During his time at Ivy Tech Indy, he appreciated his professors, such as Perez, Rebecca Bilbrey, Allen Lewis, and Stephanie Robertson, for their patience and thoroughness. He recalled pushing off a Basics to Drawing course because he harbored some pretty harsh childhood memories. “Growing up in the Soviet Union, everybody told me, ‘you cannot draw!’ And I remember I was just terrified of it. And I delayed taking that class,” Hashko said. Hashko says by the end of the semester, he was drawing sketches of his photos. “If only somebody had explained drawing to me like that when I was a kid,” he said. “[Other professors] tell you ‘go and do it.’ And then you have to figure everything out by yourself. At Ivy Tech, I felt like if I had a question and they really needed to explain it several times, they would,” Hashko said of his experience at Ivy Tech. “I really enjoyed it.” Hashko went on to work as a freelance wedding and corporate event photographer and videographer while simultaneously working in the service industry. Hashko was introduced to the world of homelessness and the people impacted by the systemic issue when he met Indiana- based filmmaker Don Sawyer, the founder of “Bigger Vision Films.” Sawyer had just finished filming “Under the Bridge: The Criminalization of Homelessness,” about the closing of an encampment in Indianapolis in 2013, and asked for Hashko’s aid in gathering b-roll footage.
“The film made a splash. A little bit here in Indianapolis, but more importantly, on the national stage. It was very popular,” Hashko said. “A lot of communities wanted to screen it because it showed what happens to people who live in the streets, in camps. It was an Indianapolis story, but it resonated throughout the country because that is a story that happens everywhere.” Under the Bridge was shown all over the country in places like the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in Washington D.C. and Harvard University. One day, after a showing of the documentary at Landmark Theater in Indianapolis, there was a Q&A. Hashko recalled that someone stood up and said, “Thanks for showing us the problem, but what do you suggest we do?” This was a question Hashko says was echoed throughout the entire tour. And this one question became the catalyst for their latest documentary, Beyond the Bridge: A Solution To Homelessness, in which Sawyer and Hashko attempt to find solutions to American homelessness. “Any social issue doesn’t have an easy solution,” Hashko said. “The easy answer is housing. But there is a lot of nuisance there.”
Tim Hashko (right) poses with Don Sawyer (left), founder of Bigger Vision Films
SUMMER 2023 | 13
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker