Walking into St. Edward’s University’s Documentary Filmmaking class can feel like time-traveling into a ‘90s sitcom.

Plaid patterns, backwards caps and wedge heels create a scene that could have been soundtracked by the Cranberries. Although the class has an atmosphere of a wonderfully colorful and carefree after-school special, the short films the students are working on are extremely relevant to the modern world.

The 12 filmmakers are creating short films based on topics ranging from a social commentary on interracial dating to one student’s quest to become the funniest person in Austin. Other films involve living life homeless and comic book fanatics. Come May 5, students will be debuting their respective documentaries, sharing with the community their exciting explorations and discoveries.

Exposing the glittery camp of Flash Jordan, a senior citizen performance artist whose show plays during the witching hour of the Austin City Limits Festival, is SEU sophomore, Brittany Goldmann. With her short film, she hopes more people will meet Flash Jordan, who she describes as “a toddler whose never gotten off the stage,”

“Flash Jordan looks like Lisa Frank’s grandmother,” Goldmann said. “She used to be a televangelist, and claims to have known Elvis. She thinks he’s still alive.”

Goldmann’s documentary film appears to be a fairytale Harmony Korine concoction teeming with whimsy and disillusion buried beneath oddball show tunes from Mars. Because her film so closely resembles a modern art installation, she knows her final project is going to be “weird” and wonders if people are going to actually “get” Flash Jordan and all of her Tim-and-Eric-esque, plotless humor.

“She’s an energy vampire, but she’s such an great lady. I hope people see this personality,” Goldmann said.

Choosing to stalk the after hours jauntiness of Waffle House employees, St. Edward’s student Ingrid Husby hopes to show the extraordinary qualities of workers people might take for granted. With her short film, Husby ventured to Waffle House during the darkest depths of the night, hoping to unearth the fascinating aspects of the establishment’s employees. Dedicated to the project, Husby repeatedly woke up at 3 a.m. in order to bring her film to life.

“I wanted to show that these people were so much more than waiters and waitresses,” Husby said. “Some of them actually shared with me their life stories.”

Recalling the hysteria of SXSW may not be easy for some, but Megan Russell is not asking you to scavenge your memory to remember this year’s spectacle, she is showing you.

With her short film, she grabs the audience by the hand and takes them to a SXSW party, exposing all of the happenings that lead to the exuberant night of the event. In this rockumentary, Russell chronologies the bands, people, and chaos that was simply happening all at once, calling the film “bliss” in motion, as scenes of happiness and good vibes bounce off each other. With her documentary film, Russell wants viewers to observe the spontaneity on screen, hopefully finding entertainment in its starkness.

“What I admire about documentary filmmaking is its realness; telling something that’s actually happened in real life is powerful,” Russell said.

When a student was discussing the difficulty of the his filmmaking process with the class, Professor Roka Music-Lask quickly replied,

“You’re going to have an off day, but you’re still getting a great piece of art out of it; chin up, man,”

It is with this kind of encouragement that Music-Lask strives to reveal a new world of art and universal understanding to her students. Moreover, although some students had never picked up a camcorder before in their lives, all of them became excellent storytellers through their documentary shorts.