Courses and Workshops

Bay Area Documentary Filmmakers

Michael Fox
Wednesday, May. 1, 2024, 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (PT)
Repeats every Wednesday until Wednesday, May. 22, 2024
Price: $155.00
107 slots available
Join/Renew

Bay Area documentary makers are distinguished by their commitment to exposing injustices at home and abroad, unearthing forgotten or buried history, and spotlighting iconoclastic artists of color. This class provides the opportunity to hear directly from four local filmmakers about how they perceive and do their jobs. Each class features the screening of a new or recent film followed by a Q&A with the director(s). We’ll focus on the practical, ethical, narrative and aesthetic challenges of making documentaries, from conception through production and postproduction to distribution.

The films and filmmakers:

May 1: Special Sneak Preview with Andrew Abrahams, director of "Under Our Skin" and "American Justice on Trial"

May 8: My Own Normal 

  • Ariana Garfinkel, producer, and Michaelle McGaraghan, writer and editor 
  • When disabled filmmaker Alexander Freeman tells his parents his girlfriend is pregnant, their reaction is not what he expected. Confronting that pain, he sets out to create his version of a “normal life” as a parent and partner.

May 15: To be announced

May 22: Who is Michael Jang?

  • Michael Jacobs, director
  • After decades in obscurity, San Francisco-based artist Michael Jang uses graffiti tactics to share his previously unknown body of fine art photography with unsuspecting audiences.

 

Faculty Bio

Michael Fox is a film journalist and critic for KQED’s Arts & Culture blog. He is a member of the San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle and an inductee of the S.F. Film Society’s Essential SF. 

This is an In-Person-Only Course

Schedule Highlights

  • Course starts on Wednesday, May 1, and ends on Wednesday, May 22
  • Classes meet for 4 weeks, 2 hours per session (1–3 PM)
  • All course materials will remain available to view and enjoy through May 31

Member Praise for Michael Fox

Great in-person course - wonderful to be back with Michael at the Freight!

Michael was excellent, engaging, and a great interviewer of filmmakers. The documentaries were outstanding and so were the discussions — very thought-provoking!

Faculty Q&A