Since its debut in 2024, the Oak Park – IL Film Festival (OPILFF) has brought local stories to life via video storytelling — capturing the essence of the individuals who call the village home, the places which make the village special and the themes that shape the lives of people associated with the village.
And at this year’s fest, Rise Sanders-Weir, longtime Wednesday Journal food reporter, has managed to wrap all three of those themes together, profiling six Oak Parkers working to make a difference in the community in her short documentary, “Be the People.”
With a total running time of 8 minutes and 42 seconds, “Be the People” was developed from a series of short videos Sanders-Weir directed for the website StoriesByUs.org, a storytelling initiative and digital platform created by Be the People — a coalition of national nonprofits, including the MacArthur Foundation, More Perfect, Stand Together and Giving Tuesday, which joined forces to support the documenting and sharing the personal stories of everyday Americans making positive differences in their communities through acts of service, mentoring, organizing and care.
The opportunity for Sanders-Weir to create the film came about when RadicalMedia, an independent production company, was looking for filmmakers from all 50 states to populate the website with a broad overview of people from across America.
Once StoriesByUs.org launched in July, Sanders-Weir says, the idea was that these videos would inspire people from across America to record themselves or people they know doing similar work.
“By making these positive actions more visible, it will encourage more community-based solutions rather than just national-level frustration,” she said.
Featured in “Be the People” are Michelle Mascaro, the now former owner of Happy Apple Pie Shop; Mac Robinet, creator of Repair Café, Franklin Taylor, owner of Mission Curiosity Bookstore; Judy Klem, gardener at Conservation @ Home; Elijah Stanceil, food ambassador with Beyond Hunger; and Dan Haley, interim editor of Wednesday Journal.
Sanders-Weir says the people she selected to feature in her film were based partially drawn from her work with the Journal, where she has become familiar with many people and places from across the community, from residents to business owners.
“My reporting granted me a look into so many people who are striving to make the world a better place where they can and in ways they can,” she said. “Perhaps each isn’t pushing the national needle very far — but we live in communities and these hometown heroes are, in their own ways, finding creative answers to challenges.”
Not only did Sanders-Weir direct the film; she also served as cinematographer, editor and producer. Sound design and mixing for the film was done by her husband, Drew Weir.
After watching the film, Sanders-Weir hopes audiences will feel a sense of pride in how active the many people of Oak Park are in coming together to find creative solutions to societal problems — and how those efforts knit people together to make the community stronger overall.
Debuting as part of the OPILFF’s Legacy and Impact film block, “Be the People” opens at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20 at Madison Street Theater, 1010 Madison St.