PUBLISHED ON MAY 2, 2012 BY JUSTIN LI IN DOC TALK
“…a deep and tangible emotional investment...the film doesn’t tell the story about a boy. Rather, The Last Flight of Petr Ginz tells a story by one.” Read More
DFP student Sam Smartt recently won the first annual RiverRun Student PitchFest. Smartt competed with students from Elon University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and the North Carolina School of the Arts. Elon University placed second in the competition.
Each student presented a five-minute pitch to a panel of documentary film professionals consisting of PBS programmer Kathy Lo and independent filmmakers, Dan Nuxoll and Ken Wardrop.
Smartt was awarded $500 for his first place finish. His film project, Wagonmasters, is scheduled to be complete in the summer of 2012 and is being produced with co-director Chris Zaluski.
The Last Flight of Petr Ginz film will screen at The Toronto Jewish Film Festival on May 9.
The second largest Jewish festival in North America, TJFF will feature 96 films from over 15 countries.
Also receiving attention is the short documentary Come on Down and Pick Me Up, produced by DFP alums Nick Corrao (MFA '11) and Jon Bougher (MFA '11). The film was recently named Best Student Short Doc at the George Lindsey UNA Film Festival. The film, which featured music from The Dirty Marmaduke Flute Squad, won a Jury Award for Best Score.
Award-winning producer, director and cinematographer Peter Gilbert talks about his position as Part-Time Lecturer in the Documentary Film Program.
As part of his job, Gilbert will be on campus 10-12 weeks and then will leave and continue making films during the rest of the year. Gilbert is teaching two undergraduate classes: Visual Storytelling and Entrepreneurship in the Creative and LIberal Arts. He is also helping the DFP graduate students with their thesis films during his graduate-level Master Class in Documentary Storytelling.
The Documentary Film Program brings together the storytelling passion and experience of three former members of the nationally acclaimed Documentary Institute at the University of Florida and award-winning filmmaker and Wake Forest faculty member Mary Dalton.
Wake Forest's Documentary Film Program provides an inspiring and challenging environment for aspiring filmmakers who want to learn how to craft powerful documentaries.
Offering students an MA or MFA in documentary production, the Documentary Film Program is led by faculty with a proven track record of providing students with the critical and technical skills needed to shape their creative visions into compelling, award-winning and socially significant documentary films.
The Documentary Film Program @ Wake Forest University
Box 7347, Reynolda Station | Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27109 | 336.758.3367
documentary@wfu.edu