Despite the region's anti-Black past (and present), there is rich Black history being preserved amid the Columbia River Gorge and the Wallowa Mountains.
In 2016, after decades of the building falling into disrepair, the Oregon Community Foundation accepted temporary ownership of the one-story structure, at the request of the state of Oregon. Now, OCF is in the process of figuring out how to gift the building back to a Black-led non-profit that is willing to center arts, healing and intergenerational community-building within the space, in perpetuity.
Shambry described how the working atmosphere lacked the explosive controversy or ego clashes that can characterize the Hollywood filming process. But there is no shortage of credentials in the production of Shambry’s autobiographical Outdoor School: Etuk was working as an assistant director on a Wieden+Kennedy Superbowl ad Shambry appeared in, an interaction that launched their partnership. Etuke, a graduate of the Directors Guild of America training program, brought along industry professionals to work alongside paid interns; he also partnered with Emmy-nominated producer Ifanyi Bell – who is also the producer of Outdoor School – to nurture the feature-length project in Open Signal Labs Black Filmmaker Fellowship.
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