For lovers of old architecture, few buildings anywhere offer more wonder than Flint Central. That is what initially captured the attention of filmmaker Lance Johnson, who grew up in and around Flint, but it also spurred an idea that would eventually become his first documentary.
“I just love history and architecture,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of older buildings in Flint that have been torn down, but Central still always remained (even after the school closed). For a long time, it was considered like the crown jewel of Flint Community Schools.”
Johnson began researching Central as a documentary subject around 2019 when he was a student at Mott Community College, and then began pre-production around 2020. Initially, he planned to do it as a short film. But he quickly learned that the history of Central and what it meant to those who attended there and the Flint community as a whole, is a massive amount of information to work with. That, combined with a realization that there was a lot of community interest in the project, led him to switch gears.
“When I saw that a lot of people were interested in it and I was getting a lot of attention, I decided I wanted to move forward with a bigger film, like a feature documentary,” he said. “Documenting the historical importance of it, because I think that’s what needs to be remembered.”
What resulted is an hour-long film that features interviews with nearly two dozen Central alumni, teachers, historians, coaches, and community members who discuss the spirit of a school that, at its height, served as a national model for how to offer students a world class education in the arts, technical subjects, sports and extracurricular activities, and how to become informed, productive, and talented community members.
Initially released in 2024, Remembering Flint Central is, beginning at 7 p.m. on January 16, now available to watch online on Vimeo.
“I learned so much in the interviews and the pride, that’s what really got me,” Johnson said. “I was doing this more as like a historical documentary, I wanted to document the facts and tell the story of what happened to the building and the school. But then when I sat down with alumni, it really opened my eyes that this isn’t just an old school for them. This was a huge part of their lives.”
The interviews also helped Johnson realize that one film is nowhere near enough to tell Central’s story in its entirety. He said there were things he was only able to scratch the surface of in the film, but he now has future projects in mind to dive deeper into specific aspects of the school’s history that he learned about.
Johnson said that storytelling, making videos, and photography have always been hobbies of his.
“I love the whole idea of just bringing a community together with the stuff that I create,” he said.
Now that the film will be available online, a larger audience will be able to watch it. He’d previously sold DVDs, but Johnson is excited to see what the reception will be as more people watch.
“I’m excited,” Johnson said. “I want more people to reach out and share their opinions and what they think. I updated it a little bit too at the end with a small Easter egg that kind of foreshadows my next film about Flint Central and Flint Community Schools and Flint history as a whole.”
In addition to building his skills as a filmmaker, the project has also allowed him to focus on the type of future projects he wants to take on. He is currently in the process of renaming his website and film production company to ‘Vehicle City Films,’ and has ideas about future concepts for films, including a deeper look at some of the school’s impressive sports history and potentially tying in the history with recently announced news that Flint Community Schools plans to build a new high school on Central’s campus while incorporating some of the original structure. Johnson regularly updates a Facebook page with information about this film and other projects.
Whatever direction those future projects end up taking, they will have one common theme: a desire to showcase great things about Flint.
“I want to do exclusively Flint content,” Johnson said. “I think that’s important to try to change people’s perspective of Flint and I think a good way to do that is reminding people of the history of the city and just the importance of it. There’s a really nice, tight knit community and great people here and that’s what I want to show the world.”
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