Press Release

Contact: ..........................................................................March 1 , 2005
Susan Clayton
Press Coordinator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Panel Discussion to teach Documentary Filmmaking
3rd annual Chicago International Documentary Festival


10am – 4pm, Friday, April 1, 2005

Chicago, IL- On Friday April 1, 2005 the Chicago International Documentary Film Festival (CIDF) will host “Passing the Torch: Issues in Teaching Documentary”, a forum about the issues of teaching documentary filmmaking. The panel discussion is scheduled for 10:00a.m. - 4:00p.m., and will include a light breakfast beginning at 9:00a.m. It will be held in the Gallery Theatre, 1112 N. Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL and tickets are $25.00 for educators and $15.00 for students.
The panel will be composed of several of the top film scholars from around the world and the esteemed author, educator and filmmaker Michael Rabiger will act as the moderator. Some of the questions and topics that will be touched upon are: apart from the growing accessibility of technology what has lead to the increase of quality films that are being made, what are the common misconceptions of young filmmakers, and what is the greatest enemy of documentaries being more effective as agents of social change? This will be an inspiring event not only for film educators but also for film students who are eager to learn from the top minds in documentary film.

“The educator’s job is to find out what passion and quest the student brings, then connect this knowledge, experience, and influences that will help the budding director speak authentically through the screen”, notes Michael Rabiger.

The panel of educators includes:

Gyorgy Karpati
Born in 1933 in Budapest, Hungary, Gyorgy Karpati received his first degree in medicine (1957) and then earned his degree in film directing (1964) and in 1992 he was awarded his university professorship from the President of the Hungarian Republic. During the past forty years he has directed about 200 including documentaries, scientific shorts, and short and full length fiction films. His films have won several awards at major international film festivals and his television programs have been awarded “Program of the Year” eight times in Hungary. Starting right after his graduation till 1999 he has been teaching non-fiction directing and editing at the Academy of Drama and Film, Budapest. His teaching methods and original exercises have been adopted in several schools and has been invited as a guest professor in many schools and universities from around world including; Amsterdam, Barcelona, Havana, Jerusalem, Sao Paolo, and many others. In 1991 he conceived and organized the first International Masterclass for DOP students; which is now held biannually. He has also served as a member or chairperson on many judging panels for numerous international film festivals including; Brussels, Cairo, Dortmund, Figuera da Foz, and Rotterdam to name a few. He is also a distinguished member of several European art societies including, Comite International pour la diffusion des Arts et des Lettres par le Cinema (CIDALC) and the European League of Institutes of Arts where he was awarded the “Croix du Chevalier” of the Order of Arts and Literature by the government of France and the “Knight’s Cross” of the White Rose Order of the Finnish Republic, both awards were given for his contributions to teaching art in Europe. He has also served as president of the International Short Film Conference, after his term was expired he was elected as Honorary President of the organization. He has also been elected to serve on the GEECT Executive Committee, the European regional organization of the Centre International de Liason des Ecoles de Cinema et de Television (CILECT).

Robb Moss
Robb Moss is an independent non-fiction filmmaker whose most recent film THE SAME RIVER TWICE premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and has since showed at 25 film festivals across the world including, Berlin, Rio, San Francisco and Munich. It was also nominated for Independent Spirit Award and premiered theatrically at the New York Film Forum and then went on to show theatrically in over 70 cities in North America. He has earned several grants for his work including the NEA/AFI, and a NEH grant to film rituals in West Africa. As a cinematographer he has shot films across the world including Turkey, Greece, Ethiopia, Japan, Liberia, The Gambia, and Nicaragua. Moss’s other films have been shown at the Telluride Film Festival and the Museum of Modern Art and festivals in Holland, Russia, France, and Australia. He has severed as Board Chair and President of the Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers. He has taught at Harvard University for the past 15 years and has won the Joseph R. Levenson Award for undergraduate teaching. In 2004 he served on the Documentary Jury at the Sundance Film Festival.

Russell Porter
Russell Porter has worked for over 30 years in the film industry as not only an educator but as a writer, director, producer, and script editor for both fiction and documentary films, with over a hundred film and television credits. He served as the Victorian Chairman for the Australian Writers’ Guild and as the chairman for the Australian National Screenwriters’ Conference, he also founded and coordinated the Melbourne Documentary Group. His films, both fiction and non-, have won many Australian and International awards. He has taught at several colleges and universities including the Victoria College of the Arts School of Film and Television and the Australian Film Television and Radio School. In 2000 he became the Coordinator/Director of the Documentary Program at Columbia College Chicago. There he designed and developed several courses for both graduate and undergraduate levels of study. He also founded and directs the International Student Documentary Competition which is now in its third year. Russell also has been a guest lecturer for several international major film schools in Cuba, Colombia, Argentina, Spain, Brazil, and Mexico. He has participated in many international film festivals in Brazil, Mexico, and Australia.

Juan Francisco Urrusti
Juan Francisco Urrusti is a documentary filmmaker and teacher who was born in Mexico City. He studied filmmaking at the London International Film School. He has directed about 13 documentaries of various lengths and formats, most of which are about living Mexican Indian cultures. Among these are “Of Witches and Healers”, “Mara’Acame”, “A Long Journey to Guadalupe”, “By Cross and Sword”, and “Tepu”. He teaches documentary production and directing at the Centro de Capacitacion Cinematografica since 1989, where he is Co-Organizer of the biannual “Sights” documentary conferences. He has imparted documentary workshops in Argentina, Brazil, and Spain. He has been juror in documentary film festivals in Argentina, Greece, Holland, Poland and Mexico. Since 2000, he is in charge of the Mexico City Film Board of Tourism film office, formerly the Mexico City Film Commission.

Michael Rabiger, Moderator
Michael Rabiger is renowned author, filmmaker and educator who got his start editing films for the BBC. He migrated to the United States in 1972 to teach at Columbia College Chicago. He published his books DIRECTING THE DOCUMENTARY and DIRECTING: FILM TECHNIQUES AND AESTHETICS (Focal Press, Boston) in the late 1980’s. These books are some of the most used books for teaching film and are wonderful resources for every filmmaker. In 1988 he founded the Documentary Center at Columbia College. Michael has become one of the most influential educators of film. In 1994 he created VISIONS European documentary workshop for the International film school association CILECT which has met in Berlin, Prague, and Amsterdam. In 1994-95 he was a distinguished visiting professor at New York University’s department of Film and Television. He then returned to Columbia to take over as chair of the Film and Video department. When he retired in 2001 the school renamed the Documentary Center is his honor. He has since become a Honorary Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2002 and was awarded the 2003 Preservation and Scholarship Award by the International Documentary Association. His books have been translated into Spanish, German, Chinese and Korean. He has given lectures and workshops across the world.

Established in 2003, the CIDF is a thought-provoking 10-day film event, dedicated to the celebration and cultivation of the documentary film. The eclectic programming is designed to extend appreciation of the art of documentary film and its unique power to inspire and communicate a world of ideas and cultures. Each edition presents an array of extraordinary programs, showcasing the work of brilliant filmmakers and providing a venue for established and emerging artists of film. This year over $50,000 in unrestricted cash plus other prizes will be awarded by a jury.

Tickets may be purchased daily from noon - 6:00 pm. at the CIDF Main Box Office, c/o The Society for Arts (1112 Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, IL 60622), or charged by phone at (866) 466-ARTS and online at www.chicagodocfestival.org. Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover are accepted and all charges are subject to a nominal handling charge. For up-to-date and detailed Festival information, visit www.chicagodocfestival.org or call (773) 486-9612.
Presented by the Society for Arts, the CIDF is a non-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that depends on contributions from individuals, businesses and government to make the program possible.

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