Gordon Parks Academy students have a 'trajectory-changing' experience in the documentary 'I Needed Paris'
'I Needed Paris' is a moving witness to one generation of Black Wichitans' investment in the next. It screens at the Tallgrass Film Festival on October 24.
The 2024 documentary "I Needed Paris" follows a group of nine Gordon Parks Academy photojournalism students on their pilgrimage to retrace Gordon Parks' steps in the City of Light. Following the middle-schoolers' itinerary in dramatic black-and-white cinematography, the film opens with this quote from the Academy's principal, LaTonia Kennedy: "We are literally breaking generational curses with this project…inspiring students to possibly be the change agent in their family like Gordon was for his family."
The flight to Paris was all of the students' first time on a plane, and as Kennedy notes, many of them are the first people in their families to hold a passport. The smallest aspects of international travel can be "trajectory changing," Kennedy says, citing the students' amazement at seeing French-speaking Black people. It's impossible to overstate the impact that Paris had on Parks, on his generation of famous Black expats, and on subsequent generations of Black Americans. Writer Jake Lamar, in his interview for the film, puts it this way: "I came to Paris for one year, and that was 32 years ago."
"I Needed Paris," which was directed by Michael Cheers, beautifully balances the Kansan and the Parisian — as did Parks' own life. We meet Kim Gordon, the Outreach Director for the American Cathedral in Paris, as well as Kansas State Representative KC Ohaebosim, both of whom attest to Parks' influence on their own lives. Joan Minor, Wichita State's first black cheerleader, and a renowned jazz artist, makes an appearance, as does Sharon Cranford, immediate past president of Wichita's ARISE Ensemble.
One of the film's highlights is a starkly composed montage of ARISE performing "Wade in the Water" at the American Cathedral, supercut with video of the students aiming their cameras at Paris' scaffolding, pigeons, and metro buskers. The students themselves are primarily shown participating in discussions with mentors, filmmakers, and collaborators. But when asked what they think of Paris, the students remark on the city's sheer novelty and relish the opportunity to photograph it.
Though the film features archival footage of Parks — including its poignant closing sequence of Parks reading his poem "Parting" — it generally focuses on the living mentors who interact with the students and on the impetus behind the project: the belief that exposure to travel can change lives. "I Needed Paris" is a moving witness to one generation of Black Wichitans' investment in the next and a documentary of local importance.
The Details
"I Needed Paris" Tallgrass Film Festival Screening
11 a.m. in the Mary Jane Teall Theater at Century II, 225 W. Douglas Ave. in Wichita
$7
Learn more: Read or listen to Carla Eckels' story about the documentary for KMUW, and find more information about "I Needed Paris" on the Tallgrass website.
Learn more about and buy festival passes and multi-ticket packs.
Jeromiah Taylor is a writer from Wichita, Kansas. He is an editorial assistant at the National Catholic Reporter and an alumnus of Gordon Parks Academy.
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