With the growing popularity of documentary film, many have admirably seized on the power of non-fiction storytelling to affect change around social and political issues. But in all the discussion about content and impact, have we forgotten to explore documentary as cinema, as art? In a lively conversation about how they mobilize aesthetic choices to generate meaning, filmmakers discuss stylistic strategies, creative inspirations, story structure, and the tension between form and content.
On Wednesday, April 18 join Caroline Libresco, Senior Programmer at the Sundance Film Festival, as she moderates a discussion with filmmakers Ondi Timoner (BYOD, We Live In Public) and Marina Zenovich (Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired, Who is Bernard Tapie?) whose documentary work not only delivers a powerful message, but also storytelling impact through visual imagery.
Since 2001, Caroline Libresco has been Senior Programmer for the Sundance Film Festival, where she selects features in all sections, with a special expertise in documentary and international film, and acts as conduit between artists and industry. She spearheaded Sundance’s World Cinema Narrative and Documentary competitions and serves on Sundance’s Women’s Initiative, Creative Producing Initiative, and Film Forward teams. Previously, she was an executive at ITVS (Independent Television Service), the San Francisco Film Festival, and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival. She produced the award-winning documentary, Sunset Story; the Academy Award-winning featurette, Barrier Device; associate-produced the HBO documentary Cat Dancers; and was developing producer on The Grace Lee Project. She also co-wrote and produced the independent feature, Fanci's Persuasion. She serves as consultant to Harvard Kennedy School’s Center for Public Leadership, Hot Docs, and the Zurich Film Festival, on the board of Women Make Movies and the Advisory Council of IFP New York.
Caroline holds a B.A. from Oberlin College, an M.A. in History of Religion from Harvard, an M.F.A. from UCLA Film School, and teaches documentary at Film Independent in Los Angeles. She has appeared widely on film juries internationally—including the Sarajevo Film Festival, Jerusalem Film Festival, Cartagena Film Festival, Istanbul Independent Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, and Hot Docs.