While most students spend their free time away from any form of academic work, Western Fairhaven senior David Albright spent six months producing and directing the documentary "Smells like Money: The Story of Bellingham's Georgia Pacific Plant," which won an Award of Excellence in documentary from the Videographer Awards.

According to the Videographer Awards Web site, an international video competition held in Texas, this is the highest honor the program gives and is presented to productions that are "written, produced, shot and edited in an exceptional manner." The competition selects winners from 174 categories and only 14 percent of entrants receive the Award of Excellence.

At 6 p.m. May 11, Village Books in Fairhaven will play Albright's film as a part of their Literature Live Series, a free program that documents authors' work from around the world, Village Books event coordinator Lindsey McGuirk, said.

"This film is very well put together and really deserves to be seen by all audiences," said Fairhaven professor Daniel Larner.

"Smells like Money" documents the history of the Georgia Pacific Pulp Mill from its initial merger with Georgia Pacific (GP), the seven-month strike during 1978, environmental problems during the 1990s and its closure in 2001.

The documentary concentrates on what life was like in the mill and the effect of GP's changes on the families and employees. The film is told through the words of six former employees who tell their personal stories, Albright said.

The film also uses a combination of images, historic film clips, television reports and newspaper articles to portray the people who worked for and depended on the plant.

"The Georgia Pacific Mill became a very important fixture in the community because of the employment," Larner said. "A lot of people lost their jobs when it was shut down."

Albright is studying documentary video production through Fairhaven College and the Northwest Film School. He is also the videographer for the Bellingham City Council meetings for BTV10.

"This entire film started as a project for my class in Fairhaven," Albright said. "It seemed like a good idea so I turned it into a documentary."

Putting together the film involved interviewing dozens of former employees for Albright to gain a clear picture of what it was like to work for the company. Albright said he had to search for common themes from what the employees were telling him before the production began.

"I think it was a wonderful thing for a student to do because this is a controversy that a lot of people are ignoring," Larner said.

The film was made in conjunction with the Western History Department Chair Chris Friday and his Georgia Pacific Oral History Project.

The documentary has been approved to play on Bellingham's BTV10 television station, will be submitted to the Western Film Festival and will be highlighted in journals and newsletters of the Northwest Oral History Association, the Whatcom County Historical Society and the Oral History Association.

"This was the first award I have ever won, so it was good to get recognized by someone outside of school," Albright said.

The documentary is not being widely released, but copies are available at Village Book and online at the Village Books Web site.

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