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Samuel R Smartt

Associate Professor

Education

  • BA in History - Wake Forest University, 2009
  • MFA in Documentary Filmmaking - Documentary Film Program in Wake Forest University, 2013

Research

Research Interests: Nonfiction filmmaking, entrepreneurship in the creative arts, social justice documentary and the Christian worldview, cross-platform visual storytelling techniques, holistic pedagogy in media production.

Performances or exhibitions

  • (Co-Director, Co-Producer) "Wagonmasters."

The car that was once the quintessential image of the American Dream is all but dead – at least for most people.

Station wagons were America’s "workhorses on wheels." Today, they conjure images of outdated family photos, beehive hairdos and unfashionable wooden siding. As of 2012, Volvo – the leading premium wagon least for most people.manufacturer – no longer sells a station wagon model in the United States.

There are some, however, who still cling to these vehicles and what they stand for in American culture. Wagonmasters, a 38-minute documentary film, offers glimpses into the lives of such wagon enthusiasts, and tells the story of the station wagon as it represents a changing America over the last one hundred years.

At its heart, Wagonmasters is a film about reconnecting with America's past as one of its most memorable chapters comes to a close.

links: NY Times Article, CBS This Morning Interview, Wagonmasters (trailer)