On A Positive Note: Fox Chapel High School Students Debut Mister Rogers Documentary On YouTube Channel
FOX CHAPEL, Pa. (KDKA) -- The current coronavirus limitations mean the red carpet celebration will have to wait for a group of young filmmakers who released their much-anticipated documentary.
But they say it also means the message in their film is more important than ever.
"Our Assignment from Fred Rogers" just debuted on the Swift Fox Media YouTube channel, which features content from the Fox Chapel Area School District. The production team is made up of Fox Chapel Area High School students who started the project last year.
Ryan Devlin is the multimedia teacher at the school.
"The project started kind of small," he told KDKA's Kym Gable. "We had intentions to interview two crew members of 'Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.'"
"Everyone can strive to be the best version of themselves in how they interact with others. I think that's what we can all learn that's so helpful from Fred Rogers right now," said student Lance Wilhelm.
But none of them expected the coincidental connections that shifted the focus of their film.
"Mrs. Rogers had heard from her plumber about the project that we were putting together, and she found a phone number for one of the students involved. She called them and before we knew it, we were in Mrs. Rogers' living room talking to her face to face," said Devlin.
"Learning from all these people and listening to their stories, it was so cool to hear everything that he was and that he preached was not just a character that he played, it's who he was," said Adina Munin, who has since graduated.
"I think the messages from Fred Rogers are timeless," said Devlin. "The messages he was telling on the television are the ones we still need to hear now."
You can watch the documentary on the Swift Fox Media YouTube channel here.
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