Documentary in the Age of Alternative Facts

Panel Submission Type: Panel/Research Presentation Session

Abstract

Alternative interpretations of reality have brought us fake news. Should documentaries in this age of alternative facts skew towards an objective news-style approach or is the answer in cinema verite, socially conscious films, or even in mockumentaries? This panel analyzes how documentaries have interpreted reality in the past, what their role is in the age of alternative facts, and how the current era is impacting documentary film production and teaching in the U.S. and Europe.

PANEL MODERATOR
Helena Vanhala, Robert Morris University

PANELISTS
Tim Hudson, Point Park University
“Documentary Film’s Historical Take on the Age of Alternative Facts”

Helena Vanhala, Robert Morris University
“Bringing Scholars and Documentary Filmmakers Together to Analyze and Produce Critical Interpretations of Reality”

Rick Minnich, Rickfilms and MET Film School Berlin, Germany
“International Collaborative Documentary Film Production in the U.S. and Europe: Mediating Between Different Cultures, Ideologies and Interpretations of Reality”

Nadine Patterson, Harmony Image Productions Cinema
“Socially Conscious Filmmaking in the Age of Fake News”

Will Zavala, Pittsburgh Filmmakers School
“Learning from Failure: Making and Teaching Documentaries through Mistake-Based Learning”

Sub Unit

• Documentary

Cosponsor

• International

Moderator

• Helena Vanhala, Robert Morris University

Presentations

• Documentary Film’s Historical Take on the Age of Alternative Facts - Tim Hudson, Point Park University

• Bringing Scholars and Documentary Filmmakers Together to Analyze and Produce Critical Interpretations of Reality - Helena Vanhala, Robert Morris University

• International Collaborative Documentary Film Production in the U.S. and Europe: Mediating Between Different Cultures, Ideologies and Interpretations of Reality - Rick Minnich, MET Film School Berlin, Germany

• Socially Conscious Filmmaking in the Age of Fake News - Nadine Patterson, Harmony Image Productions (HIP) Cinema

• Learning from Failure: Making and Teaching Documentaries through Mistake-Based Learning - Will Zavala, Pittsburgh Filmmakers School