The Department of Media Studies and Film presents

Truth Be Told

A festival of films made by graduate students in the Documentary Media Studies certificate program. Each is the product of a year of intensive work in documentary history, theory and production.

Tuesday, May 26

Keeping Time

10:00 min
India Bourke

Mathy Pillai, a Queens-based Bharathanatyam teacher, fights through great loss to keep dancing.

“Keeping Time” is India's first film and she is endlessly grateful to Mathy Pillai's family for welcoming her into their beautiful and awe-inspiring lives. Next year India is returning to Oxford University to study the relationship between early documentary film, Modernist writing and politics.

Lebowski, My Czech Wife and Me

20:00 min
Matt Reynolds

One man’s quest to convince his foreign wife to appreciate his favorite film.

Journalist Matt Reynolds has reported on central and Eastern Europe for a number of American and British media outlets. His documentary work deals with seemingly mundane topics, such as Buffalo wings and Coen Brothers movies. He uses these topics to explore what it means to be American.

In the Course of Time, New York, 2009

20:00 min
Hee Jin Shim

A personal meditation on time and space within the geometric confines of New York.

Since time weighs more than space, Hee Jin Shim believes that choosing between The Beatles and the Rolling Stones to be as complicated as Quantum Theory. Her likes include Ben & Jerry's, Anne Marie Borlind, Tom's Toothpaste, Jason, Ricky's, highly caffeinated coffee, leaving books unfinished and going back to sleep. * She is not sponsored by any of these companies.

Roxroy

15:00 min
Zach Fox

The everyday life of a family is shaken by an ongoing deportation case.

Zachary Fox has worked in television production for four years, producing two documentaries for local television, working on a reality based program with high-school athletes, and on a comedy show that aired on ESPN for two years. He began the Documentary Studies program upon his return from working the Beijing Olympics for NBC. “Roxroy” is his directorial debut.

Water in the Boat

17:00 min
David Gutierrez Camps

Ginette Schenk walks her dog Schatzy, autumn turns winter, time moves slowly.

David Gutiérrez Camps worked for three years as a free-lance editor in Barcelona before moving to New York. His credits include feature documentaries such as “Utopia 79” and “Hollywood at War,” as well as countless television shows and commercials. In 2005, he directed a 30-minute documentary called “Playground.”

Wednesday, May 27

Lucy's Dolls

13:00 min
Christina Hibbs

Artist Robert Lucy reflects on recent work - a series of doll portraits engaging issues of childhood.

Christina Hibbs is delighted to have had the opportunity to learn about documentary filmmaking at The New School. A resident and fan of New York City, she plans to pursue the art of documentary in and around the city for years to come.

Richie and Jacob

13:00 min
Hind Al-Awadi

Dealing with his father’s abandonment, Richard attempts to move on and focus on his own family.

Kuwaiti born, London bred, and American educated, Hind Al-Awadi has been working in production and dabbling in films for the last two years. “Richie and Jacob” is her first documentary project.

Always on the Wrong Side

8:00 min
Rodger Holst

Holed up in suburban New Jersey, a young high school teacher writes music in hopes of avoiding a conventional life.

A Jersey boy at heart, Rodger currently lives in Brooklyn where he divides his time between cycling, filmmaking, music, travel and consuming ill-advised quantities of Haagen Dazs.

Equal Rights

26:00 min
Francisco Totó Vargas

An advocate’s chronicle of the fight for civil rights in the LGBT community.

Francisco Vargas is originally from Chile, but has been in New York since 1985. He came to the U.S. to study at The New School (BA/MA Media studies) and is now faculty at the Art Institute of New York City, where he teaches video production. His latest work includes segments for Center Media at the LGBT Center of New York City. His main focus in documentary is human rights.

I Remember Brooklyn

22:00 min
Veronica Medina

This short film assembles the stories of long-time Brooklyn residents facing change in their neighborhoods.

Born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Veronica Medina always knew she would be working in communications. After finishing an undergraduate degree in film, she enrolled in a graduate level program in cultural journalism, an opportunity to develop her ideology as an artivist (artist and activist), and to understand the documentary as an instrument to turn these ideals into materials.

A Harlem Mother

18:00 min
Ivana Todorovic

Jean Parker puts her personal grief to good use through her organization devoted to getting guns off the streets of Harlem.

Ivana Todorovic is in love with both life and the camera, and thus became a documentary filmmaker. Prior to coming to New York from Belgrade, Serbia, she directed two shorts, "Everyday life of Roma Children From Block 71" which received the Best Short Award at the Montreal Human Rights Film Festival in 2007, and "Rapresent," which had its premiere at the London International Documentary Festival in March 2009.

A public reception with all the filmmakers follows the Tuesday screening.