It started as an idea to produce a video for a class reunion, but ended up as a documentary chronicling the struggles and triumphs of a generation.
Once Niskayuna Class of 1962 graduate Bob Van Degna heard his classmates were about to mark their 50th reunion, he wanted to do something special. Also, he didn’t feel “that old.”
“I wanted to do something a little different and I thought it would be a good way to reconnect with my classmates,” Van Degna, now an Arizona resident, said. “For me, high school was a good experience.”
What he did ended up being very different. He expanded on the original idea of a video featuring a few classmates telling then-and-now stories to a 90-minute documentary featuring 25 intimate classmate portraits.
“There are a lot of stories that you are going to hear that are going to stick with you, but I think it is how people overcome problems,” Van Degna said. “There are just lots of different stories and they are all very interesting.”
One class member has conquered cancer four times and another has climbed some of the world’s tallest mountains. One works as the CEO for a group of 80 lawyers providing legal aid to destitute residents in Chicago’s inner city. The film also focuses on the only classmate who died in Vietnam, Robert Cragin Jr. Many of the former classmates are spread across the country.
The film, “Turning Pages,” is premiering on Saturday, Sept. 29, at 2 p.m., on the big screen at the Mainstage at Proctors. The screening is open to the public and admission is free. After the film, there will be time to meet the filmmakers for questions, discussion and to provide feedback.
Van Degna’s vision guided the project, but three other classmates helped him create the film. He used his photography skills alongside artist Anna VA Polesny, journalist Don Wilcock and human resources consultant Randy Johnson.
Crewmembers traveled from California to Massachusetts, down to Florida and up to Oregon. Wilcock, a contributing music writer to The Saratogian and Troy Record, said the team visited six states and 23 different locations.
“I won’t say I was totally blindsided by it, but I was surprised in that we ended up spending probably 10 times the amount of time I figured I would spend,” Wilcock said. “It was probably the most exciting project I have ever done, and I have done some pretty exciting projects.”
As a music reporter, he has hung out at The Royal Albert Hall in London with Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones, but he thinks his class documentary was still the best experience.
“It changed my whole idea about what others in my generation are doing, have done and continue to do,” Wilcock said. “I’m looking forward to changing the perceptions drastically of most of the people I think are going to attend.”
Polesny said every young man was affected or worried about serving in the Vietnam War. She said the search to help share Cragin’s story is an important aspect of the film.
Wilcock, a Vietnam veteran, ended up interviewing John Iannucci, who served alongside Cragin in his final battle at the Tet Offensive in the Mekong Delta. Around 130 men were airlifted into a rice patty and a 36-hour firefight followed, Wilcock said. Only 26 walked away from the battlefield.
“It changed me to do this and to recognize that we as a society have not learned our lesson,” Wilcock said. The film is dedicated to veterans of the Vietnam War.
Other important issues are also touched on in the documentary, such as the feminist movement and views on homosexuality, alongside the tragic experience of losing a child.
“We are trying to advance some of the complex issues of the last 50 years,” Polesny said.
Polesny said the film also served as an opportunity to get to know some of her classmates more than she ever did in school. She only spent the last two years of high school in Niskayuna after moving to the area.
“For me, it was an opportunity to get to know mythological figures in high school,” she said.
