Summer is here, and with it, a new cohort of Kindling interns! This summer, we’re thrilled to welcome our largest intern cohort ever —  eleven college and high school students hailing from schools all over the country.  From post-production on projects like Veterans Coming Home to distribution of Radical Grace, and building No Small Matter’s impact campaign, we’re very excited to have their help on Kindling’s projects, and to help introduce them to the world of doc film production. 

Please join us in giving our Summer 2016 cohort a warm welcome! 

Devon Damonte Smith is a film student at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. A Wisconsin native, Devon has been practicing art since he was five. Devon started off with drawing and painting. He later learned how to use poetry into his short stories and script. While attending Columbia College Chicago, he realized his passion for film and transferred to University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in their Film Production Program. Devon specializes in narrative, documentary, experimental and music video. He hopes to make films full time and have his own production company.

Julia Hinders is a broadcast journalism student at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Julia has been a reporter and producer for University of Illinois’ student run TV news station and a production assistant at CBS’ TV news station. Her passion for art, news and storytelling led to her documentary film. She’s excited to learn more about the documentary industry and “what keeps the ideas, films and engagement rolling!”

Esmeralda Medina is a student at University of Illinois-Chicago majoring in Communications and English. A Chicago-native, Esmeralda loves writing but also has a deep interest in films or any art form including documentaries. She also likes to draw, paint and take photos. Her interest in documentaries and art drove her to Kindling Group and is excited to work on our projects.

Marissa Ondra is a student at Syracuse University studying Television, Radio and Film. Marissa fell in love with the magic of film at an early age, relishing the experience of losing herself in a story and empathizing with characters. With a minor in anthropology, Marissa has developed a passion for securing indigenous rights and hopes to champion these issues through the medium of documentary film. She is excited to learn about the “different campaigns attached to each film and communities impacted.”

Sean Raju is a student at University of Chicago studying Physics and Cinema & Media Studies. He has been a filmmaker for the past four years and plans to continue after college. Sean is an active member of his college student film organization and worked as a script coverer for Warner Brothers in L.A. His favorite documentaries include “Hoop Dreams” and “Paris is Burning.” Sean wants to “jump into the world of documentary” in Kindling Group. He’s excited to learn about the “backbone of a story” in the editing room.

Tiffany Dillon is a recent graduate of University of Illinois, where she studied advertising and Spanish. She loves writing, but recently decided to pursue more video production related careers. She has always loved art and been fascinated by the power of visuals to push people to “empathize with a cause” and “see the world through another lens.” Tiffany wants to learn this process of mobilizing people to make change in Kindling Group. While providing her knowledge in advertising through outreach, she also wants to learn the production side of making a documentary film geared toward social reform.

Daniel Shea is a student at Columbia College Chicago where he studies Cinema Art and Science. He’s worked a variety of roles including editing, compositing and audio work. Danny is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and enjoys watching films and playing basketball.

Sarayah Wright is a student, leader and organizer at Northwestern University. Her interests lie in the intersections of art and activism. Sarayah is a proponent of narrative reclamation for lives of color, especially through storytelling. She hopes to help shift dominant narratives by curating and expanding spaces where people can celebrate themselves, their survival, their resilience, histories and cultures.

Allison Schreuder is a Media Arts & Culture major at Occidental College. She’s a brown belt in karate, knows every capital in the world and loves the movie Scream. She wants to be a casting director and hopes to someday open her own production company. Allison worked with talent management before but she’s excited to learn about the inner workings of a film production company like Kindling Group. She’s most excited to learn how documentaries are scripted.

Hosu Lee is a journalism student at Northwestern University. He’s originally from South Korea and came to U.S. as an exchange student for high school. Hosu is interested in social justice, international relations, technology and science. He found lot of Kindling Group’s documentaries similar with his interests. Hosu wants to learn not just the production side of a making a documentary, but also the distribution side. He hopes to work in long-form video journalism after college.

Bridget Gallagher is a recent grad of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Media & Cinema Studies. She’s interested in film/TV editing and hopes to get into television in the future. She has done a various filming and editing jobs for and outside of her film classes. She likes to cook, travel and watch lots of TV.

Want to work as an intern for Kindling Group this fall, or know someone who might?

Email us at info@kindlinggroup.org.