The Big Screen
Film debuts to 'a sea of red shirts'
The Philosopher Kings premiered in June at Maryland's Silverdocs Film Festival, where it was among seven documentaries (out of 122) chosen for a repeat "by popular demand" showing, which sold out; it has since been nominated for best documentary at festivals in Canada and the U.K.
The filmmakers held their first screenings on the Hill in August—both a morning showing that drew some 450 custodial staff (including twenty from Ithaca College and several from the Geneva Ag station) and an afternoon one for the general public. "The response was overwhelming," says director Patrick Shen. "A sea of red shirts, standing ovations at both screenings, some of the custodians in tears." At the events, held in Bailey Hall, Cornell's Jim Evener and Gary Napieracz were joined by four of the film's other interviewees for post-screening Q-&-A sessions. "If this documentary is viewed across the U.S., I think it will impact people's perception of custodial staff and the pride they take in their positions," says Building Care director Rob Osborn. "These are folks who are intelligent, who have life experience and great wisdom to share. It draws attention to people who are probably under-recognized for the great work that they do." He adds that turning the lens on custodial staff, who are traditionally on the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder, "is unprecedented, and it's brilliant."
The film's production company, Transcendental Media, is distributing the documentary independently, with showings at churches and museums as well as film festivals and universities. The DVD—which was officially released on October 2, National Custodial Workers Day—is for sale online (at philosopherkingsmovie.com), and Shen says it will eventually be available as a digital download on iTunes, Netflix, and amazon.com; a TV broadcast is also likely. "We've been receiving all sorts of e-mails, people telling us about experiences with their high school custodians," Shen says. "People whose parents are janitors are writing and telling us they're now proud of what their parents do—that for the first time they see that there can be meaning in this seemingly simple job."
For Evener and Napieracz, the film has offered the opportunity to travel; they attended the Silverdocs festival and a screening at Princeton in September, with more on the horizon. "This is like a fairy tale," Napieracz says. "It's something that doesn't happen every day. We've met the most unbelievable people." Of the pair, Napieracz is generally known as the chatty one; at the afternoon Bailey show, colleagues joked about the dangers of handing him a microphone. But even the quieter Evener has found himself a campus celebrity. "The day after the showing, I had people I didn't even know giving me hugs," he says. "People roll down their windows and say, 'Hey, you're that star.' "