LIVE DIRECTOR Q&A’s
November 13-15, 2020 – Virtually. At your door.
REVISIT THIS PAGE FOR LIVE Q&A SESSIONS WITH THE DIRECTORS
All Sessions will be recorded and can be viewed on our Vimeo Page: vimeo.com/centrefilmfestival
Friday
Opening Night – LIVE at 9:00pm, Friday, November 13th
Q & A Hosted by
Donald P. Bellisario Career Advancement Professor, Associate Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Sujata Day, Definition Please
November 13, 2020: 9:00pm
With her infectious personality and unique sense of humor, Pittsburgh native Sujata Day has established herself as a performer, creator, writer, and director. She regularly performs in Upright Citizen Brigade’s hit Asian AF show. Sujata is known for her starring role as CeCe in Issa Rae’s The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. She’s recurred for three seasons on HBO’s Insecure. Sujata is a Sundance Lab fellow, Sundance Film Festival influencer, and Sundance Collab advisor. Her short film, Cowboy and Indian, sold to a major studio for series development with Sujata writing, producing and starring. She served as HBO Visionaries Ambassador in 2019. She directs This Is My Story, a series in which beloved storyteller LeVar Burton narrates real life personal experiences of everyday racism. Sujata’s debut feature film, Definition Please, currently screens on the film festival circuit.
Tim Naylor, The Henchman of Notre Dame
November 13, 2020: 9:00pm
Born in Michigan, as a child Tim’s parents showed him the world. Fast forward, upon receiving his MFA from New York University’s Graduate Film Program, he went on to work as a cinematographer and camera operator, shooting numerous features, documentaries and TV shows, including Steve McQueen’s Shame and Inside Amy Schumer as well as winning Best Cinematography for at the 2019 Madrid IFF. In the past few years he’s directed a slate of short films, notably Buried Deep (Palm Springs FF and Urban World FF) and Christmas Mission: Sierra Leone (Lincoln Center, African FF). The Henchman of Notre Dame is Tim’s directorial debut. Inspired by everyday life, not a day goes by where Tim doesn’t see something that makes him turn his head and say, “wouldn’t that look great on film?”
Shira Billig, Pop 30
November 13, 2020: 9:00pm
Shira Billig, 27, was born in Jerusalem. From an early age Shira played musical instruments, and later wrote and composed the music for a number of short films.. Shira studied in a four-year, full time directing program at the Ma’aleh School of Film and Television in Jerusalem, graduating in January 2019. “A Pain in the Neck,” her second-year narrative short film, has been shown at a number of festivals worldwide. She is also engaged in a B.Ed. program in “Herzog” college,majoring in Communication and literature. Shira works as a film director, cinematographer and video editor. “Pop 30” is her graduating film.
Friday the 13th Thrillers – LIVE at 11.45 pm, Friday, November 13th
Q & A Hosted by
Lecturer, Film Production and Screenwriting
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Sarah Pirozek, #Like
November 13, 2020: 11:45pm
Sarah Pirozek is an award-winning filmmaker with a fine arts background. She is a DGA member in good standing. Her short films, Confessions of a Girl Who Never Received a Visitation from the Sacred Heart, and Before and After French Kissing screened at the London International Film Festival. She has directed TV commercials and music videos, also broadcast TV (& Web content) as a director/producer/supervising producer for the Sundance Channel, MTV, VH1, PBS, HBO, NAT GEO, AMC the Discovery Channel and BBC Channel Four TV in London. Other projects include producing groundbreaking indie feature, trans-love story, Flora, directing the theatrically distributed feature documentary Free Tibet, made with the Beastie Boys, which won “Best of Fest” at the Edinburgh Festival. Pirozek has worked with talent as disparate as Bjork, Billy Crudup, Bokeem Woodbine, The White Stripes, A Tribe Called Quest, Lance Accord, Queen Latifah and Spike Jonze, among others. She has four other projects in development, 3 features and one series.
Jeremiah Kipp, Perfect
November 13, 2020: 11:45pm
Jeremiah Kipp is a New York City based writer, producer and director with over ten years experience creating narrative and commercial films. His short film The Christmas Party earned warm responses from over 50 international film festivals including Cannes and Clermont-Ferrand and received a 5-star review from Film Threat. He has several short films including The Sadist starring Tom Savini, Mastermind starring Chris Sarandon, Edward Albee: A Transformative Moment produced by Bruce Cohen and Lauren Rayner, The Days God Slept (Best Short-HorrorHound 2014); Edgar Allan Poe’s Berenice (distributed by Reel Progress as part of the Creepers anthology), Easy Prey (commissioned by Visionfest’s annual 5×5 screening series); Contact (commissioned by Sinister Six annual screening series); The Pod starring Larry Fessenden; Snapshot, Drool and The Apartment (commissioned by Canon to premiere their XL2 camera at DV Expo 2004). He is currently in post-production on his second feature film, Theresa & Allison.
Saturday
Jazz Brunch – LIVE at 11:20am, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Associate Teaching Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Will Yurman
November 14, 2020: 11.20am
Will Yurman has worked as a photojournalist for more than 30 years in exotic locations ranging from Jerusalem to Juneau, Alaska to Buffalo, New York. His work has grown to include video and multimedia storytelling. He spent 16 years as a staff photographer at the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle where he had the unmatched pleasure to cover the Rochester International Jazz Festival, telling nightly stories from the nine-day festival by combining still photos with audio each year. His journalism work has been recognized by the National Press Photographer’s Association, the Pictures of the Year International competition, and the Northern Shortcourse and his films have won awards in several film festivals. For the past ten years, he has taught in the journalism department in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State.
Time for Sports – LIVE at 1:30pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Dean, Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
John Affleck, Running Home
November 14, 2020: 1:30pm
The director of the Curley Center and Knight Chair in Sports Journalism and Society at Penn State, Affleck has been a storyteller for most of his life but began making films after a long career focused primarily on print journalism at The Associated Press.
Paddy Cotter, Running Home
November 14, 2020: 1:30pm
A recent graduate of Penn State, Cotter is currently pursuing documentary projects that inspire him. “Running Home” and other recent films he has directed reflect his emphasis on using sports as a lens to reveal what it means to be human.
Catharine Axley, Attla
November 14, 2020: 1:30pm
Catharine Axley is a documentary filmmaker and editor who seeks stories of empowerment through subjects that defy expectations. Her films have played at festivals including the San Francisco International Film Festival, DOC NYC, Harlem International Film Festival, and the United Nations Association Film Festival. She was a Regional Finalist for the 2014 Student Academy Awards and an official nominee for the David L. Wolper Award at the 2015 International Documentary Association Awards. She holds an M.F.A. from Stanford University and a B.A. in History and Ethnicity, Race & Migration from Yale University.
Ripple Effect – LIVE at 3:30pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Radio Host, Co-Owner of Streamer and Penn State System Admin
Board Chair, 3 Dots Downtown
Ya’Ke Smith, Brother
November 14, 2020: 3:30pm
Ya’Ke Smith, known for his unflinching and veracious style of storytelling, is a rising voice in independent cinema. His films have received world-wide acclaim, screening and winning awards at over 100 film festivals. The Director’s Guild of America, the Student Academy Awards, HBO, Showtime, the City of Buffalo, NY, which proclaimed February 23, 2013 as Ya’Ke Smith Day and the city of Cincinnati, OH which proclaimed October 6, 2019 as Ya’Ke Smith Day, have honored him. He was also named by Variety Magazine as one of the top film educators from across the globe. He has been featured on NPR, CNN, HLN, Ebony Online, Indiewire, Filmmaker Magazine and Shadow&Act. Ya’Ke graduated from the University of The Incarnate Word, where he later became the youngest recipient of the Alumni of Distinction for Professional Achievement award. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin’s film program, where he is currently an Associate Professor of film and the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Moody College of Communication.
Nefertite Nguvu, Myself When I Am Real
November 14, 2020: 3:30pm
Nefertite recently made her television directorial debut helming a season two episode of BET’s original series Tales. She has also written, produced and directed several narrative shorts: I Want You, The End of Winter, Myself When I Am Real, and The Last Two Lovers At The End Of The World. Amongst other web-based programming, Nefertite also directed a ten-part web series featuring Queen Latifah for Cover Girl and Flavor Unit Entertainment entitled U.N.I.T.Y. Re-ignited; Love Star a mini music documentary; as well as an eight-part web series entitled Black America Again featuring Academy Award winning musician/actor Common for Universal Music and Freedom Road Productions.
Yoruba Richen, The Sit In
November 14, 2020: 3:30pm
Yoruba Richen is a documentary filmmaker who created the documentary specialization at the Newmark J-School. Her work has been featured on PBS, New York Times Op Doc, Frontline Digital, New York Magazine’s The Cut, The Atlantic and Field of Vision. Her film The Green Book: Guide to Freedom aired on The Smithsonian Channel in February 2019. Yoruba’s feature documentary The New Black won multiple festival awards and was nominated for an NAACP Image Award and a GLAAD Media Award. Her film Promised Land won the Fledgling Fund award for social issue documentary and was broadcast on “POV.” Yoruba won a Clio award for her short film about the Grammy-nominated singer Andra Day. She has also won Creative Promise Award at Tribeca All Access and was a Sundance Producers Fellow. Yoruba is a featured TED Speaker, a Fulbright fellow, a Guggenheim fellow and a 2016 recipient of the Chicken & Egg Breakthrough Filmmaker Award. She was chosen for The Root 100 list of the most influential African Americans 45 and under, recognizing her as a leader whose “work from the past year is breaking down barriers and paving the way for the next generation.”
Seeking Resolution – LIVE at 5.45pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
James P. Jimirro Professor of Media Effects / Co-Director, Media Effects Research Laboratory
The Pennsylvania State University
Alex Fattal, Limbo
November 14, 2020: 5:45pm
Alexander L. Fattal is a filmmaker, documentary artist, and assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of California, San Diego. He received his PhD in anthropology from Harvard University where he learned filmmaking in the Sensory Ethnography Lab. His first short Trees Tropiques is an immersive family portrait in the Amazon basin that explores small scale deforestation in Brazil. Trees Tropiques participated in Cannes Short Film Corner and other film festivals around the world. Limbo, Fattal’s second documentary short, is an experimental complement to his recent book Guerrilla Marketing: Counterinsurgency and Capitalism in Colombia (University of Chicago Press, 2018). The film had its world premiere at the Official Selection at Sheffield Doc/Fest and MOMA PS1, the School for Visual Art in New York City, and the FICCI – Festival Internacional de Cine de Cartagena have shown work-in-progress screenings.
Tony Buba, Reflexions
November 14, 2020: 5:45pm
Tony Buba has been producing documentaries since 1972. Buba received his M.F.A from Ohio University in 1976. Tony’s films have been screened at Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Black Maria, Athens, and other major international film festivals. He has had exhibitions at more than 100 universities and museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum Ludwig-Cologne, Anthology Film Archives, and Pacific Film Archives. Some of Tony’s awards include fellowships from the NEA, AFI, Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, The Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award as well as grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His most recent feature documentary Ghosts of Amistad aired on PBS, and in 2015 was awarded the John E. O’Connor Film Award from the American Historical Association. Tony’s 1988 film Lightning Over Braddock was named in the Oct. 14, 2020 edition of the New Yorker magazine as one of the 62 most influential documentaries ever made.
Jinyan Jenny Shi, Finding Yingying
November 14, 2020: 5:45pm
Jiayan “Jenny” Shi is a Chicago-based documentary filmmaker and video journalist who is passionate about social justice issues regarding people of color. She shoots, edits and produces video stories and short documentaries about immigration, race and crime in Chicago for multiple outlets. She is also working on several projects as a researcher, digital content editor and translator including the ITVS co-produced web series Pulling The Thread and the 2020 Academy Award-winning film, American Factory. Jenny is a graduate of Kartemquin’s Diverse Voices In Docs program, a TFI Network alum, the winner of the Paley DocPitch Competition 2018 and a fellow of 2020-2021 Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship. Jenny is named one of the DOC NYC “40 Under 40” filmmakers.
Finding Joy – LIVE at 7:45pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Director of Development
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Flavio Alves, The Garden Left Behind
November 14, 2020: 7:45pm
Flavio Alves is a Brazilian writer, film director and producer. He was granted political asylum in the United States in 1998 with the help of the Immigrants and Refugee Rights Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. In 2007, Flavio returned to school to study film production at New York University, where he received the Technisphere Award for Outstanding Achievement. Since then, he has produced over 20 films and directed 6, including The Secret Friend (2010) and Tom in America (2014). His debut feature film, The Garden Left Behind (2019), which is an IFP Narrative Lab (2017) selected project, premiered at SXSW, where he was nominated for the Adam Yauch Hörnblowér Award. In 2018, Alves received The Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Artist Academy fellowship.
Jovan James, Buck
November 14, 2020: 7:45pm
Jovan James is a filmmaker and photographer from Baltimore dedicated to showing the black experience with compassion and unflinching honesty. Starting from a young age with an interest in medicine and science, he independently discovered his love for film as a teenager. Jovan earned his BFA at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He started at NYU Tisch Grad Film in 2014 where he made his first short film, “The Jump Off”, that explores the end of a relationship between two young gay black men, it had its film festival debut at UrbanWorld in New York City and has played at over twenty film festivals across North America. His most recent short film, “Tadpole”, which follows the possible beginning of a queer teenage romance, debuted at New Hampshire Film Festival 2018, where it was awarded Best Student Film, and has since played over a dozen festivals across the country. After graduating from Tisch Grad Film in May 2019, he relocated to Los Angeles and was selected as a fall intern at the coveted internship program at Bad Robot Productions. In January 2020, Jovan premiered his newest short film and NYU Grad thesis, BUCK, at the Sundance Film Festival.
Elegance Bratton, Buck
November 14, 2020: 7:45pm
Elegance began making films as a US Marine after a decade spent homeless. Today, he holds a BS from Columbia University (2014) and MFA from NYU Tisch Graduate Film (2019). Walk For Me, his debut narrative short is about Hannah, a young trans girl who’s secret life is discovered by her mother at a gay ball. The film played in over 100 festivals worldwide including winning Best Student Short at the New Hampshire (2016), Best LGBT Short at Anne Arbor Film Festival (2017), Best LGBT Short Columbus Film Festival (2017) and Best Short at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (2017) amongst many other awards. His documentary feature Pier Kids, follows three queer and trans homeless youth on NYC’s iconic Christopher Street Pier to show the intricate ways queer people of color utilize public space to build chosen family. With Pier Kids, Elegance is the winner of Emerging Talent for Outfest (2019), Jury Prize for Best Documentary All Genders and Lifestyles Film Festival (2020), and the Bravery Award at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (2020). He is the executive producer/creator of Viceland’s GLAAD-nominated and Cannes MIPCOM winning series, MY HOUSE. The Inspection, his forthcoming feature narrative script, is supported by Tribeca All Access and Film (2019), Independent Fast Track (2019), and Sundance Talent Forum (2020). He was a mentor for the Sundance Native Lab (2020). He is one of Indiewire’s 25 LBGT faces to watch (2019) and the winner of the Maynor Biggers Artist Fund grant (2018). Buck, his most recent short, premiered domestically at Sundance 2020 and internationally at the London Film Festival (BFI) 2020. He is a 2020 Sundance Native Lab and Saul Zaentz mentor.
Behind the Scenes – LIVE at 9:40pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Donald P. Bellisario Career Advancement Professor, Associate Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
April Wright, Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story
November 14, 2020: 9:40pm
April Wright is an award winning filmmaker who brings a fresh and creative approach to her documentaries and narrative projects. She’s drawn to material based on real events, especially stories with an unexpected hero or point of view. Working as a narrative programmer for the Sundance Film Festival for the past 15 years, Sundance has been her film school. April’s latest documentary Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace has enjoyed a theatrical release, won numerous Best Documentary awards at film festivals, was named by critics as one of the top documentaries of 2019. Forbes called it “a richly crafted look at our passion for movie theaters.” Her documentary Stuntwomen: The Untold Hollywood Story with Executive Producer Michelle Rodriguez released in Fall 2020.
Jeanette L. Buck, Quiet on Set
November 14, 2020: 9:40pm
Jeanette Buck’s film directing credits include: Heather Has Four Moms (shortlisted by the Kevin Spacey Foundation), Texting a Love Story, Kiss on the Bosphorus, Lie Together, In the Menstrual Hut and the feature Out of Season. She also works as a writer, director, and stage manager in Washington, DC. As a playwright, her one woman show There Are No Strangers premiered at Theater J in Washington D.C. and was later performed at The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Her theater directing credits: Rhinoceros, Defiance of Dandelions, Beautiful Thing, Rowing to America, Miracles, Gretty Good Time, Father John does a Hail Mary, and Open Hearts. She currently teaches at Ohio University.
Rani Deighe Crowe, Quiet on Set
November 14, 2020: 9:40pm
Rani is a filmmaker, theater artist, and collaborative interdisciplinary artist. Rani’s short films, Heather Has Four Moms, Welfare Check, Beautiful Eyes, Texting: A Love Story, and Estragon’s Boot have been screened at over two hundred festivals around the world including: Provincetown Film Festival, Tall Grass Film Festival, Woods Hole Film Festival, Chain Film Festival NYC, Toronto Short Film Festival, Maryland International Film Festival, Chicago Reel International Short Film Festival, Athens International Film and Video Festival. She currently teaches film and screenwriting at Ball State University.
Dystopia – LIVE at 11:30pm, Saturday, November 14th
Q & A Hosted by
Assistant Teaching Professor Film
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
David Liban: A Feral World
November 14, 2020: 11:30pm
David Liban is the writer, producer, and director of A Feral World. He is both a filmmaker and a film professor at CU Denver’s College of Arts & Media. He is the Chairperson for the Dept of Film & TV. He holds an MFA from Brooklyn College and has been making independent films in a variety of genres for some years. He has been a Fulbright scholar and a prolific filmmaker of short-form films. His documentary Mortal Lessons won an Emmy in 2010. Over the years, his films have screened at numerous film festivals and television outlets.
Noah Wagner: Watch Room
November 14, 2020: 11:30pm
Noah Wagner is an award-winning director, writer and filmmaker, and a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His work has appeared on HBO, NBC, BBC, VIMEO STAFF PICKS and THE NEW YORKER. His films have screened at festivals worldwide, including the Oscar-Qualifying Cleveland Int’l FF, Nantucket FF, and Sonoma Int’l FF, where his latest effort – existential AI thriller, Watch Room – won the Jury Award for Best Dramatic Short. He’s also worked for THE DAILY SHOW, BBC, NICKELODEON, and HBO , where he spent close to a decade creating ancillary video, VR, and digital content across many platforms for docs, sports, and series such as WESTWORLD, SILICON VALLEY, BALLERS, and GAME OF THRONES. He also loves to teach.
Late Night at the Centre Film Festival – LIVE at 1:45am (early Sunday morning)
Q & A Hosted by
Teaching Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Kuba Mikurda, Love Express
November 14, 2020: 1:45am
Kuba Mikurda is a Polish director, screenwriter and lecturer at the Film and Television Directing Department of the National Film School in Łódź. His first feature documentary, Love Express, was awarded the Best Music and Art Documentary Award at the 15th Millennium Docs Against Gravity Film Festival and has been since shown at over 40 film festivals in Poland and around the world. He is currently working on a documentary about Andrzej Żuławski’s unfinished sci-fi epic On the Silver Globe.
Jeanette L. Buck, Quiet on Set
November 14, 2020: 1:45am
Jeanette Buck’s film directing credits include: Heather Has Four Moms (shortlisted by the Kevin Spacey Foundation), Texting a Love Story, Kiss on the Bosphorus, Lie Together, In the Menstrual Hut and the feature Out of Season. She also works as a writer, director, and stage manager in Washington, DC. As a playwright, her one woman show There Are No Strangers premiered at Theater J in Washington D.C. and was later performed at The Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival. Her theater directing credits: Rhinoceros, Defiance of Dandelions, Beautiful Thing, Rowing to America, Miracles, Gretty Good Time, Father John does a Hail Mary, and Open Hearts. She currently teaches at Ohio University.
Elegance Bratton, Buck
November 14, 2020: 1:45am
Elegance began making films as a US Marine after a decade spent homeless. Today, he holds a BS from Columbia University (2014) and MFA from NYU Tisch Graduate Film (2019). Walk For Me, his debut narrative short is about Hannah, a young trans girl who’s secret life is discovered by her mother at a gay ball. The film played in over 100 festivals worldwide including winning Best Student Short at the New Hampshire (2016), Best LGBT Short at Anne Arbor Film Festival (2017), Best LGBT Short Columbus Film Festival (2017) and Best Short at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (2017) amongst many other awards. His documentary feature Pier Kids, follows three queer and trans homeless youth on NYC’s iconic Christopher Street Pier to show the intricate ways queer people of color utilize public space to build chosen family. With Pier Kids, Elegance is the winner of Emerging Talent for Outfest (2019), Jury Prize for Best Documentary All Genders and Lifestyles Film Festival (2020), and the Bravery Award at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (2020). He is the executive producer/creator of Viceland’s GLAAD-nominated and Cannes MIPCOM winning series, MY HOUSE. The Inspection, his forthcoming feature narrative script, is supported by Tribeca All Access and Film (2019), Independent Fast Track (2019), and Sundance Talent Forum (2020). He was a mentor for the Sundance Native Lab (2020). He is one of Indiewire’s 25 LBGT faces to watch (2019) and the winner of the Maynor Biggers Artist Fund grant (2018). Buck, his most recent short, premiered domestically at Sundance 2020 and internationally at the London Film Festival (BFI) 2020. He is a 2020 Sundance Native Lab and Saul Zaentz mentor.
Jovan James, Buck
November 14, 2020: 1:45am
Jovan James is a filmmaker and photographer from Baltimore dedicated to showing the black experience with compassion and unflinching honesty. Starting from a young age with an interest in medicine and science, he independently discovered his love for film as a teenager. Jovan earned his BFA at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He started at NYU Tisch Grad Film in 2014 where he made his first short film, “The Jump Off”, that explores the end of a relationship between two young gay black men, it had its film festival debut at UrbanWorld in New York City and has played at over twenty film festivals across North America. His most recent short film, “Tadpole”, which follows the possible beginning of a queer teenage romance, debuted at New Hampshire Film Festival 2018, where it was awarded Best Student Film, and has since played over a dozen festivals across the country. After graduating from Tisch Grad Film in May 2019, he relocated to Los Angeles and was selected as a fall intern at the coveted internship program at Bad Robot Productions. In January 2020, Jovan premiered his newest short film and NYU Grad thesis, BUCK, at the Sundance Film Festival.
Sunday
Pandemic Shorts – LIVE at 11:00am, Sunday, November 15th
Q & A Hosted by
Teaching Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Ya’Ke Smith, Brother
November 15, 2020: 11:00am
Ya’Ke Smith, known for his unflinching and veracious style of storytelling, is a rising voice in independent cinema. His films have received world-wide acclaim, screening and winning awards at over 100 film festivals. The Director’s Guild of America, the Student Academy Awards, HBO, Showtime, the City of Buffalo, NY, which proclaimed February 23, 2013 as Ya’Ke Smith Day and the city of Cincinnati, OH which proclaimed October 6, 2019 as Ya’Ke Smith Day, have honored him. He was also named by Variety Magazine as one of the top film educators from across the globe. He has been featured on NPR, CNN, HLN, Ebony Online, Indiewire, Filmmaker Magazine and Shadow&Act. Ya’Ke graduated from the University of The Incarnate Word, where he later became the youngest recipient of the Alumni of Distinction for Professional Achievement award. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Texas at Austin’s film program, where he is currently an Associate Professor of film and the Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Moody College of Communication.
Nitzan Mager, Quarantine, I Love You
November 15, 2020: 10:50am
Nitzan Mager, series creator, is an award-winning filmmaker living in Brooklyn, NY. Recent works include a commissioned short on Gloria Steinem that featured Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Strange Love, a feature film in development– a finalist for the 2020 Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Middlebury Script Lab, Outfest Lab, and was nominated by Marta Kauffman for the 2020 WriteHer List.
Tony Buba, Windows
November 15, 2020: 10:50am
Tony Buba has been producing documentaries since 1972. Buba received his M.F.A from Ohio University in 1976. Tony’s films have been screened at Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, Black Maria, Athens, and other major international film festivals. He has had exhibitions at more than 100 universities and museums, including The Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum Ludwig-Cologne, Anthology Film Archives, and Pacific Film Archives. Some of Tony’s awards include fellowships from the NEA, AFI, Rockefeller and Guggenheim Foundations, The Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award as well as grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His most recent feature documentary Ghosts of Amistad aired on PBS, and in 2015 was awarded the John E. O’Connor Film Award from the American Historical Association. Tony’s 1988 film Lightning Over Braddock was named in the Oct. 14, 2020 edition of the New Yorker magazine as one of the 62 most influential documentaries ever made.
We Are… Filmmakers – LIVE at 1.45pm, Sunday, November 15th
Q & A Hosted by
Associate Teaching Professor, Associate Head of Department of Film-Video & Media Studies
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Associate Professor, Interim Head of the Department of Film-Video and Media Studies
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Richie Sherman, Franklin Manor
November 15, 2020: 1:45pm
Richard Sherman is an Associate Professor of Film who graduated with an MFA from Ohio University. He is an award-winning cinematographer and director, having shot six feature narrative films, four feature documentary films, and more than 20 short films. His work has been screened at numerous festivals including the Cannes Film Festival Doc Corner, the Lucerne International Film Festival in Switzerland, and he won the Grand Prize, Best Feature Documentary, Rhode Island International Film Festival. As an artist with a background in photography and printmaking, his films could best be described as expressionist nonfiction. He has taught classes in Cinematography and Lighting, and Narrative, Documentary and Experimental Production at Pittsburgh Filmmakers, Ohio University School of Film, and The Pennsylvania State University. While at Penn State, he co-developed a Documentary Abroad program in which he took students to Iceland, Amsterdam, Ireland, Hungary and Portugal to make short documentary films. He is currently teaching filmmaking at the Cleveland School of Film.
John Beale, Franklin Manor
November 15, 2020: 1:45pm
John Beale is a documentary photographer and educator whose work has been widely-published on websites, and in newspapers, magazines and books. Beale has been honored with dozens of regional and national awards, but he claims his greatest professional accomplishments are the talented and successful students he has taught as an associate teaching professor at Penn State.
Meet the Penn State Students and Local High School Students and hear them talk about their work.
November 15, 2020: 1:45pm
Morgan Seiff, Halfway
Carson Spence, The Whitewashing of the American Cinema
Ellie Fetting, Hunger
Bryan Stanley, From Cells to Sales
Jack Meyer, This Is What You Are
Xavier Hons, Suraj Kumar, Tyler Gully, Ramen
Christopher Putlock, On The Wagon
Street Heart – LIVE at 4.30pm, Sunday, November 15th
Q & A Hosted by
Associate Teaching Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Elegance Bratton, Pier Kids
November 15, 2020: 4:30pm
Elegance began making films as a US Marine after a decade spent homeless. Today, he holds a BS from Columbia University (2014) and MFA from NYU Tisch Graduate Film (2019). Walk For Me, his debut narrative short is about Hannah, a young trans girl who’s secret life is discovered by her mother at a gay ball. The film played in over 100 festivals worldwide including winning Best Student Short at the New Hampshire (2016), Best LGBT Short at Anne Arbor Film Festival (2017), Best LGBT Short Columbus Film Festival (2017) and Best Short at the Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival (2017) amongst many other awards. His documentary feature Pier Kids, follows three queer and trans homeless youth on NYC’s iconic Christopher Street Pier to show the intricate ways queer people of color utilize public space to build chosen family. With Pier Kids, Elegance is the winner of Emerging Talent for Outfest (2019), Jury Prize for Best Documentary All Genders and Lifestyles Film Festival (2020), and the Bravery Award at Mammoth Lakes Film Festival (2020). He is the executive producer/creator of Viceland’s GLAAD-nominated and Cannes MIPCOM winning series, MY HOUSE. The Inspection, his forthcoming feature narrative script, is supported by Tribeca All Access and Film (2019), Independent Fast Track (2019), and Sundance Talent Forum (2020). He was a mentor for the Sundance Native Lab (2020). He is one of Indiewire’s 25 LBGT faces to watch (2019) and the winner of the Maynor Biggers Artist Fund grant (2018). Buck, his most recent short, premiered domestically at Sundance 2020 and internationally at the London Film Festival (BFI) 2020. He is a 2020 Sundance Native Lab and Saul Zaentz mentor.
David Larson, R.A.W. Tuba
November 15, 2020: 4:30pm
Dave is a disciplined photographer and an intuitive storyteller who uses the human experience as a canvas for creative expression. Dave balances technical savvy and gathering gorgeous cinematic images with his ability to blend into the background to capture real moment-driven stories making his work connect on deeper levels. Dave’s film making talents have garnered him many industry awards. Most recently, David co-directed “Throw,” a moving shortfilm that won Director’s Choice award at Telluride Mountainfilm and a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Darren Durlach, R.A.W. Tuba
November 15, 2020: 4:30pm
Darren’s tireless focus on refining footage into a beautiful and captivating narrative stems from more than a decade of meticulously crafting impactful award-winning films. His unique skill of pulling raw stories out of natural conversation is what makes his work compelling. Darren believes that motion pictures is the most powerful medium for showing fascinating stories of ordinary people and driving human connection. Most recently, Darren co-directed “Throw,” a moving shortfilm that won Director’s Choice award at Telluride Mountainfilm and a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Dr. Richard Antoine White, Associate Professor of Music, University of New Mexico, R.A.W. Tuba
November 15, 2020: 4:30pm
Dr. Richard White along with Dr. Kevin Sanders have spent over a dozen years in higher education working with students, educators, and entrepreneurs from all over the country. They are passionate about collaborating with organizations to develop positive change and leveraging creativity and unique skillsets to bring about cultural transformation. Richard and Kevin specialize in program management, strategic planning, consulting, facilitation, curriculum development, and capacity building.
Into the Classroom – LIVE at 5.45pm, Sunday, November 15th
Q & A Hosted by
Assistant Professor of Education
College of Education, The Pennsylvania State University
Hanan Harchol, About a Teacher
November 15, 2020: 5:45pm
Born in Israel and raised in the United States, Hanan Harchol has been a public high school teacher in New York City for the past 12 years, teaching filmmaking to students who are for the most part socio-economically disadvantaged. “I made this film because I felt that often the portrayal of teachers on film and television was a comedic caricature of the profession. I wanted to show what teachers really go through and begin a discourse on how to better support teachers, and with that, how to better support our disadvantaged student population.” Hanan is a New York based teacher, filmmaker, animator, fine artist, and classical guitarist. About a Teacher is his first feature film.
Lizette Barrera, ¡Come!
November 15, 2020: 5:45pm
Lizette Barrera is a Chicana filmmaker based in Dallas/Ft.Worth with ties in Austin, TX. Her film Mosca (Fly) is currently in distribution with HBO. She was awarded The Filmmaker to Watch Award at the Women Texas Film Festival and the EBW by Sandra Adair cash grant from the Austin Film Society for her latest film Chicle (Gum), has World Premiered at SXSW. She has received her MFA in Film Production at The University of Texas at Austin and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at The University of Texas at Arlington. She is represented by Inclusion Management.
Closing Night Film – LIVE at 7.45pm, Sunday, November 15th
Q & A Hosted by
Donald P. Bellisario Career Advancement Professor, Associate Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Associate Teaching Professor
Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University
Niav Conty, Small Time
November 15, 2020: 7:45pm
(Writer, Director, DP, Producer, co-Editor) Niav’s films span darkly humorous investigations of the taboo, intimate and troubling coming-of-age portraits, and cutting-edge Machinima. She is an active freelance director, cinematographer, and editor in New York City. Her award-winning films have traveled to festivals worldwide and she is a recipient of the 2013 Princess Grace Award. She is currently working on a new feature, Person Woman Man Camera TV slated for release in early 2021.
Shalom Hager, Curl
November 15, 2020: 7:45pm
Director, screenwriter and lecturer at the Ma’aleh film school. Graduated from the Sam Spiegel Film School and Tel Aviv University Cinema Department. Over the years, Shalom made several of films and participated In festivals in Israel and abroad. His film ‘Tachrichim’ Won the first prize at the Hamburg Film Festival. In these days he works with Sigalit Liphshitz on a TV series ‘Sisu V’Simchu’ produced by ‘kan’ – the Israeli public channel.
Sigalit Lipshitz, Curl
November 15, 2020: 7:45pm
Director, screenwriter and Lecturer at the Sam Spiegel Film School. Graduate with honors of the Sam Spiegel Film School. Sigalit made several short film and participated In dozens of festivals. Her film ‘Krav Tarnegolim’ won Several festivals, in them: Montpellier Film Festival, Milano Film Festival, Melbourne Film Festival, the Jury Prize at the Munich Film Festival and the Press Award at the Bratislava Film Festival.In these days she works with Shalom Hager on a series ‘Sisu V’Simchu’ produced by ‘kan’ – the Israeli public channel.