About the Filmmaker
Joseph Shawyer is an English documentarian based in New York City who creates documentaries exploring rituals of belonging and community. His MFA thesis project ‘The Saltiest Chips’ explores a modern rites of passage retreat for teenagers in rural Vermont. He has also completed principal photography for ‘Running with Tito,’ a feature-length documentary on the Yugoslav national celebration, the Relay of Youth. Before enrolling at City College of New York, Joseph spent ten years working in media production for humanitarian-sector NGOs across Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
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What can ancient Rite of Passage rituals offer teens today?
Follow along as 17-year-old Mateo joins his peers in the forest of Underhill, Vermont, for a two-week Rite of Passage retreat.