Life > January 30, 2003

By Robyn Washington

Graphics Editor

We have all experienced it. That magical moment when, otherwise enthralled in the minutia of human existence, we see, or hear, or undergo something that resonates within us.

Suddenly the heavens open, the sky grows bright, hidden voices sing, and we have an epiphany, a revelation. Then, with our newfound awareness, we utter those oft-heard words, “This would make a great movie.” But before the words even pass our lips, the incantation becomes devoid of power, impotent and essentially forgotten. Rarely do these novel ideas ever materialize into actual films.

However, in the case of Matt Spangler, ’93, one of these experiential concepts was saved from imminent oblivion, and translated into a 40 minute documentary, “Out of Obscurity,” which will be screened on Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. in Carswell 111.

The film chronicles what is believed to be America’s first civil rights sit-in, which took place in 1939 at a library in Alexandria, Va.

Through interviews with eyewitnesses and civil rights scholars and a dramatic reenactment, the film relates an obscure but watershed chapter in American civil rights history.

Spangler happened upon the idea for this piece when he was walking in his neighborhood and he discovered a small African-American museum. The notion of a sit-in that happened years before the famous Greensboro sit-ins intrigued Spangler, and in 1998 he began doing research on the subject. In 1999, Spangler’s epiphany became a reality, when his first documentary film was completed.

In addition to “Out of Obscurity,” Spangler’s 2001 short, “One Man’s Home is a Castle,” will also be screened on the 5.

This 14-minute piece is essentially a character profile of an eccentric old man who literally builds a castle near Dulles Airport near Washington D.C., isolating himself in a brick and concrete refuge protected by an arsenal of guns.

This film was a Top 5 Winner in the 2002 Rosebud Film and Video Festival, a competition and festival promoting the independent film and video community in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia.

Spangler has always been passionate about film, although when he attended the university, the course offerings in this discipline were dismally meager in comparison to the recent maturation of the department of communication’s film studies program.

Even though he was an English major, Spangler took the two film courses offered by the department during his matriculation, and kept in touch the department over the years.

Thus, Feb. 5’s screening is being sponsored by the Department of Communication and is free and open to the public. Spangler will also be available for questions after showing the films.

Though passionate about film, Spangler is not a full-time filmmaker. Since 1994 he has been working in publishing as a writer, reporter and editor.

Additionally, he has in recent years become an avid still photographer.

Spangler combines his writing and photographic skills and interests to pursue the art of filmmaking on the side, at night and on weekends.

While optimistic about the possibility of parlaying his passion into a full-time occupation, Spangler humbly dismisses the need for fame and prestige, not “car(ing) if (he is) Ken Burns,” the legendary documentarian.

Instead he focuses on the short term, in which he will continue to make documentary films while dabbling in experimental pieces, and perhaps even comedy shorts.

In an indivisible amalgam of idealism and realism, Spangler admirably declares that he will continue “trying to earn a living, put some bread on the table, and follow (his) dreams on the side.”

Thus, while absorbed in the minutia of everyday life Matt Spangler is buying out the time and exerting the effort needed to let his epiphanies materialize, to let the magic live.