May 2021
2021 Flaherty Seminar Fellows Announcement!
2019 Flaherty Fellows
Congratulations to our 2021 Flaherty Seminar Fellows!
Due to the pandemic and the postponing of the seminar last year, our Fellowship Committee decided to extend the opportunity to all 2020 applicants to re-apply for a Fellowship spot this year. The Flaherty received a high number of outstanding applications for our fellowship program, this was a particularly competitive pool and we are very pleased to announce our 2021 Flaherty Seminar Fellows.
The fellowships are made possible thanks to the generous support from Black Public Media, California College of the Arts, Center for Asian American Media (CAAM), COUSIN, Duke University, The Film Study Center at Harvard University (FSC), Firelight Media, Kate Cashel Fund of The Community Foundation for the Greater Capital Region, LEF Foundation New England, University of California San Diego, University of Colorado, Oolite Arts, Waterman II fund of the Philadelphia Foundation and the NYC Cultural Development Fund.
Flaherty Professional Development Fellows:
Saif Alsaegh
Kênia Cardoso Vilaça de Freitas
Azucena Losana
Gabriela Malena Martínez Cabrera
George Stoney Fellow:
Jonathan Ali
Flaherty Curatorial Fellows:
Wally Fall
José Sarmiento Hinojosa
Ángela López Ruiz
Sarah-Tai Black
Flaherty Exposure Fellows:
Aryana Alexis Anderson
Ash Goh Hua
Bren Haragan
Jordan Lord
LEF New England Fellows:
Alison Folland
Caroline Losneck
Homa Sarabi-Daunais
Matt Shaw
Bronte Stahl
Waterman II fund of the Philadelphia Foundation Fellows:
Yashaswi Dixit
Rami George
Anisa Hosseinnezhad
Fred Schmidt-Arenales
Teddy Ogborn
University of Colorado Fellows:
Renata Carvalho Barreto
Laurids Andersen Sonne
Duke University Fellows:
Sarah Archer Boyette
Emily MacDiarmid
Bree von Bradsky
The Film Study Center at Harvard University (FSC) Fellows:
Parker Hatley
Chrystel Oloukoï
Julia Sharpe
Daphne Young Xu
California College of the Arts Fellow:
Audrey Moungolo
Black Public Media Fellows:
Yeelen Cohen
Leonardo Henrique Dias e Souza
Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Fellow:
Briana S Nieves
Firelight Media Fellow:
Everlane Moraes Santos
Oolite Arts Fellows:
Carla Forte
Faren Humes
COUSIN Fellows:
Ivy MacDonald
Ivan MacDonald
University of California San Diego Fellow:
Wren Gardiner
DISPATCH
A New Chapter in the Seminar’s History
Last April 29, Scott Macdonald and Patricia Zimmermann, hosted the launch of their new book Flash Flaherty: Tales from a Film Seminar Co-sponsored by the Park Center for Independent Media and the The Flaherty. In a very particular zoom gathering, the book launch had special guests among them Julia Tulke who helped editing the text, as well as Lucius Barre, Portia Cobb, Laura U. Marks, and Susana de Sousa Dias who delighted the audience with short readings from the book about their personal experiences at the seminar.
Just like the book manages to be a passage in time to head directly into the memory of the seminar, the gathering that evening made us travel back in time and revive for almost two hours what is experienced at Flaherty seminar. Philosophical trips, psychedelic parties, outdoor adventures, exhausting conversations of great intellectual weight, and much more! All this could be remembered with the presence of previous programmers, memorable characters such as Linda Lilienfeld and Su Friedrich who were present among the participants on the Zoom gathering.
In the words of Girish Shambu, who moderated the event, “Patty and Scott's previous book about the Flaherty seminar was kind of a scholars history, but this book is given over to the people. To the huge diversity of people who have attended the seminar, over many decades. And these people are from an astonishing variety of backgrounds, there are filmmakers here and curators, scholars, critics industry folks, etc.”
Patty and Scott understand very well the great scope that the seminar has had during more than 65 years of history, and that is why in this new chapter they have compiled this valuable past. The more than 100 personal recollections facilitate the entry into a diverse world of readers that through written memory, encounter a unique event in the history of cinema that began with a small group of visionaries in Vermont. To summarize this idea, Patty and Scott write: “This is not a grand history, but a granular history of the Flaherty seminar.”
We thank the organizers, collaborators, special guests and all the participants who made this night a night in the purest Flaherty Seminar style. See you all in July!
Register to the seminar here: https://www.flahertyseminar.org/
(Watch the recording of the event in the link below)
Registration is OPEN for the
2021 virtual Flaherty Film Seminar
“OPACITY”
Friday, July 9 - Sunday, July 18
Programmed by Janaína Oliveira
REGISTER TODAY see link below
Registration for the 2021 Flaherty Film Seminar “Opacity” programmed by Janaína Oliveira is open. We have extended the length of the seminar to spread out the daily sessions to two sessions a day of screenings with discussions. They will be running at a time that is reasonable for the majority of time zones, which will allow for synchronous viewing worldwide, please see our website for timing details. We are very excited to have the opportunity to open the seminar to people from all over the world that can now participate from their homes.
To keep with The Flaherty tradition of no preconceptions, we do not announce the filmmakers or films that we will be screening, but trust us when we tell you that you are in for a very exciting edition of the seminar.
Due to the economic uncertainty we are experiencing, we have cut our registration fees substantially, and there is a very special fee for a large number of countries, so the price of registration is more affordable than ever for everyone.
REGISTRATION PRICING (All prices are in US Dollars):
EARLY BIRD - $350 (+ fees) (SOLD OUT)
REGULAR REGISTRATION - $450 (+ fees)
FRIEND OF THE FLAHERTY (For those that want to support us, this tier will include a Limited Edition Poster) - $550 (+ fees)
SPECIAL PRICING
STUDENT - $350 (Proof of 2021 semester registration required) (+ fees)
REGION & COUNTRY PRICE - $150 (The Flaherty is offering a discount to those participants currently residing in one of these regions or countries. CLICK HERE FOR A FULL LIST.) (+ fees)
Registration is a two step process.
1 - REGISTRATION - Click to Register
2 - PAYMENT - Once you fill in the registration form you will be redirected to the payment page.
Your spot will only be confirmed once you have registered and paid.
We look forward to welcoming you in July!
Poster design by Nico Bascuñán
OPACITY
Programmed by JANAÍNA OLIVEIRA
Uncertainty, fragmentation, opacity. We live in a time when the transparency of convictions and definitions and the desire for total understanding of differences that historically guided the Western world of images no longer holds. In cinema, the boundaries between center and margin have been loosened and dissolved. Today, the critical issue may no longer be to relocate the center but our perceptions of the margins. More than ever, the traditional geographical boundaries of cinemas have proven unsatisfactory, as cultural and historical connections are continually reworked. Moving images require both filmmakers and viewers to negotiate what is not understood: there is no such thing as a blind spot; there never was. The spots are opaque, and they compel us to shape new tools for describing what we see, feel, and think.
The 66th edition of the Flaherty Film Seminar will inspire us to look defiantly at the opaque places of cinema. As suggested by the writer and philosopher Édouard Glissant, the works presented will “clamor for the rights to opacity for everyone” in their irreducible singularities. Opacity is an unfolding force that creates openings and endless possibilities of cinematic existence, especially for subjects that have been excluded or are less valued on conventional screens. The Seminar will be an opportunity to experience the moving image in its power, beauty, and, most of all, ordinariness. As an invitation for displacement or provocation, it points to an open future, to cultural, formal, aesthetic freedoms, where questioning is prioritized over finding answers.
Due to the current Covid-19 health crisis, this year’s Seminar will be the first virtual iteration of the Flaherty. While we will miss being with new and old friends in person, this Seminar is an opportunity to gather the largest and most diverse Flaherty cohort to date. We will engage in the way we have for over sixty years, with screenings and structured and informal discussions, and also convene new activities that expand the possibilities of the moment... True to the inventive spirit of the Flaherty, the sessions will be led by participating artists to stimulate our minds, our senses, and our collective unconscious.
Share your news and submit to our e-newsletter through our website!
We will no longer send a separate email for submissions, please visit our site anytime for instructions to submit your listing for our newsletter through the ‘About’ section of the site’s drop-down menu.
CALL FOR ENTRIES
SUBMISSIONS OPEN FOR THE WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
The Woodstock Film Festival is accepting submissions for its 22nd anniversary this fall. Located just two hours north of New York City at the foothills of the beautiful Catskill Mountains, this "fiercely independent" festival is a haven for established and emerging filmmakers alike. Late deadline is June 4, final deadline is June 18.
POSITION OPENING
Post-MFA-Scholar OSU, Theatre Film and Media Arts
Ohio State seeks an emerging documentary or narrative filmmaker whose work directly engages issues of racial and social justice. Fellows will teach one course per semester and be offered an annual stipend of $50,000 plus benefits for up to 2 years. Review of applications begins April 16, 2021 until filled.
SUPPORT the Flaherty
With your support, we will continue to bring filmmakers and audiences of all levels together. All contributions, whether large or small, help ensure the excellence of Flaherty programs for many years to come. Every donation makes it easier for us to support the artists in their art and to inspire others to create. Any amount you are able to donate will have a big impact.
If you prefer to donate by check please make it out to: The Flaherty, 80 Hanson Place, #603, Brooklyn, NY 11217.
Add the 2019 Robert Flaherty Seminar Catalogue to your library!
The 2019 Seminar Catalogue includes detailed information about the 65th Robert Flaherty Film Seminar. This publication is the result of a collaboration between Flaherty / International Film Seminars, Inc. and World Records, in conjunction with the Action: the 2019 Flaherty Film Seminar, programmed by Shai Heredia.
Thank you to all our contributors: Shai Heredia, Jason Fox, Abby Sun, Joel Neville Anderson, Lakshmi Padmanabhan, Priya Sen, Ani Maitra, Pooja Rangan, Aparna Sharma, Jim Supanick, Tenzin Phuntsog, Jheanelle Brown, Chet Pancake, and Carl Elsaesser.
Edited by World Records
Design by Dan Schrempf
Copy Editing by Nadine Covert
About the Flaherty
The Flaherty is a media arts organization that brings together diverse, curious minds to foster an in-depth discourse on film and the creative process. We believe in the transformative power of the moving image and its ability to change how we think about film, and the world we live in. Since 1954, our unique Robert Flaherty Film Seminar, has provided an unparalleled opportunity to explore beyond known limits of the moving image and renew the challenge to discover, reveal and illuminate the ways of life of peoples and cultures throughout the world.
