Film professor recognized for documentary about senator
By Alice Horn, News Writing Student
An Oklahoma creativity group has named OCCC film and video professor Greg Mellott as one of its 2009 DaVinci Fellows.
The award recognizes “faculty members of Oklahoma’s higher education institutions who have made an innovative and significant contribution to their academic discipline,” according to Oklahoma’s Creativity Think Tank’s website.
Felix Aquino, vice president of academic affairs, nominated Mellott for his documentary film, “Dream No Little Dream: The Legacy of Robert S. Kerr.”
Mellott teaches courses on writing, directing and production in OCCC’s Film and Video Production department.
The documentary film tells the story of Oklahoma’s first native born governor and senator, Robert S. Kerr. It was created as part of the celebration of Oklahoma’s Centennial, and sponsored by the Chesapeake Energy Corporation.
Mellott said he, along with a team of OCCC students and faculty, pulled photos, movie clips, historical documents, and archived footage from every available source, including old news clips from the major news networks, the Kerr family’s private collection, and the University of Oklahoma’s Western History Collection, as well as footage from President Franklin Roosevelt’s public works projects.
Mellott wrote the script, interviewed the sources, scouted the locations, and produced and directed the project. He said finding the story was “like panning for gold.”
“You sift though all this stuff and every now and then you get these tiny nuggets,” he said.
Putting the pieces together, Mellott said he was able to uncover the story of Kerr, a story that had gone untold for more than 50 years.
The film premiered Nov. 6, 2007, at the Civic Center Music Hall, Aquino said.
It received a standing ovation from the 1,600 guests in attendance, he said.
Since then, the film went on to win the 2008 Heartland Regional Emmy for best historical documentary, a tribute both to Mellott and the students.
DVDs of the project have been distributed to area middle and high schools.
Mellott said the Fellowship has special meaning to him, due in large part to the artist whose name the award bears.
“I use DaVinci in all my classes,” he said.
Mellott said he was inspired by DaVinci’s passion for his art, tinkering with the Mona Lisa until four days before his death.
Mellott said that kind of commitment to one’s art is what drives him.
Mellott is a teacher, but still very much an artist in his own right.
“My best teachers worked during the day, and came and taught us at night,” he said. “In order to understand your students, you need to know how it feels to be an artist.”
The Fellowship goes to educators whose “vision is to improve the quality of education in Oklahoma and, by doing so, to help Oklahomans carry their creative talents to the world,” according to the website.
This is exemplified in Mellott’s commitment to his students, said Oscar winner Gray Frederickson, OCCC’s artist-in-residence.
“Greg does everything around here,” Frederickson said. “He is in large part responsible for the success of our program.”
