MDOCS News

Julia Cavicchi, '18, explores Saratoga Springs with documentary filmmaker Derek Hallquist. In her podcast, he discusses his new feature-length film, Denial, which explores climate change and life transitions.

With only a few years to go until its 40th anniversary, The Depot Theatre of Westport, NY, works with MDOCS students to organize its archive and reveal stories of community, performance, design and more.

MDOCS is offering funding for students interested in pursuing documentary work this summer through selected courses, projects or internships engaging the student in evidence-based work on the local, national, or international level.

Archives are fundamental to documentary work. MDOCS highlights the behind-the-scenes research with material and digital collections, individual memory, family media, and first-person interpretation, and introduces the Attic workspace

MDOCS takes a moment to share the creative work their faculty are doing inside and outside of the classroom.

Research-driven documentary storytelling makes a difference, locally and globally. MDOCS confirms its commitment to excellence in meaningful storytelling with the hire of a Storytellers' Institute Director and to the importance of fact with courses and programming highlighting the power of the archive to shape, reveal and challenge.

Introducing Amber Wiley, American Studies -- the first of two Faculty Scholars joining MDOCS this June for the 2017 Storytellers' Institute. Read the recent Skidmore homepage article about Amber's work in exploring places and their defining cultural characteristics in an increasingly homogenized United States of America.

Each winter, close to 5,000 people flock to Saratoga Main St. for the Flurry Festival. This year Saratoga Arts featured a documentary film screening which offered a glimpse at the Dakota Pipeline controversy and highlighted the voices taken from 33 interviews of the First Nation people at Standing Rock.

MDOCS student Yasmin Kudsi, ‘17 connected with Skidmore College alumna Gaëlle Mourre to learn how she applies her Art History and Spanish literature major to her career in journalism and filmmaking.

Seeking student documentary submissions of all mediums (video, audio, photo, exhibit, archive, etc.) for entry to the 2017 MDOCS Student Documentary Festival! Deadline for submissions: March 26, 2017. Spread the word!

Didn’t have time to take an MDOCS course during the academic year? Attending a college without a doc program? Interested in doc film, sound and producing? You’re in luck! Four amazing documentarians will be in residence on campus. Work with an audio documentarian, producer, filmmaker, and screenwriter while immersing yourself in all that goes on at Skidmore in Summer, including the Storytellers' Institute and Festosium!

This January, MDOCS hit the slopes for some off-campus inspiration and networking with independent filmmakers and documentary creators at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.

MDOCS' in-house team launched an annual summer documentary program for students, faculty and professionals in 2015. In June 2017, the Storytellers' Institute welcomes a full-time Director to lead us to the next stage. Filmmaker and educator Sarah Friedland joins Skidmore College this May from Wagner College to direct her first Storytellers' Institute this June.

Veterans' health and well-being were front and center as MDOCS partnered with the NYS Military Museum and Latham Joint Force Headquarters to host a special screening of "When War Comes Home" and discussion about PTS and the realities of post-war integration with award-winning filmmaker Michael King.

On November 1, MDOCS hosted legendary rock and roll photographer (and Skidmore parent) Jay Blakesberg. Davis Auditorium was standing room only as campus and community gathered to be regaled with illustrated tales from 35 years of behind the scenes time spent with bands from the Grateful Dead to Jefferson Airplane, the Flaming Lips, and beyond.

An MDOCS student reporter hit the campus to find out what documentaries students are watching, listening to, and experiencing. See what the next generation of doc-enthusiasts finds worth checking out.

Each semester MDOCS introduces new courses that further the development of students' documentary and storytelling skills. This fall, Story to Screen was the first crew-based production class to run as part of the DS program with production teams of writer, director, cinematographer, and sound engineer. Writer/director Sam Grant, '18, reports.

MDOCS, Arts Administration and Media and Film Studies hosted the second annual networking night in October. Students, faculty and community professionals mingled and connections ensued.

As we take a moment to reflect on the fall, MDOCS offers a sneak peek into the Spring semester.

MDOCS isn't the only program encouraging students to tell research-driven stories in new and creative ways. Departments including sociology, anthropology, and music are sharing their analysis in compelling ways. Here are a few courses drawing on multimedia to tell their stories.