The Andover ’76 Project
In late 2019, before the COVID pandemic reached the U.S., Chien Lee reached out to Frank duPont about making a film about the Class of ’76.
Originally envisaged as a 20 minute film assembled from audio recordings and archival photos, the film ultimately became a 4-chapter, hour long narrative. The 90 plus interviews that emerged were grounded in an open-ended approach to recording stories: Let’s open the doors and invite any classmate, who at any point touched the class of ’71, to join in. Together, we can talk with each other about individual and shared experiences of being at PA between ‘67 and ’71. And reflect on the significance of that time, and our lives since, now 50 years later.
“The nadir of the school”
In the context of Frederick Allis’s Youth From Every Quarter, the 1971-72 period was described as the “most difficult” period in the 200 year history of the Academy. Allis quotes a student from the time saying it was “the nadir
The Project Grows
The scope of the project grew with the onset of COVID, and classmate interest. We devised a remote recording method–with iPhones, microphones and mini-tripods shipped around the country in small cases–
What We Learned
While it’s impossible to weave a single narrative using the particular stories of more than 90 individuals, common threads and themes emerged, grounded in our time on campus, and connected to a larger narrative playing
The edited Andover ’76 film is one core outcome of the project, but there is also huge value for our class in the interview cutdowns, and bonus stories which we’ve assembled from the recordings, and which are accessible via this purpose built, secure website.
With Appreciation
Thanks go to the entire crew who worked tirelessly to curate the material and put the film together, including Ian Tan PA ’15, Jack McGovern PA ’16, and advisors Steve Lawrence, Dave Winton and Greg Zorthian. This effort would not have been possible without the financial support of Caffrey, Carlisle, Cashin, Coleman, French, Lee, Sherrill, Thermond, Winton, and many others.
Producer / Director
Editorial Consultants
Steve Lawrence
Cinematography
Jack McGovern, PA ’15
Ian Tan, PA ’16
Production Coordinators
Jack McGovern, PA ’15
Ian Tan, PA ’16
Production Assistant
David Huang
Editor
Kyle Turgeon
Assistant Editors
Josh Bogatin
Victoria Barbarito
Jackson Patrick-Sternind
Photographers
Beatriz McConnie Zapater, Abbot ’71
Kevin O’Brien, PA ’71
Scott Meade, PA ’73
Archivists
Paige Roberts, Phillips Academy Archives
Marilyn Helmers, Andover Center for History and Culture
Angela McBrien, Andover Center for History and Culture