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.
Filmmakers and storytellers interested in being considered for the ARFF Fellowship, should complete this interest form.
Spring 2024 Artemis Rising Foundation Filmmaker Fellows
FILM BC3260 WRITING FOR TELEVISION: SHORT FORM
Course description: Please note that since this is a Film course, it does not count as a writing course for English majors with a Writing Concentration. 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 and mini series bible.
Course timing: Wednesdays from 2:10 - 5:00pm, in Milstein 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
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.
FILM BC3091 Artemis Rising Short Course in Film Production: The Art and Craft of Editing using Found Footage as Source Material
Course description: Film editing is at the core of the very expression of cinematic language, whether fiction, documentary, or experimental work. This course is designed to give hands-on practice to work with found footage. Prepared for them from the Prelinger’s Archives this found footage will test their abilities to interpret and appropriate these materials and shape them into stories. During this one month mini course, students will write and edit a short but complex film investigating the topic of the construct of the American woman’s archetype/ figure, using text with cards, or voice over. Through screenings, talks, readings and practical approach, the students will be put in the seat of the director, the writer, the editor, all at once, and acquire some fundamental skills.
Course timing: Tuesdays: April 2, 9, 16, and 23 from 2:10 - 4:00pm in Milstein 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
Lab Hours: Wednesdays April 3, 10, 17, and 24 from 10:10am - 12:55pm in the Milstein Editing Suite
Instructor: Yaël Bitton 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/Cinéma 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.
FILM BC3090 Artemis Rising Short Course in Filmmaking: Archival Filmmaking
Course description: A curated series of masterclasses that explore archival storytelling and demystify the archival research process. Archival storytelling is on the rise, and this class will explore the use of archival materials in contemporary documentary cinema. Film screenings will prompt conversations about visualizing storylines that expand the mainstream narrative of our collective history. With a broad approach to sourcing materials from the usual and the not so usual sources, this workshop series will provide a practical and strategic overview of archival work for all stages of a documentary production from the research stage through licensing and delivery. Topics covered include 1) how to conduct research and where, 2) how to organize archival for the edit, 3) how to clear right required for broadcast and beyond, and 4) how to budget for working with archival. Students will learn from concrete examples of completed films and will leave with resources to start their own work.
Course timing: Mondays: February 5, 12, 19, and 26 from 2:10 - 4:00pm, in Milstein 404 (Athena Center Co-Lab)
Instructor: Mridu Chandra 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.
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.