South African-born, Utah-based documentarian Jared Jakins, currently the film curator at Granary Arts Center in Ephraim, Utah, is interested in stories of cultural intersection, and documenting communities and identities emerging from that intersection. Scenes from the Glittering World, his feature documentary debut, is set in and around Navajo Mountain High School in the extremely remote part of the Navajo Nation Reservation. The school is considered one of the most remote high schools in the United States—possibly the most, outside of Alaska. Jakins was originally interested in documenting the earnest travails of the school’s fledgling robotics team but the film evolved from there as he got to know more stories and people, including the kids featured in the film who are caught between a desire for modern, technological life and the old ways. The title is a reference to Diné creation stories that reference the existence of four worlds before this one, the modern-day or glittering world.
Jakins focused the film on three students trying to find themselves and come of age, despite the isolation and their own unique difficult situations: Granite, a 14-year-old struggling to find purpose at school and at home after the death of his younger brother; Ilii, new to the school after moving from Las Vegas, who doesn’t know if her family and community will accept her if she openly embraces her queerness; and Noah, a senior who struggles to find academic motivation but has found freedom, power, and connection playing Fortnite.
The filmmaker talked to us about his time with the Diné community in Navajo Mountain, including why he basically had to move his family there during filming, and gives us an update on how the kids are doing today. Jakins tells us here that he wanted “to prove I wasn’t there to simply strip mine the community and leave.”
How did you first come across this community and what led you to want to make a film, to tell their story?
Like most people in the American West, I am a transplant. I arrived as a child from South Africa when my family immigrated to a small Mormon community in Utah. At an early age, I learned of the West’s mythic place in the wider fabric of the United States and found myself fascinated by its checkered history. At the same time, I felt culturally and emotionally displaced as an outsider in my new home.
Because of these formative experiences I have been drawn to documenting the stories of others who, for whatever reason, have been displaced culturally, economically, geographically, or even through settler-colonial oppression.
When I first learned of the Navajo Mountain Community, I immediately felt there was an opportunity to explore some of these themes. In engaging with our three main participants, I found that despite physical distance and the history of oppression that still reverberates throughout the region, there is a universality and familiarity in their coming-of-age in America. I was inspired by the ways the [kids] navigated aspirations and daily responsibilities, trauma and the weight of adulthood. I was inspired by the humor, closeness of the families, and their collective resilience.
Who do you hope is especially impacted by seeing Scenes From the Glittering World?
Diné youth generally, and our three participant-collaborators in particular. I hope they can be incredibly proud of the strength, wit, and courage they demonstrate in the film for other youth to experience. I hope audiences are moved by their survival, the love of their families, and the healing of their sacred lands.
Can you talk about the meaning of the title, and what a “glittering world” is in the Dine community?
Our title came from the Navajo Language and Culture teacher at Navajo Mountain High School, Leroy Bedoni. He encouraged me to sit in on his culture classes from time to time and would spend the occasional evening sitting outside his home teaching me about the Diné Bahane’, or as I understand it, the story of the Navajo People. He emphasized the importance of the creation story and its four worlds, each represented by a sacred color (Black, Blue, Yellow, White). He expressed that the Diné now live in the fourth world, also known as the Glittering World, or the modern world. Mr. Bedoni served as one of the film’s generous cultural advisors.
What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in making this film?
Distance—both geographic and cultural. Geographically speaking, the Navajo Mountain community is extremely remote. It straddles the Utah and Arizona border, nestled at the base of Navajo Mountain. It’s a hundred miles to the nearest city. It’s so remote that the San Juan School district built housing for teachers at the school. Since lodging at a hotel or Airbnb was simply unavailable, I was fortunate enough to be able to move my family into one of the unused teacher housing units while we did production.
This proximity to the school and students helped immensely to earn the trust with our subjects and their families. The familial element is crucial to the film and I needed to prove I wasn’t there to simply strip mine the community and leave. Navigating the challenges of respectfully encountering and documenting a culture that was unfamiliar required the dedicated and generous help of many cultural advisors. Roni Jo Draper, our producer and lead cultural advisor, nurtured a passion in the whole team to get the nuances right.
Could you talk more about how the film evolved from the way it began?
Interestingly, it was initially centered on a fledgling robotics program at Navajo Mountain High School. After filming the robotics season, it became apparent that the robotics angle simply wasn’t very compelling to our participants-collaborators themselves and their hearts weren’t really set on that being a lens into their stories. So, we shifted our focus away from the competition. This allowed us to spend more time exploring the film’s three protagonists and frame them in a more intimate, collaborative, and heartfelt way.
What led you to focus on the three kids in particular who star in your film?
It’s interesting, I often feel as though our three subject-collaborators chose me. It really all unfolded quite naturally. Noah was the first student to offer to give us a tour of the community and very quickly became a subject. Granite was so full of fun and liked to try and make everyone laugh. He’d crack jokes about the awkward camera guy trying to move about quietly. Ilii learned that I was from South Africa and interviewed me for a character she was creating in a comic book. Perhaps I sensed that they had something they wanted to share, or that they needed to share, and that with time they’d trust us with those aspects of their lives.
And could you talk more about how you got those kids, and their families, to open up and trust you to follow along?
The families I spent most of my time with were incredibly gracious and generous with their lives. Even still, it was a delicate process to introduce a camera into the warmth and vibrancy of their homes. Our most intimate scenes came toward the end of production after months of getting comfortable around the camera. I think all parties eventually reached a baseline of trust in each other and our collaborative process.
Did this make it easier to tell Ilii’s story about her identity with her family?
I was deeply moved and honored to have been invited to capture Ilii’s discussion with her grandmother. It was a nervy moment as we really didn’t know where the conversation would go. It was the first time Ilii had [broached] the conversation about identity with her grandmother, and had really wanted to avoid going into it head-on. She’d hoped to just do a little reconnaissance so to speak.
There was a palpable connection between the generations at that moment and it was incredible to hear the wisdom and love that Avis shared with her granddaughter. The whole thing resulted in an electric warmth that you simply don’t forget.
Do you have any updates on the kids featured in Scenes From the Glittering World that you can share?
Noah has started a woodcutting business with his brother and father. He still likes to game and has just finished building a high-end PC.
Ilii has moved to Vegas to be with her father due to COVID-19, but hopes to move back to Navajo Mountain soon. She is still working on her art and comic ideas. She is still attending Navajo Mountain High School virtually.
Granite has transferred to a high school in Tuba City, Arizona. He’s made both varsity football and basketball teams and is thriving in a larger student body. Unfortunately, since completing the film, Granite’s second younger brother, Dedric, has passed away.
What are your three favorite/most influential documentaries or feature films?
This is a terribly difficult question because I love so many documentaries, but for the sake of recognizing a few standouts in preparing for this film: Chris Smith’s American Movie, Thomas Balmès’ [Independent Lens film] Happiness, and Nicolas Philibert’s To Be and To Have.
What film/project(s) are you working on next?
I’m in post-production on an unnamed portrait of internationally renowned artist Amoako Boafo, as well as being a part of an exciting new project that will investigate rural life and traditions amongst English Cheesemakers navigating post-Brexit UK. My team is also always exploring stories from our rural communities and the wider American West.
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