{"id":2920,"date":"2020-10-12T13:24:57","date_gmt":"2020-10-12T13:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/?page_id=2920"},"modified":"2020-10-12T14:07:18","modified_gmt":"2020-10-12T14:07:18","slug":"helenbartlett81","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/virtuallongwalk\/bantamcheckins\/helenbartlett81\/","title":{"rendered":"Bantam Check-In with Helen Bartlett ’81"},"content":{"rendered":"

It isn\u2019t surprising that Bartlett is making her way through this difficult time with grace\u2014she’s innovated since her time at Trinity, where she designed her own major. She crafted her study<\/span> in<\/span> poetry<\/span>\/<\/span> creative writing and <\/span>dance. Bartlett had to make a case for her course of <\/span>study, and<\/span> worked with her advisors Judy <\/span>Dworin<\/span> \u201970 and Hugh Ogden to present her proposal to the curriculum committee.\u00a0 Her early practice advocating for ideas she believed in would be useful for her later career in the film industry. \u201cWhether in dance or in creative writing<\/span>,<\/span> you<\/span> try<\/span> to communicate and express yourself in an unusual,<\/span> true<\/span> way and with clarity. It\u2019s all about ideas and storytelling, it\u2019s about having a sense of wanting to build something, and it comes across through communicating <\/span>effectively and with passion<\/span>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These communication skills became vital as Bartlett progressed in her career. Through her company Barnstorm Films, Bartlett has produced eight feature films, and more television shows. \u201cWe make movies about real stories <\/span>with<\/span> real characters. The <\/span>stories <\/span>have to be moving,\u201d she said.\u00a0 It\u2019s important to her to <\/span>hear<\/span> the voices of others that may not be heard\u2014 <\/span>voices like a female<\/span> coal miner <\/span>who along with other female workers<\/span> brought a groundbreaking<\/span> class action<\/span> sexual harassment suit in the film <\/span>North Country<\/span><\/i>. Or, the <\/span>movie she produced,<\/span> In <\/span><\/i>The<\/span><\/i> Time <\/span><\/i>Of<\/span><\/i> The<\/span><\/i> Butterflies,<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 <\/span>about<\/span> the Mirabal<\/span> sisters who worked against a dictatorial regime in the Dominican Republic. Bartlett is encouraged by what seems to be an increased interest in telling stories like <\/span>North Country, <\/span><\/i>particularly in the post \u201cMe Too\u201d era. <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>It resonates: What <\/span>does<\/span><\/i> it feel like to be a female in all male world, trying to make your way?\u201d she said.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For her own part, the questions she has always asked herself about her work– how to include more female roles, more people of color, <\/span>how to support and hire more female directors,<\/span> are all issues that are top of her mind <\/span>along with<\/span> her colleagues. \u201cI feel empowered to fight for a story that has <\/span>an original<\/span> voice.<\/span> The battle to get that story told<\/span> comes from being confident in having a <\/span>really great<\/span> education. Trinity supported <\/span>me in<\/span> that. I learned that <\/span>my thoughts were<\/span> valuable,” Bartlett said. For the Trinity students that have yet to begin their careers, she offer<\/span>ed<\/span> this thought: \u201cFollow your heart, be<\/span> clear and be true to what you want to do\u2014don’t get caught up in being commercial<\/span>.\u201d She knows from experience: \u201cThe least commercial idea <\/span>often<\/span> becomes a hit movie or critical success.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI remember we were trying to sell a movie<\/span> set in the<\/span> bluegrass<\/span> world<\/span>,\u201d Bartlett recalls, \u201cAnd the film company said no,<\/span> Bluegrass<\/span> was not commercial<\/span>.\u201d Bartlett, not to be discouraged, thought of how to bring the <\/span>music<\/span> to life. \u201cWe set <\/span>a another<\/span> meeting with the <\/span>head of the studio <\/span>to talk about the movie. <\/span>We did not show. Instead we sent two of the finest bluegrass fiddlers in the country.<\/span> The unexpected performance worked in selling the pitch. The unconventional<\/span> approach<\/span> Bartlett<\/span> credits to the skills she gained in her college years\u2014 \u201cBe creative. Trinity gave me that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the moment, Bartlett is trying to enjoy the things that have been the silver lining for a difficult time. She remains connected to Connecticut through her involvement in a community of farmers and her own small farm in Litchfield county. At home in California, though she has had some of the wildfire smoke drift her way, she and her family remain safe.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“I find inspiration reading poetry,\u201d Bartlett says. She has also been writing her own. \u201cI sent a poem<\/span> of some our greatest poets<\/span> out every day to about 60 women, and a few <\/span>men, that<\/span> expressed<\/span> fears and hope<\/span>. <\/span>These<\/span> poems supported me and my sense that things will be right again.\u201d She has also been continuing her work with her favorite nonprofits, including one that supports <\/span>farmers <\/span>in Litchfield County, where her family resides as often as possible.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Above all, Bartlett finds it important to stay grounded\u2014literally. \u201c<\/span>Get<\/span> your hands dirty,\u201d she said. She has <\/span>f<\/span>ound<\/span> solace working in her garden, <\/span>printing on her<\/span> 1890 printing press, and feeding her chickens in <\/span>her<\/span> Venice, C<\/span>A<\/span> home.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In many ways, Bartlett has found even living in a city, <\/span>that <\/span>\u201cNature has <\/span>a way of coming<\/span> back\u2014<\/span>during these Covid days when traffic stopped, hawks were flying over, geese were on the golf course next door, opossums were in the garden at night.<\/span> Nature<\/span> is<\/span> a lot stronger than I knew. That has given me <\/span>hope<\/span>.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0She offer<\/span>ed<\/span>,<\/span> “<\/span>There\u2019s one more thing my husband and daughters and <\/span>I do<\/span> in this house during these dark times.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s something that\u2019s stayed with her for years from Trinity: \u201cWe just<\/span> turn up the music and dance it out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It isn\u2019t surprising that Bartlett is making her way through this difficult time with grace\u2014she’s innovated since her time at Trinity, where she designed her own major. She crafted her study in poetry\/ creative writing and dance. Bartlett had to make a case for her course of study, and worked with her advisors Judy Dworin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":0,"parent":2154,"menu_order":15,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2920","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBantam Check-In with Helen Bartlett '81 - Alumni and Families<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.trincoll.edu\/alumniandfamilies\/virtuallongwalk\/bantamcheckins\/helenbartlett81\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Bantam Check-In with Helen Bartlett '81\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It isn\u2019t surprising that Bartlett is making her way through this difficult time with grace\u2014she’s innovated since her time at Trinity, where she designed her own major. 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