Gerry Van King, a well-known local street musician from Austin, Texas, plays bass on the record-holding world’s-smallest-stage, a two-foot by four-foot raised platform on the sidewalk on Sixth street where he has performed six nights a week for the last eighteen years. Easily recognizable by his golden crown and sparkling gold-star sunglasses, the funkadelic musician’s street performance is highlight in the short documentary. With one album to his name and recently receiving the distribution rights he hopes to finally achieving his dream of ‘making it.’ Glimpse into the life and mind of Gerry Van King as he takes us aboard the mothership for an intergalactic journey into Austin street music.

I sent a request for footage of the inside of the T. Don Hutto facility to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This is an unedited clip of what they sent me (no audio was present on the tape). Some of you may have seen clips like this in news stories before, but I wanted to post the whole thing.

In my pursuit of this story, I’ve requested interviews with officials from ICE and from Corrections Corporation of America, the private company that runs T. Don Hutto. My requests have gone unanswered to date, which is unfortunate because I feel that covering a topic without representation from both sides creates an imbalance in the story. I suppose this video clip of the inside will have to do for now.

An update that I can give is that on May 7th, Jorge Bustamante, special rapporteur on migrant rights for the United Nations, was denied touring privileges of T. Don Hutto. He has since been denied access to another immigrant detention facility in New Jersey.

This issue doesn’t seem to be going away. I’ve received word from Jay Johnson Castro, organizer of the “Hutto Walks”, that there will be another vigil outside the facility on June 23rd which will be sponsored by Amnesty International. LULAC and several other organizations have joined together and will also be present.

Whatever your feelings on this issue may be, I encourage you to discuss detention facilities like the one in Taylor, Texas with your family, friends, and community. Social progress can be made only through open and honest discourse.

About House of Elegance:
One loyal customer makes the trip from Oklahoma to East Austin for a shampoo, weave, and good conversation. For the women of the House of Elegance, both beauticians and customers alike, the salon has been an integral part of life since Mrs. Ella Mae Pease opened her business in the 1960’s.

Produced in 2004 for East Austin Stories, House of Elegance has received numerous awards and has been highlighted in programs sponsored by Austin City Hall and the Austin Public Library.

About the filmmaker:
Amy Bench is a filmmaker living in Austin, Texas. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in cinematography.

My working relationship with Domenique involves a synergy of opposites. Nowhere is this more evident than in the stories that we choose to produce. Domenique favors stories revolving around community affairs, human interests, and the arts whereas I prefer those surrounding politics and current events. There are times, however, when we find ourselves venturing bravely into each other’s turf. This piece is a perfect example.

I started researching the state of mental healthcare in Texas a few months ago (stay tuned for this documentary in a future episode of Docubloggers), and stumbled across an ad for Fine Line: Mental Health/Mental Illness. You know how it is … you’re thinking of buying a green car and you start seeing them everywhere. Here I was thinking about mental illness and healthcare, and I find an art exhibit with these topics at its core. My interest was immediately piqued, and I started making calls.

The first time I spoke with Michael Nye on the phone, I knew I had to cover this exhibit, even though doing so meant … gulp … doing a story about an artist. You see, I have a hard time bridging the gap between my appreciation for a piece of art and the curiosity surrounding its creation. If you’re ever on one of our Docubloggers shoots and you hear Dom interviewing an artist, it feels natural. You find yourself impressed with the ease in which she can inquire about artistic creation, inspiration, and work flow. If you were to be on that same set and hear ME conduct the interview, you’d wonder how this clod ever got his job. Let’s just say that I have a hard time connecting. However, as painfully aware as I was of the fact that I was interviewing … gulp … an artist, I found myself at ease because I was speaking with someone that was so aware of the inspiration that drives him that I couldn’t help but be taken along for the ride. Michael Nye is one of those people with whom you can’t even believe you’re speaking. He’s sort of a jack of all trades, keeping alive the ever-dwindling art of large format photography and balancing it with the cutting edge world of digital audio. He takes his work seriously, but approaches it with the sensitivity and humility of a social worker.

Mental health and mental illness are complicated issues, and my decision to document Michael’s exhibit wasn’t based on some deep-seeded notion that doing so would address these topics head on. Rather, my goal was to bring into the light the work of a modern-day master of his craft, as well as to encourage open hearts and minds. It’s hard not to be touched by the stories of the individuals that Nye documented when they’re presented in such a straightforward manner. The stories are touching because they are actually touching rather than because they’ve been crafted to be so. I encourage everyone to visit Michael’s website to listen to these voices, and if at all possible, visit the exhibit (or any of his others) if it passes your way.

Our beloved Austin is becoming famous. In the past few years you might have noticed more lights, cameras, and familiar faces in our town. We’ve had The Real World, A Simple Life, and this past fall, Extreme Makeover Home Edition. And the list will continue to grow … I’m excited to say that the newest national show that hit Austin is Trading Spaces. Not only are they filming in Austin, yesterday they decided to use KLRU’s Austin City Limits Studios as their launching pad for their Austin explorations. Once the Docubloggers team heard the news, we grabbed our camera, ran upstairs to the ACL studio and caught some behind the scenes footage of their production. They have a new host, Julie Alexandria who was recording introductions. Check it out!

What other productions/events are hitting Austin that you’ve been privy to?

Jeff Gipson, Alex Skalomenos, Joshua Tate and Robert Travis are University of Texas filmmakers that produced a story about Lola Stephens and her East Austin restaurant Nubian Queen Lola’s Cajun Kitchen. This story shows her passion for soulful cooking that enriches the lives of the people she serves. Contributor Joshua Tate describes, “It is nearly impossible to pass the Chicon-Rosewood intersection in East Austin without noticing the purple, alligator-laden restaurant on the corner. The restaurant’s name is Nubian Queen Lo-La’s Cajun Kitchen, and its vibrant decor only begins to reflect the spirit of its homeless operator. Relying on the “angels” in her community to help sustain her financially, Lozina “Lo-La” Stephens feeds the hungry and homeless every Sunday and expresses her love every day through her food.” Originally this story was produced for the UT Radio Television Film class East Austin Stories taught by Independent Filmmaker Andrew Garrison.