The Northeast Texas Community College Honors Program will host a premiere of its ninth feature-length student film on Friday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Community Room (Humanities 129). This year’s film, PILGRIMage, a Story aBOut Northeast Texas, examines the story of Bo Pilgrim, the controversial founder of Pilgrim’s Pride. Was he a philanthropist who created jobs and boosted the economy of Northeast Texas? Or did he work at a national level to restrict the rights of his workers and contribute to environmental problems in the region? Honors Northeast students, after extensive research, utilize this feature length film as an opportunity to explore the various facets of Pilgrim’s life and his legendary impact. The event is free and open to the public.
To abide with CDC regulations, all seating will be socially distanced. The audience will begin to assemble in Humanities 129 on the north end of campus near the center plaza, and will then will be sheparded to other rooms, starting with Math Science 132, as the need arises. Patrons are asked to wear masks when entering and exiting all NTCC buildings. Free individualized snacks will be provided afterward, in the community room, H101 as in other years, but there will be no indoor meeting following the film. Weather permitting, there may be a brief outdoor encounter where members of the audience can meet the cast, and film leaders who made the production possible.
The script is based on an original interpretation of the Pilgrim story pursued by the scholars of Honors Northeast, and the local Webb Society, a collegiate auxiliary of the Texas State Historical Association. The testimony of several former Pilgrim executives, and workers, as well as community leaders helped to shape the final script. The feature-length film was further enabled by the patrons of Honors Northeast, such as Jerald and Mary Lou Mowery of Mount Vernon, and administrative help at NTCC.
A 2020 graduate of Paul Pewitt High School, and current Cypress Bank Scholar at NTCC, Cade Bennett, stars as Bo Pilgrim. Known for his versatility and affability in high school as an athlete, a One Act Play participant, and member of the National Honors Society, Bennett has been an active member of Honors Northeast, and Phi Theta Kappa. He already has presented his perspective on Pilgrim at the fall meeting of the state Webb Society. Brian Ramirez, a freshman from Mount Pleasant, and also an NTCC Honors Scholar, served as both the producer, and the unit production director of the film. Presidential Scholar, Jalyn English, the producer of NTCC’s Caldwell-Award winning film on Adina De Zavala, is the film’s director.
Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox, notes: “this year’s Pilgrim film, born in the midst of our COVID summer of 2020, owes much to different groups of supporters, coming though at key moments. A particularly memorable turning point came last July when a Snapchat community led by Brian Ramirez spearheaded the idea that a more-or-less traditional film could be produced. We did have to work with some restrictions, but the enthusiasm of students, patrons, and administrators carried us safely through a difficult period.”
The cast includes: Honors Scholar Maxime Risner, from Winnsboro, as wife, Patty Pilgrim; Andrea Reyes, PTK/Honors Coordinator as both Pilgrims’s grandmother, Ada, and mother, Gertrude. Alpha Mu Chi President, and Honors Scholar, Carolina Alcocer-Salas, appears as Carol Countryman, a recurrent anti-Pilgrim reporter. Presidential Scholar, Dorali Hernandez appears in a variety of roles, most notably as “Daisy” a girlfriend of Pilgrim’s competitor. Presidential Scholar John Rodriguez appears in multiple roles, most notably as Pilgrim executive, Clinton Rivers. NTCC student, Martin Mendoza appears as Pilgrim executive, Cliff Butler. Mount Pleasant High School student, Abril Ramirez appears as a worker at the Pilgrim plant. The production was rescued from a last-minute actor-deficit by the Reyes family. Julio Reyes from Hughes Springs plays the role of Pat Johns who first partnered with the Pilgrim brothers, and Joel Reyes, as brother, Aubrey Pilgrim. Honors Director, Dr. Andrew Yox assumes the role of Pilgrim’s competitor, Don Tyson. Aaliyah Avellaneda, Hilda Rodriguez, and Israel Perez appear at the end of the production as film scholars.
Carolina Alcocer-Salas, Dorali Hernandez, Brian Ramirez, and Maxime Risner managed to cover the cinematography, as each also had other important roles.
Past films in this series have included the stories of Adina De Zavala, Barbara Conrad, Mary Kay, Sam Houston, and the Texas Cherokee, Ma and Pa Ferguson, Harriet Potter Ames, Wright Patman, and Morris Sheppard. All the films of the series can be viewed on http://www.ntcc.edu/honorsfilms.
For the second time in as many years, the NTCC film will also feature an original film score. Kenny Goodson, a local composer as well as a former tech and band director, coordinated with the students, particularly Brian Ramirez to provide accompanying music that evokes period styles.
The filming occurred over a five-day period in August and included sites at NTCC, the Franklin County Historical Association buildings, and several bed-and-breakfast establishments in Jefferson, Texas.
