Dyson College of Arts and Sciences

W W W. P A C E . E D U / D Y S O N 21 On May 10, 2022, the Media, Communications, and Visual A s depa ment's award-winning documentary film team—PaceDocs— premiered Tide to Table: The Remarkable Journey of Oysters, which focuses on the astonishing journey of oysters, their farmers, and their role in cleaning the water. At the first in-person premiere for the program since prior to the pandemic, the documentary was shown to a full house at the Jacob Burns Film Center (JBFC) in Pleasantville and followed by a question-and-answer session with members of the crew, including a mix of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as co-producers, Professors Maria Luskay, EdD, and Lou Guarneri, MFA. This year's production was also remarkable in that it played at multiple (and sold-out) venues across Cape Cod, the first time in the program's history that the film was seen in theaters beyond JBFC. Tide to Table, a film that continues PaceDocs's notable legacy of producing documentaries that highlight significant environmental issues, was filmed on location in Cape Cod, coastal Connecticut, and New York City. The cast varied from scientists to shellfish officers to farmers, and explored the unexpected relationship between nature, oyster farmers, and modern aquaculture technology and a empted to be er understand their ecological value, while demonstrating how oysters are both thriving in areas such as Cape Cod and being restored in once depleted regions such as Connecticut and New York City as a means of enhancing water quality. The creation of this film was a prime example of experiential learning at Pace; students enrolled in the popular Producing the Documentary class, in which the full-length environmentally themed film was completed within 14 weeks, also learned teamwork, problem-solving, research, and organization along with technical skills such as lighting, sound, camera work, interviewing, and other real-life tools. "Throughout it all, we brought together a diverse group of students with a full schedule of work," said Luskay. "In the process, we not only learned firsthand about the plight of the oyster farmer braving the elements, but also the grit and determination required to complete the film on a tight deadline. It was an incredibly rewarding experience for us." Watching the Waterways The PaceDocs Production of Tide to Table MEDIA SPOTLIGHT The PaceDocs team, made up of MCVA students and faculty members, filmed on location in Cape Cod and coastal Connecticut.

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