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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for UnionDocs
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260821T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260821T190000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260720T202350Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T164706Z
UID:10003086-1787338800-1787338800@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:To Use a Mountain
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Program 7:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_btn title=”Get Tickets!” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” css_animation=”bounceIn” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Ffirehouse.dctvny.org%2Fwebsales%2Fpages%2Fticketsearchcriteria.aspx%3Fevtinfo%3D564893~2998286f-8e4b-4c31-9017-dcced8ffebb3%26|title:Get%20Tickets!|target:_blank”][vc_column_text]Offsite\nDCTV\n87 Lafayette Street\,\nNew York\, NY 10013[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/1077107900″ css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWe’re delighted to co-present Casey Carter’s haunting and visually stunning documentary To Use A Mountain\, screening at DCTV this August! \nThe film asks how we handle our most hazardous byproducts\, and takes this question to the heart of America’s deserts and mountains\, tracing the fallout of decisions made in 1982\, when six potential sites were identified by the U.S. Department of Energy for long-term nuclear waste storage. To Use A Mountain investigates these fraught landscapes of disposal and the people who live among them\, mixing physics\, geology\, and politics in a gripping radioactive travelogue. \nWe’re especially excited to note that producer Colleen Cassingham and director Casey Carter first met in the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio along with collaborator Magdalena Orellana who was also a part of the project from the start and added her signature artistry via the animation in the film. We’re delighted to also have served as the film’s fiscal sponsor and see it along its trajectory now finally out in the world meeting an audience. The film first premiered this past April at Visions Du Reel\, where it won a Special Jury Award. \nThis event is offsite at DCTV — see you there![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nTo Use a Mountain by Casey Carter\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]99 min\, 2025\,  United States[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]What do we do with our most hazardous byproducts? Nuclear waste will be with us\, still lethally radioactive\, for millennia\, and we’ve never found a solution for where to keep it. In 1982\, six candidate sites were selected by the U.S. Department of Energy and reviewed for use in long term storage\, to public consternation. To Use A Mountain investigates these fraught landscapes of disposal\, and the people and places that must exist alongside them\, mixing physics\, geology\, and politics in a gripping radioactive travelogue.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 99 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”160615″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Casey Carter is a filmmaker and interdisciplinary designer whose work engages nonfiction storytelling in film\, photography\, data visualization\, and cartography. Working through a mixture of portraiture\, landscape\, and evidentiary documents and media\, his work centers on themes of governmentality\, geography\, and environmentalism. He was a 2021 NYSCA/NYFA Film/Video Artist Fellow\, a 2019 Points North Fellow\, and a 2017-2018 UnionDocs Collaborative Studio Fellow. His work as project director for Maya Lin’s What Is Missing? Foundation\, won the 2023 Webby Awards for Best Activism Website as well as Best Navigation/Structure for desktop and mobile websites. His interdisciplinary background (BS in Physics\, BS in Photography\, M.Arch\, M.S. in Design Health) informs his work across media\, art\, and design.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1786638875023-b25f967a-acf8-5″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/to-use-a-mountain-2026-08-21/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/giphy-11.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260801T203000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260801T203000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260713T111438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260729T022841Z
UID:10003069-1785616200-1785616200@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:애국소녀 K- Family Affairs
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 8:00p\nProgram 8:30p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]OFFSITE\nHandball Courts across the street from UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Free RSVP!” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#FFFFFF” outline_custom_hover_background=”#ADADCC” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000CD” shape=”round” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluma.com%2Fz8in4ywq|title:Free%20RSVP!”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to come together with our friends at Nooks and Crannies to co-present 애국소녀 K-Family Affairs by 남아름 Arum Nam! \nThis is a FREE outdoor screening happening on the Handball Courts across the streets from UnionDocs! \nIn an ever polarized world\, sitting down and having an actual talk seem to grow impossible amongst people holding different beliefs and ideas. Yet Arum Nam documented her vibrant family living room\, full of conversions: at times mundane\, humourous\, or at times grueling\, emotionally demanding. Nam doesn’t just present a family portrait with parents of their own growing political beliefs\, but also self-documented her own journey of understanding of the democracy\, women’s rights and her motifs in the world as it is. \nCome through![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n애국소녀 K-Family Affairs by 남아름 Arum Nam\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]South Korea\, 2023\, 90min[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Arum’s parents are part of the proud 386 generation\, which played a significant role in achieving democratization in South Korea. Eager to pass on a better world to Arum\, her father became a public servant\, and her mother\, a feminist activist. However\, at the age of 18\, she came face to face with the Sewol ferry disaster\, which left numerous victims due to the malfunctioning national system. To her dismay\, even Arum’s father was involved in managing the aftermath of the accident\, prompting her to question the democracy crafted by the previous generation. Navigating through Korean political history via her family’s journey\, Arum reflects on her generation’s role\, spanning from the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster to the impeachment\, #MeToo movement\, and the 2022 presidential election.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 90 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163988″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]남아름 Arum Nam is an documentary filmmaker from South Korea whose works explore women’s rights and the intersections of family and politics. Her debut feature\, K-Family Affairs (2023)\, won awards at DMZ Docs and the Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF)\, and was selected for IDFA’s “Best of Fests.” She co-directed Teleporting(2022)\, an AR documentary created with Japanese collaborators that screened at Hot Docs\, and previously directed Pink-Femi (2018) during Korea’s #MeToo movement.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1785292085377-bd410730-268e-6″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1785292085378-c2c54e7b-7410-4″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/%ec%95%a0%ea%b5%ad%ec%86%8c%eb%85%80-k-family-affairs-2026-08-01/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ncgif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260728T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260728T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260712T201450Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260731T105008Z
UID:10003076-1785267000-1785267000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Summer Lab Pitch Bingo & Chill
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]Doors 7:30p\nProgram 8:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”RSVP!” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#ADADCC” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” css_animation=”bounceIn” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluma.com%2Fc4g5oh5n|title:RSVP|target:_blank”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”164232″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]You’re invited to UnionDocs’ Summer Lab Pitch Bingo Night. Come through to catch a sneak peek from our brilliant Summer Doc Lab artists as they take a moment to practice their project pitches with a supportive audience. Here you will have plenty of time to mingle and meet in the wider UNDO community. \nFolks often ask what exactly goes on in these labs at UNDO? Here’s your chance to find out what’s going on inside. Each artist and project was selected from an incredibly competitive pool of applicants\, and participants are joining us from around the world — from China to London to Australia\, Berlin\, New Zealand\, Italy\, Marseilles and some from right here in NYC! \nAfter weeks of deep focus and work\, we’re inviting you to meet and celebrate this incredible group for how far they’ve come. \nPitching a doc is usually a scary\, competitive business\, but does it have to be? To make things extra fun\, we decided to turn the tables just a little: Grab a bingo card at the bar to engage in a friendly competition with fellow audience members. We’ll see who can listen along keenly enough to circle their way to Bingo stardom and win some grand prizes! \nCome on out to learn about this work and get the chance for a first look at a group of documentary projects in early phases of development that span continents\, histories\, forms and modes of inquiry. Through personal archives\, overlooked memorials\, endangered ecosystems\, underground networks of care\, experimental music\, family histories\, aging bodies\, and rapidly transforming urban landscapes\, these filmmakers investigate the forces that shape memory\, identity\, health\, migration\, belonging and beyond! \nThese folks are looking for supporters\, team members and more\, so it may be the start of a beautiful collaboration. \nDoors open at 7:30\, show starts ~8:00 with celebratory festivities to follow![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 80 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””] \nMeet the Summer Lab! \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164242″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nVeronica Ciceri(she/her) \nVeronica Ciceri is an award-winning filmmaker and creative director working across documentary\, art direction\, and design. Her work explores the relationship between humans and the natural world through a visually driven and research-led approach. Her short films The Last Skiers and Emme | A Wolf’s Odyssey have screened internationally and received multiple awards. In 2025\, she founded The Cuddly Pets of Komodo\, a Milan-based creative studio dedicated to exploring new forms of storytelling.\n \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164243″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nBremen Donovan(she/her) \nBremen Donovan is a filmmaker\, photographer\, and researcher. Her first feature documentary is a collaboration with journalists\, activists\, and lawyers in the Republic of Guinea. A 2025 Fejos Fellow\, Bremen has conducted visual reporting and engaged documentary projects internationally for years\, including recent work on policing and the production of visual evidence in France. Bremen holds an interdisciplinary B.A. from Brown University and a Ph.D. in Anthropology. She lives in Marseille.\n \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164244″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nMelinda Jackson(she/her) \nMelinda Jackson is a New Zealand-born filmmaker based in Brooklyn. She brings over a decade of experience producing and editing films\, documentaries\, music videos\, and commercials. Melinda holds a background in Philosophy from the University of Auckland and an MA in Animal Studies from NYU. She aims to make documentaries that reimagine our relationship with the beyond-human world and wild spaces. Melinda is also a programmer for the Ridgewood Off-Kilter Film Festival\, now in its fourth year. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164245″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nMax Kerkhoff(he/him) \nMax Kerkhoff is an Austrian–German–American filmmaker & editor based between Berlin & Santiago. His short A Day’s Work screened at 30+ festivals like Clermont-Ferrand\, Tampere\, PÖFF\, and FIPADOC. He produced the animated short RECORDARI\, screened at Cannes Marché du Film and 40+ festivals. He has participated in international programs and labs including ESoDoc\, IDFAcademy\, Austrian ScriptLabDocu\, and the Robert Bosch “Crossing Borders” program. His work explores how global structures become visible in everyday spaces. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164246″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nLucie McMahon\n(she/her) \nLucie McMahon is a producer based in Melbourne\, Australia. Lucie is currently producing several documentary projects including feature documentaries Trade Secret and Mosquitoes which recently won the Docplay Indie Booster Pitch at AIDC and documentary short Slow Hours (working title) commissioned by NITV and Vic Screen\, and working as an associate producer on Mosquittoes Notable producing credits include the feature documentary Things Will Be Different and Jeanette is the Dog. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164247″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nAlexis Kyle Mitchell\n(she/her) \nAlexis Kyle Mitchell is an artist whose work foregrounds how embodied knowledge interrupts narratives of history\, health and personhood. Exhibitions and screenings include JOAN\, LA; Peer\, London; Glasgow International; MOCA Triennial\, Toronto; Henry Art Gallery\, Seattle; International Film Festival Rotterdam\, RIDM Documentary Festival\, Montreal\, and IndieLisboa. Mitchell was a postdoctoral fellow at Center for Disability Studies (NYU) and has an upcoming solo exhibition at Site\, Sheffield. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164248″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nEric Schuman\n(he/him) \nEric Schuman is an Emmy-winning director and editor. His shorts have screened internationally – including at TIFF Kids\, Palm Springs ShortsFest\, Montclair\, Woodstock\, and Filmfort. As an editor\, his award-winning documentary work has played at festivals around the world such as Venice\, Cannes\, CPH:DOX\, True/False\, and Sundance. He is a third-generation Holocaust survivor\, his paternal grandmother having survived Auschwitz\, and a former member of the Tree of Life synagogue. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164249″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nLinda Wei\n(she/they) \nLinda is a Chinese-American filmmaker and artist who had seven different names by the age of seven\, given and imposed across families and institutions. This early instability informs her focus on narrative agency\, memory\, and authorship. Her work shifts across forms and between personal and collective worldbuilding. She holds an MFA in Film Directing from CalArts and a BS in Foreign Service from Georgetown. She is a 2025-2026 VC Archives Artist-in-Residence and a 2024 Flaherty Film Fellow. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163609″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nPriya Woods\n(she/her) \nPriya is a 28-year-old Indian-Scottish\, first-time feature director from London. Still\, life\, the 7-minute short\, won Best Short at DocsBarcelona 2024. In June 2025\, she pitched a feature-length extension of this short at the Edinburgh Pitch and won £2\,000. Priya is the founder of Take2\, an all-female-identifying collective of creatives. She volunteers as the UK ambassador for the non-profit ShareDoc\, and she is a full-time carer for her dad\, who is the subject of her upcoming feature. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164250″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nDexter Chuang\n(he/him) \nDexter Chuang (Chuang Xu) is an award winning film director and producer hailing from China. Chuang is deeply committed to delving into the complex motivations behind human behavior. His storytelling approach seamlessly combines fanciful elements\, nostalgic themes\, and an intimate hybrid of styles\, resulting in captivating and thought-provoking narratives. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”164251″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nMika Yatsuhashi\n(she/her) \nMika Yatsuhashi is an American filmmaker and editor based in Montréal\, Canada. In 2021\, her short film\, An Uninterrupted View of the Sea\, screened at HotDocs and the Smithsonian Museum of Asian Art\, among others. She’s edited films shown at Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen and Images Film Festival. Her directorial work explores archives and family history\, with multiple projects in development. She works in post-production at Cinema Politica\, and holds a BFA in Film Production from Concordia University. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1785494765685-a6d06435-f503-6″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/summer-lab-pitch-bingo-chill/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, Ridgewood\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, QUEENS\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/pitchbingo2026.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260724T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260724T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260713T103853Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260713T111738Z
UID:10003068-1784921400-1784921400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:The Lost Image Archives
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWe’re delighted to kick off our workshop The Magical Image: Special Effects as Documentary Method with a special screening and conversation featuring workshop lead\, the brilliant filmmaker Carl Elsaesser! \nWorking between experimental film\, essay\, and archival practice\, Carl Elsaesser creates films that blur the boundaries between memory\, history\, and fiction. Blending found materials\, personal archives\, and carefully constructed cinematic gestures\, his work asks how images continue to shape the stories we tell about ourselves and others long after the moments they depict have passed. \nThe evening brings together two recent films—Home When You Return (2022) and How to Run a Trotline (2024)—alongside The Lost Image Archives #4: Julie (2026)\, presented in three parts throughout the program. Moving between domestic spaces\, vanished histories\, amateur cinema\, and fleeting encounters\, these works invite us into a cinema where metaphor\, ritual\, and transformation become ways of approaching documentary. Rather than treating images as fixed records of reality\, Elsaesser’s films open them up as living\, unstable forms through which memory and meaning continue to shift. \nFollowing the screening\, Carl Elsaesser will be joined in conversation by filmmaker Alena Lodkina. Come through! \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nHow to Run a Trotline\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]USA\, 2024\, 18mins[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] “Stretching and blurring the boundaries of video essay\, experimental film and home movie\, traces of a 1950s homemade melodrama by amateur filmmaker Joan Thurber Baldwin intermingle with a mournful homage to the author’s grandmother and her vacated home. A powerful mélange of cinematic and domestic spaces\, past and present.” – Kevin B Lee[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nHome When You Return\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]USA\, 2022\, 30mins[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]“Despite the didactic promise of its title\, Carl Elsaesser’s new film will not teach you how to complete this obscure action. The phrase itself\, at once ridiculous and noble\, is pleasure enough\, and its tone fits perfectly on a work that walks a thin\, dandyish path down the border of farce and elegy. Another pleasure: it isn’t about anything\, though it’s of quite a lot. Of fathers (who might teach one how to run a trotline\, or sit on a porch\, or disappear); of other films (particularly a pair by adopted fathers Michael Snow and William E. Jones); of at least two kinds of cruising; of the winter in Maine and the streets in New York and the many kinds of light to be found in and around both (ranging from snowy diffusion to snare-hit clarity). But one needn’t know these films or Maine or New York\, not any more than one need know what a trotline is\, to be hooked by the ongoing oddness of Elsaesser’s rhythms\, which move gently\, languidly toward new raptures of illumination.” – Phil Coldiron[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nThe Lost Image Archives #4 Julie\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]USA\, 2026\, 18min[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163435″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Carl Elsaesser is an experimental filmmaker whose work blends genres and materials to critically investigate the overarching presence of history without losing sight of individual experiences of human connection. He is interested in framing a film practice through ritualistic and slow processes—thinking with a project as something akin to skin or clothing\, worn throughout his day as he teaches class\, walks through the city or countryside late at night\, or calls a friend across the world.His films have screened widely at festivals and institutions including the Berlinale\, New York Film Festival\, Cinema du Réel\, European Media Art Festival\, the National Gallery of Art\, and the Criterion Channel.He has been honored with grants and residencies including a 2026 Creative Capital Award\, a Guggenheim Fellowship\, the Minnesota State Arts Board grant\, a MacDowell Fellowship\, and residencies at the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation\, Hewnoaks\, and Squeaky Wheel Media Center. His work has been featured in publications such as LA Review of Books\, Millennium Film Journal\, and FilmExplorer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163918″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Alena Lodkina is a Russian-born Australian filmmaker. She has made fiction and documentary short films that have played at festivals around the world. Her debut feature film STRANGE COLOURS was produced through the Biennale College Cinema and premiered at Venice Film Festival 2017\, toured the festival circuit and had a cinematic release across Australia. PETROL\, her second feature as writer/director\, premiered at Locarno Film Festival and in the inaugural competition at Melbourne International Film Festival in 2022. The New Yorker named it a stand-out at New Directors/ New Films Festival 2023 and it was released in cinemas in Australia. She was a MacDowell Fellow in fall/winter 2023-2024. Her non-fiction and fiction writing has appeared in Senses of Cinema\, 4:3 Journal\, Meanjin\, Fireflies\, HEAT Journal\, The Stinging Fly and One-Way Street. TWICE OVER is her third feature film.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1783938910993-a26d3ba3-3d93-4″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/the-lost-image-archives-2026-07-24/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/carl-elsaesser-event.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260724T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260726T163000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260611T125312Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260715T151031Z
UID:10003067-1784887200-1785083400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:The Magical Image:  Special Effects as Documentary Method
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T0dWTytwA” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Special Effects in nonfiction have always been a way of thinking—not just a way of finishing. But in 2026\, when AI can generate any effect on demand and the spectacular becomes benign\, the question changes: what does it mean to slow down and work with effects that reveal the hand\, the labor\, and the ethics of representation itself? Led by artist and educator Carl Elsaesser\, this three-day workshop explores effects not simply as spectacle\, polish or illusion\, but as documentary method shaping how reality is perceived and disguised. \nAcross three days\, we’ll be studying and experimenting with both in-camera and post-produced interventions—rear projection\, masking\, blur/redaction\, matte/compositing\, reenactment\, and “visible seams”—as nonfiction methods for exploring memory\, portraiture\, protection and political critique. The goal is not to resolve whether an image is “real\,” but to understand what reality effects can make possible—and what it costs. Through screenings\, discussion\, demonstration and hands-on exercises\, Carl\, accompanied by a diverse lineup of wonderful guests\, will guide participants through an examination of how these techniques have been used historically\, their evolving use and how these effects continue to function politically and aesthetically today. \nRather than treating effects as in opposition to documentary truth\, the workshop approaches them as tools to confront thorny relationships between visibility and concealment\, evidence and speculation\, memory and reconstruction. Across the weekend we’ll be probing questions like: what does a manipulated image allow a viewer to confront? What kind of history and experience becomes imaginable through compositing or reenactment? What does the line between the real and the manufactured image say about our relationship to the truth? What are the ethical\, aesthetic and political stakes of image mediation? \nCarl will lead participants through the practical\, conceptual and experiential impacts of effects used in a non-fiction context. Guest speakers include James N. Kienitz Wilkins\, who will explore the use of digital effect in his practice\, as it interacts with unreality and the uncanny; Sharon Lockhart\, who will discuss the production of perspective\, and the affective impacts of durational and in-camera effects in her filmmaking; and Courtney Stephens\, who will elaborate on the history and the erotics of the special effect in her cinema. Drawing from experimental nonfiction\, essay film\, political cinema\, magic & illusionism\, and hybrid documentary practices\, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of effects as nonfiction strategies. \nSpecial thanks to partner Rockaway Film Festival! Look out for a partner screening with the fest later this year.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Who is eligible?” tab_id=”1477608256488-ac7d3d1a-ae9084d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]Open to everyone\, though the workshop setting is best suited for filmmakers\, film producers\, journalists\, curators and media artists. \nGive us an idea of who you are and why you are coming. When you register you will be asked for a short statement of interest that should briefly describe your experience and a film project (it would be great if you have a project in progress that you would present to the group during the work-in-progress critique sessions)\, plus a bio. There’s a spot for a link to a work sample (and CV\, which would also be nice\, but is not required).[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]$295 early bird registration ends on July 15\, 2026. \n$350 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel\, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until July 15. After July 15\, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]No animation software is required for participation in this workshop. \nIn order to keep costs down\, this workshop is a BYOL\, i.e. bring your own laptop. Students must be fully proficient using and operating their computers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Registration & Cancellation Policy” tab_id=”1477612055387-51381642-d1c784d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]To register for a workshop\, students must pay in full via card\, check\, or cash . After the early bird registration deadline of July 15\, course fees are not refundable or transferable and any withdrawals or deadlines will result in the full cost of the class being forfeit. There will be no exceptions. To withdraw from a course please email info-at-uniondocs.org. \nIn the event that a workshop does not receive sufficient enrollment\, it may be canceled. Students will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the start of a cancelled workshop and will be refunded within 5 business days. If we reschedule a workshop to another date\, students are also entitled to a full refund. UnionDocs reserves the right to change instructors without prior notification\, and to change class location and meeting times by up to an hour with 48 hours prior notice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Section” tab_id=”1781182352324-698be9aa-6635″][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_message message_box_style=”solid” style=”square” message_box_color=”orange”]Please note: Participants are accepted on a first-come\, first-serve basis.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Schedule” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Friday\, July 24th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Welcome & intros  \n10:30am – 12:30pm Intro session with Carl Elsaesser \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Session with Guest 1  \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Carl additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Saturday\, July 25th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case studies \n10:30am – 12:30pm Session with James N. Kienitz Wilkins \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Creative work-in-progress session with Carl \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Carl\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sunday\, July 26th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training. \n10:30am – 12:30pm Session with Sharon Lockhart \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Session with Courtney Stephens \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Carl\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Each day follows this general structure\, with some minor variations and substitutions:” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:00a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:30a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]11:45a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]12:30p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Share / Discussion / Exercise[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]1:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Lunch (on your own)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]2:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]3:15p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]4:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Workshop Exercise + Critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]5:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Wrap Up[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Bios” color=”white” el_class=” \n“][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163435″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Carl Elsaesser is an experimental filmmaker whose work blends genres and materials to critically investigate the overarching presence of history without losing sight of individual experiences of human connection. He is interested in framing a film practice through ritualistic and slow processes—thinking with a project as something akin to skin or clothing\, worn throughout his day as he teaches class\, walks through the city or countryside late at night\, or calls a friend across the world. His films have screened widely at festivals and institutions including the Berlinale\, New York Film Festival\, Cinema du Réel\, European Media Art Festival\, the National Gallery of Art\, and the Criterion Channel. He has been honored with grants and residencies including a 2026 Creative Capital Award\, a Guggenheim Fellowship\, the Minnesota State Arts Board grant\, a MacDowell Fellowship\, and residencies at the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation\, Hewnoaks\, and Squeaky Wheel Media Center. His work has been featured in publications such as LA Review of Books\, Millennium Film Journal\, and FilmExplorer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”152992″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Courtney Stephens is the director of four feature films. The American Sector (with Pacho Velez) documents slabs of the Berlin Wall installed around the US. Terra Femme\, composed of amateur travel footage shot by women in the early 20th century\, was a New York Times critic’s pick and has toured widely as a live performance. John Lilly and the Earth Coincidence Control Office (with Michael Almereyda) explores the life of neuroscientist and psychedelics pioneer John C. Lilly\, and Invention is a hybrid fiction film about an esoteric healing device. Both The American Sector and Invention were named among The New Yorker’s best films of the year. Her work been exhibited at MoMA\, The National Gallery of Art\, The Barbican\, Fondazione Prada\, Jeu de Paume\, ICA London\, in film festivals including the Berlinale\, Rotterdam\, Locarno\, Viennale\, New Directors/New Films\, IDFA\, Visions Du Réel\, and the New York Film Festival\, and has been released theatrically in the US and France. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship\, a Fulbright Scholarship\, three MacDowell Fellowships\, and grants from the Sloan Foundation\, California Humanities\, and the Foundation for Contemporary Art. She has co-curated the miniature cinema Veggie Cloud since 2014\, and organized film programs for The Getty\, Museum of the Moving Image\, Flaherty NYC\, The Filmmaker’s Cooperative\, and Human Resources. Her writing has appeared in Film Comment\, BOMB\, Filmmaker\, The New Inquiry\, and Cabinet.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163481″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]James N. Kienitz Wilkins is a filmmaker and writer based in NYC. Feature-length work includes Public Hearing (2012)\, Common Carrier (2017)\, The Republic (2017)\, The Plagiarists (2019)\, Still Film (2023)\, and The Misconceived (2026) which premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam  and as the opening night selection of the Museum of Moving Image First Look festival.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163482″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sharon Lockhart (b. 1964) is an American artist living and working in Los Angeles. Working with communities to make films\, photographs\, and installations that are both visually compelling and socially engaged\, Lockhart’s practice involves collaborations that unfold over extended periods of time. Celebrated for her highly conceptual yet effortlessly elegant work\, Lockhart’s practice often involves architectural elements\, extensive periods of research\, and long-term relationships with her subjects and collaborators.\nSelected solo exhibitions of Lockhart’s work include Contemporary Art Centre\, Vilnius (2019); Fondazione Fotografia\, Modena\, IT (2018); Museu Berardo\, Lisbon\, PT (2017); the Arts Club of Chicago\, Chicago\, US (2016); Kunstmuseum Luzern\, Luzern\, CH (2015); Bonniers Konsthall\, Stockholm\, SE (2014); CCA Warsaw – Ujazdowski Castle\, Warsaw\, PL (2013); Los Angeles County Museum of Art\, Los Angeles\, US (2012); The Israel Museum\, Jerusalem\, IL (2011); San Francisco Museum of Modern Art\, San Francisco\, US (2011); Kunstverein in Hamburg\, Hamburg\, DE (2008)\, Walker Art Center\, Minneapolis\, US (2006); and the Museum of Contemporary Art\, Chicago\, US (2001). \nShe has been included in the biennials of Liverpool\, UK (2014)\, Shanghai\, CN (2014)\, Sydney\, AU (2006)\, and at the Whitney Museum of American Art\, New York\, US (2004\, 2000\, 1997) as well as the FRONT International Triennial\, Cleveland\, US (2018).  In 2019 she received the Grand Prix d’Honneur at the Marseille International Film Festival. She was selected to represent Poland at the 57th Venice Biennale.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163557″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]“Cardone” is an award-winning professional magician and variety entertainer with over 3\,000 performances for private\, corporate\, celebrity\, and nightclub audiences. A published songwriter and musician\, he was the bass player for the internationally touring rock band The Toilet Boys and is also known as a renowned escape artist — recognized as the first man in modern history to perform the deadly Milk Can Escape at Coney Island. \nFeatured in two international award-winning documentary films as both a magician and occult scholar\, Cardone recently appeared in the Amazon Prime series Underground Magic. His latest project is the book “A Pox on Thee!”\, an exploration of the ancient art of malediction\, published by Underworld Amusements. He holds a BFA in Acting Performance from Carnegie Mellon University.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/the-magical-image-special-effects-as-documentary-method-2026-07-24/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/giphy-8.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260716T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260716T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260610T135016Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260615T145442Z
UID:10003064-1784230200-1784230200@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:A Brief History of Chasing Storms
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWe’re delighted to present Curtis Miller’s A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHASING STORMS! The film presents a history of the tornado as both a destructive weather event and an American icon. Local monuments to past tornadoes intertwine with mythologies of settlement and displacement. An amateur storm chaser questions his own agency and fate. The CEO of a Wizard of Oz-themed storm shelter company describes a growing market in a world of increasing weather uncertainty. Unfolding episodically\, questions of memory\, inequality\, colonization\, climate change\, and disaster capitalism arise as the film examines legacies of weather within the region colloquially known as “tornado alley.” Curtis will be present for a conversation following the screening with writer\, editor and arts-worker\, Julia Gunnison. \nCome through! \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nA Brief History of Chasing Storms\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm and 4K video / 70 minutes[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163180″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Curtis Miller is an artist and educator working across film\, video\, photography\, and publication. His work often takes the American Midwest as both site and subject. His films have screened internationally at the Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival\, Antimatter\, Chicago International Film Festival\, DMZ Documentary Festival\, EXiS\, IDFA\, Mimesis Documentary Festival\, and Visions du Réel\, as well as the Hyde Park Arts Center\, Indiana University Cinema\, and the Renaissance Society\, among others. Other venues for performance\, printed matter\, and installations include the Chicago Artist Book Fair\, MdW Art Fair\, College Arts Association\, Gallery 400\, Tiger Strikes Asteroid and various artist-run projects and spaces throughout the Midwest. He has taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago\, the City Colleges of Chicago\, and most recently as lecturer for the Department of Art\, Theory\, and Practice at Northwestern University. In 2025\, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 New Faces of Independent Film.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”152993″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Julia Gunnison is a writer\, editor\, and arts worker based in Brooklyn\, New York. Her essays\, reviews\, and interviews have appeared in Film Comment\, Los Angeles Review of Books\, Reverse Shot\, Screen Slate\, and Bright Wall/Dark Room. Her interests include nonfiction film forms and urban space on screen. \nShe is a 2024–26 UNDO Fellow with UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art. Through the fellowship\, she is editing a book of essays in collaboration with filmmaker Courtney Stephens\, to be published later this year. Julia is also an alumna of the 2024 Film at Lincoln Center Critics Academy and the 2023–24 Reverse Shot Emerging Critics Workshop. \nShe is the co-founder and co-editor of Syllabus\, a web publication for nontraditional syllabi that explores how a syllabus can become a creative tool. \nShe has served as a reviewer and juror for the Sundance Institute\, the Shorenstein Center at the Harvard Kennedy School\, the International Documentary Association\, the Miller Foundation\, and the Catapult Film Fund\, among others\, and has moderated Q+A’s at the IFC Center and UnionDocs.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1781535225010-72e1ec06-031f-9″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/a-brief-history-of-chasing-storms-2026-07-16/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/gif-1.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260626T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260628T133000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T211439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260527T153047Z
UID:10003061-1782468000-1782653400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Embracing Adrift:  The Documentary Travelogue
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T0dWTytwA” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]What does it mean to move through a place with a camera—not to capture it\, but to engage with its present\, histories\, absences\, and afterlives?  In this workshop\, filmmaker & media artist Jean-Jacques Martinod invites participants to look anew at the documentary travelogue as a speculative\, political\, and poetic form.  \nThe travelogue\, an extension of the diary form\, has long served as a structuring device for filmmakers; changing landscapes and passing time offer a visible and legible analog to the development of a narrative and the journey taken by its protagonists. Drawing from his own practice between fieldwork and reflection\, Martinod approaches travel not only as discovery\, but as a process of listening\, wandering\, and attunement to what lingers beneath the visible. The travelogue as a form then encounters the unexpected\, the mistake and the incomplete into the creative process.  \nWe’ll be exploring questions like: how does travel structure the way we construct a film\, and how does filming shape the way we travel? How can the camera register what is no longer there? What kinds of narratives emerge when we relinquish mastery over location and embrace the unexpected? How might the travelogue become a space for reimagining relationships between land\, history\, and the moving image? \nAcross the weekend\, Martinod and guests will share methods for working with landscape as archive\, failure as a generative process\, and travel as an act of participatory worldmaking. Argentine film collective Antes Muerto Cine will present and discuss their unique approach to integrating chaos and mistakes into their work. Tiffany Sia will critically unpack the thorny colonial history of the travelogue\, and look to the future of the form. Participants will also be invited to share their own travel-based projects—whether rooted in distant journeys or the overlooked terrains of the everyday—in the context of a group feedback session. Together\, we will explore the travelogue as an open form\, and against romantic notions of the wandering auteur or the confessional diarist\, we embrace failure\, drift\, and the incomplete as methodology. \nNo prior filmmaking experience is required—just a curiosity for movement\, memory\, and the unstable boundaries between document and dream.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Who is eligible?” tab_id=”1477608256488-ac7d3d1a-ae9084d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]Open to everyone\, though the workshop setting is best suited for filmmakers\, film producers\, journalists\, curators and media artists. \nGive us an idea of who you are and why you are coming. When you register you will be asked for a short statement of interest that should briefly describe your experience and a film project (it would be great if you have a project in progress that you would present to the group during the work-in-progress critique sessions)\, plus a bio. There’s a spot for a link to a work sample (and CV\, which would also be nice\, but is not required).[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]$295 early bird registration ends on June 17\, 2026. \n$350 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel\, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until June 17.  After June 17\, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]No animation software is required for participation in this workshop. \nIn order to keep costs down\, this workshop is a BYOL\, i.e. bring your own laptop. Students must be fully proficient using and operating their computers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Registration & Cancellation Policy” tab_id=”1477612055387-51381642-d1c784d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]To register for a workshop\, students must pay in full via card\, check\, or cash . After the early bird registration deadline of June 17\, course fees are not refundable or transferable and any withdrawals or deadlines will result in the full cost of the class being forfeit. There will be no exceptions. To withdraw from a course please email info-at-uniondocs.org. \nIn the event that a workshop does not receive sufficient enrollment\, it may be canceled. Students will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the start of a cancelled workshop and will be refunded within 5 business days. If we reschedule a workshop to another date\, students are also entitled to a full refund. UnionDocs reserves the right to change instructors without prior notification\, and to change class location and meeting times by up to an hour with 48 hours prior notice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_message message_box_style=”solid” style=”square” message_box_color=”orange”]Please note: Participants are accepted on a first-come\, first-serve basis.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Schedule” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Friday\, June 26th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Welcome & intros  \n10:30am – 12:30pm Intro session with Jean-Jacques Martinod \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Remote session with Antes Muerto Cine \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Jean-Jacques additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Saturday\, June 27th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case studies \n10:30am – 12:30pm Creative session OR work-in-progress with Jean-Jacques \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Session with Khalik Allah \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Jean-Jacques\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sunday\, June 28th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training. \n10:30am – 12:30pm Session with Tiffany Sia \n12:30am – 2:00pm Wrap Up[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Each day follows this general structure\, with some minor variations and substitutions:” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:00a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:30a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]11:45a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]12:30p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Share / Discussion / Exercise[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]1:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Lunch (on your own)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]2:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]3:15p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]4:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Workshop Exercise + Critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]5:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Wrap Up[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Bios” color=”white” el_class=” \n“][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163023″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jean-Jacques Martinod is a filmmaker\, media artist\, film curator\, abyssological researcher\, and clandestine anarchivist. His work is engaged within extended modes of noetic and intersubjective experience\, manifest in an ongoing practice of experimental documentary cinema: the human/non-human\, folk mythology\, anemic memory\, sur-regional biomes\, hydra techno-logics\, and the poetic mediation of living worlds and their extended cohabitants. Martinod’s work has been showcased in leading festivals\, museums\, and cinematheques worldwide\, including the IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam\, FIDMarseille\, Sheffield Doc/Fest\, Frontera Sur\, First Look at MoMI\, CIFF Camden\, Novos Cinemas Pontevedra\, PHI Centre Montreal\, Cinemateca do MAM Rio de Janeiro\, Cinemateca Nacional del Ecuador\, Cinemateca de Bogotá\, and the European Media Arts Festival\, among many others.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163024″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] Tiffany Sia (b. Hong Kong) is an artist\, filmmaker\, and writer based in New York whose work examines how images and material culture shape power\, governance\, and imagined geographies. Her practice traces the apparatus underwriting film/video\, attending to what remains unseen or illegible within the visual record. Author of On and Off-Screen Imaginaries (Primary Information\, 2024)\, her films have screened at TIFF\, MoMA Doc Fortnight\, and the New York Film Festival. She has held solo exhibitions at Artists Space\, the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University\, and Mudam Luxembourg. Overt Listening\, her first feature film and a forthcoming body of work\, will be presented at Kunsthalle Wien (Fall 2026) and KW Institute for Contemporary Art\, Berlin (Spring 2027).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163034″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Antes Muerto Cine is a film collective based in Buenos Aires\, dedicated to the production of documentary and experimental cinema. We met in a riot in the public university\, recording images and sounds to shake and discuss the reality we inhabit.\nSince then\, we seek that our practice dialogue with past and future experiences to noticeably rescue the absurd and everyday beauty that is shipwrecked in chaos. We like movies that are alive\, those that are made with care in the privacy or in the street\, those that are invented drawing conclusions on the fly\, those that play.Because we believe that films are also their mode of production\, we understand friendship as a creative policy. Our projects were part of MoMA’s Doc Fortnight\, Mar del Plata International Film Fest\, Ji.Hlava DIFF\, FID Marseille\, Márgenes Cine\, DocLisboa\, Visions Du Réel\, BAFICI\, RIDM\, É tudo verdade\, FICUNAM\, Cinélatino Rencontres de Toulouse\, New Horizons IFF\, Festifreak\, Transcinema\, DOCBSAS\, SEMINCI\, FIDOCS\, Open City\, Frontera Sur among other festivals. And they have received support for its realization from Berlinale Talents\, Buenos Aires Youth Art Biennial\, BoliviaLAB\, AcampaDOC\, Labex\, Migrant Film Festival\, INCAA – National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts\, National Endowment for the Arts\, Cultural Patronage of BsAs and National University of the Arts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163241″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Khalik Allah is a New York-based photographer and filmmaker who practices Camera Ministry with an eye as open as his heart. The resulting work has been described as “street opera” and noted for its beautifully visceral humanity. After a number of short films that reflect relationships between formed through portraiture\, Allah advanced his artistry with the feature Field Niggas (2015)\, shot at nighttime on the corder of Harlem’s 125th St. and Lexington Avenue. This corner also served as thesis for his first photography book Souls Against the Concrete\, published by University of Texas Press in 2017. Allah continued with Black Mother (2018)\, an ecstatic expression of reverence and realities across Jamaica. This award winning fil has been seen in festivals\, museums and schools around the world; further released in the UK and the US through distributors Dogwoof and Grasshopper Film. Allah’s films are available on the Criterion Channel. Khalik is currently at work on his second photo book from 125th and Lexington.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/embracing-adrift-the-documentary-travelogue-2026-06-26/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Travelogue-Workshop-gif.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260625T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260608T144231Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260608T175201Z
UID:10003066-1782415800-1782415800@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Eastern Anthems
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to kick off our workshop Embracing Adrift: The Documentary Travelogue with a special screening and conversation with workshop lead\, the brilliant filmmaker & media artist Jean-Jacques Martinod! \nWorking across ethnofiction\, anthropology\, and surregionalism with haptic artisanal film techniques\, Jean-Jacques Martinod’s work traces the intertwined relations between the human and the non-human: living mythologies\, disappearing memories\, biomes and techne as they manifest in relation to living worlds. Eastern Anthems is a relay between two artists. This experimental film shows the return of a species of cicada that only emerges every 17 years in an America that also may be starting a new cycle. In Datura’s Aubade\, a farmer discovers a fallen meteorite in the high deserts of New Mexico. The Alien Earth and the Earth Alien commingle under the spell of a deadly nightshade. \nJean-Jacques Martinod will be joined in conversation by filmmaker and artist Rebecca Shapass following the screening. Come through! \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nEastern Anthems by Jean-Jacques Martinod & Matthew Wolkow\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]2024\, 78 min\, Canada\, USA[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nDatura’s Aubade by Jean-Jacques Martinod & Bretta C. Walker\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]2021\, 17 min\, USA\, Mexico[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 95 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163023″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jean-Jacques Martinod is a filmmaker\, media artist\, film curator\, abyssological researcher\, and clandestine anarchivist. His work is engaged within extended modes of noetic and intersubjective experience\, manifest in an ongoing practice of experimental documentary cinema: the human/non-human\, folk mythology\, anemic memory\, sur-regional biomes\, hydra techno-logics\, and the poetic mediation of living worlds and their extended cohabitants. Martinod’s work has been showcased in leading festivals\, museums\, and cinematheques worldwide\, including the IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam\, FIDMarseille\, Sheffield Doc/Fest\, Frontera Sur\, First Look at MoMI\, CIFF Camden\, Novos Cinemas Pontevedra\, PHI Centre Montreal\, Cinemateca do MAM Rio de Janeiro\, Cinemateca Nacional del Ecuador\, Cinemateca de Bogotá\, and the European Media Arts Festival\, among many others.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163416″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Rebecca Shapass is a filmmaker and artist investigating documentary form and archival practice through the creation of film & video\, photo\, installation\, and text. Shapass’ work combines techniques of optical & aural abstraction with documentary sensibilities to propel audiences into a space of questioning not only what they see & hear – but how and why. Shapass is compelled by the uncapturable – what escapes both image & language — and how these absences haunt memory & archive.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1780941006862-e269f509-a6bd-3″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/eastern-anthems-2026-06-25/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/gif-7.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260613T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260613T230000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260601T141517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260611T131717Z
UID:10003065-1781380800-1781391600@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Collaborative Studio:  Preview + Party!
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_btn title=”RSVP” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#0000cd” outline_custom_hover_text=”” shape=”round” align=”center” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fluma.com%2Fv40ubym9″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Handball Court\nAcross the street from UNDO\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”163293″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=””][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]Save the date! We’re back with our annual Preview in the Park\, debuting a new collection of 7 short documentaries made by the talented artists in the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio (CoLAB). \nThis year’s films emerge from a shared research focus on sanitation\, waste streams\, discard culture\, labor\, and the hidden infrastructures that move material through and out of New York City every day. \nRooted on the border of Ridgewood and Bushwick\, we have become increasingly aware of our proximity to sanitation garages\, scrap yards\, transfer stations\, and industrial routes that are often overlooked but quietly shape the rhythms of the city at large\, and offer this collection of films to bring these spaces and systems into focus. \nFrom the workforces official and unofficial\, like the 10\,000+ New Yorkers who redeem recyclables for 5 cents on the can every day\, to New York’s strongest— the city’s sanitation force\, or the environmental saviors like the mussels in Newtown Creek that have filtered a century’s worth of pollution\, the films look closely at the various forms of labor that sustain the city every day. \nThey also trace the sites of disposal and the methods of claiming and relinquishing ownership that take place across typical and not-so-typical sites of discard: a notorious plaza under the train that has become a hotspot for illegal dumping\, weekly auction yards for cars picked up on the street\, and the thousands of estate sales that leave formerly beloved and now unwanted objects for the taking — or on a direct pathway to the infamous garbage truck hopper. \nTogether\, these films explore sanitation not only as disposal\, but as an ongoing civic system and choreography that reflects our values: what’s kept? what’s discarded? who decides? who benefits\, or suffers? and who labors through these processes? And of course\, what futures could shift if there was more attention paid to these questions? \nCome through to watch these incredible new films under the stars and in community at Starr Playground on Onderdonk Ave. \nDoors open at 7:30 PM and screenings begin at sunset\, around 8:30 PM. \nAfter the films\, we’ll invite everyone back to UNDO to celebrate with drinks\, a dj set from radiodevil (aka Jess Jara-Williams) and a festive chance to gather and toast the work of these amazing teams. \nStay tuned for the full lineup![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”All Bottles Go to Heaven” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Co-Directors – Billie McKelvie\, Katyayani Kumar\, Nichole Whitney\nCinematography – Billie McKelvie\, Katyayani Kumar\nEditor – Nichole Whitney\nSound – Nichole Whitney\nCo-Producers – Billie McKelvie\, Katyayani Kumar\, Nichole Whitney” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]Over 10\,000 New Yorkers are full time canners. Look beyond the passing glance on the street into the dynamic world of redemption centers facing mass closures in New York State. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Object Permanence” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Co-Directors – Nichole Whitney\, Katyayani Kumar\, Jules Bradley\nCo-Producers – Nichole Whitney\, Jules Bradley\nEditor – Katyayani Kumar” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]Object Permanence is an experimental short film that follows the lives of inanimate objects as they experience an estate sale. As their worth is reevaluated\, debated\, or discarded\, the film becomes a meditation on value itself.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”In Every Crack and Crevice” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Co-Directors – ann haeyoung and David Scheckel\nCo-Editors – ann haeyoung and David Scheckel” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]In In Every Crack and Crevice\, the mussels of Newtown Creek bear witness to the waterway’s past\, present\, and future as they filter through over a century’s worth of pollution.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”grbg trckz” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Co-Directors — Adam Mbowe\, Tomás Orrego\nProducer – Adam Mbowe\nAnimator and Assistant Editor – Tomás Orrego\nEditor & Animator – Jules Bradley\nSound Recordist – Teddy Kentor\nAdditional support from -Sté Sassen\, Nicole Whitney\, David Scheckel\, Ann Haeyoung” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]Children narrate and react to the wonders of the New York Sanitation Department’s\ngarbage trucks through a series of abstract animations.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Trash Triangle” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Co-Directors – David Scheckel and Nichole Whitney\nCo-Editors – Adam Mbowe and David Scheckel\nAdditional Support from – Jules Bradley\, Katyayani Kumar\, Billie McKelvie” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]A plaza under the train has become a hot spot for illegal dumping. Trash Triangle presents a stage for community activation of this unused public space.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”New York’s Strongest” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Director – Teddy Kentor\nDirector of Photography – Billie McKelvie\nCo-Editors – Emily Graves\, Billie McKelvie\, Teddy Kentor\nSound – Emily Graves\nProducers – Teddy Kentor\, Emily Graves\, Billie McKelvie\nAdditional sound – ann haeyoung” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]New York’s Department of Sanitation has earned the nickname “New York’s Strongest” due to the physical demands of the labor. Bodybuilder Michael “Mikey Arms” Squiciari shares what it takes to last.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Auction” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Director/Camera: Anna Heisterkamp\nCo-Director/Camera: Ann Haeyoung\nEditor: Adam Mbowe” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]The NYPD is responsible for towing cars which have accrued more than $350 in debt of fines to the city. Once the car is towed to the impound lot\, and has not been reclaimed\, it is sold off at auction to the highest bidder. This film reckons with access to a ritual; what does the camera do as it watches property which simultaneously belongs to its owner\, the carceral state\, and a crowd of prospective new owners? When theft is made legal\, who keeps the system running? What is the price of retaining a car as your own property? [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]ABOUT THE UNIONDOCS COLLABORATIVE STUDIO \nThe UnionDocs Collaborative Studio is a fellowship program for non-fiction media research and group production. It seeks to bring together individual talents\, voices\, and stories to create multi-dimensional documentaries. For the past 10 months\, fellows have been immersed in research\, idea generation\, planning\, recording\, edits\, critiques\, and re-edits. Teams were formed around a set of select proposals\, which all moved through the stages of production in tandem. In addition to this production work\, fellows engage in masterclasses\, seminars\, and workshops on the history\, theory and practice of documentary arts.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_custom_heading text=”Auction” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_custom_heading text=”Director/Camera – Anna Heisterkamp\nCo-Director/Camera – Ann Haeyoung\nEditor – Adam Mbowe” font_container=”tag:p|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_column_text css=””]Every weekday\, on the outskirts of every borough\, the New York City Marshal’s and Sheriff’s Offices auction off cars to the public. You cannot buy back your own car.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163296″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Billie McKelvie is a multimedia artist living and working in New York City. She is the co-director of Over the Board (NYC Short Documentary Film Festival 2025). In independent film\, she’s worked on a number of sets in New York in the camera and production departments and co-created Easy Eight Productions. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163295″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Katyayani Kumar is a philosopher who writes and a poet who films. A director\, writer\, and editor raised between the US and India\, her work moves between fiction and nonfiction\, exploring stories that slip into the margins\, waiting to be rediscovered. Her short “Coffined at Fifteen\,” made with Afghan refugees\, premiered to a sold-out house at the Oscar-qualifying Dances With Films Festival. Her feature documentary “Sons of the River” has been supported by Tribeca\, DOC NYC\, Hot Docs\, Film Bazaar\, and others. Kumar is a Film Independent Documentary Story Lab Fellow and an Editing Fellow at the American Film Institute. She was selected by Academy Award–winning producer Guneet Monga to represent India at TIFF as part of the Women in Film delegation. As committed to the ecosystem as she is to her own work\, Kumar is a TEDx speaker\, has taught filmmaking in rural areas of North India\, and is passionate about expanding the infrastructure of nonfiction for the future generation of storytellers alongside her own. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”162135″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Sté Sassen is a visual anthropologist and artist known for her film Help Me Help You (2024). Her practice is intuitive and deeply inspired by symbolism\, psychology\, (neo-)conceptual art and the interrelationships between people\, public spaces and nature. Her work mirrors the female gaze\, ethics of representation\, and humans’ capacity for transformation. Colors\, sunrays\, shadows\, reflections and water are often aesthetics that draw her into metaphysical reflections or the magical mundane.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163294″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Nichole Whitney is a documentary filmmaker and photographer based in Portland\, Maine. Her first short documentary\, The Round Forest\, premiered at the Camden International Film Festival in 2025. Her work centers on memory\, loss\, and creative reimagining.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163297″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Jules Bradley is a farmer and mutli-media documentary artist with a background in audio storytelling based in Flatbush\, Brooklyn. She co-directed Inherited\, an anthology of climate audio stories from youth around the world spanning from reported features to speculative fiction. Her independent audio short “Thank You for Calling” was a 2022 BBC Radio pick of the year. Her curiosities lie in stories of rupture\, communal imagination\, and the layers of place – to name a few. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163299″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]ann haeyoung is an artist and writer based in Queens\, NY. Their work explores industrial histories\, labor\, and infrastructure through video\, text\, and research-based projects. They have shown their work at venues including Human Resources\, the Roswell Museum\, and The Mistake Room\, and their work has been published in Wired Magazine\, FLAT Journal\, and Solitude Journal. They are the co-founder of Broken Things Collective\, which organizes Repair Cafe NYC\, a community-based repair workshop.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163298″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]David Scheckel is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker from New Jersey with experience in both documentary and narrative filmmaking. Through his background in social history\, his work approaches documentary practice with a focus on collective understandings and place-based storytelling. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163300″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Adam Mbowe is a Gambian-Canadian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist based in Montreal. Working across documentary\, performance\, and experimental forms\, they explore memory\, identity\, and the complexities of Black diasporic experience. Blending personal history with collective narratives.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163301″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Tomás Orrego is a Peruvian multidisciplinary artist and filmmaker with a background in architecture\, visual art and graphic design based in Brooklyn. Through humor\, experimental approaches and absurdity\, his work explores desire and its construction. His films have been screened internationally as part of various festivals and have been included in renowned platforms such as Labocine. His film\, Fever\, was selected as a semi finalist in the 2024 Student Academy Awards and his 16mm film Hotwire My Heart won the Kostanski Award at the BizarroLand Film Festival. His work extends to directing music videos\, designing title sequences and posters for films and illustrating album covers and concert flyers for a wide range of musicians.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163302″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Teddy Kentor is an emerging documentary filmmaker based in New York. Before documentary\, he led the product experience for election coverage at The Washington Post and served as Director’s Assistant on a scripted series at Netflix.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”162133″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Emily Graves is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her short documentary THE GOATS OF MONESIGLIO\, 2022\, screened internationally (DOC NYC\, SIFF\, Sebastopol) and was nominated for a CSA for Best Short Documentary. She is currently in development on her first feature documentary BECOMING A LANDSCAPE (working title)\, which was selected to participate in the DOC Institute’s Breakthrough Development Lab in 2022\, the Hot Docs-Netflix Incubator 2024-25 and UnionDocs’ Early Production Lab 2025.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”162149″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]Anna Heisterkamp is an artist and filmmaker from Dublin\, Ireland. Their work focuses on archiving and abstracting the present\, investigating structural issues through a spatial lens\, and questioning how systems of power function. An editor and cinematographer by trade\, they have directed over twent music videos and multiple moving image pieces which have been shown in galleries in Dublin\, Limerick and Belfast.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”163428″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″][vc_column_text css=””]radiodevil is a Jersey native with an unshakeable goal to make the people move. Carrying the energy of home onto the dance floor\, she blends Jersey club\, Brazilian funk\, House\, Hustle\, Bounce\, and Latin rhythms shaped by her Ecuadorian roots. She came up alongside the women-led DJ collective SIREN\, where she developed a high-energy sound rooted in experimentation\, movement\, and community. Since then\, she’s shared lineups with and opened for artists including Andrew VanWyngarden\, Ravyn Lenae\, and Joey Bada$$.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/collaborative-studio-preview-party-2026-06-13/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/colabpreviewfeaturedimg.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T190000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260401T215917Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260601T143332Z
UID:10003063-1780858800-1780858800@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:To Commune Catalogue Launch & Screening:  A Flaherty on the Road Program
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 6:30p\nProgram 7:00p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]The Flaherty and UnionDocs celebrate the launch of the To Commune digital catalogue with a screening of one of the seminar’s most beloved programs\, followed by a reception. The 69th Flaherty Film Seminar took place in late June 2024 at the Thai Film Archive in Salaya\, Thailand\, and was programmed by May Adadol Ingawanij and Julian Ross\, with UnionDocs hosting the seminar’s online experience. The To Commune digital catalogue will be available for free online starting June 7th on the Flaherty website and will feature a new piece by Bing\, a poem by Zakariya Amataya\, an interview with the Thai Film Archive and the Flaherty team conducted by Devika Girish\, pieces by Nadia Yahlom\, Cici Peng\, Jean Ma\, Anuj Malhotra\, Jooyeon Lee\, and Wiwat Lertwiwatwongsa\, as well as the complete seminar program with film notes and artist biographies. \nJoin us for a special screening and celebration – The film program features a rare screening of Tongpan (1977)\, the Isan Film Collective’s landmark docu-drama about the struggles of Northeastern Thai villagers\, alongside Chikako Yamashiro’s I Like Okinawa Sweet (2004). [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nI Like Okinawa Sweet by Chikako Yamashiro\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Okinawa/Japan\, 2004\, 7 min[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Leaning over a fence surrounding a U.S. military base\, a woman happily eats ice cream someone gave her. The ice cream symbolizes both a compensation policy for the accepted bases and an image of tourism unilaterally imposed. The filmmaker herself plays the role of the woman who plays the role of Okinawa itself\, embodying through simulationism the present tense of local culture’s disappearance and rapid homogenization.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nTongpan (ทองปาน) by Isan Film Collective\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Thailand\, 1977\, 60 min[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]A landmark film shot after the October 14\, 1973 student uprising and finished after the October 6\, 1976 massacre at Thammasat University\, Tongpan is a social-realist docu-drama about the hardship of Northeastern villagers and the uncertainties that arise after a plan to build Pha Mong Dam. The narrative intercuts between gritty\, documentary-like portrayal of rural existence and a seminar room in which academics and government representatives argue about the dam’s real benefits. Made by a group of activists and filmmakers\, many of whom were persecuted in the anti-communist purge after October 1976\, the film was edited in Hong Kong\, Sweden\, and finally finished in the U.S. It remains one of the most important socio-political films ever made in Thailand.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163190″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Chikako Yamashiro is a Japanese filmmaker and video artist. Her works in photography\, video and performance create visual investigations into the history\, politics and culture of her homeland Okinawa. Particularly salient are themes related to the terrible civilian casualties incurred in Okinawa\, Japan during World War II and the on-going troubles and hardships caused by the U.S. military presence there. Since 2019 she is associate professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163191″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]The Isan Film Group was a collective of student artist-activists formed around Paijong Laisakul\, Surachai Jantimatorn and Euthana Mukdasanit from the leftist youth-counterculture movement at Thammasat University two years after the Siamese revolution. Together they produced the film Tongpan\, for which the filmmakers were arrested during the 1973 crackdown. The film was later banned until 1978 for its socialist undertone\, making it an easy target for accusations of communism. The film never received a theatrical release and instead entered into a network of makeshift itinerant guerrilla screenings\, re-appropriating the spaces used by US sponsored screenings of propaganda films against communism. Within this historical background of both national as well as international power configurations\, Tongpan is today re-visited as an important document of Thai film history\, not only for its content but also its dissemination.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1779284812013-656a1c9e-362b-4″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/to-commune-digital-catalogue-launch-screening-a-flaherty-on-the-road-program-2026-06-07/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/giphhy.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T173000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T221520Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260518T203139Z
UID:10003054-1780848000-1780853400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals:  Festival Strategy\, Distribution & Impact
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re excited that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals series centers on the kinetic and timely Emergent City by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg—a film that follows a local story but whose message is far-reaching and broadly relatable. In this session\, Kelly and Jay are joined by publicist Sylvia Savadijan and Robert Salyer\, Director of Outreach and Impact at American Documentary\, Inc. | POV\, who will share insights into educational distribution and audience strategy—exploring how documentaries find their viewers\, build impact\, and extend their life beyond the festival circuit. \nThis session will be all about releasing and publicising your next documentary. How can you find and reach audiences for your film?  How do you know if your film is best suited for theatrical\, broadcast\, or both? How do digital platforms affect “traditional” models of distribution and release? How can you best utilize your film festival campaign? Another can’t-miss session![/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \n\nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \n\nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162387″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sylvia Savadjian is a New York based film publicist. Work includes festival PR for Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look\, DOC NYC\, Full Frame\, staff roles at Kino Lorber\, Maysles Documentary Center and HBO in publicity\, marketing\, acquisitions and programming.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162496″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Robert Salyer is Director of Outreach and Impact at American Documentary\, Inc.\, leading national outreach campaigns and partnership development for award-winning films and impact initiatives. He spearheads the Our America: Documentaries in Dialogue project\, a long-running effort that empowers PBS stations and local partners to foster meaningful civic dialogue around urgent social issues. To date\, he has supported the impact campaigns of more than 70 POV films\, encompassing a wide range of issues and engaging audiences across the country. \nWith more than 25 years of experience in documentary film and community media\, Robert previously spent much of his career at Appalshop\, Inc.\, where he directed and produced films focused on Appalachian culture. His credits include work with CNBC\, HBO\, Greenpeace\, and Lost Nation Pictures\, among others.  His films have screened widely in the U.S. and internationally\, including at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight and Festival Film Dokumenter in Yogyakarta\, Indonesia. \nRobert has been deeply involved in media education and youth training. He taught documentary filmmaking at Kentucky State University\, served as a longtime instructor with the Appalachian Media Institute\, and facilitated a U.S. State Department–funded media exchange with Indonesian filmmakers. He has worked as a community organizer with the Virginia Organizing Project and mentored emerging filmmakers through NYU Tisch’s summer immersion program.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-festival-strategy-distribution-impact-2026-06-07/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/1gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T153000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T220039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260529T150410Z
UID:10003053-1780840800-1780846200@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals: Editing\, Music & Sound
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 1:30p\nProgram 2:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re excited that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals series centers on the kinetic and timely Emergent City by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg—a film that skilfully builds tension\, energy and forward momentum with the aid of precise editing and a detailed sound design. In this session\, participants will be guided through the post production process with directors and hosts Kelly and Jay\, joined by sound designer & composer Gisela Fullà-Silvestre and consulting editor Zara Serabian-Arthur.  \nThis session is about navigating the post-production process on your next documentary. How does a story emerge from a pile of footage and sound? How can the power of music and sound be harnessed to propel the story forward and highlight the themes? How can documentary directors work effectively with editors\, sound designers\, and other essential post-production talent? Can you really “fix it in post”? What is an online edit and can you do it yourself? How can music underscore emotion or rhythm? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \n\nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \n\nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162389″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Gisela Fullà-Silvestre is a Barcelona-born\, New York–based composer\, sound designer\, re-recording mixer\, and vocalist whose work spans award-winning film\, television\, and music. Her projects include Academy Award–nominated and major festival premieres (Sundance\, Tribeca\, Berlinale\, SXSW)\, as well as the Emmy Award–winning ¡Atención! Murdered Next Door\, with releases on PBS and Netflix. She also performs as NOIA\, an experimental pop project acclaimed by Pitchfork and The New York Times\, and is a 2022 NYFA Women’s Fund Fellow.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162388″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Zara Serabian-Arthur is a documentary editor and producer\, and a co-founder of Meerkat Media\, an award-winning production company cooperative based in Brooklyn\, NY. Her work has been featured on Hulu\, PBS\, National Geographic\, The New York Times\, and The New Yorker\, premiered at Sundance\, and screened theatrically. Recent credits include Stolen Youth (Hulu\, series editor)\, Art21: Between Worlds (PBS\, editor)\, and Justice (Sundance\, editor). As an editor\, Zara is committed to telling complex stories with empathy and care\, exploring power\, resilience\, and the possibility of transformation. Across both her filmmaking and her organizing within cooperative and solidarity economy movements\, she works to shift dominant narratives toward mutualism\, economic democracy\, and more just futures.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-editing-music-sound-2026-06-07/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/2gif-1.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T173000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T215556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260606T183023Z
UID:10003052-1780761600-1780767000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals:  Access & Working in the Field
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re excited that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals series centers on the kinetic and timely Emergent City by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg—a film that exemplifies the social and ethical principles of observational documentary\, and is remarkable for its insight into often opaque political spaces. In this session\, Kelly and Jay are joined by field producer Betty Yu and cinematographer Alex Mallis\, to discuss the ins and outs of managing access to the spaces and participants\, and the complexities of working in the field. \nA crucial\, but often overlooked piece in the documentary puzzle is the management of participants and spaces the filmmakers set out to document. Emergent City‘s chronicling of a complicated political process\, involving multiple groups (made up of diverse individuals) with divergent interests and differences of opinions presents a marvel of access management and field production. Learn about how the team gained and maintained working relationships with each participant and stakeholder. How do you get permission to film in sensitive environments? What needs to be taken into account during the shoot\, in order to keep getting allowed back? How does a documentary team communicate its intentions to different groups with different objectives? [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162391″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Betty Yu is an award-winning filmmaker\, socially engaged multimedia artist\, photographer and activist born and raised in NYC. Yu integrates documentary film\, photography\, installation\, new media platforms\, and community-infused approaches into her practice. Betty’s films and multimedia work has focused on labor\, immigration\, gentrification\, abolition\, racism\, militarism\, transgender equality among other issues. She is a co-founder of Chinatown Art Brigade\, a cultural collective using art to advance anti-displacement fights. Ms. Yu’s documentary “Resilience” about her garment worker mother fighting sweatshop conditions screened at film festivals including the Margaret Mead Film Festival. \nHer work has been exhibited and screened at the Brooklyn Museum\, Queens Museum\, NY Historical Society\, Museum of the City of NY\,  Artists Space/ISP Whitney Museum\, The Highline\, Tenement Museum\,\, 2019 BRIC Biennial\, Apexart\, Pace University Art Gallery\, Transmitter Gallery\, 601 Artspace\, Five Myles\, Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Art Center\, Bullet Space\, Carriage Trade\, Old Stone House and MAXXI in Rome. “The Garment Worker”\, an interactive installation\, was featured at Tribeca Film Institute’s Interactive Showcase. Her multimedia installation\, “Resistance in Progress”\, highlighting housing activism in Flushing was featured at the Queens Museum. Betty had her first solo exhibition\, “(Dis)Placed in Sunset Park” at Open Source Gallery. Ms. Yu won the Aronson Social Justice Award for her film “Three Tours” about U.S. veterans returning home from war in Iraq\, and their journey to overcome PTSD. Her photography and art college book\, Family Amnesia: Chinese American Resilience was released in Summer 2025. \nHer work has received coverage in outlets including New York Times\, CNN\, HBO VICE News Tonight\, i-D Vice Media\, Art Forum\, ARTNews\, Sinovision\, Hyperallergic\, E-Flux\, F-Stop Magazine\, The Eye of Photography Magazine\, La Belle Revue Art Journal & Studio International.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162390″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Alex Mallis is a Cuban-American\, Jewish filmmaker raised in New Hampshire now living in Brooklyn\, NY. His short films have been distributed by PBS\, Criterion\, The New Yorker\, and The Atlantic. His debut feature The Travel Companion premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and is being distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories. His short documentary Shut Up And Paint (2022) was awarded Grand Jury Prize at IFF Boston and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival\, shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards\, and broadcast nationally on POV.  Alex received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College (CUNY) and is an active member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and the Meerkat Media Collective.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-access-working-in-the-field-2026-06-06/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/3gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T153000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T214552Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260506T134816Z
UID:10003051-1780754400-1780759800@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals:  Observation\, Interviews and Cinematography
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re excited that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals series centers on the kinetic and timely Emergent City by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg—a film that combines skillful interviewing with the urgency and incisiveness of vérité storytelling\, both immersing the audience in the unfolding events while guiding them through each with revealing insights from the participants. In this session\, co-directors Kelly and Jay will be joined by cinematographer Sean Hanley as they discuss building their visual storytelling style\, crafting original imagery\, and interview techniques to bring the film’s narrative complexities to life. \nThis session will be all about shooting your next documentary. Learn about the practicalities of shooting unpredictable events and preparing a camera that’s alive to the moment. What kinds of aesthetic considerations are taken into account? What kind of equipment do you need? What kinds of conversations go on between a cinematographer and a director before and during an observational film shoot? How does the framing of an interview\, both editorially and cinematographically\, impact the narrative? Join us to enrich your understanding of observational filmmaking. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162392″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sean Hanley is a documentary cinematographer versed in longitudinal vérité projects but with a knack for creative non-fiction and experimental techniques. His work has therefore screened across a spectrum of festivals\, from Sundance to MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight. Recent credits include Judd Ehrlich’s Jane Eliott Against the World (2026\, Sundance)\, Debra Granik’s series CONBODY vs. Everybody (2024\, Sundance)\, and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg and Kelly Anderson’s Emergent City (2024\, Tribeca). He has held a long and productive collaboration with experimental documentarian Lynne Sachs starting with Your Day is My Night (2013\, MoMA Documentary Fortnight)\, Tip of My Tongue (2015\, Closing Night of MoMA Documentary Fortnight)\, and Contractions (2024\, NYTimes OpDocs). He is a member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance and the Meerkat Media Collective.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-observation-interviews-and-cinematography-2026-06-06/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/4gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T110000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260606T123000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T213026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260529T150415Z
UID:10003050-1780743600-1780749000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals:  Researching\, Development & Financing
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 10:30a\nProgram 11:00a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re excited that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals series centers on the kinetic and timely Emergent City by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg—a film whose impact comes from the filmmakers evident patience\, commitment to the subject and time spent following the development of the story. In this session on research\, development and financing\, directors Jay and Kelly are joined by filmmaker and executive producer Stephen Maing\, to explore how projects like this are brought to life from the earliest stages: building a compelling concept and pitch\, securing partners\, and navigating the complex ecosystem of funding independent documentaries. \nThis session is all about developing and financing your next documentary. It will address the eternal question: how to finance your doc? What are the pros and cons of different fundraising options and how does someone get started on this process? Pitching\, how to pitch and successfully apply for grants\, and routes to markets will be discussed in this can’t-miss session.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162724″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Stephen Maing is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker\, cinematographer and editor based in New York City. His films UNION (P.O.V./Criterion Channel) and CRIME + PUNISHMENT (Hulu) both won Special Jury Awards at the Sundance Film Festival and were shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. His most recent film THE GREAT EXPERIMENT\, is an ambitious cinematic exploration of one of the most volatile and perplexing eras of American history & identity. He has collaborated closely with whistleblowers in the NYPD\, dissident citizen reporters in China\, Amazon worker-turned-organizers in Staten Island\, journalists exposing illicit cartel-run gold mining in the Amazon rain forest and leakers in the State Department. He was story producer and an editor on the Oscar-winning short doc ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS (Netflix) and executive producer on the P.O.V. feature doc EMERGENT CITY. His films seek to expand the aesthetic form and limits of longitudinal nonfiction filmmaking. They are visual investigations of societal phenomena\, complex power structures and the fascinating individuals who challenge them. Maing has received fellowships from The Guggenheim Foundation\, United States Artists\, Sundance Institute\, NBC Original Voices\, and was recipient of the IDA’s prestigious Courage Under Fire Award.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-researching-development-financing2026-06-06/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/5gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260605T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260607T180000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T210012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260529T145344Z
UID:10003048-1780686000-1780855200@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Documentary Fundamentals 2026: Emergent City
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Today’s documentary landscape is rapidly evolving with new avenues and pitfalls around every corner. DOC FUNDAMENTALS\, our annual six session professional development series\, responds each year to the changes we see in the field and is geared towards preparing emerging and mid-career independent filmmakers with all the nuts-and-bolts knowledge they need to complete a feature documentary. \nWe’re overjoyed that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals course is led by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg\, the directing duo behind the observational documentary feature Emergent City\, a timely and unflinching insight into local politics and the political process. “The best New York City-based documentary in a decade” according to Hell Gate\, Emergent City is a masterclass in verite and participant management\, with incredible access to the multiple layers of a local story with far reaching resonance. You’re invited to follow along and trace the trajectory of this recent documentary all the way from development and pre-production stages to production and post-production\, through its festival run\, distribution and continued exhibition life. \nEmergent City will serve as a case-study across each session\, including DEVELOPMENT & FINANCING\, VISUAL LANGUAGE\, WORKING IN THE FIELD\, POST PRODUCTION and FINDING AN AUDIENCE\, and ultimately could serve as a possible model for your own documentary. \nEach session features a range of exciting\, experienced and award-winning professionals from the field\, who contributed to bringing Emergent City to life\, and who represent all aspects of producing a documentary feature. It is perfect as a primer or as a way to refocus and rethink your project in today’s changing documentary landscape! You can attend all sessions with a SERIES PASS or just tackle the hurdles where you need help with a single session.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”BUY SERIES PASS – ALL ACCESS” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]The full series pass includes access to all of the 2025 Documentary Fundamentals sessions listed below and the public screening of Emergent City. You can also tailor your Doc Fundamentals attendance to your personal needs and select each course a la carte for $35/session.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””] \nAbout Emergent City \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nOver a decade\, within the borders of a single Brooklyn community district\, a microcosm of American democracy emerges. Residents of Sunset Park face a tangled web of rising rents\, a legacy of environmental racism and the loss of the industrial jobs that once sustained their community. When a global developer purchases Industry City – a massive industrial complex on the waterfront – and begins to transform it into an “innovation district\,” a battle erupts over the future of the neighborhood and of New York City itself. \nEmergent City is an observational civic epic. It sheds light on power and process\, illuminating systems and giving viewers a front row seat to the public and private spaces where the city is shaped. With extraordinary access\, it tracks an ensemble of participants including the local council member\, Industry City’s developers and community members with divergent stakes. The film explores the profound intersections of gentrification\, climate crisis and real estate development\, and asks how change might emerge from dialogue and collective action in a world where too many outcomes are constrained by money\, politics and business as usual. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text] \nAbout Doc Fundamentals \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians\, after receiving countless requests from folks who desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking and has received feedback that this course does the trick! Each year we select an array of guests that represent the best of the field with contemporary approaches to navigating with best practices.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Reflections from past participants of Doc Fundamentals:” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:center” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text] \n“Overall a great balance between breadth & depth; I feel very encouraged & equipped with the basic knowledge of how turn my projects into more serious endeavors.” \n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] \n“The focus of the sessions on brass tacks issues like funding\, logistics\, legal & business matters\, organizing production flow\, and how to find & work with collaborators was excellent; it’s the most helpful information that can be shared in such a relatively limited amount of time & it conveys a trust in session participants that they will find their own way through” \n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] \n“I really enjoyed the concept of breaking a single documentary down over several focus points. Looking forward to future courses! Thank you!” \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text] \nSchedule \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Day 1: Friday\, June 5″ font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]SESSION 1: Project Conception | 60 mins\n(Opening Session – Directing\, access\, vision of the film and overall idea of the film) \nFILM SCREENING | Emergent City | 95 mins[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Day 2: Saturday\, June 6″ font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]\nSESSION 2: Research\, development\, & financing | 11am – 12:30pm \nSESSION 3: Creating a visual language (Cinematography\, Archival & Graphics) | 2pm – 3:30pm \nSESSION 4: (Access\, Working in the field) | 4pm – 5:30pm \n[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Day 3: Sunday\, June 7″ font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]SESSION 5: (Post-production: Editing\, Music & Sound) | 2pm – 3:30pm \nSESSION 6: (festival strategy\, distribution & Impact) | 4pm – 5:30pm[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162393″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Brenda Àvila-Hanna is a filmmaker and educator born and raised in Mexico City and currently based in Central California. Her films mostly focus on transnational stories\, spaces and identities. Brenda is a recent fellow for the Sundance Documentary Producing Lab\, Points North\, BAVC’s National MediaMaker\, NALIP and DocsMX. Brenda was in the inaugural cohort of DOC NYC’s “Documentary Industry New Leaders” and was a 2021 Rockwood/Just Films Fellow. She is a producer of the ITVS supported documentary EMERGENT CITY  (Dir. Kelly Anderson & Jay \nSterrenberg)\, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS. Brenda is also a producer of the Sundance Institute supported HOW TO CLEAN A HOUSE IN TEN EASY STEPS (Dir. Carolina Gonzalez)\, currently in festivals. She is also a co-producer of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez (Dir. David Alvarado)\, winner of the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Brenda received an M.A. in Social Documentation from UCSC\, where she teaches various storytelling courses. She is a Board Member of the Watsonville Film Festival.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162392″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sean Hanley is a documentary cinematographer versed in longitudinal vérité projects but with a knack for creative non-fiction and experimental techniques. His work has therefore screened across a spectrum of festivals\, from Sundance to MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight. Recent credits include Judd Ehrlich’s Jane Eliott Against the World (2026\, Sundance)\, Debra Granik’s series CONBODY vs. Everybody (2024\, Sundance)\, and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg and Kelly Anderson’s Emergent City (2024\, Tribeca). He has held a long and productive collaboration with experimental documentarian Lynne Sachs starting with Your Day is My Night (2013\, MoMA Documentary Fortnight)\, Tip of My Tongue (2015\, Closing Night of MoMA Documentary Fortnight)\, and Contractions (2024\, NYTimes OpDocs). He is a member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance and the Meerkat Media Collective.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162391″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Betty Yu is an award-winning filmmaker\, socially engaged multimedia artist\, photographer and activist born and raised in NYC. Yu integrates documentary film\, photography\, installation\, new media platforms\, and community-infused approaches into her practice. Betty’s films and multimedia work has focused on labor\, immigration\, gentrification\, abolition\, racism\, militarism\, transgender equality among other issues. She is a co-founder of Chinatown Art Brigade\, a cultural collective using art to advance anti-displacement fights. Ms. Yu’s documentary “Resilience” about her garment worker mother fighting sweatshop conditions screened at film festivals including the Margaret Mead Film Festival. \nHer work has been exhibited and screened at the Brooklyn Museum\, Queens Museum\, NY Historical Society\, Museum of the City of NY\,  Artists Space/ISP Whitney Museum\, The Highline\, Tenement Museum\,\, 2019 BRIC Biennial\, Apexart\, Pace University Art Gallery\, Transmitter Gallery\, 601 Artspace\, Five Myles\, Squeaky Wheel Film and Media Art Center\, Bullet Space\, Carriage Trade\, Old Stone House and MAXXI in Rome. “The Garment Worker”\, an interactive installation\, was featured at Tribeca Film Institute’s Interactive Showcase. Her multimedia installation\, “Resistance in Progress”\, highlighting housing activism in Flushing was featured at the Queens Museum. Betty had her first solo exhibition\, “(Dis)Placed in Sunset Park” at Open Source Gallery. Ms. Yu won the Aronson Social Justice Award for her film “Three Tours” about U.S. veterans returning home from war in Iraq\, and their journey to overcome PTSD. Her photography and art college book\, Family Amnesia: Chinese American Resilience was released in Summer 2025. \nHer work has received coverage in outlets including New York Times\, CNN\, HBO VICE News Tonight\, i-D Vice Media\, Art Forum\, ARTNews\, Sinovision\, Hyperallergic\, E-Flux\, F-Stop Magazine\, The Eye of Photography Magazine\, La Belle Revue Art Journal & Studio International.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162390″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Alex Mallis is a Cuban-American\, Jewish filmmaker raised in New Hampshire now living in Brooklyn\, NY. His short films have been distributed by PBS\, Criterion\, The New Yorker\, and The Atlantic. His debut feature The Travel Companion premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival and is being distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories. His short documentary Shut Up And Paint (2022) was awarded Grand Jury Prize at IFF Boston and Big Sky Documentary Film Festival\, shortlisted for the 95th Academy Awards\, and broadcast nationally on POV. Alex received an MFA in Integrated Media Arts from Hunter College (CUNY) and is an active member of the Brooklyn Filmmakers Collective and the Meerkat Media Collective.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162389″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Gisela Fullà-Silvestre is a Barcelona-born\, New York–based composer\, sound designer\, re-recording mixer\, and vocalist whose work spans award-winning film\, television\, and music. Her projects include Academy Award–nominated and major festival premieres (Sundance\, Tribeca\, Berlinale\, SXSW)\, as well as the Emmy Award–winning ¡Atención! Murdered Next Door\, with releases on PBS and Netflix. She also performs as NOIA\, an experimental pop project acclaimed by Pitchfork and The New York Times\, and is a 2022 NYFA Women’s Fund Fellow.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162388″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Zara Serabian-Arthur is a documentary editor and producer\, and a co-founder of Meerkat Media\, an award-winning production company cooperative based in Brooklyn\, NY. Her work has been featured on Hulu\, PBS\, National Geographic\, The New York Times\, and The New Yorker\, premiered at Sundance\, and screened theatrically. Recent credits include Stolen Youth (Hulu\, series editor)\, Art21: Between Worlds (PBS\, editor)\, and Justice (Sundance\, editor). As an editor\, Zara is committed to telling complex stories with empathy and care\, exploring power\, resilience\, and the possibility of transformation. Across both her filmmaking and her organizing within cooperative and solidarity economy movements\, she works to shift dominant narratives toward mutualism\, economic democracy\, and more just futures.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162496″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Robert Salyer is Director of Outreach and Impact at American Documentary\, Inc.\, leading national outreach campaigns and partnership development for award-winning films and impact initiatives. He spearheads the Our America: Documentaries in Dialogue project\, a long-running effort that empowers PBS stations and local partners to foster meaningful civic dialogue around urgent social issues. To date\, he has supported the impact campaigns of more than 70 POV films\, encompassing a wide range of issues and engaging audiences across the country. \nWith more than 25 years of experience in documentary film and community media\, Robert previously spent much of his career at Appalshop\, Inc.\, where he directed and produced films focused on Appalachian culture. His credits include work with CNBC\, HBO\, Greenpeace\, and Lost Nation Pictures\, among others.  His films have screened widely in the U.S. and internationally\, including at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight and Festival Film Dokumenter in Yogyakarta\, Indonesia. \nRobert has been deeply involved in media education and youth training. He taught documentary filmmaking at Kentucky State University\, served as a longtime instructor with the Appalachian Media Institute\, and facilitated a U.S. State Department–funded media exchange with Indonesian filmmakers. He has worked as a community organizer with the Virginia Organizing Project and mentored emerging filmmakers through NYU Tisch’s summer immersion program.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162387″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sylvia Savadjian is a New York based film publicist. Work includes festival PR for Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look\, DOC NYC\, Full Frame\, staff roles at Kino Lorber\, Maysles Documentary Center and HBO in publicity\, marketing\, acquisitions and programming.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162724″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Stephen Maing is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker\, cinematographer and editor based in New York City. His films UNION (P.O.V./Criterion Channel) and CRIME + PUNISHMENT (Hulu) both won Special Jury Awards at the Sundance Film Festival and were shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best Documentary. His most recent film THE GREAT EXPERIMENT\, is an ambitious cinematic exploration of one of the most volatile and perplexing eras of American history & identity. He has collaborated closely with whistleblowers in the NYPD\, dissident citizen reporters in China\, Amazon worker-turned-organizers in Staten Island\, journalists exposing illicit cartel-run gold mining in the Amazon rain forest and leakers in the State Department. He was story producer and an editor on the Oscar-winning short doc ALL THE EMPTY ROOMS (Netflix) and executive producer on the P.O.V. feature doc EMERGENT CITY. His films seek to expand the aesthetic form and limits of longitudinal nonfiction filmmaking. They are visual investigations of societal phenomena\, complex power structures and the fascinating individuals who challenge them. Maing has received fellowships from The Guggenheim Foundation\, United States Artists\, Sundance Institute\, NBC Original Voices\, and was recipient of the IDA’s prestigious Courage Under Fire Award.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-2026-06-05/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/7gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260605T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260605T190000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T211539Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260529T150357Z
UID:10003049-1780686000-1780686000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Emergent City
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 6:30p\nProgram 7:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to present an evening of cinema and conversation with Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg’s thrilling documentary Emergent City! \n“Emergent City is not a polemic\, nor does it fall into the “all sides” trap of equivocation. It’s curious and patient\, taking the time to understand its subject. It leaves enough wiggle room for the audience to make up its own mind\, a kind of nonfiction Rorschach test to help us illuminate how we really think about everything from housing costs to climate change.” \n— Alan Zilberman\, Washington City Paper \nVerité thriller Emergent City chronicles a critical period of transformation for the Sunset Park neighborhood in waterfront Brooklyn. Over the course of several years the film presents the intersections of multiple stakeholders and divergent interest groups as the plot known as Industry City changes owners and faces redevelopment and rezoning. Local council\, community members\, small business owners and large developers go head to head in this observational civic epic. Emergent City sheds light on power and process\, illuminating systems and giving viewers a front row seat to the public and private spaces where the city is shaped. The film explores the profound intersections of gentrification\, climate crisis and real estate development\, and asks how change might emerge from dialogue and collective action in a world where too many outcomes are constrained by money\, politics and business as usual. \nThe screening will be preceded by a presentation by directors Jay and Kelly\, joined remotely by producer Brenda Àvila-Hanna\, discussing the inception of the film\, where the idea came from\, initial encounters with the film’s subject and the original vision at the outset of the project. \nNote: We’re overjoyed that this year’s Documentary Fundamentals course is led by Kelly Anderson and Jay Arthur Sterrenberg! Emergent City will serve as a case-study for DOC FUNDAMENTALS\, our annual six session professional development series\, across all the sessions including RESEARCH & FINANCING\, VISUAL LANGUAGE\, ACCESS & FIELD WORK\, POST PRODUCTION and RELEASING your documentary. Each session features a range of exciting\, advanced and award-winning professionals from the field and many from this film who represent all aspects of producing a documentary feature. It is perfect as a primer or a way to refocus and rethink your project in today’s changing landscape! You can attend all sessions with a SERIES PASS or just tackle the hurdles where you need help with a single session.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nBuy a Series Pass \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”]$175.00Add to cart	\n			\n [vc_column_text css=””]DOCUMENTARY FUNDAMENTALS: A professional development series designed to give the emerging or intermediate documentary filmmaker an inside look at the filmmaking process from pre-production planning to post-production and distribution. Over the past few years\, UnionDocs has developed this ongoing program for documentarians that desire a better foundation for navigating the modern landscape of independent filmmaking. This six-part program takes place over the course of one weekend at UnionDocs. Buy a SERIES PASS ($175) or choose to attend individual sessions ($35/each).[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][vc_column_text] \nInstructors \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”custom” accent_color=”#ffffff”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162386″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kelly Anderson is a Sunset Park based documentary filmmaker whose most recent film is Rabble Rousers: Frances Goldin and the Fight for Cooper Square (w. Ryan Joseph and Kathryn Barnier). Her 2012 film My Brooklyn\, about the hidden forces driving gentrification\, was broadcast on PBS’ America ReFramed. Kelly produced and directed Every Mother’s Son (PBS\, 2004\, w. Tami Gold)\, about mothers whose children were killed by police\, which won the Tribeca Audience Award and aired on POV. She produced and directed Out At Work (HBO\, 2000\, w. Tami Gold)\, which premiered at Sundance. Kelly chairs the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College (CUNY)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162394″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jay Arthur Sterrenberg is a New York City based filmmaker\, editor and co-founder of the Meerkat Media Collective whose work has screened at Sundance\, Tribeca\, IDFA\, CPH:DOX and broadcast on PBS\, HBO\, Netflix & Hulu. \nJay’s two decade documentary editing career began with collaborations with DCTV’s Jon Alpert & Matt O’Neil on the HBO documentaries Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery (2008)\, Wartorn (2010) and Oscar nominated Redemption (2012). He also edited the Oscar shortlisted films Dark Money (dir. Kimberly Reed\, 2018) and After Maria (dir. Nadia Hallgren\, 2019) and a has had a long collaboration with filmmaking duo Shaul Schwarz & Christina Clusiau – Narco Cultura (Sundance 2013)\, Emmy-winning Trophy (CNN Films\, 2017)\, Emmy-nominated FLY (Nat Geo\, 2024) and the 2020 Netflix doc series Immigration Nation\, which won a Peabody Award and Best New Documentary Series at the Independent Spirit Awards. \nAs a director\, his films find cinematic ways to explore process & democracy. A believer in collective filmmaking\, he co-directed many independent films with the Meerkat Media Collective including Stages (2010)\, Consensus: Direct Democracy at Occupy Wall Street (2011) and Brasslands (2013). His solo directorial debut was the observational short film Public Money (POV\, 2018) which paved the way for the feature-length collaboration with Kelly Anderson: Emergent City (POV\, 2025).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162393″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Brenda Àvila-Hanna is a filmmaker and educator born and raised in Mexico City and currently based in Central California. Her films mostly focus on transnational stories\, spaces and identities. Brenda is a recent fellow for the Sundance Documentary Producing Lab\, Points North\, BAVC’s National MediaMaker\, NALIP and DocsMX. Brenda was in the inaugural cohort of DOC NYC’s “Documentary Industry New Leaders” and was a 2021 Rockwood/Just Films Fellow. She is a producer of the ITVS supported documentary EMERGENT CITY  (Dir. Kelly Anderson & Jay \nSterrenberg)\, which premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival and aired nationally on PBS. Brenda is also a producer of the Sundance Institute supported HOW TO CLEAN A HOUSE IN TEN EASY STEPS (Dir. Carolina Gonzalez)\, currently in festivals. She is also a co-producer of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez (Dir. David Alvarado)\, winner of the U.S. Documentary Audience Award and Festival Favorite Award at Sundance. Brenda received an M.A. in Social Documentation from UCSC\, where she teaches various storytelling courses. She is a Board Member of the Watsonville Film Festival.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/documentary-fundamentals-how-it-started-2026-06-05/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/6gif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260528T223000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260331T205012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260526T141257Z
UID:10003062-1779994800-1780007400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:The Terror and the Time:  A Flaherty on the Road Screening
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 6:30p\nProgram 7:00p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]In the mid-1970s\, a group of students and professors at Cornell University united by an urgency to make revolutionary art formed the Victor Jara Collective\, named after the Chilean musician assassinated during the Pinochet regime. In 1976\, they traveled to Guyana to\, as Victor Jara Collective member Lewanne Jones put it\, “make film\, forge cultural alliances\, and activate revolution.” What they brought back is The Terror and the Time\, a landmark of anticolonial cinema. \nThe Flaherty and UnionDocs are thrilled to present a special screening of a newly restored version of The Terror and the Time\, followed by a conversation with Lewanne Jones of the Victor Jara Collective and Bill Brand of BB Optics\, who has been leading the restoration of the Collective’s work. The discussion will be moderated by documentary filmmaker Pam Yates and introduced by Janaína Oliveira. \nThis screening emerges from Oferenda\, a special film program curated by Christopher Harris and Janaina Oliveira for Onward! – the 70th Flaherty Film Seminar. Presented as an offering\, the program was rooted in what Janaina describes as “a profoundly Black feeling and practice\,” one that draws on Afro-diasporic epistemologies as curatorial tools and thinks from the crossroads\, where narrative arguments and disagreements coexist\, preferring “and” instead of “or.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nThe Terror and the Time by Victor Jara Collective\n\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]USA/Guyana\, 1979\, 70min [/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The terror is British colonialism in Guyana; the time is 1953\, the year of the first elections under a provisional democratic constitution. Stylized scenes photographed throughout Georgetown accompany the poetry of Martin Carter to convey a sense of intense political reform against poverty\, repression and silence. The film unfolds against the international backdrop of the 50s: the growth of foreign economic and military interests in the Caribbean basin\, the coronation of Queen Elizabeth\, the Mau Mau revolts in Kenya\, the Cold War\, and the U.S.’ covert wars against Cuba\, Malaysia\, Vietnam\, Iran and Nigeria. In his forward to Poems of Resistance by his comrade and compatriot Martin Carter\, the great Guyanese writer Eusi Kwayana\, implies that poetry is criticism. This sense of criticism held and released in and before art animates The Terror and the Time. The film offers poetic practice\, historical criticism\, and critical historiography in a rehearsal of sound\, image\, ground\, and aspiration… Rupert Roopnaraine\, a key figure in the Victor Jara Collective\, suggested that the product betrays the process so that the film’s unfinishedness is given in accord with anticolonial struggle. As he argues\, what is important is that the struggle remains. And what remains is the unstill consistency of the cartman and the dark\, glimpsed by and given in criticism\, through the absolute dissolution of the poem and the poet\, the filmmaker and the film.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163125″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Guyana’s Victor Jara Collective may have  produced just two films\, yet as an example of  a politically committed and formally radical  approach to documentary filmmaking\, their  intervention remains unique in the relatively  short history of indigenous Caribbean cinema  production. Named in honour of the Chilean  musician and dissident Victor Jara\, the  collective was influenced by the New Latin  American and Third Cinema movements as  well as the theories of Soviet montage and  the European avant-garde. The collective— born out of a Marxist study group at Cornell University—aimed to create work that explored  Guyana’s own political\, social and economic  struggles as a newly postcolonial nation.  \nVictor Jara Collective member Lewanne Jones will be present for the event. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163127″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Lewanne Jones is an audio-visual researcher and Archival Producer in New York City.  She began her work in archives in the late 1970s as a member of the Victor Jara Collective that produced a ground-breaking documentary about colonialism in British Guiana\, The Terror and The Time. Since then\, she has conducted international research for films and television series\, museum installations and online educational productions. Her work has been recognized by two nominations for News & Documentary Emmy awards (in the archival research category)\, most recently in 2022 and she received an Acker Award for community archival contributions in New York City. Eyes on the Prize\, ABC’s Century\, PBS’s Freedom Riders and Black Panther: Vanguard of the Revolution\, 32 Sounds and Borderland are among the award-winning projects to which she has contributed. She has conducted workshops on archival theory and practice at media research centers including at Union Docs and BRIC TV (Brooklyn\,) the Better Angels Foundation (Washington DC) and the Global Media Research Center (Illinois)\, and has mentored emerging filmmakers in the craft of using archival materials. Since 2018\, she has been presenting the work of the Victor Jara Collective at festivals in the US\, Great Britain\, Belgium and Chile and is the project manager for the preservation and restoration of its two films\, The Terror and The Time (1978) and In The Sky’s Wild Noise (1983).  [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163158″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Bill Brand is a multi-disciplinary artist whose films\, public artwork\, installations\, paintings and works-on-paper have exhibited worldwide in museums\, galleries\, film festivals\, microcinemas and on television. His 1980 Masstransiscope is an animated mural permanently installed in the New York City subway as part of the permanent collection of the MTA Arts & Design. Bill Brand’s artwork has been featured at Museum of Modern Art\, Whitney Museum\, Smithsonian American Art Museum\, National Gallery of Art\, Anthology Film Archive and Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art. His films have been presented at major film festivals including the Berlin Film Festival\, New Directors/ New Films Festival\, Tribeca Film Festival\, Rotterdam Film Festival\, Light Field Festival\, (S8) Mostra de Cinema Periférico\, Prismatic Ground Film Festival and the Flaherty Film Seminar.  He is represented by Galerie Arnaud Lefebvre\, Paris and Court Tree Collective\, Brooklyn.   Invisible Fisherman: The Art of Bill Brand was published by Eyewash Books and Visual Studies Workshop and released in April 2026.Bill Brand teaches film preservation at New York University’s Moving Image Archiving and Preservation graduate program and is Professor Emeritus at Hampshire College.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”163185″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Pamela Yates is an award-winning film director and the co-founder of Skylight\, a not-for-profit media organization that for over 40 years has combined cinematic arts with the quest for justice to inspire the defense of human rights. Skylight’s films and programs strengthen social justice movements and catalyze collaborative networks of artists and activists. She is the Director of the Sundance Special Jury award winning When the Mountains Tremble; the Executive Producer of the Academy Award winning Witness to War; and the Director of State of Fear: The Truth About Terrorism\, which has been translated into 47 languages and broadcast in 154 countries. It was awarded the Overseas Press Award for Best Reporting in Any Medium about Latin America. Her film Granito: How to Nail a Dictator\, for which she awarded a Guggenheim fellowship\, was used as key forensic evidence in the genocide trial against Efraín Ríos Montt in Guatemala. Her third film in the Guatemalan trilogy\, 500 YEARS had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival\, was broadcast on POV/PBS\, streamed as part of Amazon Prime Festival Stars and is currently in wide release.  Her feature length documentary BORDERLAND | The Line Within\, about the war against immigrants in the U.S.\, is currently touring in  cinemas across the country and in Latin American\, as well as streaming. For her work on BORDERLAND\, Pamela received the Poynter Fellowship in Journalism from Yale University.  She was awarded the inaugural Art of Activism Award\, along with Paco de Onís\, by the Woodstock Film Festival in 2024.  Pamela is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences\, Writers Guild of America\, and the International Documentary Association and is on the Advisory Board of the Woodstock Film Festival.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1779284789076-862f17c7-c2f0-10″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/oferenda-a-reverberation-from-the-70th-flaherty-film-seminar-2026-05-28/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/giphy.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260517T133000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260324T125314Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260505T153013Z
UID:10003045-1778839200-1779024600@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Beyond the Feed:  Expanding the Art of Audio Non-Fiction
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T0dWTytwA” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]After a period of commercial growth and seemingly endless interest and investment\, the last few years of the podcasting industry has seen a decline in opportunities for creators new and old. What could be seen as an industry in contraction can alternatively be thought of as an opportunity for artistic evolution. Join award winning podcast producer and documentary artist Mitra Kaboli for this 3-day workshop\, as she explores the new horizons of the contemporary audio documentary landscape. \nAlongside a select group of esteemed guests\, Mitra will guide participants through a world of sonic exploration\, in which audio work is conceived and considered within an expansive artistic framework. Elevated beyond its commercial value and leaving behind the podcast feed\, this workshop takes the audio documentary form and reaches for new possibilities in research\, format\, performance and distribution. We’ll be rifling through the rich lineage of podcasting and sound-based storytelling through sound to investigate what forms of audio presentation are available to sound artists and audio producers in the current landscape. \nThis workshop is intended to provoke out-of-the-box thinking\, inspire creativity and encourage an expansive approach to the potentials of audio techniques. Through a variety of hands-on activities\, artist talks and deep listening exercises\, we’ll be diving into questions like: what is the state of the podcasting industry and where can we go from here? How can we share and uplift our work beyond the podcast feed? What tools\, techniques and networks are available to sound artists and audio documentarians? What makes a story told through sound so compelling? \nThe workshop centers emerging and established artists from the intersecting worlds of sound art\, audio documentary and the podcasting industry\, and we’re lucky to be joined and guided by a few of them. Mitra Kaboli will be taking the lead\, guiding us over the bridge between our familiar podcast feed and the ever-expanding possibilities of sound-based documentary. Interdisciplinary artist Aaron Edwards will discuss multi-modal performance and field recording practices. Viv Corringham\, one of the foremost practitioners of the soundwalk\, will walk participants through her practice and the ideas that guide it. Composer\, vocalist and performance artist Gelsey Bell will share expert insight from years of research into vast artistic applications of the voice. Participants will also get the opportunity to share their own work in the context of a group discussion and feedback session\, hopefully leaving the weekend with tangible learnings and productive advice. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Who is eligible?” tab_id=”1477608256488-ac7d3d1a-ae9084d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]Open to everyone\, though the workshop setting is best suited for filmmakers\, film producers\, journalists\, curators and media artists. \nGive us an idea of who you are and why you are coming. When you register you will be asked for a short statement of interest that should briefly describe your experience and a film project (it would be great if you have a project in progress that you would present to the group during the work-in-progress critique sessions)\, plus a bio. There’s a spot for a link to a work sample (and CV\, which would also be nice\, but is not required).[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]$295 early bird registration ends on May 5\, 2026. \n$350 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel\, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until May 5.  After May 5\, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]No animation software is required for participation in this workshop. \nIn order to keep costs down\, this workshop is a BYOL\, i.e. bring your own laptop. Students must be fully proficient using and operating their computers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Registration & Cancellation Policy” tab_id=”1477612055387-51381642-d1c784d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]To register for a workshop\, students must pay in full via card\, check\, or cash . After the early bird registration deadline of May 5\, course fees are not refundable or transferable and any withdrawals or deadlines will result in the full cost of the class being forfeit. There will be no exceptions. To withdraw from a course please email info-at-uniondocs.org. \nIn the event that a workshop does not receive sufficient enrollment\, it may be canceled. Students will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the start of a cancelled workshop and will be refunded within 5 business days. If we reschedule a workshop to another date\, students are also entitled to a full refund. UnionDocs reserves the right to change instructors without prior notification\, and to change class location and meeting times by up to an hour with 48 hours prior notice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_message message_box_style=”solid” style=”square” message_box_color=”orange”]Please note: Participants are accepted on a first-come\, first-serve basis.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Schedule” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Friday\, May 15th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Welcome & intros  \n10:30am – 12:30pm Intro session with Mitra Kaboli \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Session with Aaron Edwards \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Mitra additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Saturday\, May 16th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]11:00am – 11:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case studies \n11:30am – 1:30pm Session with Viv Corringham \n1:30am -3:00pm Lunch \n3:00pm – 5:00pm Session with Gelsey Bell \n5:00pm – 5:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Mitra\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sunday\, May 17th” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, ear training. \n10:30am – 12:30pm Creative session OR work-in-progress with Mitra \n12:30pm – 1:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Mitra\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Each day follows this general structure\, with some minor variations and substitutions:” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:00a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:30a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]11:45a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]12:30p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Share / Discussion / Exercise[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]1:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Lunch (on your own)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]2:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]3:15p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]4:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Workshop Exercise + Critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]5:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Wrap Up[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Bios” color=”white” el_class=” \n“][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162177″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Mitra Kaboli is an award-winning audio producer\, sound designer\, and multimedia artist working professionally in radio and podcasting since 2012. Mitra was one of the original members of the Peabody Finalist podcast\, The Heart. Her work has been featured on ESPN’s 30 for 30 Podcasts\, the BBC\, Making Contact and NY Mag’s Tabloid. In 2022\, she hosted and produced the critically acclaimed podcast\, Welcome to Provincetown. Currently\, Mitra is an adjunct professor at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism and at Hunter College.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162178″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Aaron Edwards is an interdisciplinary director\, story editor and writer working across text\, stage and narrative audio. His writing\, podcasting and performance work has appeared at places like BAM\, Lincoln Center\, the Brooklyn Public Library and the Tribeca Festival. He’s based in the Hudson Valley.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162179″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Viv Corringham (voice\, electronics\, field recordings) is a US based British vocalist and sound artist\, who has been described as “a vital force in improvised music since the late 1970s” (Corey Mwamba\, BBC Radio 3) and “a vocalist of stunning virtuosity” (Louise Gray\, The Wire). She makes concerts\, soundwalks\, workshops and installations. Her practice explores relations between voice\, place and walking\, responding with sung improvisations to both natural and urban soundscapes. Corringham has received international recognition and awards including two McKnight Composer Fellowships through the American Composers Forum. She is a certified facilitator of Deep Listening\, having played and studied with composer Pauline Oliveros. In 2024 this practice took her to Mexico\, Spain\, Germany and the Listening Academy in Hong Kong. Notable live performances have occurred in festivals at Queen Elizabeth Hall\, London\, Hong Kong Arts Centre\, Fonoteca Nacional de Mexico\, Issue Project Room New York and Tempo Reale Florence. Her recent album “Soundwalkscapes” (Vol. 1: January to June) on Flaming Pines label (Bandcamp’s Best Field Recordings 2024) has been well received. The Wire wrote that “Corringham voices the depth of place.” Her definitive contribution to sound art practice is the 20 year ongoing “Shadow-walks”\, which create layers of time and space\, combining recordings from shared and solo walks along the same path with her improvised sung response. They have occurred in 18 countries\, are taught in many sound art classes and have been the focus of articles in books and publications.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162180″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Gelsey Bell (she/they) is a Brooklyn-based multidisciplinary performance creator\, composer\, and vocalist. Her recent works include the experimental opera mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning] (2023)\, commissioned by the HERE Arts Center and presented in the Prototype Festival; Cairns (2020)\, a soundwalk for Green-Wood Cemetery; the musical one-act Archaeopteris (2025)\, commissioned by Wet Ink; and thingNY’s collaboratively written opera Mouthful (2024). She is the Co-Artistic Director of thingNY and Varispeed. She has released multiple albums\, including the recent mɔɹnɪŋ [morning//mourning]\, Skylighght\, and Heads Together. She has received awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts\, Opera America\, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music\, the Japan Foundation\, NYSCA\, and others. Performance highlights also include Dave Malloy’s Natasha\, Pierre\, & the Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway) and Ghost Quartet\, Robert Ashley’s Celestial Excursions and Improvement\, Darius Jones’s Samesoul Maker\, and others. She has a PhD in performance studies from NYU\, is part-time faculty and the program director for the Master of Music Performer-Composer program at the New School\, and has published articles in TDR/The Drama Review (for which she is a Contributing Editor)\, The Journal of Interdisciplinary Voice Studies (for which she is an Associate Editor)\, Tempo\, Performance Research\, and others.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/beyond-the-feed-expanding-the-art-of-audio-non-fiction-2026-05-15/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/46064a16-770b-4991-8083-2a5ac1144b43_6000x4000.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260510T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260510T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T210015Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260428T103935Z
UID:10003059-1778441400-1778441400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Alchemy in the Archive
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re thrilled to welcome Anthony Banua-Simon to UnionDocs for an evening of cinema and conversation! We’ll begin with a screening of Banua-Simon’s recent found footage short WORLD ENTERPRISES and continues with an in-progress presentation of his feature The Pink Palace\, a project that expands from the themes introduced in the short. Through preliminary documentary footage\, archival video\, photos\, and research\, Banua-Simon will narrate the project to be produced in the coming year. \nThe Pink Palace is a documentary / fiction hybrid built from both historical archive and scripted scenes produced within unsanctioned and occasionally improvised contemporary settings. The film takes place at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki on Oʻahu. In a narrative alternating between 1939 and the current day\, the film follows the “Golden Man” (in mocking reverence to author James A. Michener)\, a mysterious public relations agent employed by shipping company and hotel owner\, Matson\, and tasked with creating and maintaining an ever-evolving construct of Hawaiʻi that caters to tourism and a growing U.S. military empire. The film links historical figures such as Georgia O‘Keeffe\, General Douglas MacArthur\, Hawaiian activist Sammy Amalu\, and Filipino actress Isabel Rosario Cooper in an absurdist plot among the real-life current day backdrop of hotel union strikes and the RIMPAC military exercises. \nThe Pink Palace is an extension of themes and histories examined in Banua-Simon’s documentaries Cane Fire\, The Experiment Station\, WORLD ENTERPRISES\, as well as his ongoing video essay series based on the book by Delia Caparoso Konzett\, Hollywood’s Hawaii: Race\, Nation and War. These projects are critical analyses that dissect existing materials and utilize oral histories and The Pink Palace will be extending this knowledge into the speculative realm\, resulting in an original work that can act as an exponent to further inquiry. \nCome through![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nThe Pink Palace\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In-progress feature length\, 45 min presentation[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The Hawaiʻi of 1939 and today converge into a transhistorical blend of fiction and documentary film as a mysterious public relations agent residing in the Royal Hawaiian Hotel is tasked with maintaining the island’s unraveling image.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWORLD ENTERPRISES\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]14 mins\, 2026[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In 1940\, on the dry westside of the Hawaiian island of Kauaʻi\, the Kekaha Sugar Company began a six-month mail-order film subscription with World Enterprises\, a distributor sponsored by the charitable trust and foundation of Castle & Cooke\, one of the “Big Five” sugar companies. Varied in style\, the films shared a common theme: American power taming lands and peoples of the “frontier” through extraction\, an encroachment justified by declared ideals of progress.  WORLD ENTERPRISES is a collage of radical possibilities sourced entirely from the original program screened for workers on their Sundays off from harvesting and processing sugarcane.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 60 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162794″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Anthony Banua-Simon is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and editor who’s a 2024 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Video/Film. He was also named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 2021 “25 New Faces of Independent Film” and DOC NYC’s 2022 “40 Under 40”. His debut feature documentary\, Cane Fire\, was an official selection of the 2020 Hot Docs International Film Festival as well as the 2021 MoMA Doc Fortnight and won “Best Documentary Feature” at the 2020 Indie Memphis Film Festival and the 2021 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival. Cane Fire is distributed theatrically by Cinema Guild and was available to stream on The Criterion Channel. The film has received praise in RogerEbert.com\, The Wrap\, Jacobin\, Film Threat\, and Hyperallergic among several other outlets. \nHis short documentary about two former workers of the Domino Sugar Refinery\, Third Shift\, won “Best Short Documentary” at the 2014 Brooklyn Film Festival and was previously streaming on The Criterion Channel. He’s featured in The New York Times\, BOMB Magazine\, Screen Slate\, Pioneer Works Broadcast\, and HuffPost. \nAnthony attended The Evergreen State College and was a fellow at the UnionDocs Collaborative Studio Program. He taught film editing at The State University of New York at Purchase and was a member of the volunteer-run Spectacle Theater in Brooklyn\, NY. His current documentary project\, The Experiment Station\, has received support from both NYSCA and the Jerome Foundation. Occasionally\, he’s asked to list his favorite films (The Criterion Collection Top 10\, Grasshopper Film 10/10).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1777305610307-e3aed900-5675-8″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/alchemy-in-the-archive-2026-05-10/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/gdif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260508T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260402T051400Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260509T191824Z
UID:10003058-1778268600-1778268600@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:We're Sick to Death of All This Nonsense: Saffron Time
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7pm\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $15[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]Welcome to another round of our multimedia series combining live performance\, reading\, sound and image selected by poet Christine Larusso & writer and curator Rachael Rakes: We’re Sick to Death of All This Nonsense. It’s not ekphrasis. WS2DOATN is a live series merging words\, sounds\, and moving images\, intended to reframe—or unframe—what constitutes the poetic\, the time-based\, the time-less\, the urgent and endurant in art and discourse. \nIn May\, well be thinking about: Saffron Time. \nThe autumns of weeping and fasting and winters of weeping and praying fold time into season-smeared forget-mes. The erstwhile early crocuses blooming before they will have a chance to live\, the chrysanthemum perennial. Our eyes water while gorging on turmoil or being subjected to turmoil\, or surviving or “surviving.” Trying to know how to continue\, to land on land. Together. \nFine. \nPlanting bouquets of images\, lines\, hearts\, and mourning and vengeance\, this season’s WSTD brings together presentations from a few of those who mention flowers anyway\, whose tears don’t dry. Including readings and presentations by Jhani Randhawa\, Sampson Starkweather\, and your hosts CL&RR\, and a screening of THE GARDEN AMIDST THE FLAME by Natasha Tontey.\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nOpening from hosts Rachael Rakes & Christine Larusso\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nReading from Jhani Randhawa\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nThe Garden Amidst the Flame by Natasha Tontey\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]27’42”\, 2022\, Colour\, 16:9 format\, Audio format stereo in Tontemboan\, English\, and Melayu Minahasa with English and Indonesian subtitle burnt.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Garden Amidst the Flame continues Tontey’s ongoing research into the ancient knowledge\, technologies and cosmology of the Minahasa\, an Indigenous nation in the North Sulawesi province of Indonesia. In this most recent work\, Tontey emphasises core Minahasan cultural beliefs in the all-encompassing equilibrium between the human and non-human. Drawing on her experience of the Karai ceremony\, which grants Minahasan warriors an armour of invincibility\, the artist seeks to establish a queering approach towards gender\, youth and ecology.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nReading from Sampson Starkweather\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nNgüru Ka Williñ (The Fox And The Otter) by Seba Calfuqueo\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]4 min\, 2022[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The early 20th century fable “The Fox and the Otter\,” from the Historia y Conocimiento Oral Mapuche: Sobrevivientes de la campaña del desierto y ocupación de la Araucanía (1899–1926)\, tells the story of a homoerotic relationship between two animals – a fox and an otter\, both males – where anal penetration is seen as an offense to masculinity. This 3D animated video proposes a new version of the fable\, where its protagonist is a transgender vixen who\, by means of its charms\, achieves to attract the otter\, unsettling colonial constructions about desire and heterosexuality and allowing to break these paradigms and create new cosmologies.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162776″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jhani Randhawa is an artist and independent scholar whose work interweaves experimental poetics and prose with video\, performance\, and archival photography in a study of cyborgian/monstrous dreamscapes and the entangled expressions of memory\, embodiment\, and agriculture as they bind the colonial to the contemporary postcolonial moment. Jhani’s debut collection Time Regime (New York: Gaudy Boy\, 2022) won the California Book Award for Poetry in 2023. Their hybrid writing has most recently appeared in Gulf Coast\, Little Mirror\, diode\, and the anthology A Mouth Holds Many Things: A De-Canon Hybrit-Literary Collection (Fonograf Editions\, 2024). Examples of Jhani’s collaborative social practice can be found in May We Gather: A National Buddhist Memorial Ceremony for Asian American Ancestors and Sutra and Bible\, an exhibition and anthology project coordinated between the Shinso Ito Center of Japanese Religions & Culture\, The Japanese American National Museum\, and Kaya Press. Jhani’s research\, writing\, and visual poetics have been recognized by UNESCO\, PEN America\, the museum of the Czong Institute of Contemporary Art (Gyeonggi-do\, SK)\, the Richard Bonney Literary Fund (Leicester\, UK)\, and fully funded residencies from Montalvo Arts\, Millay Arts\, and the Wormfarm Institute. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162777″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Sampson Starkweather is a poet and does other stuff for money to pay rent and survive. He is the author of HONEY IN THE TAPE DECK: New & Uncollected Poems\, Slip on the Ski Mask of Night\, PAIN: The Board Game\, The First Four Books of Sampson Starkweather and over a dozen chapbooks from dangerous and/or defunct underground small presses. He is a founding editor of the anti-capitalist independent editor-run poetry press Birds\, LLC.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162778″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Natasha Tontey (b\, 1989) is Minahasan artist based between Yogyakarta and Jakarta. Her artistic practice predominantly explores the fictional accounts of the history and myths surrounding ‘manufactured fear.’ In her practice\, she observes any possibilities of other futures that are projected not from the perspective of major and established institutions\, but a subtle and personal struggle of the outcasted entities and beings.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161175″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Christine Larusso holds a BA from Fordham University (Lincoln Center) and an MFA in Creative Writing from New York University. Her poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in Bomb Magazine\, Volume\, the Colorado Review\, Wildness\, the Los Angeles Times\, the Literary Review\, Pleiades\, Court Green\, Narrative\, and elsewhere. She was a Producer for Rachel Zucker’s podcast\, Commonplace\, and was a co-founder of the Commonplace School. She lives in Los Angeles most of the time.\n \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”152994″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Rachael Rakes is a writer\, curator\, educator\, and researcher. She was recently the Artistic Director of the 12th Seoul Mediacity Biennale\, 2023. Currently Rakes is a Committee Member of the New York Film Festival\, an Editor at Large for Verso Books\, and a Contributing Editor for INFRASONICA.With Laura Huertas Millán and Onyeka Igwe\, she organizes the artistic research initiative on co-subjective encounters\, Counter-Encounters. From 2019–2022 she was the Curator for Public Practice at BAK basis voor actuele kunst\, Utrecht. Until 2019\, she was the Head Curator and Manager of the Curatorial Programme at De Appel in Amsterdam. Rakes teaches in the Artificial Times Masters department at Sandberg\, on Curating the moving image at Leiden University\, and taught recently for the Parsons School of Art\, Zine Eskola\, HKU\, KASK\, Eugene Lang College\, and Harvard University. Rakes is editor of the publications This\, Too\, Is a Map (2023\, Sema/[NAME])\, Toward the Not-Yet (2021\, BAK/MIT Press)\, and Practice Space (2019\, [NAME]/De Appel) and frequently publishes as a critic and essayist.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1778354275678-ae8c26ed-ac58-10″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1778354275678-8b229284-49f8-8″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/were-sick-to-death-of-all-this-nonsense-saffron-time-2026-05-08/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/WSTDOATNgif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260502T171500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260502T171500
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260401T185658Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260423T141635Z
UID:10003060-1777742100-1777742100@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Whispers in May
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Program 5:15p\nTickets $15[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]American Museum of Natural History\n77th Street Between Central Park West and Columbus Avenue\nNew York\, NY 10024[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Get Tickets” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#FFFFFF” outline_custom_hover_background=”#ADADCC” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000CD” shape=”round” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amnh.org%2Fexplore%2Fmargaret-mead-festival%2Fwhispers-in-may|title:tickets|target:_blank”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/941430034?share=copy” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to partner with the American Museum of Natural History\, Yu & Me Books and Nooks & Crannies to co-present the NYC premiere of WHISPERS IN MAY by Dongnan Chen! \nIn China’s majestic Liangshan Mountains\, 14-year-old Qihuo has just had her first menstruation\, marking the start of a traditional coming-of-age ritual. With her parents away as migrant workers\, she and two friends set out on a road trip to buy a ceremonial skirt. Winner of the prestigious DOX:AWARD at CPH:DOX 2026\, Whispers in May blurs documentary and fiction\, inviting Qihuo to be the protagonist of her own adventure as she leaves childhood behind. \nDonngan Chen will be in attendance for a conversation following the screening. Come through![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWhispers in May by Dongnan Chen\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 95 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”154762″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Dongnan Chen陈东楠\, currently based in Shenzhen China\, probes into the nuanced interplay between freedom and dilemma on the peripheries of the social fabric. Her portfolio includes shorts Sound of Vision 声音的颜色\, The Trail From Xinjiang 偷\, 14 Paintings 历历如画\, and the feature Singing in the Wilderness 旷野歌声\, which have received important backing from Sundance Institute\, IDFA Bertha\, Xining First\, Field of Vision\, DMZ etc\, and went on to get Emmy nomination\, and selected by IDFA\, IFFR\, Sundance\, New Director/New Films\, HotDocs…and were broadcasted on NHK\, POV\, KBS\, PTS. Dongnan is a graduate from New York University and a fellow of IDFAcademy and Sundance story and edit lab.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1776953779506-292c1ed3-42f4-6″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/whispers-in-may-2026-05-02/
LOCATION:Lefrak Theater\, 200 Central Prk W\, New York\, 10024\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/gif-1.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260401T185424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260413T184453Z
UID:10003046-1777663800-1777663800@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Portals In Between
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:30p\nProgram 8:00p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to join with Airtime and Speciwomen to present PORTALS IN BETWEEN\, a pair of short films that dance with hybridity to experiment with time\, memory and the concept of home. \nWe invite Aslı Baykal’s Darkroom (2023) and Kim Torres’ Solo la Luna Comprenderá (2023) into a lyrical conversation that reimagines the transportive potentials of our everyday surroundings: nature\, water\, corn fields\, windows\, children’s games\, red lights\, stars and the moon. \nThese works invite the audience to the makers’ open archives that unfold alongside their making\, bringing viewers into process as it develops. \nAs part of this responsive approach\, we are inviting a third film into the program\, shifting from a singularly selected viewing experience toward a community gathering where the boundaries between maker and audience are more porous\, and the night is positioned more as an evolving encounter. \nIn the collective spirit in which both films were made\, the team behind this night decided to put forth an open call to find an additional short film that may continue and expand their dialogue. Please find the prompt below and submit a film to join the lineup if you are inspired and feel like your work is a part of this conversation. \nWe invite you to join us for this expansive program that offers how imagination builds resilience and to join the conversation that these films begin. \nSpecial thanks to program partners for tonight. Airtime\, and Speciwomen. This program is organized in conjunction with the Magnet Residency\, a funded artist-in-residence program hosted by Speciwomen welcoming artists from outside of New York to spend time and make work in the city.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””] \nOpen Call Prompt \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””]We invite you to submit a film to be screened for this evening! \nWe’re requesting submissions for a hybrid film that offers a portrait of home that constructs an alternate reality to reimagine time and memory. \nPlease fill the form here to share your work for consideration: SUBMIT FILM \nMax runtime 30 min. | Deadline April: 18th | Selected films will receive a $50 honorarium for their inclusion in the program.\n[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nSolo la Luna comprenderá / The Moon Will Contain Us by Kim Torres\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]18 min\, 2023\, Costa Rica\, U.S\, 16mm[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In the small coastal town of Manzanillo\, Costa Rica\, filmmaker Kim Torres enlists the local teens and adolescents to share their stories\, lies\, and fantasies on the cusp of a cataclysmic event. Playing amid ruins and wreckages\, and voicing their boredom at the lack of change\, Manzanillo’s children engage in a collective fabulation\, finding strategies for building a new world from the old. \n— NYFF Programming team.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nDarkroom by Aslı Baykal\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] 14 min\, 2023\, Turkey\, U.S\, 16mm[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]At the modern-day crossroads of Turkey and Syria\, the ancient city of Istasyon is taken over by children with cameras. Through their gaze\, they transform cinder block villages into portals and roam freely across abandoned train tracks to Sirkhane Darkroom\, an oasis of red light and pomegranate trees\, where their images are born. Darkroom is an experimental and celebratory portrait of Istasyon’s youth and their capacity to forge an alternate reality within a conflict zone. Embedded in 16mm film\, a co-creation between the film crew and these photography students is a reverence for the mysterious power and intimacy of analog image-making.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 74 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162321″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kim Torres is a Costa Rican filmmaker. Through light\, gesture\, and atmosphere\, her work investigates questions of transformation and becoming. Working across fiction and non-fiction\, her films shift in form\, drawing poetry from the natural world while forming deep connections with diverse communities and landscapes. Her films have screened at Festival de Cannes\, Locarno Film Festival\, New York Film Festival\, San Sebastian International Film Festival\, New Directors/New Films at MoMA and Lincoln Center\, and the Eye Filmmuseum. She was a Guest Artist at CalArts University (2022)\, a Berlinale Talents participant (2023)\, and an alumna of the Locarno Filmmakers Academy (2024).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162329″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Aslı Baykal is a Turkish filmmaker and visual artist based in New York\, working between documentary and experimental forms\, often blending personal narratives with collective memory. She holds a BFA in Film & TV from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Her short film Darkroom (2023)\, co-created with children from the Sirkhane Darkroom photography workshop along the Turkish-Syrian border\, premiered at MoMA Doc Fortnight and screened internationally at festivals including Visions du Réel (Doc Alliance nominee for Best Short Documentary)\, Camden IFF\, Ji.hlava\, and Dokufest. She has collaborated with musical artists such as Sampha\, Nick Hakim\, Nourished by Time\, and Karen O. Her work has been featured in MIT Press\, Taschen\, and Harvard Design Magazine. In 2018\, she founded the Airtime Screening Series\, later expanding into Airtime Online\, a global hybrid platform focusing on curated screenings and artist collaborations.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1774984485090-35c4d0de-5a15-6″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][vc_column_text css=””] \nAbout \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]About Speciwomen & Magnet Residency\nSpeciwomen is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts organization committed to giving space to women and LGBTQIA+ artists for retreat\, research\, and making.  \nMagnet is a funded artist-in-residence program hosted by Speciwomen welcoming artists from outside of New York to spend time and make work in the city. Our commitment is to provide a supportive environment where artists can delve into their work with unencumbered time\, developing their practice and fostering relationships.  \nAbout Airtime\nAIRTIME is an artist-run film initiative dedicated to reimagining how we experience the moving image. Founded in 2018 as a pop-up screening series and expanded in 2023 with an experimental online global platform\, it presents artists whose work pushes form and opens new ways of seeing and feeling. The initiative works closely with artists\, valuing collaboration and dialogue throughout the process.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/2026-05-01-portals-in-between/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gif-2.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260501T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260503T133000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260302T133030Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260425T210446Z
UID:10003037-1777629600-1777815000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:An Audience Yet to Come:  Projective Documentary  and The Essay Film
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T0dWTytwA” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]“You didn’t know\, and couldn’t know\, and didn’t care\, safe in your pram”\n— A Diary for Timothy (1945)\, Humphrey Jennings \nWhen we make a documentary\, we rarely know who will ultimately watch it. Films travel through time\, across contexts and generations. They may be seen years—or decades—after they are made. So how do we speak to or project to an audience we cannot know? \nIn this workshop\, essay filmmaker\, critic and scholar Kevin B. Lee (Transformers: The Premake\, Afterlives) will explore this idea of “projective documentary”\, asking  how filmmakers address audiences that are distant\, unknown\, or yet to come. A pioneer of the desktop documentary and a master of the essay film form\, Kevin will guide participants through ways of thinking about documentary as a conversation across time. \nEssay films often speak directly—to a person\, a community\, a future viewer\, or even to someone who may never respond. This act of address allows filmmakers to reflect on the present while imagining how it might be understood in the future. What does it mean to document our moment with viewers we cannot yet see? And how might the way we speak shape how that future understands us? \nAcross three days of artist talks\, screenings\, and feedback sessions\, participants will examine different ways documentary filmmakers have addressed their audiences—from wartime letter-films to contemporary desktop documentaries. Together we will think about how voice\, form and structure can help create films that endure beyond the moment in which they are made. \nThe workshop will revolve around questions such as: \nWhat does it mean to make a film for someone who cannot respond? \nWho gets to speak—and who is spoken for? \nHow might we represent the present for viewers in the future? \nDo we ever truly know who our films reach? \nWhat forms work best when addressing an unseen or unknown audience? \nHow might emerging technologies\, including generative AI\, change how we imagine the future viewer? \nWhat happens when images are generated rather than captured? \nJoining Kevin for the workshop is a group of invited filmmakers\, thinkers and researchers working across moving-image practice. Film scholar Jane Gaines will bring a historical approach to projective documentary. Filmmaker Gala Hernández López will join remotely to discuss how AI and digital culture shape her approach to documentary and essay filmmaking. And Lynne Sachs will walk participants through her extensive experience with the essay form. Participants will also be encouraged to share their own work in the context of a creative feedback session with Kevin. \nRegister below\, spots are limited. Hope to see you there![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Who is eligible?” tab_id=”1477608256488-ac7d3d1a-ae9084d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]Open to everyone\, though the workshop setting is best suited for filmmakers\, film producers\, journalists\, curators and media artists. \nGive us an idea of who you are and why you are coming. When you register you will be asked for a short statement of interest that should briefly describe your experience and a film project (it would be great if you have a project in progress that you would present to the group during the work-in-progress critique sessions)\, plus a bio. There’s a spot for a link to a work sample (and CV\, which would also be nice\, but is not required).[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]$295 early bird registration ends on April 21\, 2026. \n$350 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel\, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until April 21.  After April 21\, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]No animation software is required for participation in this workshop. \nIn order to keep costs down\, this workshop is a BYOL\, i.e. bring your own laptop. Students must be fully proficient using and operating their computers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Registration & Cancellation Policy” tab_id=”1477612055387-51381642-d1c784d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]To register for a workshop\, students must pay in full via card\, check\, or cash . After the early bird registration deadline of April 21\, course fees are not refundable or transferable and any withdrawals or deadlines will result in the full cost of the class being forfeit. There will be no exceptions. To withdraw from a course please email info-at-uniondocs.org. \nIn the event that a workshop does not receive sufficient enrollment\, it may be canceled. Students will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the start of a cancelled workshop and will be refunded within 5 business days. If we reschedule a workshop to another date\, students are also entitled to a full refund. UnionDocs reserves the right to change instructors without prior notification\, and to change class location and meeting times by up to an hour with 48 hours prior notice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_message message_box_style=”solid” style=”square” message_box_color=”orange”]Please note: Participants are accepted on a first-come\, first-serve basis.[/vc_message][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Schedule” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”Friday\, May 1st” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Welcome & intros  \n10:30am – 12:30pm Intro session with Kevin B. Lee \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Session with Jane Gaines \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Kevin additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Saturday\, May 2nd” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Warm up\, inspiring references\, case studies \n10:30am – 12:30pm Session with Lynne Sachs \n12:30am – 2:00pm Lunch \n2:00pm – 4:00pm Remote Session with Gala Hernández López \n4:00pm – 4:30pm Wrap Up Discussion with Kevin\, additional exercises / discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sunday\, May 3rd” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 12:30pm Creative work-in-progress session with Kevin \n12:30am – 1:30pm Wrap-up discussion and final thoughts[/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Each day follows this general structure\, with some minor variations and substitutions:” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:00a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Warm up\, inspiring references\, case study\, eye training.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]10:30a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]11:45a[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]12:30p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Share / Discussion / Exercise[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]1:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Lunch (on your own)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]2:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Presentation by guest speaker + individual work-in-progress critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]3:15p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Discussion[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]4:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Workshop Exercise + Critique[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/6″][vc_column_text]5:00p[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”5/6″][vc_column_text]Wrap Up[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_text_separator title=”Bios” color=”white” el_class=” \n“][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161747″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Kevin B. Lee is the Locarno Film Festival Professor for the Future of Cinema and the Audiovisual Arts at Università della Svizzera italiana (USI). A filmmaker and media researcher\, he has produced nearly 400 video essays exploring film and media. His award-winning film Transformers: The Premake introduced the “desktop documentary” format. His recent work includes the feature film Afterlives (2025)\, which premiered at the BFI London Film Festival and DocLisboa. He co-leads the Swiss National Science Foundation research project “The Video Essay: Memories\, Ecologies\, Bodies”. Lee is a 2018 Sundance Institute Art of Nonfiction Grantee and has screened his work at the Museum of Modern Art\, Berlinale\, and International Film Festival Rotterdam.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161748″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Gala Hernández López is an artist\, filmmaker and researcher. Her interdisciplinary practice combines filmmaking with the creation of video installations\, performances\, and publications. More specifically\, her work critically analyzes new modes of subjectivation produced by computational capitalism. She examines the imaginaries circulating in virtual communities\, the desires conveyed by disruptive technologies\, and new reactionary techno-utopias as shared fictions that populate our collective unconscious. Her works are based on research\, combining materialist analysis with poetry\, intimacy\, and dreams with the aim of dissecting fantasies of unlimited techno-scientific control over reality. Her work has been presented at international festivals and institutions such as Cannes\, Berlinale\, Rotterdam\, IDFA\, DOK Leipzig\, Cinéma du Réel\, Curtas Vila do Conde\, IndieLisboa\, Berlinische Galerie\, Palais de Tokyo\, Sarajevo Film Festival\, Vancouver Film Festival\, Festival du Nouveau Cinéma\, Camden Film Festival\, Courtisane\, transmediale\, Kurzfilmtage Winterthur\, FRAC Île-de-France\, among others. Her film La Mécanique des fluides won the César for Best Documentary Short Film in 2024. She regularly gives workshops\, lectures\, and talks at venues such as Beaux-Arts de Marseille\, Freïe Universität\, Kunsthochschule Kassel\, Filmuniversität Babelsberg Konrad Wolf\, Beaux-Arts de Paris\, The Photographers Gallery\, Locarno Film Festival\, Harvard University\, Goldsmiths University of London\, University of British Columbia and University of Michigan.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161929″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jane M. Gaines is Professor Emerita of Literature and English\, Duke University and currently Professor of Film\, Columbia University. She is the author of three books\, Pink-Slipped: What Happened to Women in the Silent Film Industry? (University of Illinois\, 2018)\, Contested Culture: The Image\, the Voice\, and the Law (North Carolina\, 1991)\, and Fire and Desire: Mixed Race Movies in the Silent Era (Chicago\, 2001). In 2018\, Prof. Gaines received the Society for Cinema and Media Studies Distinguished Career Award and in 2023\, an Honorary doctorate from University of Stockholm. A founder of the Visible Evidence conference on documentary\, she continues to publish on documentary activism\, intellectual property in the internet age\, the history of piracy\, and has critiqued the “historical turn” in film and media studies as “What Happened to the Philosophy of Film History?” and “Eisenstein’s Absolutely Wonderful\, Totally Impossible Project\,” in Sergei M. Eisenstein: Notes for a General History of Cinema. Forthcoming is What Happened?: Documentary Media and the Dilemmas of Historical Time. The online resource\, Women Film Pioneers Project\, published by the Columbia University Libraries\, launched as a pilot project in the future of publishing in 2013.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161935″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Lynne Sachs is a filmmaker and poet living in Brooklyn\, New York. She has produced over 50 short and feature-length films. Sachs creates cinematic works that defy genre through the use of hybrid forms and cross-disciplinary collaboration\, incorporating elements of the essay film\, collage\, performance\, documentary and poetry. Her films explore the intricate relationship between personal observations and broader historical experiences. With each project\, Lynne investigates the implicit connection between the body\, the camera\, and the materiality of film itself. Lynne discovered her love of filmmaking while living and studying in San Francisco. During this time\, she produced her early\, experimental works on celluloid which took a feminist approach to the creation of images and writing— a commitment which has grounded her body of work ever since. Lynne’s films have screened at MoMA\, Wexner Center for the Arts\, New York Film Festival\, Sundance\, Punto de Vista\, and DocLisboa. Retrospectives of her work have been presented at Museum of the Moving Image\, Ambulante\, Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema\, Cámara Lúcida\, China Women’s Film Festival\, Cork Int’l Film Festival\, Costa Rica Int’l Film Fest\, and Oberhausen. In 2021\, Edison and Prismatic Ground Film Festivals honored her body of work in the experimental and documentary fields.  Tender Buttons Press published Lynne’s Year by Year Poems in 2019\, and Punctum Books published Hand Book: A Manual on Performance\, Process and the Labor of Laundry written by Lynne and playwright Lizzie Olesker in 2025.  In 2026\, the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Berkeley Art Museum/ Pacific Film Archive gave Lynne their annual Persistence of Vision Award which honors “filmmakers whose achievements go beyond the boundaries of the traditional film form.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/an-audience-yet-to-come-projective-documentary-and-the-essay-film-2026-05-01/
LOCATION:NY
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gif.gif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260430T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260430T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260401T175345Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260427T160812Z
UID:10003055-1777577400-1777577400@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:This Girl's Nervy:  Films by Jennifer Reeves
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:30p\nProgram 8:00p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/JuTE3RfmqWI” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWe’re thrilled to celebrate the release of a long-awaited Blu-ray collection and to spend the evening immersed in the fiercely tactile\, deeply personal cinema of Jennifer Reeves! \nReleased in December 2025\, When it was Blue: Jennifer Reeves Selected Works 1992–2022 arrives as a vital gathering of Reeves’ singular body of work\, and we’re honored to mark the occasion with a program of shorts spanning her practice\, moving across decades\, formats\, and states of transformation. For this special presentation\, we’ll be screening the shorts in a hybrid format\, presenting the shorts half on 16mm and half digitally\, creating a rare opportunity to experience Reeves’ work across the very material conditions that shape it. \nWorking primarily in 16mm\, Reeves approaches filmmaking as a materially intensive\, almost alchemical process\, where the image is not just captured but physically altered\, distressed\, and reimagined. Across these films\, Reeves’ work pulses with emotional immediacy\, tracing interior landscapes shaped by memory\, perception\, and the body. Themes of mental health\, feminism\, and ecological precarity emerge not as fixed subjects\, but as shifting conditions that are felt\, embodied\, and in flux. \nWe’re so excited to share this program with first-time viewers and longtime admirers alike. Join us for this special screening. Media artist\, writer and educator Melissa Friedling will guide us in conversation with Jennifer following the program. \nCome through! \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nThe girl’s nervy\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 5 min\, 1995[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWe are going home\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 10 min\, 1998[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nFear of Blushing\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 5.5 min\, 2001[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nLandfill 16\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 9 min\, 2011[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nStrawberries in the Summertime\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm-HD\, 16 min\, 2013[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nColor Neutral\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 3 minutes\, 2014[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nPigment-Dispersion Syndrome\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm-2K\, 6 minutes\, 2022[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nGirls Daydream about Hollywood\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 4 min\, 1992[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nConfiguration 20\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]16mm\, 11.5 minutes\, 1994[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 70 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162420″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Brooklyn film artist Jennifer Reeves (b. 1971\, Sri Lanka) has made 25+ filmworks to date\, from experimental shorts and features to multiple projection performances scored by live music. Reeves’ visceral 16mm film works immerse viewers in intricate\, unfamiliar cinematic territory. They investigate themes of mental health and recovery\, feminism and sexuality\, and the beauty and decay of the natural world. A Blu-ray collection of 10 of her films will be released by Re:Voir Video late in 2025: “When it was Blue: Jennifer Reeves Selected Works 1992 – 2022”. The collection will be available for streaming in 2026. \nReeves started her life as a film artist in 1990 at Bard College under the tutelage of Peggy Ahwesh\, Peter Hutton and Adolfas Mekas. Since 1990 Reeves has shot\, written\, edited\, created optical effects\, and designed the soundtracks of her film works: a veritable one-person production unit. Her singular cinematic works push the boundaries of film with optical printing anddirect-on-film techniques that involve painting on\, sewing\, and burying 16mm film. \nReeves premiered her most recent feature-length work\, a dual-projection film performance of THE GLORIA OF YOUR IMAGINATION\, at Berkeley Art Museum Pacific Film Archive in October 2024. She adapted THE GLORIA OF YOUR IMAGINATION into a single-channel Experimental Documentary to debut at the 51st Seattle International Film Festival in 2025. With support from residencies at Atelier 105 in Paris and Yaddo in New York\, Reeves wrote\, directed\, and edited the project. Reeves has also presented “GLORIA” at Light Matter Film Festival\, Arkipel International Documentary and Experimental Film\, New Horizons Film Festival in Polandand Vassar College. In November\, THE GLORIA OF YOUR IMAGINATION will screen at Kasseler Dokfest in Germany\, and it will be featured at an international conference with Jennifer as a presenter “Misogyny Then and Now: Implications for Psychoanalytic Perspectives” co-sponsored by the Washington Baltimore Center for Psychoanalysis and the Committee of Women and Psychoanalysis of the International Psychoanalytic Association. This September\, Reeves debuted her latest dual-projection work\, LIFE IN DECAY\, in a collaborative performance with the Iranian Sound Artist Farzané at Conflux Festival 2025. \nReeves’ many film awards include a FIPRESCI prize at the Berlinale\, The Barbara Hammer Feminist Filmmaker Award at Ann Arbor Film Festival\, Best New York Narrative Feature at Tribeca Film Festival\, Outstanding Artistic Achievement at Outfest\, and a nomination for the Someone to Watch Award at The Independent Spirit Awards. Comprehensive retrospectives of Reeves’ work have been hosted by the New Horizons Film Festival in Wroclaw\, Poland\, the San Francisco Cinematheque\, Berlin’s Kino Arsenal\, and Anthology Film Archives in New York City.  Reeves’ work has screened broadly\, from the Rotterdam\, New York\, Sundance and Toronto International Film Festivals to the Museum of Modern Art\, the National Gallery in D.C.\, the CCCB in Barcelona and at art cinemas and universities worldwide. Reeves has collaborated with celebrated composers including Farzané\, Zeena Parkins\, Marc Ribot\, Elliott Sharp and Skúli Sverrisson. Her multiple-projection films with live music have been performed from the Sydney Opera House\, Berlin International Film Festival\, to RedCat in Los Angeles and the Wexner Center in Ohio. \nReeves has two long-form film projects underway. She is editing CELIA\, SHE SAID\, an experimental feature focused on Cuban revolutionary Celia Sanchez and her connections to other international revolutionary women. The project was supported by a Princess Grace Awards Special Project grant. FLYING ISLANDS OF THE NIGHT is a medium-length 16mm dual-projection work about the islands of the world\, lively creatures from sea and sky\, and the wilderness inside. The project was inspired by a play with the same title\, written by the poet James Whitcomb Riley\, Reeves’ great\, great uncle. \nReeves has taught film and animation courses at The Cooper Union School of Art since 2005. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”157125″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Melissa Friedling is a media artist\, writer\, and educator interested in the jumbled layers of media histories.  Much of her work begins with found or ‘happened upon’ media that prompts an excavation of the marginalized and sometimes metaphysical narratives contained within them. Her films and videos have been exhibited internationally at venues including Barbican Centre (London\, UK)\, Tribeca Film Festival (NY)\, PS1 MoMA (NY)\, Athens Institute for Contemporary Art (ATHICA)\, Hallwalls Contemporary Art Center (Buffalo)\, Art Space (New Haven)\, Microscope Gallery (NY); New Orleans International Film Festival\, Ann Arbor (MI)\, Atlanta Film Fest. Select honors include grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the New York State Council for the Arts\, a Fulbright Award\, and residency fellowships from Yaddo\, MacDowell\, and International Studio and Curatorial Program.  Melissa is also the founder and owner of Slouch Productions.  She lives in Brooklyn and teaches at The New School in New York City.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1777306004467-f76dbc69-6511-8″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/this-girls-nervy-films-by-jennifer-reeves-2026-04-30/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/JennReevesgif.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260426T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260426T190000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260331T201625Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260422T102145Z
UID:10003047-1777230000-1777230000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:One Thousand and One Journeys
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/BAAVYCSbbTs” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re delighted to partner with ArteEast to co-present ONE THOUSAND AND ONE JOURNEYS. The program traces the history and legacy of Arab-American migration across the United States. Borrowing its title from Abe Kasbo’s sweeping documentary\, this program follows the layered journey of Levantine migration in America that began in the late 19th early 20th centuries and continues today. \nFrom establishing the enclave of Little Syria\, to peddling goods to remote areas\, to settling in various states across the country\, the films show us how early Arab immigrants shaped the landscape of now thriving communities in major cities. Through documentaries from a variety of perspectives and locales\, this program explores the stories\, contributions\, and ongoing realities of Arab-Americans\, painting a rich portrait of the diversity of Arab identity and how it continues to shape contemporary cultural life in America. \nIn Beirut on the Bayou (2022)\, Lebanese author\, Raif Shwayri\, travels to Louisiana to trace the life of his grandfather who once worked as a peddler serving the Cajuns on Bayou Lafourche. Alfred “Sweet Papa” Nicola spent nearly two decades\, in the early 20th century\, selling his wares to the French-speaking melting pot that was developing on the edge of civilization. His years of traveling to these isolated villages would eventually\, and surprisingly\, lead to substantial aid for tens of thousands of disabled and impoverished children in Lebanon. This film celebrates the rarely told story of early Arab-American immigrants and includes never-before-seen 16mm footage of South Louisiana and Beirut from the 1950s\, as well as rare photos of early Cajun life. It also features an original Arabic score and a cover of a Cajun classic using Arabic instruments. \nA Thousand and One Journeys: The Arab Americans (2015)\, from which this program borrows its title\, is a documentary offering a broad historical lens on Arab migration to the U.S. It follows the formation of early communities such as Little Syria in lower Manhattan\, the rise of peddling routes that took immigrants deep into the American South and Midwest\, and the ways Arab Americans built lives\, businesses\, and cultural networks across the country. The film grounds the program in a foundational national history while highlighting New York City as one of the earliest and most significant sites of Arab-American settlement. \nThe films will be followed by a talk on the history of Little Syria in lower Manhattan with Linda Jacobs scholar & author of Strangers in the West: The Syrian Colony of New York City\, 1880-1900.  \nThis program is collaboration with curator Nanor Vosgueritchian and is part of ArteEast’s Unpacking the ArteArchive series\, which highlights curated selections from the ArteArchive\, ArteEast’s film and video collection in dialogue with contemporary voices. The full program\, including additional films and a recorded discussion with filmmaker Abe Kanso\, will be presented online on artearchive.org from April 23- May 3. \nThis program is supported\, in part\, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nBeirut on the Bayou by Brent Joseph\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]2022\, 28 mins.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nA Thousand and One Journeys: The Arab Americans by Abe Kasbo\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]2015\, 20 min excerpt[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 48 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162345″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Linda K. Jacobs is a New York-based scholar and author. She holds a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archaeology/Anthropology and spent many years working on archaeological excavations and economic development projects in the Middle East. Dr. Jacobs is committed to promoting Middle Eastern culture and knowledge in the United States\, founding KalimahPress in 2011 and sitting on the board of several Middle Eastern organizations. All four of her grandparents were members of the New York Syrian Colony. She is the author of two books on the nineteenth-century Syrian diaspora in the United States.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162346″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Brent Joseph is a filmmaker from New Orleans who got his start as an assistant in the cutting rooms of David Fincher\, Seth Rogen\, and David Simon. He went on to edit several feature films and documentaries including “La Gloria” (starring David Morse) and “Shell Shocked” (PBS). His directing work — from Beirut on the Bayou\, which traces a little-known chapter of early Arab-American life in Cajun Louisiana\, to his Katrina portraits Holdout and A Loud Color — is tied together by stark visuals\, original music\, and a persistent curiosity about how people find meaning when the familiar fades away.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162347″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Abe Kasbo is a Syrian-American entrepreneur\, author\, and filmmaker best known as the Founder and CEO of Verasoni Worldwide\, an integrated marketing communications advisory and agency based in Fairfield\, New Jersey. Born in Aleppo\, Syria\, Kasbo immigrated to the United States in 1980 at age 10. After growing up in Paterson\, NJ\, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and International Relations and a Master’s in Public Administration from Seton Hall University\, where he was later inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row disable_element=”yes”][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1776853289701-f9b0f28c-b096-2″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/one-thousand-and-one-journeys-2026-04-26/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ArteEast-One-Thousand-and-One-Journeys-FEATURED-IMG.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T190000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T200000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260306T184459Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260422T101146Z
UID:10003038-1777143600-1777147200@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Muscle Beach
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30p\nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://youtu.be/aSseKDDTkCc” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]We’re thrilled to host the New York premiere of Muscle Beach\, a lyrical\, kinetic\, and darkly comic journey into the heart of the American weird from filmmaker Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman.  \nMoving uncannily between documentary and dramatic neo-noir\, the film centers on weightlifting influencer Ike Catcher who plays Abe\, a fictional version of himself\, a bodybuilder in search of his missing best friend.  \nOver the course of a day\, Abe finds himself pulled into a paranoid journey of tainted supplements\, supernatural conspiracies\, and naked greed\, set against the sun-bleached streets and back-alleys of Venice Beach – the last true vestige of the American carnival.  \nThe film stars breakout talent Lindsey Normington (Anora\, Hacks\, The Idol)\, two-time Mr. Vienna and ‘King of Muscle Beach’ Ike Catcher\, and 90’s cult movie icon\, Kirk Baltz (a.k.a. the guy who got his ear cut off in Reservoir Dogs). \nWe’ll share a short documentary that Hurwitz-Goodman shot at Muscle Beach a decade ago to precede the film. We hope you’ll come through to experience Muscle Beach across these two works with us\, as we’re absolutely *pumped* to welcome Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman to dig into his film with us following the screening. See you there![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nMuscle Beach by Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]93 mins\, 2026[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]After soaring high and flaming out in Hollywood\, Abe\, a celebrated bodybuilder\, returns home across the 405 to Venice Beach\, where it all started. But Abe’s beloved boardwalk feels different. There’s a nasty bite to the sea breeze\, a slew of unexplained overdoses putting the gym rats on edge\, strange supernatural sightings on the pier hinting at something primordial lurking beneath the surface of sun-dappled Venice. And Jay—his old lifting partner\, his former roommate\, the one person he truly abandoned in his pursuit of fame—has disappeared\, leaving Alice\, his ex\, alone to take care of their infant son. \nThroughout an increasingly desperate afternoon\, Abe searches for his old friend\, navigating an odyssey of local characters\, and unearthing a subterranean war for the soul of this sparkling\, seedy strip of waterfront\, sitting on some of the most valuable real estate in the hemisphere.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nThe Defenders of Muscle Beach by Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]6 mins\, 2016[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Originally called the Santa Monica Beach Playground\, California’s Muscle Beach was a soft landing pad for gymnasts and circus and vaudeville performers looking for a place to practice in the 1930s. To employ people during the Great Depression\, the US government funded the construction of a platform for tumbling\, parallel bars\, and rings. Enterprising acrobats—male and female—entertained the masses during those bleak times. \nBodybuilders and fitness gurus eventually joined the fun in the sun. Joe Gold\, founder of Gold’s Gym\, launched his career at Muscle Beach\, and\, before television made him famous\, Jack LaLanne wowed beach audiences by performing 1\,000 pushups in a row. \nThe spectacle was over after a scandal erupted in 1958. Santa Monica dismantled the beachside gym and bodybuilders moved a few kilometers south to what became Muscle Beach Venice. It’s the beach that vaulted a young Austrian bodybuilder\, Arnold Schwarzenegger\, into the celebrity stratosphere. And today\, it’s where the Defenders of Muscle Beach perform feats of strength\, dwarfed only by the power of the waves lapping their oceanside gym.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 99 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161769″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jacob Hurwitz-Goodman is a Detroit-born\, Los Angeles-based filmmaker. His films\, music videos\, and documentaries tease out the hidden strands\, characters\, and ideologies coursing through tech\, economics\, politics\, emergent AI\, and obscure subcultures. His eclectic\, intimate work has been featured at the Athens Biennale\, New York Times OpDocs\, BBC\, PAF\, NPCC Fest\, San Francisco’s DeYoung Museum\, PBS\, Atlas Obscura\, NBC Left Field\, CPH:DOX\, and in museums and festivals globally. His films have won an Edes Award for Emerging Artists and an Emmy.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162259″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Joshua Citarella is an artist and writer. He is the founder of Do Not Research. He is the host of Doomscroll\, a talk show that explores online culture and politics in the 21st century.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1776852688388-e5d69c84-a69a-2″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/2026-04-25-muscle-beach/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Muscle-Beach-Giphy.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260425T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260510T163000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260212T181130Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260508T214715Z
UID:10003031-1777111200-1778430600@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Critical Care:  The Documentary Clinic
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column][vc_btn title=”Register!” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#FFFFFF” outline_custom_hover_background=”#ADADCC” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000CD” shape=”round” align=”center” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fairtable.com%2FappdVEm0GuHIuyDJF%2FshrotfkacOtCNAy0O”][vc_column_text css=””]Are you stuck or spiraling on a documentary project currently in development? Would some feedback and counsel from an experienced producer help take you to the next level? \nWe know that documentary filmmaking can be a lonely endeavor\, especially in the development and early production phase\, and sometimes we all need a little therapy particularly in a climate of increasingly scarce resources and support. Independent filmmakers are left alone to research\, develop\, write grants\, pitch and fundraise their project\, when this is the time when support\, constructive feedback and creative guidance can be the most transformative. We’re delighted to offer this intensive workshop to filmmakers in such a position\, providing a space for focused consultation with experienced creative producers who have best practices and experiences navigating the ever-changing landscape of independent documentary. \nOver three days\, emerging filmmakers will work closely with industry professionals and a cohort of peers to address the obstacles commonly faced by non-fiction practitioners working alone. Participants will have the chance to fortify their project’s framework\, to consider their filmmaking methodology\, clarify creative direction and adjust priorities for next steps. Together we’ll hone the craft of producing compelling teasers\, media samples\, loglines\, synopses\, and director’s statements with a focus on figuring out what to prioritize when shooting and what to look for when reviewing footage for producing these necessary materials. Our goal is to help participants identify areas in need of growth and provide tools to help answer creative and practical questions\, so participants can refine the scope and vision of the project\, and draw a roadmap for further development. \nThe first day of the workshop kicks off with individual 1-on-1 meetings with industry mentors\, who will provide tailored feedback and advice for each participant and their project. This day is proposed as a remote/in-person hybrid day\, allowing participants from out of town to participate online. After a 2 week gap\, giving participants the time to digest feedback and work on their project\, we’ll gather in person for a two-day intensive. On day 1 each participant will pitch their projects to the whole cohort. On the final day of the workshop the participants will be split into groups led by a mentor to guide them through a specific aspect of the development process\, adapted to the participant group and their needs.  \nParticipants will submit project materials ahead of the workshop in order for industry mentors to familiarize themselves with the project ahead of time. This workshop is tailored towards non-fiction filmmakers with an independent project between development and early production\, without a producer. Registration for this workshop will function on a first-come-first-serve basis\, potential participants will need to fill out a REGISTRATION FORM so we can ensure the submitted projects for the program are at the appropriate stage for this level of feedback and development. \nOnce we receive the completed form\, we’ll be in touch within 72 hours to confirm the eligibility of the project\, and will send on a registration link. Prospective participants are advised to please read the full schedule before submitting the form\, as accepted participants will be required to attend every session.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””] \nWho is eligible? \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_column_text css=””]This workshop is designed for independent non-fictions filmmakers with a project in development or early production\, with no producer attached. We want to be sure that projects are at an appropriate stage\, so we are asking folks to fill a short REGISTRATION FORM before registering to join. \nWe will follow up with you once we review the form and send you a registration link with a payment portal and collect a short statement of interest and bio along with some informal project materials to share with instructors so they can get to know your work in advance. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_btn title=”REGISTRATION FORM” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#FFFFFF” outline_custom_hover_background=”#ADADCC” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000CD” shape=”round” align=”center” css=”” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fairtable.com%2FappdVEm0GuHIuyDJF%2FshrotfkacOtCNAy0O”][/vc_column][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text] \nSchedule \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”WEEK 1\nSaturday April 25th (in-person/remote hybrid) – 1-ON-1s” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 11:00am Welcome & workshop introduction  \n11:00am – 1:30pm 1-on-1 sessions (x5) \n1:30pm – 2:30pm LUNCH \n2:30pm – 5:00pm 1-on-1 sessions (x5)[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”WEEK 2\nSaturday May 9th (in-person) – PITCHING” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Welcome\, Introduction \n10:30am – 1:00pm Participants present/pitch work with the group and receive feedback (x5) \n1:00pm – 2:00pm LUNCH \n2:00pm – 4:30pm Participants present/pitch work with the group and receive feedback (x5) \n4:30pm – 5:00pm Wrap up discussion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_custom_heading text=”Sunday May 10th (in-person) – GROUP WORK\, BREAKOUTS” font_container=”tag:h1|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=””][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text css=””]10:00am – 10:30am Introduction \n10:30am – 12:30pm FOCUSSED BREAK OUT GROUP  #1  \n12:30pm – 1:30pm Lunch \n1:30pm – 3:30pm FOCUSSED BREAK OUT GROUP  #2 \n3:30pm – 4:00pm Final thoughts\, conclusion[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_separator color=”white”][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator color=”white”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”161605″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Paul Dallas is a Toronto-born writer\, producer\, and director based in Brooklyn. He co-wrote the HBO docu-drama REALITY\, winner of a 2023 Peabody Award. Producing credits include the documentaries HALSTON (CNN Films/Amazon) and the 2024 NAACP Image Award winner INVISIBLE BEAUTY (Magnolia Pictures)\, both of which premiered at Sundance. He also produced the acclaimed indie comedy THE PLAGIARISTS\, a New York Times Critics’ Pick\, and he Co-producer of THE MISCONCEIVED (IFFR 2026). He served as archival producer on HBO’s ARMED ONLY WITH A CAMERA\, which is nominated for the 2026 Academy Award for Documentary Short. Paul’s latest short DIVISION premiered at True/False 2026 and was selected for New Directors/New Films 2026. His writing has appeared in Artforum\, BOMB\, Extra Extra Magazine\, Filmmaker Magazine\, IndieWire\, the Village Voice\, and he has programmed films for BAM Cinema\, the Guggenheim\, and Maysles Documentary Center. He is a 2025 MacDowell Fellow.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162297″ img_size=”200×200″ css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Su Kim is an Academy Award-nominated\, two-time Emmy and two-time Peabody Award-winning producer and executive producer known for her compelling nonfiction storytelling. Her acclaimed work includes Hale County This Morning\, This Evening (Oscar nominee)\, Free Chol Soo Lee (Emmy winner)\, Bitterbrush\, and Midnight Traveler (Emmy winner). Her films have premiered at top-tier festivals such as Sundance\, Berlinale\, Tribeca\, Telluride\, and the New York Film Festival\, and have been distributed by PBS\, Hulu\, The Criterion Channel\, Magnolia Pictures\, Cinema Guild\, and MUBI. Kim is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences\, BAFTA\, the Television Academy\, and the Producers Guild of America. She is a former Women at Sundance Fellow and the recipient of the 2022 Sundance Amazon Studios Nonfiction Producers Award. Her recent projects include Sansón and Me\, Suburban Fury\, and The Tuba Thieves\, continuing her dedication to bold filmmaking.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801eac56-3cdc”][vc_column_text css=””]$475 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801eac56-3cdc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel\, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until April 11th. After April 11th\, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801eac56-3cdc”][vc_column_text]In order to keep costs down\, this workshop is a BYOL\, i.e. bring your own laptop. Students must be fully proficient using and operating their computers.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Registration & Cancellation Policy” tab_id=”1477612055387-51381642-d1c784d0-801eac56-3cdc”][vc_column_text css=””]To register for a workshop\, students must pay in full via card\, check\, or cash . After the early bird registration deadline of April 11th\, course fees are not refundable or transferable and any withdrawals or deadlines will result in the full cost of the class being forfeit. There will be no exceptions. To withdraw from a course please email info-at-uniondocs.org. \nIn the event that a workshop does not receive sufficient enrollment\, it may be canceled. Students will be notified at least 48 hours prior to the start of a cancelled workshop and will be refunded within 5 business days. If we reschedule a workshop to another date\, students are also entitled to a full refund. UnionDocs reserves the right to change instructors without prior notification\, and to change class location and meeting times by up to an hour with 48 hours prior notice.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][/vc_tta_accordion][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/critical-care-the-documentary-clinic-2026-04-25/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Workshops & Labs
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/2025.07.14-Summer-Documentary-LabP1088643-scaled.jpg
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260414T193000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260414T193000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260306T104046Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260414T212045Z
UID:10003044-1776195000-1776195000@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:Rooted in Community: Ceres Food Film Festival
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 7:30p\nProgram 8:00p\nTickets $18\n(+$2 Processing Fee)[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZG5alzAuchc&feature=youtu.be” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nUnionDocs is delighted to collaborate with Ceres Food Film Festival and Push Projects for a special evening of films and conversation exploring the stories\, systems\, and sensibilities that shape how and why we eat. \nCeres brings together films that reveal the layered realities of the global food system\, where food is not only a source of joy\, but also a site of politics\, climate urgency\, culture\, and memory. Through storytelling\, the festival invites us to look more closely at the unseen forces behind everyday consumption\, and to consider our place within a deeply interconnected cycle. \nThe program features a selection of short films spanning intimate community portraits and global perspectives. Barriga Llena\, Corazón Contento (Full Belly\, Happy Heart) made by Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg and Marshall Hanig during UNDO’s 2025 CoLAB traces a Ridgewood food pantry through stories of migration\, care\, and shared meals. Lonely Whale: Seaweed Stories by Jake Sumner looks at seaweed’s potential through voices from Indigenous communities\, science\, and industry. Astrid Malter’s Ice Cream Window captures a neighborhood ritual that grew from a pandemic pop-up into a lasting community tradition. In Guguta\, Anita Volker connects dessert-making with memory and post-Soviet identity. Alison Bartlett’s Zen Brownie explores Greyston Bakery’s Open Hiring model rooted in inclusivity. \nThe evening will conclude with a panel featuring Barriga Llena\, Corazón Contento co-director and producer\, Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg and Natalia Fuentes respectively\, moderated by Molly Surno\, founder of Push Projects. \nThe evening will also include a special drink tasting by Acid\, whose botanical spirits are made through vacuum distillation\, preserving the natural aromatics of ingredients at low temperatures. By upcycling citrus peels and surplus botanicals\, they create bright\, expressive spirits that highlight both sustainability and experimentation. \nDon’t miss this evening of films\, shared flavors\, and conversation that invites reflection on the food systems that nourish us! \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n*Special Preview*\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] \nBarriga Llena\, Corazón Contento (Full Belly\, Happy Heart) by Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg & Marshall Hanig\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]A chorus of stories from the organizers of a grassroots food pantry in Ridgewood\, Queens—interweaving migration journeys\, home-made meals\, and the everyday acts of care that bind a community together.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nSeaweed Stories by Jake Sumner\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Seaweed Stories is a vibrant\, global look at the wonders of seaweed\, and some of the extraordinary stories and characters whose lives have been entangled by this often overlooked marine plant which may hold answers to some of humanity’s biggest challenges. Seaweed Stories includes insights from a Silicon Valley startup creating plastic alternatives from macroalgae\, to the Indigenous Shinnecock Kelp Farmers using seaweed to prove their sovereign right to coastal land\, and a scientist in South Korea supporting seaweeds’ sexual reproduction to create new species that can withstand the effects of a changing climate.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nIce Cream Window by Astrid Malter\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In August 2020\, in the midst of Covid\, we started offering scoops of ice cream from our studio’s service window—a 3-week pop-up to share the joy of ice cream with our neighbors. We were back the following year. In 2022\, 2023\, and 2024 we were back again for long and hot summers\, every Saturday and Sunday. Now it’s 2025\, our fifth year already\, still here to share the joy of ice cream. BedStuy’s beloved LadyMooMoo still helps us greatly and we’re proud to continue to serve their delicious gourmet ice cream and sorbets\, and of course we continue to work together on our own highly popular exclusive ice cream flavors.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nGuguta by Anita Volker\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In the heart of Moldavia\, a dessert tells the story. In her kitchen\, Maria prepares Guguță\, a cherry cake inspired by a mythical figure from Soviet culture. As the pancakes pile up\, archive images resurface: those of Guguță wearing an oversized hat\, symbolizing a shared past. Between culinary tradition and collective memory\, the film weaves a link between generations\, revealing a country at the crossroads of memory and transmission.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nZen Brownie by Alison Bartlett\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Zen Brownie tells the tale of Buddhist Monks and how leading with inclusivity\, kindness\, and compassion has created a well-known business in Greyston Bakery. Filmmaker Alison Bartlett in partnership with Michael Pirson (Stoner Chair for Global Sustainability – Gabelli School of Business\, Fordham University) delve into the Humanistic Model Management and the philosophy behind and applying it to real world business through Open Hiring.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration: 65 mins \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”156204″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Marshall Hanig (he/him) is a socially-engaged mediamaker and journalist based in Chicago. His path to documentary filmmaking was forged through involvement in grassroots organizing and community radio. Marshall co-produced the feature documentary film Homegrown\, which premiered at Venice Critics’ Week. He also served as an Impact Producer for the award-winning short film Water Warriors (POV).[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162498″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg (she/her) is a documentary filmmaker and community-engaged artist; she collaborates with activists and policymakers to share narratives that challenge dominant histories and imagine liberatory futures. Jordana holds a degree in Human Rights Journalism from Bard College and an MFA in Social Practice from the Corcoran School of Art. Through her documentary production company\, Understory Docs\, she shares stories as tools of resilience.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162497″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Natalia Fuentes Amaya (they/them) is a filmmaker currently creative-developing and producing for the narrative non-fiction production company Signpost Pictures. A screenwriter originally\, Natalia seeks to create experimental cinema that blends the boundaries between reality and fiction to challenge meaning and discover unexpected solutions on an ailing planet. They most recently served as an associate producer\, contributing writer and archival researcher for the feature documentary Time and Water\, which premiered at Sundance in early 2026.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162106″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Jake Sumner is the award-winning director of acclaimed documentaries Fantastic Man: Who is William Onyeabor? (VICE\, 2014) Channel 4’s I Was There When House Took Over The World (2017)\, and DOC NYC Jury prize winning short Bob of the Park (2019). Other films include The Plastic Age (2015) with Pharrell Williams and multiple film collaborations with contemporary artist KAWS. As a commercial director\, Jake has created work with brands such as Nike\, Tiffany’s\, Moncler\, Google\, Mastercard and Pepsi.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162108″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Anita Volker is a documentary filmmaker. A former operating room nurse\, she notably took part in the world’s first face transplant. She now develops documentary projects focused on disability\, in collaboration with foundations and associations.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162109″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nAstrid Malter is a documentarian. She graduated from Carleton College with a degree in Cinema & Media Studies. Her nonfiction work is interview based and revolves around urban and environmental change. \nHer films have screened across the country at the Coney Island Film Festival\, New York Climate Film Festival\, Better Cities Film Festival\, Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival\, Downstream Environmental Film Fest\, McMinnville Shorts Festival\, Sidewalk Film Festival\, Better Cities Film Festival and more. In 2024\, her film Fl*shing Injustice won the Social Impact Award at the World Water Film Festival. \nShe lives and works in her native Brooklyn.  When she’s not working\, she enjoys listening to The Brian Lehrer Show\, snacking\, and knitting tiny animals … sometimes all at once. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162111″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Alison Bartlett is an Award Winning Writer\, Emmy Nominated Actress\, and Director. She made her Off Broadway acting debut at the age of 12 in “Landscape of The Body” directed by Gary Sinise. Her Broadway debut was in David Rabe’s “Hurly-burly” directed by Mike Nichols. From 1986-2015 she starred as the role of Gina on the world wide acclaimed television show “Sesame Street”. Known for her recurring roles on HBO’s “The Sopranos”\, & FX’s “Rescue Me”\, she has guest starred on numerous TV shows and received an Emmy Nomination for “Outstanding Performer in a Children’s Special” for her lead performance in ABC’s Afterschool Special “It’s Only Rock & Roll”. As a screenplay writer Alison has won a Silver Remi at the Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival; was a Semi-Finalist at Big Apple Film Festival and Screenplay Competition\, and was an Official Selection of the Atlanta International Screenplay Awards. Alison is a lifelong New Yorker.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162338″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Molly Surno Davis is a multidisciplinary artist and cultural producer who creates immersive\, multi-sensory experiences across installation\, performance\, curation\, and cultural strategy. She consults on the future of creativity\, bridging contemporary art\, sound\, and experience design to deepen public engagement and support artist-centered models. Her performance We of Me\, presented at BAM and the Getty\, transformed domestic rituals into sonic instruments using custom-built microphones. She has produced projects with the Met\, MoMA/PS1\, TEDx\, Kickstarter\, and Meow Wolf. Molly mentors artists through Strategic Planning Partners\, teaches at UC Santa Cruz\, mentors at NEW INC\, serves on the selection committee for the Lumen Prize\, and is co-developing a new creativity institute in Colorado with Theo Edmonds.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1776187127126-985adbb4-2cc5-2″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/ceres-film-festival-2026-04-14/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gif-1.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T160000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260412T160000
DTSTAMP:20260827T074930
CREATED:20260306T070001Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260412T145522Z
UID:10003036-1776009600-1776009600@uniondocs.org
SUMMARY:The Whole Shebang: Celebrating Ken & Flo Jacobs — Living Archive
DESCRIPTION:[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text css=””]Doors 4:00p\nProgram 4:30p \nDoors 7:00p\nProgram 7:30 p \nTickets $12[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]UnionDocs\n352 Onderdonk Ave\nRidgewood\, NY[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_video link=”https://vimeo.com/851422192″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]We’re so happy to be a part of the monthlong city-wide celebration of Ken and Flo Jacobs: The Whole Shebang! It’s a fourteen-venue expanded cinema salute to two of experimental cinema’s most beloved icons. \nFor this occasion\, UnionDocs will present a two-part screening organized with Hanna Rose Shell who will be joined by the city-wide celebration instigator Andrew Lampert\, on Sunday April 12th featuring three monumental films from the Jacobs’ ouevre. \nThis program\, LIVING ARCHIVE\, mines the depths of historic actuality in film and home movies to reveal perceptual histories of surveillance\, displacement\, family\, and communication across three works by Ken Jacobs: New York Ghetto Fish Market 1903 (2006)\,  Urban Peasants (1975)\, and Jerry Takes a Back Seat\, Then Passes Out of the Picture (1987). \nKen (1933–2025) and Flo (1941–2025) were inseparable sweethearts and creative partners from the day they met in 1962\, and while their passing last year leaves us bereft\, it also provides a welcome opportunity to survey their enormous and extraordinary film and digital oeuvre. The Whole Shebang represents an unprecedented aligning of venues across the city\, all of whom presented and championed the Jacobs’ uncompromising output during the last six-plus decades. Featuring key works\, many theatrical and world premieres\, and plenty of deep cuts\, this sweeping festival serves as both a remembrance and an introduction to the duo’s remarkable achievements and impossible-to-categorize genius. \nAs a heralded filmmaker\, distinguished professor at Binghamton University\, and undeniable presence for so many decades\, Ken Jacobs majorly impacted global cinema culture with anarchic wonders like Blonde Cobra (1963)\, Little Stabs at Happiness (1963)\, Star Spangled to Death (1956/2004)\, and the structuralist classic Tom\, Tom\, the Piper’s Son (1969). Beginning with Flo Rounds a Corner (1999)\, he went on to produce an unprecedented array of space- and mind-bending digital videos that\, in many ways\, brought him full circle to his early days as a painter. Florence Jacobs née Karpf was Ken’s partner at every turn and his prime collaborator in the trailblazing live cinema and shadow-play performances they began presenting in the mid-1960s. Whether reworking early silent film footage with the 16mm double-projection “Nervous System” or projecting phantasmagorical 3-D images with their “Nervous Magic Lantern\,” Ken and Flo produced unfathomable\, homespun works that pushed the possibilities of film and digital cinema beyond all expectations. \nCome through for this evening that unfolds in two parts. We invite some milling about and toasting to Jacobs’ impact on the cinematic form during the lengthy yet kinetic and absorbing New York Ghetto Fish Market. We will then conclude with the iconic New York feature Urban Peasants\, preceded by Jerry Takes A Back Seat\, with a conversation led by Hanna Rose Shell & Andy Lampert to follow.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””]This collective tribute organized by Andrew Lampert  will unfold over April across 30 days with screenings at partner venues like: \nL’Alliance New York\, Anthology Film Archives\, BAM Cinema\, Film-Makers’ Cooperative\, Film at Lincoln Center\, Light Industry\, Metrograph\, Millennium Film Workshop\, The Museum of Modern Art\, Museum of the Moving Image\, Rockaway Film Festival\, The Roxy Cinema\, Spectacle Theater. \nEach venue has created its own unique program\, and works will not repeat between theaters. Information on individual screenings\, as well as guest presenters\, will be available on their respective websites and calendars. \nThe festival also helps celebrate the publication of Ken Jacobs: I Walked Into My Shortcomings\, the first book to gather this seminal artist’s writings\, teachings\, and interviews. Published by The Visible Press\, in association with Anthology Film Archives\, the book will be available in April 2026. \nExtra special thanks to Andrew Lampert\, Nisi Ariana\, Aza Jacobs\, and Diaz and. to The Filmmakers Co-op for supporting this program.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nProgram \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n4:30pm\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]The film will be introduced by Hanna Rose Shell. We invite folks to circulate a bit in and out during this durational work for a social viewing. The bar will be open. [/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nNew York Ghetto Fishmarket 1903 by Ken Jacobs\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]2006\, 132 min\, b&w\, sound[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””] \n\nWARNING: This work contains throbbing light. Should not be viewed by individuals with epilepsy or seizure disorders. \nIn New York Ghetto Fish Market 1903\, Jacobs uses archival film footage of New York’s Lower East Side as his source material. The vintage film\, shot by Thomas Edison in 1903\, documents immigrant Eastern European Jews at a crowded marketplace. Digitally manipulating the original film\, Jacobs crafts a performative\, improvisational investigation; he focuses on individuals\, slows down and reverses the footage\, and creates illusions of three-dimensionality through stroboscopic effects evocative of his Nervous System performances. Jacobs considers the social and cultural context of the original film\, as well as the materiality of film as a medium. \n\nProduction\, Image and Sound Organization: Ken Jacobs. Cello: Tom Cora. Voice\, Toy Instruments\, Electronics: Catherine Jauniaux.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \n7:30pm\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]This program will be introduced by Hanna Rose Shell and she’ll be joined by Andy Lampert for a conversation following the program.[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nJerry Takes a Back Seat\, Then Passes Out of the Picture by Ken Jacobs\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]1987\, 16mm\, color\, silent\, 11 min[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]In the backyard with the inimitable Jerry Sims. Shot in 8mm in 1975\, edited and transferred to 16mm in 1987[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nUrban Peasants by Ken Jacobs\n[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]1975\, 16mm\, color and b/w\, sound on separate reel(s)\, 60 min[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text css=””]Filmed by Stella Weiss and family\, chanced assembled by Ken Jacobs from uncut 100-foot lengths. Alternating sound and image. Image must travel at silent speed. Sound o tape precedes and follows silent image. 40 minutes film plus ca. 12 minutes sound. My wife Flo’s family as recorded by her Aunt Stella. The title is no intended put-down but a simple statement of fact\, as I see it. Brooklyn was a place made up of many little villages; a near-shtetl is pictured here all in the space of a storefront[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_column_text css=””] \nProgram Duration:\n4:30PM Screening — 132 min\n7:30PM Screening – 71 min \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_single_image image=”147742″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] \nWatch the conversation between Presenter1\, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub. \n[/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”Watch” style=”outline-custom” outline_custom_color=”#ffffff” outline_custom_hover_background=”#adadcc” outline_custom_hover_text=”#0000cd” shape=”round” align=”center” css_animation=”bounceIn”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nBios \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162003″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]One of the founders of the American avant-garde cinema\, Ken Jacobs (1933 — 2025) worked ceaselessly and boundlessly in film\, video and moving image performance for over fifty years. Jacobs began working in a mode of guerilla cinema\, shooting anarchic and exuberant – yet also politically astute – theatrics in the streets of his native New York in the early 1950s\, including a number of prescient and Beat infused works – Little Stabs at Happiness\, the shorts included in The Whirled – made with a very young Jack Smith. \nFascinated with early cinema and experimental film from a young age\, Jacobs gradually turned to found footage as a dominant inspiration\, a breakthrough marked by his seminal deconstruction of cinematic narrative and illusionism Tom\, Tom the Piper’s Son (1969)\, which famously manipulates and expands a 1905 film of the same name to create a breathless and revelatory work of pure cinema. Early “primitive” cinema\, and increasingly\, nineteenth century photography\, has remained a touchstone in Jacobs’ work and a principal tool to launch an extended critique of the aesthetic\, ideological and technological limits defining film and the cinematic apparatus itself.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162000″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””]Hanna Rose Shell studies aesthetics\, media archaeology\, textiles\, and the interface of art and science; her scholarship takes the form of text and film. Shell’s book on camouflage\, Hide and Seek: Camouflage\, Photography\, and the Media of Reconnaissance\, published by Zone Books in 2012\, has since been translated into French (Zones Sensibles) and inspired her own and others’ multimedia works. Shell has published widely in scholarly and popular journals on subjects including taxidermy\, waste processing\, and the history of chronophotography. She served as co-editor for a volume on science studies published Princeton University Press and previously released an edited reprint of The Extermination of the American BisonTechnology and Culture\, her scholarship has appeared in the publications Journal of Visual Culture\, Configurations\, History and Technology\, Bidoun\, Technology and Culture\, Natural History and Cabinet among others. \nShell’s 2020 book\, SHODDY: From Devil’s Dust to the Renaissance of Rags (University of Chicago Press)\, examines recycled textiles as transformative media forms through the lenses of aesthetics\, material culture\, history\, and critical theory. It dovetails with a series of experimental documentary shorts and a textile installation in the Czech Republic on the subject of waste\, recycling and old clothes. Her films and media works have appeared worldwide\, at art and film venues including The Museum of Modern Art\, Anthology Film Archives\, the ZKM Center for Art and Media\, Machine Project\, Slamdance\, Black Maria Film and Video Festival\, Machine Project\, the Zimmerli Art Museum. \nPrior to her arrival at UC-Boulder in 2018\, she was Associate Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\, before which she was a junior fellow at the Harvard Society of Fellows. Shell also taught previously at the Rhode Island School of Design. Jointly appointed in the Department of Cinema Studies and Moving Image Arts and the Department of Art & Art History\, she teaches a range of undergraduate and graduate courses.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”162004″ img_size=”full” css=””][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text css=””] \nAndrew Lampert has been making films\, videos\, performances and photographs since the late 1990s. His work is regularly presented in international contexts with past shows including: The Whitney Museum of American Art\, Centre Pompidou\, The Getty Museum\, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum\, PS1/MoMA\, The New York Film Festival\, The Toronto Film Festival\, The International Short Film Festival Oberhausen\, and The Art Gallery of Ontario among many other venues. \nA frequent writer on art and cinema\, Lampert edited THE GEORGE KUCHAR READER (Primary Information\, 2014)\, co-edited two volumes of HARRY SMITH COLLECTIONS CATALOGUE RAISONNE (J&L Books\, 2015)\, co-edited MANUEL DE LANDA: ISM ISM (J&L Books\, 2018)\, TONY CONRAD: WRITINGS (Primary Information\, 2019) and WILLIAM WEGMAN: WRITING BY ARTIST (Primary Information 2022). He co-writes the monthly advice columns HARD TRUTHS and HARD CHOICES for Art in America with Howie Chen. He is co-publisher and co-editor of The Further Reading Library imprint with Christine Burgin. \nFrom 2002-2015\, Lampert served as Archivist and Curator of Collections at Anthology Film Archives\, where he was responsible for managing the archive\, preserving films and videos\, and programming public screenings. He has restored over 300 classic and obscure moving image works by iconoclastic artists like Vito Acconci\, Stan Brakhage\, Robert Breer\, Bruce Conner\, Tony Conrad\, Maya Deren\, Hollis Frampton\, Robert Frank\, Ken Jacobs\, Danny Lyon\, Marie Menken\, Carolee Schneemann\, Paul Sharits\, and Stuart Sherman to name only a few. \nLampert has taught at CUNY City College\, Purchase College\, The New School for Social Research\, Cooper Union and NYU. He is one half of the creative firm Chen & Lampert\, and his videos are distributed by Electronic Arts Intermix. \n[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_separator][vc_column_text] \nFrom the Event \n[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][vc_media_grid style=”pagination” items_per_page=”1″ element_width=”12″ arrows_design=”vc_arrow-icon-arrow_01_left” arrows_position=”outside” arrows_color=”white” loop=”yes” item=”136647″ grid_id=”vc_gid:1776005701839-a3b23c02-2dc2-3″ include=”147747\,147746\,147745″][vc_empty_space height=”30px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
URL:https://uniondocs.org/event/2026-04-12-the-whole-shebang-celebrating-ken-flo-jacobs/
LOCATION:UnionDocs\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, 352 Onderdonk Avenue\, Ridgewood\, NY\, 11385\, United States
CATEGORIES:Screenings & Events
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/gif:https://uniondocs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/gif-5.gif
GEO:40.7099952;-73.9507576
X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=UnionDocs 352 Onderdonk Avenue 352 Onderdonk Avenue Ridgewood NY 11385 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=352 Onderdonk Avenue:geo:-73.9507576,40.7099952
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