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Having to recall verse and the nervousness of recording in front of an audience proved the most challenging for 11-year-olds Kiara Johnson, Nakylah Muhammad and Jaylah Gomez [shown in feature photo], who are among the stars of The Pen is Mightier than the Sword, a documentary being screened Saturday at the 15th Annual Pocono Mountains Film Festival.

And while Muhammad has aspirations of becoming a singer, Gomez said she hopes to be a zoologist and Johnson, a photographer, the trio were relishing in their film debut during Wednesday night’s screening at The ShowRoom, located at 707 Cookman Ave.

Recorded in part at the Lakehouse Music Academy, the documentary is the culmination of a weeklong Hip Hop Literacy summer camp led by industry professionals Special ED [Ed Archer] and Kurt Nice [Kurtiss Jackson].

“We were able to create a very innovative program,” Assistant Superintendent Sancha Gray said of the STEM based program. “We had the opportunity to engage students in the science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. All of those concepts and disciplines were rolled into what you will see in the documentary.”

The experiential learning program also brought in elements of the district’s college and career readiness initiatives. The participants learn music literacy, writing, communication skills, a tutorial on the history of graffiti art, and the wisdom from industry professional Jon Leidersdorff, who founded Lakehouse Music Academy and a Hip Hop Institute in collaboration with the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth County.

“Let’s talk about the education that will serve these students in the future,” Leidersdorff said in the film. “I hire musicians, engineers, producers, writers. I know what it takes to get the job done and that’s been directly written into these programs.”

District educator Shelly Sanders, and security guards Lorne Pierce and Ruben Bray also helped administer the program.

“Sometimes we will use slang metaphors and we will allow slang metaphors to illustrate points,” Gray said in the film. “We used literary devices in a way that looks very different than in their classes. We are coining the term ‘guided rapping.”

Aside from spotlighting the program, the documentary delivers a global look at the city and its history through lifelong resident Lorne Pierce’s eyes.

“What made the learning so fun was that the students didn’t actually equate it with learning,” Gray said following the screening. “Just listening to them chuckle now and reminiscing, reinforces – mission accomplished.”

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