IU alumnus debuts documentary

When Haiti was hit with the earthquake in January, lives were lost, people were missing and many survivors were homeless.

Jace Freeman, an IU alumnus, highlights one of these communities attempting to rebuild their lives in his documentary, “When the Ground Stopped Shaking.”

Freeman directed, photographed and edited the documentary, which will premiere in the annual Indianapolis Heartland Film Festival this month.

Freeman graduated from IU in 2006 with a degree in telecommunications. While at IU, he studied abroad in New Zealand. After graduating, he traveled through Europe, Cuba, Australia, Fiji and Haiti.

“I started developing a love for photography during my travels,” Freeman said.

That love of photography developed into a passion for documentary filmmaking. He said he especially enjoys focusing on films about marginalized people who lack basic resources.

“I hope my films can give those people a voice and connect them to an audience that can help,” Freeman said.

“When the Ground Stopped Shaking,” Freeman’s first documentary accepted into a film festival, is about a Haitian community trying to rebuild their lives after the earthquake in January.

The documentary focuses on an internally displaced person camp in Grand Goâve on Lifeline Christian Mission’s campus, a small community built out of makeshift tents west of Port-au-Prince.

Freeman followed volunteers, U.S. Marines and survivors of the earthquake for a first-hand perspective on the relief operations a few weeks after the earthquake.

Freeman said he hopes his documentary will increase awareness on the living situation and homelessness that is still rampant in Haiti months after the earthquake.

“I want to express a need that is still very real,” Freeman said.

Sabrina Smiley, a childhood friend of Freeman’s, helped financially support “When the Ground Stopped Shaking.”

Smiley and her husband, Ryan, decided to support the documentary because they strongly believed in Freeman’s vision for the film. She said she believes Freeman’s ability to befriend others allowed him to capture the real story.

“When people meet him, whether he has a camera in his hand or not, he makes them feel completely comfortable,” Smiley said.

Sean Clark, a Columbia College alumnus, worked as a co-producer in Freeman’s latest project, a documentary about a refugee camp in Haiti titled “The Country Club.”

Clark met Freeman through a mutual friend about a year ago. When Freeman mentioned he wanted to go to Haiti and needed someone to help with sound work, Clark put in his two weeks notice at work and started booking flights.

Clark said he admires Freeman’s ability to follow the story even when things get difficult.

“There seems to be a rawness and intimacy to his work. He actually wants to give an honest portrayal of whatever subject he is depicting,” Clark said.