Patricia Zimmermann, professor of cinema and photography and codirector of the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival, was one of 30 invited participants from major university film programs and public media organizations to present at "Teaching and Mentoring Tomorrow’s Doc Storytellers" at the Center for Social Media at American University in
Washington, D.C. on September 18.
Supported by the Ford Foundation, the convening brought together scholars, makers, directors of documentary centers, and public media administrators in a think tank environment to explore new programs and courses in documentary, fair use, interdisciplinary initiatives in documentary, community collaborations, and new technological environments and platforms for documentary.
Zimmermann was asked to present the programming concepts, multiple platforms and interdisciplinary collaborations involved in mounting the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival as a model of sustainable public media. She was also asked to discuss the Culture and Communication program in the Division of Interdisciplinary and International Studies and the development and discussion of documentary studies in the Roy H. Park School of Communications.
Invited participants included representatives from New York University, Duke University, Harvard University, University of California Berkeley, University of Texas-Austin, University of Florida, University of Southern California, Columbia University, American University. Ithaca College was the only comprehensive college invited to the convening. Public media organizations included the Vietnamese Youth Development Center, Appalshop,the Bay Area Video Center, and Arts Engine.
