HBO-Sponsored Filmmaking Workshop Draws Dozens of Students

Academy Award® winners discuss ethics of using genocide survivor testimony in documentary films

Dozens of students at USC attended the HBO-sponsored Student Voices Master Class, an event consisting of workshops and panel discussions on testimony-based documentary filmmaking.  Academy Award®-winning filmmakers shared their expertise at the event, including Michael Apted, whose keynote lecture on ethical documentary filmmaking drew nearly 150 people; Deborah Openheimer, Executive Vice President of NBC Universal; USC Professors Mark Harris and Ted Braun; and producers (and USC Shoah Foundation Institute Founding Executive Directors) June Beallor and James Moll.

Undergraduate and graduate students from China, India, Italy, Rwanda, and the United States attended the Master Class, which was open to students of all majors.  Participants received comprehensive training on documentary film production, with emphasis on the process of producing a short film for the Institute's Student Voices Film Competition; the winners of last year's competition shared their experiences on a student panel that concluded the event.  (Watch last year's winning films.)

The Institute will accept submissions for the Student Voices Film Competition through February 6.  Click here to learn more.