The Dream
Filmmobile was born in the summer of 2006, while the Echo Park Film Center team was working on a documentary film project in South Dakota. With our colleagues from Farmlab, we had travelled to the Rosebud Reservation, home of the Lakota Sioux, to assist in building a ceremonial house for some community elders.
Rosebud is one of the poorest communities in North America and has virtually no access to film and video making resources. We began thinking that if we could take the beauty and power of our film center and make it mobile, we could come to Rosebud, and other towns across the country, and provide access to media tools and teach media literacy.
We wrote a proposal and sent a request to the Annenberg Foundation to help fund the Filmmobile. The grant was accepted and the dream came to life.
The Search
After receiving funding in early 2007, we spent the remainder of the year searching for a bus. Countless hours were spent scouring the web, chatting with mechanics, visiting bus dealers and even enrolling in a “bus driving school” in search for the perfect bus.
There were many buses to choose from in every shape, size and color but the blue bus from Tacoma, Washington seduced us. It had character. It had style. It had charm. It also had low mileage, a good engine and no rust!
Picking up the Bus
Paolo Davanzo
Executive Director, EPFC
I flew up to Tacoma Washington, in early November 2007, to look at a blue bus. I fell in love with the bus at first sight and wanted to drive her home.
The next morning I drove the bus on the freeway and all around town and it felt good. A little sluggish but good. Cash was exchanged, hands shook and by noon I was driving south down Interstate 5 with a song in my heart and a dream fulfilled.
As the rain started to fall – my songs grew louder. As the wind began to howl – my resolve grew more determined.
However, when the transmisson dropped out - 30 miles North of Eugene Oregon my heart broke. Four days later - days that were full of recriminations and self-doubt, visits to three mechanics, phone calls to Tacoma, rain, offers and counter offers, diner food, thrift stores, and cheap hotels, I was on my way back to Los Angeles. My bus was fixed and ready to make the long drive home.