Grace Ann Courtney

Senior Noah Lee’s debut documentary, “Humans of MSMS,” offers a powerful cinematic experience and showcases what makes MSMS special.

Senior Noah Lee’s debut documentary, “Humans of MSMS,” offers a powerful cinematic experience to everyone who watches it. Through student perspectives, the film captures the special essence of MSMS and provides viewers with a deeper understanding of what sets the school apart from others in Mississippi.

Divided into five acts, the documentary begins during the first week at MSMS, shedding light on the school’s unique community from the very beginning.

From start to finish, the cinematography in the film is amazing. Capturing the beauty of the campus, the stunning shots highlight every interesting and notable corner of MSMS. From a classroom busy performing experiments to relaxed footage of rain pouring outside the library, these various settings give a unique atmosphere to the diverse array of students featured in the documentary. 

Interviews help paint a picture of a student’s journey at MSMS by asking questions about the school’s four primary ideals: community, creativity, service and scholarship. It presents the first week at MSMS as both a tense and beautiful time. The interviews range from new juniors venturing away from their families and homes to form fresh friendships to seniors reuniting with old friends and teachers.

Interwoven with these poignant moments of connection are moments of lighthearted comedy. At one point, junior Lucas Griffith said in his interview he was not looking to find love at MSMS. Instead, Griffith said, he planned to focus on his studies and would have no time for romance. Moments like this were hilarious and plentiful, and they resonated with the audience. 

The documentary didn’t just please the crowd due to its humor. Senior Victoria West and junior Dorothy Gray said they appreciated it because of other factors as well. 

“I thought it really did represent our school,” West said. “It had a good mixture of students and people who have different interests.” 

“It really shows how MSMS is and how people that live on MSMS campus really are,” Gray added.

Before premiering the film, Lee said he was nervous about the audience’s response and worried the purpose of the documentary wouldn’t come across.

“I wasn’t exactly sure how people were going to react to it [and] if they would focus more on what I was attempting to do. At a certain point, you have to show other people your art, or else the entire thing is worthless,” Lee said. “[The film is] something I wanted for people at MSMS to be able to look at and for it to really strengthen what we have here already. If you’ve seen the film, hopefully one of the things you came away with is just how strong our community is.”

MSMS English teacher and film sponsor Thomas Easterling said the documentary was helpful for him to understand the appeal of MSMS through the eyes of its students.

“I wanted to learn more about the school from a student’s perspective; in particular, ‘Why do y’all come here?’” Easterling said. 

MSMS alumnus and English teacher Thomas Richardson said he felt the film did a good job showing the community side of MSMS.

“You’re bringing together all these different kids from these different places, and somehow we just make a new community every single year,” Richardson said.

The film’s fifth and final act ends with a voiceover from Richardson. In this segment, the music becomes calmer and softer. The nighttime footage takes over and beautifully ties the whole documentary together with Richardson’s heartfelt speech on how MSMS changes people. 

“Humans of MSMS” addresses the question of who the students at MSMS are, highlighting the heartfelt bonds they cultivate during their time at the school. In doing so, it sheds light on the rich community MSMS has cultivated over the years.