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William Cheng

Headshot of adult of East Asian descent with medium-light skin; short hair; dark blue polo shirt; in front of grassy field

William Cheng is a writer, pianist, and gamer. He is a professor of music at Dartmouth College and a founding co-editor of the Music & Social Justice Series with the University of Michigan Press.

Articles

A light-skinned woman with cropped brown hair and a beige sweater gently smiles at the camera.
“A Win-Win Situation”: Marianna Kaat Launches the Inaugural Doc Competition at Tallinn Black Nights
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Canva Design, film audience
IDA Grantee Premieres at IDFA and DOC NYC
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A young, light-skinned boy stares into the camera while holding a dove.
Sareen Hairabedian on Depicting Coming-of-Age During War in ‘My Sweet Land’
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In front of an illuminated screen of the Amazon, three actors sit or stand in the dirt.
“Telling a Story Together Creates Another Story”: Milo Rau on the Utopian Documentarism in His ‘Antigone in the Amazon’
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A Venn diagram with 'AI+Documentary' in the middle.
The Synthesis: AI Is Everywhere, Even in Your Documentary
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Outside in a courtyard, groups of filmmakers sit around circular tables.
Five Strategies to Gather Community Support for Your Film
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A white woman films herself with an iPhone. Behind her, on a bed, is her teenaged son.
“The Deepest, Darkest Parts of Ourselves”: Victoria Mapplebeck Discusses ‘Motherboard’
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In a car interior, a white woman with short-cropped silver hair looks archly at the camera.
Robinson Devor Discusses ‘Suburban Fury’
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A Black woman sits cross-legged on her bed.
The Feedback: Jessica Chaney and Amanda Willoughby Reframe Mental Health Challenges in ‘I Am’
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A Black man in a white jacket looks at a statue.
Shifting Ground: Mati Diop’s ‘Dahomey’
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Black and white photo of a woman leaning against a wall. She is a wearing a striped tank top, and her hands are in her pockets.
Cinema Is the Images We Can’t See: Narcisa Hirsch’s Documentary Disposition
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A large steamship being dragged up the side of a mountain.
Monumental Human Error: Observing Folly in ‘Burden of Dreams’ and ‘My Best Fiend’
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Three Asian American women stand behind a table of buttons, next to a red banner that reads "A-Doc."
Sustainability in All Its Forms: A-Doc’s New Co-Directors Value Holistic Support
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Headshot of Asako Fujioka. An east-Asian woman smiles at the camera with a concrete wall with black decorations behind her. She has straight graying hair and is wearing a loose dark pink blouse.
IDA Member Spotlight: Asako Fujioka
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A white man sits behind some camera equipment in a dressing room.
“Cat and Mouse”: Cullen Hoback Confronts the Bitcoin Creator Mystery in ‘Money Electric’
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Two people dressed in traditional Mongolian clothes look into the distance.
“Filming in Retrospect”: Gabrielle Brady Discusses ‘The Wolves Always Come at Night’
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A young Asian woman and a middle-aged white man take a selfie in front of a large auditorium of spectators.
Exclusive: American Film Showcase Announces 2025 Film Slate
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A black man sits in front of a microphone, smiling.
Camden 2024: A Profound Commitment
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Two men face each other in front of a stone wall.
“We’re Not Naive Enough to Think This Is the Only Truth”: Göran Hugo Olsson on ‘Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958–1989’
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An AI-generated image of a thin man in a suit and tie, leaning against a chair.
Locarno 2024: Technologies of Vision/Visions of Technology
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Two women stand side by side.
Holding On to a Good Story: Making ‘God Save Texas’
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On a street at night, a Russian woman stares behind the camera.
Reality Show: Julia Loktev on ‘My Undesirable Friends: Part I — Last Air in Moscow’
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A wide angle shot of a Latino man seated in a living room surrounded by documentary interview equipment.
“How Social Change Happens From Below”: Lucas Guilkey and JoeBill Muñoz Discuss ‘The Strike’
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A crowded room of attendees sitting on fold-out chairs looks at a stage and presentation.
Five Ways to Write Better Grants
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A woman with brown hair and wearing a black, colored shift leans her chin on one hand.
Exclusive: Leila Abu-saada Joins CAAM as Building Bridges Documentary Fund Manager
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A hand hovers over a chess board.
Utopia Is Temporary: Ben Russell and Guillaume Cailleau Discuss ‘Direct Action’
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A bald man with glasses stares into the distance.
Venice 2024: Bumper Crop
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Bircan Birol headshot
IDA Member Spotlight: Bircan Birol
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On a sandy beach, two women film a mother and child.
Making a Production: NoCut Film Collective
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Headshot of a Filipino-American man with an undercut looking seriously into the distance.
Exclusive: American Documentary Honors PJ Raval With Creative Visionary Award
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A Chinese woman with dark hair and a sequined blue jacket with a fur collar sits at a white marble table and speaks into her cell phone. Another cell phone rests on the table by her elbow. There is a brown curtain and wooden bookshelf behind her.
“A Very Elegant Triangle”: Elizabeth Lo Discusses ‘Mistress Dispeller’
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Black and white photograph of a serious-looking white male. "George Carmack was an American prospector."
Matters of Life and Decay: Bill Morrison’s Material Profundity
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An extreme close up of an oyster dripping succulent juices into an open mouth.
The Feedback: Emily Packer’s Many Forms of Hybridity in ‘Holding Back the Tide’
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In a movie theater landing, more than 10 people using wheelchairs crowd into all available space.
A Bump in the Road on Our Ride Ahead
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A black and white photograph of a smiling Black woman with short hair. She is wearing a dress with striped sleeves.
Exclusive: Catapult Film Fund Names Tabitha Jackson to Board
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Two men sit at the bottom of a large screen, speaking into microphones.
On the Notion of Transmission
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A left hand, palm-side up, is rendered in a hand-drawn style with white lines on a black background. The fourth and fifth fingers are warped and stretching with a glitch aesthetic, as if beginning to float away.
“Breaking the Fourth Wall of VR”: Ben Joseph Andrews and Emma Roberts Discuss ‘Turbulence: Jamais Vu’
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A group of people sit on some orange and yellow couches, on a stage in front of a sign that reads: "The Daily Jawn Stage" and "BSFF."
BlackStar 2024: Bending Space-Time
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Two men look at a map in the wilderness against the background of a cliffside.
CPH:DOX 2024 Reviews: ‘Phantoms of the Sierra Madre,’ ‘The Flats,’ and ‘Black Snow’
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Photograph of a Black man with a yellow jacket, leaning into the camera.
“This Story Serves as a Cautionary Tale”: Sam and Jason Pollard on Their Documentary ‘Ol’ Dirty Bastard: A Tale of 2 Dirties’
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New Academy Members graphic
Celebrating IDA Members' Success at The Academy, Emmys, Gotham Week & CIFF
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The cover of "Harun Farocki: Forms of Intelligence," depicting three humanoid robots holding cameras.
“Labor and War and Their Interconnectedness”: Film Historian Nora M. Alter Discusses Her New Harun Farocki Monograph
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Stormy Daniels sitting in the background on a white armchair, with a monitor showing her close-up shot in the foreground.
How the PRESS Act Will Protect Documentarians
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Three young people sit on a mattress on the ground.
“I’m Part of This”: Martha Coolidge Discusses Her Early Metacinema ‘Not a Pretty Picture’
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A crowd gathers outside a building. There is a tree with green leaves in the middle of the picture behind the crowd and in front of the building.
Saving Ourselves at Getting Real ’24
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Advik Beni headshot
IDA Member Spotlight: Advik Beni
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A bald man bends down to hug his daughter. The child is wearing a sad expression.
Screen Time, Summer/Fall 2024
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A man wearing a t-shirt and a beanie is being interviewed.
Exclusive: Clip from Holly Hardman’s ‘As Prescribed’
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Audience members hold up their pointer finger, looking towards the stage offscreen.
Presence/Absence at Getting Real ’24
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Two filmmakers seated on director's chairs look at each other during a Q&A.
Are Above-the-Line Diversity Hires “Cover-Your-Ass” Tokenism or Meaningful Collaboration?
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