‘A City on a Hill’ is an immersive project that explores the culture of a community starting a church plant in Bandera TX, a small piece of the hill country known for its abundance of bars and cowboys. In midst of a town with a strong legalistic religious tradition rooted as deep as the history of substance abuse and brokenness, this small church stands to shift the whole identity of this town life. The hope is that the viewer can see threads of their own experience with love, trust, hard work, and sacrifice...but also that those threads eventually lead to the Creator, who is the motivation and reason for it all.

Watson approached this project as an immersive experience. The focus was to be observant, expectant, and as noninvasive as possible. A camera was on hand at all times throughout each day. She allowed the story to unfold before her instead of attempting to orchestrate things herself. Yet, as she steeped herself more and more into this community, she realized that her own foothold had to be acknowledged because she was an integrated piece of the growth happening outside of my viewfinder. Documenting this story has made her confront the fears of taking up space. This project tore down walls brick by brick. Occupying a seat at the table of hospitality and admitting the fact independence is a lonely and stubborn place to be in opened doors for a deeper connection with the Lord and lasting bonds with the people in this story. The hope is that viewers can see themselves in the vulnerability of these stories and find ways to dismantle their own walls too.

The purpose of this project was to document the journey of simple people pursuing a vision that God had placed in their hands. There is an overwhelming message of corruption and tragedy coming from every direction in today’s society. It’s tough to find stories of hope and unity in the mainstream. The goal is that this story provides a thread of hope to the viewer as well as an open space for them to be introspective and relate to the intimate nuances of life.

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— 2022 Annual —