Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellowship Program
Overview
Funded through a $3 million gift from American film producer and philanthropist Regina K. Scully’s Artemis Rising Foundation, Barnard has established an “Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellowship” (ARFF Fellowship).
Support for the new ARFF Fellowship program enables Barnard to invite up to four established film industry practitioners or media experts to teach at the College every semester. ARFF Fellows will be enlisted for varying time periods — from about a week to a few months. All candidates will be selected by a hiring committee composed of faculty and staff from Barnard College and Columbia University. Visiting filmmakers have hands-on experience and fresh perspectives to teach a diverse range of applied skills such as content development, screenwriting, cinematography, and directing.
ARFF Fellows will be selected by a hiring committee composed of faculty and staff from Barnard College and Columbia University.
The call for Artemis Rising Fellows for the 2025-26 Academic Year has now concluded. Selected applicants will be contacted by members of the selection committee in the coming months. Thank you for your interest.
Spring 2025 Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellows
Film BC3260 section 001: WRITING FOR TELEVISION: SHORT FORM (3 point semester-long course)
This course will focus on the primary pillar of television production: the teleplay. Through a number of creative exercises, students will learn the intricacies of the unique screenwriting formats that are the half-hour and hour-long teleplays. Together we will cover the differences between an episode arc and a seasonal one, the requirements of A/B/C story plotting, and how to write an effective show bible. We will survey the existing pantheon of great television writing in order to help students narrow in on their individual sensibilities. By the end of the course, students will have a written original pilot.
Instructor: Dafina Roberts (she/ze/they) is a non-binary writer/director/producer. Her subversive and messy dramedies explore themes of power, perception, and identity in the postmodern world. Dafina has been a Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Fellow, Blackhouse Producer Lab Fellow and a Kickstarter Creator-In-Residence. Previously, she created the digital series Giving Me Life (In The Land Of The Deadass), which was released via Comcast’s Xfinity. Giving Me Life also won the AT&T Audience Award for Best Episodic at the Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. Dafina worked as a Director of Development & Production at Nickelodeon, where she coordinated creative development and current series including the Emmy-nominated Degrassi. She also co-produced the feature film, Punching At The Sun (Sundance Film Festival; Sundance Institute's Humanitas Prize nominee; Tribeca Film Festival), which has been featured in the Criterion Collection. Dafina began her career as the Assistant Artistic Director and Master Choreographer of the Oscar-nominated IMPACT Repertory Theater, a hip-hop youth theater group.
Course Times: Wednesdays from 2:10 PM - 5:00 PM
Location: Milstein Center 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
Film BC3091 section 001: Artemis Rising Short Course in Film Production
Calm on the Surface: An Introduction to Assistant Directing (1-point minicourse)
The focus of this four-part class is to cover everything from the duties of specific Staff Production Assistants all the way up to each of the Assistant Director positions and their working relationships with the rest of the crew, including the director and/or showrunner. From creating schedules in pre-production to managing the crew while in the thick of filming, ADs work tirelessly (even though we're perpetually tired) to make sure that a project is completed to the satisfaction of both the creatives and the financial backers. There will be a heavy emphasis on the responsibilities of the Assistant Directors when it comes to on-set SAFETY and overall comfortability of the cast, the crew, and the general public. Directors are always shown as the leaders of films and showrunners are touted as the driving forces of series. But the ADs are the ones running the actual production. Nothing happens without the AD’s say-so. And my goal is to emphasize that the AD department is one that anybody who’s interested in working on a film or series should become familiar with.
Instructor: Dan Sullivan is a member of the Directors Guild of America who works as a freelance Assistant Director and Associate Director on Films & TV shows around New York City. He attended the Rochester Institute of Technology’s School of Film and Animation, and started working as a Production Assistant in South Jersey, Philadelphia, and NYC immediately after graduation. His initial Assistant Director job was for an indie feature film which turned out to be a real trial by fire. But he's gone on to 1st AD four feature films and co-produce many others for that same company. All the while, he was learning from his NYC mentors while working on TV shows such as “The Good Wife” and “Evil” to ensure that he had the knowledge necessary to join the Directors Guild of America. Upon his acceptance into the Guild, Dan was staffed on the spin-off show, “The Good Fight,” as their 2nd 2nd AD, as well as “Only Murders in the Building” as their Covid AD and Additional 2nd AD for large shoot days. From there, Dan was offered a position on the long-running ABC hidden camera show, “What Would You Do?” as an Associate Director; something that the show had never incorporated before. Dan was able to create the position along with the established crew to expedite filming and provide a singular voice that the crew could follow & rely on. In addition to his AD work, Dan has written a number of award-winning screenplays with hopes of someday hitting the jackpot & selling one (or all) of them.
Course Times: Mondays February 3, 10, 17 and 24, 10:10am - 12pm
Location: Milstein Center 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
It can only be taken for pass/fail for 1 point. Students must attend all four class sessions and complete one final project in order to receive credit for this course.
Fall 2024 Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellows
Film BC3090 section 001: ARTEMIS RISING SHORT COURSE IN FILMMAKING
Nonfiction Independent Feature-Length & Series Executive Producing (1-point minicourse)
The focus behind this four-part mini-course is to provide an overview of the documentary filmmaking process from the perspective of an Executive Producer (EP). What is an Executive Producer? With the responsibilities of this role often being broadly defined, we’ll be looking at various approaches to sourcing story, organizing financing, overseeing production & post, and executing the sales strategy of documentary films and series, all in support of an EP’s collaborating filmmakers and producers.
Instructor: Adriana Banta (BC '15) is an Emmy-winning Executive Producer, working across nonfiction features and series. As a Senior Executive at A24 and a Vice President at 30WEST, she has executive produced and sold films including: The Deepest Breath, Occupied City, Architecton, Open Wide, My Mercury, and Wildcat. Additionally, she has participated in the sale of three-time Academy Award nominee FLEE, Last Flight Home, Some Kind of Heaven, Fyre: The Greatest Party that Never Happened, and Tiger King, among others. Adriana graduated from Barnard College where she studied film and economics.
Course Times: Wednesday October 2, October 9, October 16, and October 23 from 4:10 - 6pm
Location: Milstein Center 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
It can only be taken for pass/fail for 1 point. Students must attend all four class sessions and write a final paper in order to receive credit for this course.
FILM BC3275 section 002: NONFIC DIGTL VIDEO PRODCTN
The Archival Imagination: Found Footage Filmmaking (3 point semester-long course)
How can we approach found media in ways that unlock latent elements in the original material? How can personal archives be re-contextualized in order to reflect on the time of its creation? How can advertisements and other disposable media be used to reveal historic progressions, disrupt nascent power structures, or speculate on the nature of truth itself? What are the ethical contours of appropriation? This class introduces students to the craft, history, and theory underlying these questions.
Students will explore multiple techniques for working with archival material, through a combination of screenings, readings, and making. Exploring techniques that include autobiography, détournement, reflexive critique, collage, live narration, and speculation, this class challenges students to surface their own cinematic voice using materials created by others; to draw out the unconscious properties latent in the media itself. In the largest sense, this class is about time and knowledge: how do residues from the past carry meaning, and how can we both honor and question those meanings?
Students will complete several three short production assignments over the course of the semester and one final project 5-10 minutes in length.
Instructor: Courtney Stephens is a writer/director. The American Sector, her documentary (co-directed with Pacho Velez) about fragments of the Berlin Wall transplanted to the U.S., was named one of the best films of 2021 in The New Yorker. Her essay film, Terra Femme, comprised of amateur travel footage shot by women in the early 20th century, was a New York Times critic's pick and premiered at the Museum of Modern Art. It has toured widely as a live performance. Her films have been exhibited at The National Gallery of Art, The Barbican, BOZAR, BAMPFA, Eye Filmmuseum, Royal Geographical Society, Walker Art Center, the Thailand Biennale, and in film festivals including the Berlinale, Viennale, IDFA, Hong Kong, SXSW, and the New York Film Festival. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Fulbright Scholarship, fellowships from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Wexner Center, and grants from California Humanities, the Sloan Foundation, and the Foundation for Contemporary Art.
Course Times: Wednesdays 10:10am - 12pm
Location: Milstein Center 105 Editing Lab
![[Image description: Regina K. Scully Artemis Rising Foundation logo]](/sites/default/files/2024-02/Artemis_Rising_Regina_K_Scully_Logo_2018.jpg){kind=logo}
FAQ
We welcome proposals from filmmakers across a wide range of practice, including those with interests in documentary filmmaking, cinematography, film direction, screenwriting and digital film production. Applicants should embrace a commitment to advancing women in film and share Barnard's commitment to bold women's leadership.
We are looking for filmmakers who are interested in teaching semester-long courses as well as those interested in teaching 1-credit short courses that last two to four weeks.
We are looking for individuals with experience teaching in an undergraduate setting.
Filmmakers and storytellers interested in being considered for the ARFF Fellowship, should complete this interest form.
Responses to the interest form are reviewed on a rolling basis. Potential Fellows may be contacted by a member of the hiring committee to discuss their proposed course and provide more information.
Barnard is looking for visiting filmmakers who can offer a variety of film and media literacy courses that complement the Film Program’s existing offerings. Below are some examples of topics and themes that are particularly interesting to the committee as this time, though this is by no means an exhaustive list of what can or should be proposed:
- Intro to Animation
- Aspects of writing or producing for television
- Technically-focused production courses. i.e. Advanced/Creative Lighting Techniques, Editing for Narrative/Documentary, Sound Design, etc.
- The business of filmmaking (i.e. funding, pitching, etc.)
Barnard welcomes proposals from filmmakers based anywhere in the world; however, ARFF courses are delivered in-person on the Barnard College campus in Morningside Heights, New York City. As such, Fellows must arrange to be in New York City and available in person for the length of their course (whether it be two weeks or a full semester).
Housing is not provided for visiting filmmakers. However, there is a modest amount of funding available to cover transportation and housing for filmmakers who are not based in NYC.
Stipends begin at $5,000 and vary based on the course length.
Barnard will welcome up to 4 Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellows each semester. We are looking for filmmakers who are interested in teaching semester-long courses as well as those interested in teaching 1-credit short courses that last two to four weeks.
The selection committee is composed of faculty and staff from Barnard College and Columbia University.
Past Artemis Rising Foundation Fellows
Sekiya Dorsett, a GLAAD award-winning filmmaker, received the inaugural ARFF Fellowship. Dorsett's body of work is notable for its intimate storytelling that shines a light on diversity and gender equity. Her first feature, The Revival: Women and the Word, screened at the 2017 Athena Film Festival.
Her course at Barnard was titled "Social Justice Documentary Filmmaking" and supported a dozen students working on short, social justice, documentary films. Several of these films screened as part of a Student Showcase at the 2023 Athena Film Festival.
Abbesi Akhamie joined Barnard in the spring of 2023 to teach a mini-course on the business of filmmaking.
Born in Heidelberg, Germany, Abbesi Akhamie is a Nigerian-American writer-director and producer working between Lagos and Washington D.C. Her work focuses on African and diaspora experiences as well as the politics of culture and identity. Her debut short film, Still Water Runs Deep (2017) premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and her latest short film, The Couple Next Door (2020), premiered at Aspen ShortsFest and won the Audience Choice Award at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. Currently, she is developing her debut feature film, In My Father’s House, which has graciously been supported by SFFILM Rainin, Athena Film Festival Writer's Lab, TIFF Writer's Studio and Filmmaker Lab, and the Attagirl Residency program. Abbesi was also selected to participate in the Black Rock Artist residency founded in Dakar, Senegal, by renowned American artist and Obama presidential portraitist, Kehinde Wiley. In her free time, she enjoys mentoring emerging filmmakers and supporting BIPOC and women creatives.
Cynthia Lowen joined Barnard in the spring of 2023 to teach a mini-course on writing for non-fiction filmmaking. In this course, students honed their writing skills for a non-fiction project for which they had already begun production, and created decks, delivered pitches, drafted sample grants, and considered whether to incorporate elements like voiceover, narration, text cards, or other writing into their final film.
Cynthia Lowen is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker and award-winning writer whose work uses the power of story to catalyze meaningful change, confronting timely social issues from bullying to online harassment to nuclear proliferation. Most recently, she is the director and producer of ‘Battleground,’ an urgently timely window into the intersection of abortion and politics in America, premiering at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Cynthia is also the director and producer of ‘Netizens,’ a feature documentary distributed by HBO Max about women and online harassment. “Bristling with rightful fury,” says Teen Vogue of the film, ‘Netizens’ follows three women – Carrie Goldberg, Tina Reine and Anita Sarkeesian – as they confront digital abuse and strive for justice online. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival and has screened at top film festivals around the world, including the Bergen International Film Festival, the Cork Film Festival, the Athena Film Festival, the Denver Film Festival, Hot Docs, the Milwaukee Film Festival and the Zurich Film Festival among many other festivals and exhibitions. ‘Netizens’ was part of the prestigious U.S. State Department‘s Film Diplomacy Program, where it has screened at U.S. Embassies in Albania, Lebanon, Moscow and Turkey with associated cultural programming and lectures. Since 2014, Cynthia has served as Visiting Assistant Professor in Colorado College’s esteemed Film and Media Studies program, where she teaches core film production classes that focus on narrative and non-fiction film production, as well as upper-level screenwriting and documentary film production courses. Cynthia received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and her BA from Colorado College and has been a member of the Producers Guild of America since 2014.
Sushma Khadepaun joined Barnard in the fall of 2023 to teach a semester long writing course on crafting a global short film from idea to screenplay. With a focus on studying contemporary international cinema.
An Indian-born writer and director based in New York, Sushma’s stories often meet at the intersection of immigration and feminism, exploring ideas of home and identity. Her work has been featured on NPR, BOMB Magazine, Focus Features Digital and Canal Plus among others. Sushma was listed as one of Filmmaker Magazine‘s 25 New Faces of Independent Film (2021), is a recipient of SFFilm's Westridge Grant and has been a fellow at Film Independent's Fast Track, Gotham Week and Torino Next Lab. She is currently developing her first feature based on her short film Anita. The short premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2020 and went on to screen at over fifty international festivals, winning several awards including the NBR Student Grant Award, Best International Short at Dublin, and a Special Mention at Atlanta. Sushma is an alumna of the Film MFA Program at Columbia University where she is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor.
Victoria Sendra joined Barnard in the fall of 2023 to teach a mini-course workshop on camera and movement. This production class focused on exploring camera angles, framing, movement, storyboarding, blocking (choreography), shoot prep and editing.
A NYC-based cinematographer and camera operator, Victoria is best known for her onstage work in Network on Broadway (dir. Ivo van Hove, feat. Bryan Cranston). Her dance films have screened at Cinedans (Mother Melancholia, dir. Samantha Shay, co-commissioned by Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch – Audience Award 2022 for Best Dance Short), Nowness, Dance Camera West, San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Film at Lincoln Center, and several of her photographs have printed in the New York Times. Commercial clients include Vogue, Versace, Uniqlo, and the New York Philharmonic. She is currently a producer, cinematographer, and editor with Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and worked previously as a bilingual producer at the Latin American production company Red Creek, for clients including Pepsi, Discovery, and Netflix. Sendra was selected to participate in the AFI Cinematography Intensive for Women (‘23) and holds a BFA in Film/Video (‘12) from the California Institute of the Arts.
Dafina Roberts (she/ze/they) joined in spring 2024 to teach a section of Writing for Television: Short Form. This course focused on the primary pillar of television production: the teleplay. Dafina is a non-binary writer/director/producer. Her subversive and messy dramedies explore themes of power, perception, and identity in the postmodern world. Dafina has been a Ryan Murphy Half Initiative Directing Fellow, Blackhouse Producer Lab Fellow and a Kickstarter Creator-In-Residence. Previously, she created the digital series Giving Me Life (In The Land Of The Deadass), which was released via Comcast’s Xfinity. Giving Me Life also won the AT&T Audience Award for Best Episodic at the Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival. Dafina worked as a Director of Development & Production at Nickelodeon, where she coordinated creative development and current series including the Emmy-nominated Degrassi. She also co-produced the feature film, Punching At The Sun (Sundance Film Festival; Sundance Institute's Humanitas Prize nominee; Tribeca Film Festival), which has been featured in the Criterion Collection. Dafina began her career as the Assistant Artistic Director and Master Choreographer of the Oscar-nominated IMPACT Repertory Theater, a hip-hop youth theater group.
Yaël Bitton joined in Spring 2024 to teach a short course in film production: The Art and Craft of Editing using Found Footage as Source Material. Yaël is a documentary film editor, writer, story consultant, and director. She has been making films for over 25 years and pursues collaborations with filmmakers around the world. Additionally to her editor's endeavors, she works as mentor, editing and story consultant independently, as well as for Rough Cut Service, Media talents lab, Dok Incubator, Doc Montevideo, Circle, Visions du Réel, Ex Oriente, Doc Aviv, and Doc Point. She has been working as an editing tutor at the HEAD/Cinema du Réel in Geneva since 2008. Yaël is a member of The Oscars Academy in the documentary branch. She won the Sima editing award for Radio Silence by Juliana Fanjul in 2020, and the Best editing at Israel documentary forum for Advocate by Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaiche in 2019.
Mridu Chandra joined in Spring 2024 to teach a short course in filmmaking: Archival Filmmaking. This course was a series of masterclasses that explored archival storytelling and demystified the archival research process. Mridu is a BAFTA and Emmy-nominated producer of impactful documentaries and fiction films that have premiered at Sundance, Telluride, and SXSW; aired on PBS, Disney+, HBO, and Netflix; and screened for members of the U.S. Congress and the United Nations. Recent films include producing BECOMING COUSTEAU (Disney+) directed by two-time Oscar nominee Liz Garbus and co-producing CURED (PBS) directed by Bennett Singer and Patrick Sammon. Her expertise as an archival media researcher and clearance specialist has additionally served numerous other documentaries (WHOSE STREETS?), fiction films (STEVE JOBS directed by Danny Boyle) and Broadway productions (BETRAYAL directed by Mike Nichols). She is currently in development to direct a documentary about our first Asian Congressman in U.S. history—Dalip Singh Saund.