{"id":812,"date":"2019-08-30T14:26:04","date_gmt":"2019-08-30T18:26:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/?p=812"},"modified":"2019-08-30T14:26:04","modified_gmt":"2019-08-30T18:26:04","slug":"vermonter-of-the-month-bess-obrien","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/vermonter-of-the-month-bess-obrien\/","title":{"rendered":"Vermonter of the Month: Bess O’Brien"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Vermonter of the Month is a monthly series in which\u00a0the Attorney General will feature a Vermonter doing exemplary work in their community. Have someone you think should be featured? Email\u00a0<\/em>AGO.CAP@vermont.gov<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Bess
Bess O’Brien with Attorney General T.J. Donovan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our August Vermonter of the Month is director, producer, and arts\nactivist Bess O\u2019Brien\u2014Vermont\u2019s truth-teller. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bess began working in film when her husband Jay Craven hired her\nto produce his first short movie High Water<\/em>. From there, she went on to co-produce\nWhere the Rivers Flow North<\/em> and A Stranger in the Kingdom<\/em> before starting\nto make documentary films.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through filmmaking, Bess has shined a light on issues affecting Vermonters.\nHer recent films<\/a>\u2014Coming\nHome<\/em>, All of Me<\/em>, and The Hungry Heart<\/em>\u2014depict important issues\nlike reintegration into communities after incarceration, body image and eating\ndisorders, and the opioid and prescription drug crisis in Vermont. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In December, our office hosted a screening of Bess\u2019 film Coming\nHome<\/em> for staff. The film follows five Vermonters returning to their\ncommunities after being incarcerated. It highlights the amazing work that the Circles\nof Support and Accountability<\/a> (COSA) program is doing in Vermont\u2014helping people\nreintegrate into their communities and showing the power of compassion and\nempathy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1991, Bess and Jay established Kingdom County Productions<\/a> (KCP). The\nnonprofit\u2019s focus expanded in 2009 to include performing arts; bringing shared arts-based\ncommunity events to the Northeast Kingdom. Today KCP is dedicated to \u201ctransforming\ncommunity through film, performance, and experiential learning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We met up with Bess at the Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival to ger\nher perspective on the importance of storytelling in Vermont. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve been described as \u201cVermont\u2019s truth-teller.\u201d What inspires\nyou, or drives your passion for this work? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am interested in telling stories that go to the root of the problem, whether it be drug addiction, incarceration, foster care, etc. I want to hear voices from people who are often not seen and are invisible. I want their voices heard. By telling their stories change can begin to happen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is documentary filmmaking and the arts, in general, important\nin a rural state like Vermont? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because Vermont is small, telling stories and sharing the lives of people who are often silenced can make a difference. We are a small state so a documentary film that tours to 15 towns can truly start a conversation! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did you and your husband Jay create Kingdom County\nProductions? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To tell stories that are rooted in Vermont. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you strive to transform \u201ccommunity through film,\nperformance, and experiential learning?\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By bringing the arts to rural areas and to folks who often don\u2019t experience the arts it raises awareness and forms a strong community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What advice do you have for other Vermonters looking to make an\nimpact in their community? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tell the truth, talk to people who are outside your comfort zone, have empathy and raise people\u2019s voices!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Bess O’Brien with Attorney General T.J. Donovan<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Vermonter of the Month is a monthly series in which\u00a0the Attorney General will feature a Vermonter doing exemplary work in their community. Have someone you think should be featured? Email\u00a0AGO.CAP@vermont.gov. Our August Vermonter of the Month is director, producer, and arts activist Bess O\u2019Brien\u2014Vermont\u2019s truth-teller. Bess began working in film when her husband Jay Craven… Continue reading Vermonter of the Month: Bess O’Brien<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4519,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[481474],"class_list":["post-812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tag-consumer","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4519"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=812"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":817,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/812\/revisions\/817"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/cap\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}