Youth in Focus: Efrain Torres

Tools for Educators

Youth in Focus: Efrain Torres

Efrain Torres is a 17-year-old self-titled "proud Puerto Rican" currently living in East New York. This past spring he graduated from City-As-School High School - Brooklyn and begins college this fall. As a participant in EVC’s Basic and Advanced Youth Documentary Workshops this past year, Efrain collaboratively produced two documentaries: Another Part of Me, a youth perspective on the aftermath of drugs and incarceration in communities and As the Sun Comes Up, the Bricks Fall Down about gentrification in two New York City neighborhoods, including one in Brooklyn where Efrain spent his childhood.
Why did you first decide to come to EVC’s Youth Documentary Workshop? What interested you in making video documentaries?
I liked the idea of working with media professional equipment. Because that is what I want to do in my career. Media and audio production.
I also liked the idea of spreading a message to audiences other than the people that I know. Issues that matter to us in our community, that affect people immediately.
What was your most memorable moment from your experience at EVC?
My interview with Katrena in the first documentary I worked on about drugs and incarceration ("Another Part of Me"). Because you can feel her emotions and her pain. And we had only just met. After only about five minutes, she was very open and outgoing about her incarceration. There was so much passion on her part.
My most memorable moment in the Advanced Workshop documentary on gentrification ("When the Sun Comes Up, the Bricks Come Down") was giving a tour of my old Brooklyn neighborhood in Carroll Gardens, going into my old apartment building, and seeing my parents’ name was still on the bell and mailbox.
What things did you learn from making your documentary on gentrification?
I learned there are many different sides to the problem. Gentrification can be a benefit to some people, but it depends on your position. If you are in my position, it was bad for my family—bad for my entire family. We moved to East New York and my mom’s sisters couldn’t afford to live anywhere over here in NYC. So they moved out of the state to North Carolina.
What was most challenging part of the process for you?
Learning how to collaborate with people. We were all at different levels. Some of us knew more than others about things. At first, we were too proud to ask for help. Then things would come to a standstill. We got past that, because we had to collaborate. We had to work together. Because we had a deadline. We solved it by teaching each other.
What was it like for you to be both a producer and a subject of the story?
It was a little challenging because I was not allowed to edit the section that was about my family’s story. I had to put faith in my co-workers. But it was really fun. I liked the way they told my story, and portrayed my family. It was a dramatic transition between my old and new neighborhoods. I liked how they showed that.
What did your mother think?
My mom – it opened her eyes. She told me she was crying because we had been living in Carroll Gardens forever. She didn’t realize that gentrification was happening the whole time. It educated her a lot. She didn’t know what gentrification was. She thought it was good for everybody because it lowers the crime rates. After the documentary she saw how I perceived it.
What are your future plans?
In September, I’m going to LaGuardia College to study music recording technology. I want to own my own company. I’m going to be an independent recording producer of poetry, raps, and songs. I want to have a poetry club. I think I’ll also continue to make more documentaries.
What advice do you have for other youth wanting to make a change in their neighborhoods?
I would have to say for anybody who wants to make a change in his or her community: Don’t give up. Don’t lose hope. Speak your mind. Tell others about it. There is power in numbers. Do what it takes to get your voice heard.

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Youth in Focus: Efrain Torres