MUSKEGON, MI - High school football spectators and parade attendees are well versed with the polished performances put on by the state’s highest ranking marching bands, said Sean Harris, band director for Reeths-Puffer High School. “Everybody goes to a football game and they see the band perform,” he said. “But that’s like the hood ornament on the vehicle. They really don’t know how the engine works.” A feature-length documentary on the Reeths-Puffer High School marching band, which now holds 18 state championships titles, will change that, Harris said. The film will premiere at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 16 at the Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon, 425 W Western Ave. “It really (gives) people the opportunity to see what makes the engine (run),” Harris said. “They go to a performance and see the magic right there, but they don’t understand that the real magic, like with any team, happens during practices.” The documentary, “In Our Eyes,” was directed and produced by Jordy Camilleri, the communications specialist for the Muskegon Area ISD (MAISD). It follows the marching band’s journey from local competitions to the national stage, with interviews from current students, parents, alumni, band director Harris and Phil DeYoung, assistant band director. Tickets are free for marching band students, and can be purchased online, by phone or at the Frauenthal Theater’s box office. Following the premiere, the documentary will be available for streaming. Harris, who’s been with Reeths-Puffer High School for eight years, said Camilleri approached him last summer about filming the documentary after hearing about the marching band’s track record. “I’ve taught in two different states,” Harris said, “and in each of those states I knew about the Reeths-Puffer marching band just because of their success.” The marching band has won 18 state championships, Harris said, with a 1999 national championship win under the previous director, who was at the school for close to 30 years. In the last 20 years, Harris said the band has either placed first or second in the state every year. “It’s rare to say that you are a part of something great,” Harris said, “and to have an impact on the people around you, on the community, on the state and on how the country sees you.” Camilleri, originally from Australia, has previously produced two documentaries on the Muskegon area - one on the Muskegon Big Reds basketball team and one on the North Muskegon women’s soccer team. With this documentary, he said he wanted to tell the story of what it means to be in a marching band, from the intensity of local competitions to the 2024 Bands of America Grand Nationals in Indianapolis. RELATED: 7 Michigan high school marching bands competing in national championship “I didn’t really create a story,” he said. “I just followed the story that was already there.” To accomplish that, Camilleri attended nearly all of the band’s practices, rehearsals, performances and music classes as a “fly on the wall,” from the first summer camps to the band’s final performance. “There’s a spot in the film when they are going onto Ford Field in Detroit for the state championship,” Camilleri said. “They are out front in a parking lot practicing their footsteps … and then as Sean Harris gathers them all to give them a pep talk, this is the moment that the whole season comes down to. We’re here to take what’s ours.” Harris said he’s excited to see the hard work of his students, and their victories, captured on screen. After watching an online trailer for the film, “it gives you chills.” “There’s not an administrator or teacher or coach in the district that would tell you that’s not one of the hardest working groups,” Harris said. “These kids work extremely hard just to be better for themselves every day. That’s not just better performers or better musicians, it’s better people.” MAISD Superintendent Randy Lindquist said extracurriculars like marching band are a great example of how public schools are shaping the future. “Through experiences like this, students learn discipline, leadership, and collaboration,” Lindquist said, “skills that will serve them and our community for years to come.” Harris said he’s seen students, especially after several years of COVID-19 learning behind a screen, learn incredible resilience through marching band. “There’s just a lot of life skills that I feel are taught through this,” he said. “It’s easy to walk into the band room and see all the trophies and banners, but that can’t be the end all be all.” More than just the music, he said marching in a band is also physically difficult - “they’re athletes.” “I have cross country students, or football students or cheerleaders that come away pretty physically exhausted at the end of rehearsal,” he said. “It’s a physical activity that tells you when you can breathe … but you’re still running and jumping and moving and dancing at times.” The combination of physical and mental work, and the bonds they form with each other, means each year is special, Harris said. “At the very end of the season, I see tears rolling down students’ faces as they come off the field for the last time,” he said. “No awards have been called, no trophies handed out. The tears come from the realization that the journey is over.” If you would like more reporting like this delivered free to your inbox, click and signup for our weekly newsletter: Michigan Schools.