin; PVA film teacher Leo Hylan, PVA students Campbell Jones, Wayne Degen, Jackson Snyder, Jaizani “Zani” Wilson, Aidan Mead, Jacob Benton and Liam Wagner; Sen. John C. Astle; and Diane Sancilio, Hospice of the Chesapeake Director of Volunteer Services and Melody Stried, Hospice of the Chesapeake Chief Operating Officer.  Photo by Elyzabeth Marcussen, Hospice of the Chesapeake
From left, Hospice of the Chesapeake Volunteer Services Coordinator Kendall Sofia; Hospice of the Chesapeake Foundation Board member Susan Walker; Annapolis High School Performing and Visual Arts Department Chair Caroline Van Sicklin; PVA film teacher Leo Hylan, PVA students Campbell Jones, Wayne Degen, Jackson Snyder, Jaizani “Zani” Wilson, Aidan Mead, Jacob Benton and Liam Wagner; Sen. John C. Astle; and Diane Sancilio, Hospice of the Chesapeake Director of Volunteer Services and Melody Stried, Hospice of the Chesapeake Chief Operating Officer. Photo by Elyzabeth Marcussen, Hospice of the Chesapeake

State Sen. John C. Astle joined Hospice of the Chesapeake on Thursday, June 9, to honor the students and staff who produced, “Voices of Vietnam,” a  documentary film featuring interviews with Vietnam War Veterans.

The documentary, produced by Annapolis High School’s Performing and Visual Arts film students in collaboration with Hospice of the Chesapeake, was debuted at the nonprofit’s Welcome Home Vietnam Veterans Day celebration on March 30. It will be submitted to the Library of Congress to be included in its Veterans History Project. 

The students who produced the film included director Jaizani “Zani” Wilson, assistant director Jacob Benton, and crew members Aidan Mead, Campbell Jones, Jackson Snyder, Asa Reid Wells, Wayne Degen and Liam Wagner. They were led by teachers Leo Hylan and Caroline Vansinkle. Astle presented each with certificates of appreciation on behalf of Hospice of the Chesapeake during a ceremony, which was followed by a screening of the project in the school’s recording studio. 

The students put in hundreds of hours over the 2015-2016 schoolyear to create the documentary, which features interviews with 12 local Vietnam Veterans, including Astle and founder of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Jan C. Scruggs. Also interviewed were Donna Filosa, George Forrest, Tom Glenn, Bobbi Hovis, Norman Lautieri, Susan Miller, Dennis Noah, Bert Rice, Russell Stewart and Vince Zegowitz. Hospice of the Chesapeake’s We Honor Veterans Committee worked closely with the students in preparing the film project, connecting them with most of the Veterans and arranging a tour of the memorial with Scruggs.

This is the second year the nonprofit and the school’s PVA program has collaborated on a project. To view “Voices of Vietnam,” visit https://vimeo.com/161219100.

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