Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, the new assistant professor in film and broadcasting, teaches her passion, which is also her other job.

Guevara-Flanagan has left her production mark on a number of documentaries and short films, including “El Corrido de Cecillia,” La Caminata,” and “Going on 13,” which airs Nov. 2 on KQED.

Her current feature length-documentary received top honors at the La Femme Film Festival and was officially selected for a screening at the Tribeca Film Festival. 

“Going on 13” is a coming-of age story that follows four Bay Area girls and the emotions they experienced over the course of four years. It will air on PBS throughout the fall.

Guevara-Flanagan and her friend and co-director, Dawn Valadez, had talked about the prospect of doing a film about adolescence and determined it would make a “great visual story.”

“We were interested in the idea that when girls reach middle school, they experience a drop in self-esteem and confidence,” Guevara-Flanagan said. “We wanted to look at what happened before and after that.” 

Guevara-Flanagan was first drawn to filmmaking in high school when she took a Super 8 class at her local recreation center.

“I had a lot of fun learning about film, so I decided to pursue it as a major,” Guevara-Flanagan said.

She received a bachelor’s degree at UC Berkeley and a master’s degree in film production at San Francisco State University. 

Since then, Guevara-Flanagan has been heavily involved in film editing, having done professional work for local news and producing work of her own 

Guevara-Flanagan had taught film part-time at the Art Institute in San Francisco but wanted a full-time position. She found a posting for the DVC job, and, after visiting the campus and meeting the other art teachers, determined this was the place for her. She currently teaches film production, TV studio production, editing, and motion graphics.

“The students here are a lot of fun and I’m finding them to be hard working and ambitious,” Guevara-Flanagan said. “I also like the range of students.”

“I teach a night class which is demographically very different from my day classes. I see a nice mix of young and old.”

Her students have responded that they’ve learned a lot in her classes. 

“You get a great look at the behind the scenes process,” said Laura Pena, a student in Guevara-Flanagan’s Film 292 class. “When you watch movies, you don’t really think about the filming or editing, but the class has given me a new appreciation for it. It’s an art all its own.” 

Guevara-Flanagan is currently working on two films: “A Village Called Versailles,” a documentary about Hurricane Katrina and a community of Vietnamese who struggled to rebuild their community in New Orleans after the devastating tragedy; and “The History of the Universe as Told by Wonder Woman,” a documentary about Wonder Woman and other female superheroes. 

Guevara-Flanagan said she will continue to produce films, which will be influenced by her teaching.

“I’m inspired by my students’ ideas,” she said, “and it helps me as a filmmaker.”