News from the Documentary Film Program - April 2017

Recent highlights from the MFA Documentary Film and Video Program
Stanford University, Department of Art & Art History

At the recently closed Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in Durham, NC, Stanford’s MFA Documentary Film and Video Program was present with films by students, alumni and faculty. The New Docs program featured My Father’s Film by current 2nd year student Priscilla Gonzalez Sainz (‘17), 116 Cameras by alumna Davina Pardo (‘05) and Tribal Justice by alumna Anne Makepeace (‘82). Faculty member Jan Krawitz presented her film In Harm’s Way, which won the top award of the festival in 1998, as part of the DoubleTake thematic program. Professor Krawitz was also a juror for the Full Frame Inspiration Award.

Flotel Europa, produced and edited by faculty member Srdan Keca, screened at Anthology Film Archives in New York as part of the Displaced Persons: Migration on Film series.

1st year student Chris Filippone’s (‘18) Fall film Scrap is set to premiere at Visions du Réel in the Premiers Pas section.

An abridged version of Lauren Knapp’s (‘16) thesis film The Sandmanwas featured on NYTimes OpDocs under the title Death Row Doctor.

Cheng Zhang’s (‘16) thesis film No Harm No Foul, on the lead contamination crises in Washington, DC and Flint, MI, premiered at SxSW.

Melissa Langer’s (‘15) thesis film My Aleppo was nominated for the Cinema Eye Honors 2017 award for Nonfiction Short Filmmaking. It previously won the Best Student Film Award at IDFA 2015 and the Best Student Doc Award at Sheffield Doc/Fest 2016.

Alumna and lecturer Laura Green (‘12) was announced as one of the 2017 BAVC National MediaMaker Fellows.

The Last Laugh directed and co-produced by alumna Ferne Pearlstein ('94), which premiered at Tribeca in 2016, was broadcast on PBS Independent Lens on April 24th. PBS also announced the 30th season of POV, which includes Motherland by alumna Ramona Diaz (‘96) and Tribal Justice by alumna Anne Makepeace (‘82).

Spring films by 1st year students will screen on Thursday June 15, 7:30-9:00pm and Thesis films by graduating students will screen on Saturday June 17, 2:30-5:30pm at Cubberley Auditorium, Stanford.