By Kira Shannon
UC Santa Barbara film lecturer Wendy Jackson, who co-produced the new documentary short Facing the Falls, wishes to tell a story of resilience and resistance through the film’s main character, who embarked on a wilderness trip while battling a debilitating disease.
“Resistance from the people who don’t buy into your story and your dream,” Jackson said. “And resilience even when those people don’t buy or want to support your dream.”
Facing the Falls was released last December, and has since been screened multiple times in UCSB’s Campbell Hall for students, staff, and community members. The film follows Cara Yar Khan who embarks on a 12-day journey in the Grand Canyon despite having Hereditary Inclusion Body Myopathy, or HIBM. The rare disease prevents Yar Khan from being able to walk on her own, leading her to cross through the canyon on horseback and kayak.
In the documentary that UCSB lecturer Wendy Jackson recently co-produced, “Facing the Falls,” Kara Yar Khan rode on horseback down the Grand Canyon in spite of her disability.
Jackson was introduced to Yar Khan by a friend, and after hearing Yar Khan’s story, brought her mentor Sam Pollard to meet Yar Khan. “I was completely enamored with her story,” Jackson said. So, she signed on to be a producer and Pollard signed on to be an executive producer.
From a dangerous slip while on horseback to almost losing a member of her team in the water, Kahn’s life-threatening trip was nothing short of eventful. Her struggles, however, speak to the resilience of the human spirit that any viewer can relate to that Jackson and her team want to project. “She has gained so much empathy and compassion in making the world understand what accessibility should mean for everyone,” Jackson said.
The filmmakers chose to release the film on International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The film has subtitles built in, and is available for free on YouTube, furthering the message of accessibility.
Jackson, who has taught screenwriting and film production at UCSB for six years now, lives a double life as both a film producer and a teacher. She had intended for her stay at UCSB to last two quarters, but took a liking to supporting student career dreams. She brings 33 years of experience in the film industry into the classroom, advising generations of aspiring filmmakers.
“If you want to learn, I want to teach,” she said. One of her students, Wells Hodder, says students value how Jackson incorporates her real-world experience into her teaching style. “Wendy is a fantastic teacher because she fosters a fun classroom environment in which you can take control of how much you get out of the class,” he said. “She gives you all of the tools you need to succeed.”
“I’m here to launch careers,” said Wendy Jackson, a UCSB lecturer and film producer.
The new documentary was originally intended to be a feature length film, but was eventually made into a short in an effort to tell the story before it became a thing of the past. “Time is of the essence when you have that type of special ability,” Jackson said of Yar Khan’s remarkable feat in 2018.
The film, at half an hour long, still took nearly 10 years to complete, with hundreds of hours of footage to sift through and craft into the final product. Jackson believes that her background in narrative filmmaking allowed her to create a documentary that was based on fact, but driven by emotion and a powerful story.
“Documentaries require critical thinking with a mixed element of entertainment,” she said. “Because I come out of narrative, I understand where alignment needs to happen.”
Jackson’s professional life outside of the classroom involves reading scripts and packaging talent for new projects. Despite her duties as a lecturer, she continues to create and produce, which demands she reads 20 - 30 scripts each week. Amid constant engagement both in the industry and with her students, Jackson says that she is content with her workflow. “My needs are aligning with my wants,” she said.
Jackson said she premiered her work on campus because she’s here for her students, not the other way around. “It’s nice to be able to share my work, but I’m a work in progress and I’m here to launch careers,” she said. Jackson’s priority is to inspire her students, providing them support when they are struggling, and creating honest communication.
In the future, Jackson plans to launch a documentary film focusing on voting and reproductive rights in America, along with a separate narrative film centered on baseball. Reflecting on her journey, she emphasized the importance of perseverance. “Remember,” she said, “every disappointment is a redirection to your appointment.”
Kira Shannon is a second-year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Film & Media Studies. She is a Web and Social Media Intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.