21 minutes | 2022

Coloradans have unique perspectives shaped by the wide variety of landscapes, political affiliations, and upbringings that make our state a great place to live and work. In honor of Constitution Day, the Colorado Department of Law released a short documentary which tells an inspiring story of how Coloradans, meaningfully engaging in conversation with each other, honor the legacy of our Constitution. This documentary was created by Jackson House Films in partnership with Unify America and is part of Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser’s Ginsburg/Scalia Initiative, which develops and celebrates the norm of respectful dialogue, listening, learning from different points of view and collaborative problem-solving.

Filmmaker Notes: Rob and Chelsea directed and filmed much of this short documentary in the Southeast Colorado town of Lamar, the Colorado Front Range communities of Lafayette and Greenwood Village and in downtown Denver. For additional b-roll, scenic Colorado footage and aerial cinematography, we filmed at various spots high in the Rocky Mountains, among the Flatirons of Boulder, around Weld County, and throughout Denver. We also got footage from Longmont to as far away as Camp Amache, the World War II era Japanese internment camp in rural Colorado’s Prowers County, which was a very solemn and humbling place to visit and document. Principal photography included cinema vérité, aerial cinematography and b-roll, as well as mostly minimalist interview setups utilizing natural sunlight and the occasional additional LED light source. The Zoom-style calls between Wendy and Suzanne, and then Marcus and Ryan, were led via a written questionnaire and prompts and recorded by Unify America. Special thanks to Wendy Buxton-Andrade, Marcus Weaver, Ryan Saunders and Suzanne Spiegel for having the courage and making time to appear on camera with us while engaging in sensitive political conversations around varying viewpoints in a commendable manner. Chelsea’s official roles were Director and Editor while Rob’s were Co-Producer and Director of Photography, with some overlap as usual, in what was a fun partnership between the project’s intelligent and articulate on-camera participants, the Unify America team including Tom Haley and Michelle Sobel, the office of the Colorado Attorney General and our small production team.