Join a group of active filmmakers exploring what goes into making a powerful documentary. The heart of the workshop is your own work. You might be starting with the kernel of an idea, or perhaps are already in the edit room looking for inspiration among hours of captured footage. You will be given the opportunity to open your work to invaluable critique in a supportive environment of fellow artists. It is a structured course in the art of storytelling guided by accomplished documentarian Tom Donohue

Our journey begins week one with an analysis of “basic story structure” and arrives eight weeks later to “best practices for writing to picture” (see class syllabus).  The only class assignment is to be inspired by watching an award winning documentary during the week. Tom will choose the film that best illustrates the planned lesson for the week and will post the video with a free link to his Library of Films. At least twice during the course, you’ll have a private working session with Tom before presenting your own work-in-progress for class discussion.

The motivation behind this workshop is to form a supportive community to help overcome the challenges of working as a “lone-artist”. You’ll have each other to share creative ideas, hold accountable and certainly to inspire. By workshop’s end, you will have explored key elements in documentary storytelling, applied them to your own work, and have analyzed a dozen or so high-profile documentaries to use for reference to your own work.