Sara Cowell’s first-ever attempt at filmmaking earned her statewide recognition. The Washington native won the Our State magazine documentary contest for “Mountain Style,” a documentary about musician Charlie Glenn.
Cowell made the film last May while taking a 10-day photojournalism workshop at the University of North Carolina.
“It’s a 10-day-long program that goes to a different town in North Carolina each year to record the history and stories there. This year was in Banner Elk, and that’s where I met Charlie Glenn, the subject of my story,” Cowell said. “He builds and sells these incredibly beautiful instruments, including the ‘fretless banjer,’ which is an early version of the banjo.”
This was Cowell’s first time entering work in a film festival.
“It was actually my first go at video,” she said. “So, I was a little intimidated to submit it to the contest, but decided it couldn’t hurt to try.”
Cowell said the film appeared to be a good fit for the festival because Glenn typified a “North Carolinian mountain musician/artist.”
“He’s extremely passionate about his work and is so full of incredible stories and history, it just seemed to fit the theme of the contest, which was, ‘Why do you love North Carolina?’” Cowell said.
Cowell has had a quite a few recent milestones, from graduating from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to landing her first job out of school.
“I would say that winning this award was a huge milestone for me, compared to graduation and landing my new job,” she said. “While I was at school, there were so many incredible photographers and videographers that it was very easy to feel lost in the crowd. Winning the contest was a confidence booster for me and helped me to remember that I’m good at what I do.
“It’s one thing for friends or family to say that your video is good, but to have random strangers praise something that you’ve made is a great feeling,” she said.
Outside the videos she makes every week at the Greenville newspaper where she works, Cowell does not have any video projects in the works. But she said she is always on the lookout for another one. Cowell will also be on the lookout for more film festivals.
“I haven’t seen any other film festivals recently, but if I do I hope I can enter it again,” she said. “It was a really cool experience all the way through.”
Visit Cowell’s website to view her award-winning video: http://www.saracowell.com/video