CBI Names Three Rowan Documentaries Best of the Best

From left: Mike Gorczynski, Harry Fleckinstein(Gen Rx), Dave Monk, Steve Hanulec, Ashley Zazzarino(Beards)

About a dozen Rowan University filmmakers and two WGLS radio producers were recognized in October with first place honors at the 2009 College Broadcasters, Inc. awards.

The competition, which pitted Rowan students against students from colleges and universities across America, featured entries from some 450 other schools.

Rowan's winning film entries were the 25-minute anti-drug piece Generation Rx and Life Behind Beards, a 30-minute film about a bewitching facial hair subculture.

Generation Rx, which won in the Best Documentary/Public Affairs category, is a deadly serious portrait of prescription drug abuse featuring interviews with recovering addicts.

Life Behind Beards, which was named Best Special Broadcast, tells the story of a surprisingly large sub-culture of men (and a few women) who don't just sport facial hair but groom it for competition.

Taking first place for a radio broadcast documentary, From First Snap to Stagg: The History of Rowan Football, tells the story of the university's 50-year-old gridiron program - from its humble beginnings in a rutted field to five appearances in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl - the Super Bowl of Division III play.

The awards were the latest in a long list of accolades for WGLS and the department of Radio, Television and Film in Rowan's College of Communication.

Since 2000 alone, Rowan documentaries have won more than 100 regional and national awards including six Cine Golden Eagles, four Gracie awards and numerous accolades from the Society of Professional Journalists.

WGLS-FM has won 172 national and regional awards since 1993. Station productions have been finalists or winners of CBI awards 17 times since 2002.

Ned Eckhardt, a professor in the department of Radio, Television and Film, said a series of student documentaries aimed at containing societal ills like drug and alcohol abuse, date rape and other sexual assaults has found a large audience in high schools, colleges, even hospitals and prisons.

2009 CBI Awards

Rx abuse "on the rise and huge"

"We've been making addiction videos since 2000 - seven in all - and they've been distributed all over the country," Eckhardt said.

He said those films, which are largely sponsored by Rowan's Center for Addiction Studies and Awareness, draw their strength from the student filmmakers who have great stories to tell.

In the case of Generation Rx, RTF graduate Harry Fleckinstein's experience as a recovering addict gave him personal insight into the world of drug abuse, Eckhardt said.

"Rx abuse is on the rise and it's huge," Eckhardt said. "Harry was able to go out into the addiction community and bring in amazing stories. That's the power of student filmmakers. They can get stories the mainstream media can't get because they have no agenda."

Said Fleckinstein: "I've been through rehabs so I knew that was an audience I wanted to reach. Having the background and the experience of an addict I'm able to tell this story the way it should be told."

Finishing college after his time in rehab, Fleckinstein, who produced the film, wanted to make it for those struggling every day with addiction.

"I wanted to show them you can turn your life around and follow your dreams," he said.

The film crew for Generation Rx also included director Steve Klink, producer Milessa Stankowski, camera operators Anthony Mennie and Mike Gorzynski and editor Tim Hill.

"We wanted to show there is hope. That you can get your life back if you want to," said Gorzynski, who also wrote music for the film.

You don't grow the beard; the beard grows you

In Life Behind Beards, which follows the story of three men preparing for the 2009 New York City Beard and Mustache Championships, filmmakers found an unexpected but fascinating subculture.

"This is a story about people with a passion," said Assistant Professor Diana Nicolae, who also teaches in the department of Radio, Television and Film. "While there are many genuinely funny moments in the film, those moments are sourced from the humanity and friendship that exists among the characters. There is always a place for films that are genuine and human, regardless of whether they are funny or not."

Promotional image: "Life Behind Beards"

Producer Steve Hanulec, a 2009 RTF grad, said Life Behind Beards worked, in part, because it isn't too serious a subject. The film was recently screened and honored at the Downbeach Film Festival in Atlantic City.

"No one was going to get hurt if we didn't portray it in a certain way," he said.

Other student filmmakers on Life Behind Beards included editor Dave Monk, director Dan Ferrera and camera/audio tech Ashley Zazzarino.

Zazzarino said the documentary production course in which Beards was made was exhausting but well worth the effort the crew put in.

"We dedicated ourselves to this subject for four months," said Zazzarino, a senior RTF major. "It turned out great and to have it recognized by CBI is the cherry on top."

Gridiron greats remembered

Recent graduate Jim Vassallo, who along with RTF grad Joe Staudenmayer produced the radio documentary about Rowan football, said the point was to celebrate the humble beginnings but triumphant history of Rowan's football program.

Begun in 1947, the team was disbanded for a dozen years starting in 1950 but regrouped under Coach Richard Wackar in 1963, the longest serving football coach in Rowan history for whom University's the new stadium was named during Homecoming 2009.

"The documentary was just over an hour long and covered the entire history of the Rowan football program," Vassallo said. "It detailed every head coach in the history of the program and included radio highlights of the most exciting and disappointing games in the program's history."

Despite winning numerous other awards during his time at Rowan, the 2008 RTF grad said "this one means the most because of the amount of time we spent working on it and because of how prestigious a CBI award actually is."

>>>Listen to From First Snap to Stagg: The History of Rowan Football:
Part 1 | Part 2

>>>Visit the website for Life Behind Beards