By Hannah Stewart (Comm鈥�19)
After leaving several sticky notes on the windshield, Matt Solari finally met the dude who lived in the ambulance.
Solari, a media production major, was working with a team to document van life in Boulder, and quickly ran into a problem: They didn鈥檛 know anyone who lived in a van. Their only lead was Solari鈥檚 neighbor, Alec Kolodziejczyk, who lived in the ambulance parked down the street.
Getting him to participate was the first breakthrough for the team after many leads fell short. But their perseverance was rewarded in the spring semester, when Boulder Van Life was nominated in the short/long form nonfiction category of the 2024 Heartland Student Emmy Awards. Additionally, in the summer, the film was nominated for the Most Inspirational Film Award from the Oregon Documentary Film Festival.
鈥淚 was in the middle of a frantic day when I got a text from my professor saying, 鈥楥ongratulations, you鈥檝e been nominated for a regional Emmy Award,鈥� and I immediately called my parents to tell them about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淭his was the first time when I was really able to see a project through from start to end and have it turn out roughly like what I intended at the beginning.鈥�
Solari produced the film for a course called Documentary and Beyond, co-taught by Ross Taylor, associate professor of journalism, and Pat Clark, assistant professor of critical media practices. By collaborating across disciplines, students were encouraged to see the documentary film process from both a journalist鈥檚 and a filmmaker鈥檚 perspective.
鈥楻eally beautiful and well done鈥�
鈥淭heir film taps into a trend many explore in Colorado, throughout the West and beyond. So, it鈥檚 a relatable experience that many can connect with,鈥� Taylor said of Solari鈥檚 project. 鈥淎nd the cinematography in the film was really beautiful and well done.鈥�
What Solari loved most about the course was having an entire semester to fully flesh out and produce a documentary. After a few rounds of speed-dating-like pitching, he recruited fellow CMCI students Wyatt Martinez, Braxton Fish and Carlos Franco to work with him and explore what draws people to van life.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the human story and being able to bring someone鈥檚 to a larger audience,鈥� Solari said. 鈥淪eeing this whole process as a journey changed my mind on what documentary is and how the film reveals itself as you鈥檙e making it.鈥�
Solari cast a wide net looking for candidates, and found that some, like Kolodziejczyk鈥攁 PhD candidate in chemistry at CU Boulder鈥攕ee van life as more affordable. Others choose the lifestyle for the freedom and flexibility that comes with it.
But while searching for his subjects, Solari heard 鈥渘o.鈥� A lot. Even in the case of Kolodziejczyk, Solari had to sell the idea of bringing a film crew into his home.
鈥淚 got a lot of rejection鈥攊t was a very humbling process,鈥� Solari said. 鈥淚 talked to about 20 people who were interested, but didn鈥檛 have the time or didn鈥檛 take me seriously. It was all about celebrating the small victories鈥攁nd when they started adding up, it gave me confidence to keep going.鈥�
Oscar cred
The team鈥檚 next victory came when van lifer Deb Hoak joined the production. Hoak鈥檚 participation was particularly exciting for Solari, since she appeared briefly in the Oscar-winning film Nomadland. Now, she was on his set.
鈥淚 was really impressed with Matt, particularly his work ethic and how he would routinely try to reach out to people,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a good example of somebody who persevered through that initial difficulty of finding somebody, and succeeded. It takes time and some amount of doggedness and perseverance in storytelling, and this group embodied that.鈥�
Solari and his team had help from both their peers and professors as they presented new iterations of their film. As a class, they brainstormed ways to film dynamic interviews in small spaces and helped them choose clips to streamline the story.
With one more year to complete his undergraduate degree, Solari is already working on his next big project鈥攁 film about environmental sustainability for his honors program. He鈥檚 spending the whole academic year following a local farmer to produce another film he鈥檚 proud of.
鈥淎s a filmmaker, you get fixated on a topic,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really excited to work on it, and getting recognition with the Emmy nomination gives me a lot of fuel for future projects.鈥�
It takes time and some amount of doggedness and perseverance in storytelling, and this group embodied that.鈥�
Ross Taylor
Scenes from the team鈥檚 work, including an interview with Deb Hoak and getting footage of her driving through Boulder.
Alec Kolodziejczyk answers a question on camera for the documentary crew. Kolodziejczyk was the first van lifer who agreed to be featured for the film.
Photos courtesy Matt Solari.