Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for November 22, 2006 THE END OF THE ROAD

From the Southern Illinoisan...

Filmmaker uses Carterville tragedy to show teenagers the danger of drunk driving

by andrea hahn, the southern

MARION - Oh, no, not another educational film urging teenagers not to drink and drive! Marion-based filmmaker Chip Rosetti promised his short film, "The End of the Road" is not the same old, same old. He promised to tackle the issue "the only way I know how - head on, the real story from the people who experienced it."

And he made good on the promise in a way that is likely to touch Southern Illinoisans especially. His focus story revolves around Carterville High School student Michelle Simmons, who was 16 when she died in a single-car wreck on Spillway Road, not even 10 minutes away from her home, on July 1, 2004.

Rosetti's extensive interviews with Michelle's parents, Michael and Brenda Simmons, and Michelle's friend, Leah Yeager, make the film a story with a message - not a sermon with a theme.

"How does this stuff happen?" Rosetti asks, and answers his own question - no one ever thinks tragedy will strike them. "This could never happen to me" is a constant theme throughout the film.

"Most of the time, I don't think any of us thought about it, who was going to drive us home," Yeager says on camera, referring to her attitude before Michelle's death. "We just wanted to have fun."

"There's that word again - fun," Rosetti says in the film. And then he launches into the very un-fun story of what happened that night when Patrice King, Michelle's close friend, failed to negotiate a curve on Spillway Road and careened into a tree.

The film rolls as Brenda Simmons talks about how Michelle pleaded to go with King to a party that night, how her mother gave in even though she wanted her daughter to spend some family time that weekend.

"That was the last time I saw her� They pulled away, and that was it," Brenda says on film. More than once, she breaks down as she talks about her daughter and all the memories they won't be able to share.

"I wanted to get the message out that if you're going to keep doing this there is a price to pay," she says. "I know Michelle thought it would never happen to her. She knew Patrice had been drinking and she got in the car anyway� Every time I close my eyes I see all the what-ifs."

"It's one of a parent's worst nightmares to get that call," Michael Simmons said. "To see her lying on that (hospital) bed, covered in a sheet, cold - she was always such a warm, bubbly kid."

Rosetti said he got what he wanted on the film - the raw emotions that, even two years after Michelle's death, have not gone away for those she left behind.

"We talked in depth about that night," he said. "It's as fresh to them two years later as it was when it happened. That's what I wanted to get across - that the pain never goes away."

Rosetti understands the use of film to persuade. His background is television commercials. He has made more than 200 of them and won Telly Awards and Videographer Awards and other awards doing it.

"The End of the Road" is his second educational documentary. The first is "No More Sunsets," the story of Shawn Bridges, a man dying from his addiction to methamphetamine.

"It's one of the few times you see a man on film who is really dying," Rosetti said, discussing the impact of his documentary on audiences. "I think, though, as big as meth is now, teenage drinking and driving is even more so."

Rosetti said the films are intended to be shown in classrooms. The running time of about 30 minutes is calculated to make the most of short attention spans and to give classes time to discuss the film immediately after seeing it.

Williamson County State's Attorney Charles Garnati, who prosecuted King for reckless homicide, said he was aware the film was being made and hopes it does have the positive impact on young drivers it is intended to have.

"Hopefully the film can be shown in as many schools around Southern Illinois as possible," Garnati said. "I think it should be noticed it was a courageous act for the family to want to do this type of film," he said. "I'm sure it brought up some very painful memories. They may be able to save some other teenager's life by doing this."

More information about Rosetti's films is available at his Web site, rosettiproductions.com. Besides the educational films, Rosetti has produced a history of baseball in Southern Illinois and is already working with the Southern Illinois Miners to document the formation of the new league.