Join us on Wednesday December 13th from 6-9 PM in person at NOVAC for our “Directing Documentaries” with director Jasmin Mara Lopez.

  • Personal storytelling is a powerful tool that has the ability to shape history. There’s no better person to tell your story than yourself. When journalist and radio producer Jasmín Mara López decided to publicly share her story of confronting the child sexual abuse within her family, she never imagined she would embark on a 7-year journey to document their history, and become an award-winning filmmaker because of it.

  • As a first-time filmmaker she navigated the pressures of the film industry, becoming an artist, understanding her self-doubt, and ultimately care. She developed a framework that encouraged healing and transformative change.

  • In this workshop you’ll explore approaches to directing documentary films through a personal lens, using her feature film "Silent Beauty" as a case study. From working with a family archive to writing your experience to caring for yourself, protagonists, and audience

Instructor

Jasmin Mara Lopez

Jasmín Mara López is a Mexican-American journalist, audio producer, and filmmaker living between Los Angeles and New Orleans. Born in the U.S. with familial roots in México, her childhood was affected by issues experienced on both sides of the U.S.- México border. This instilled in her a strong passion for immigrant rights, youth empowerment, and social change. Jasmín founded Project Luz, which taught Mexican youth to document stories from within their communities. Her audio documentary Deadly Divide: Migrant Death on the Border received the Society of Professional Journalists’ Excellence in Journalism Award in 2015. Her first film Silent Beauty world premiered at Hot Docs and received the Best Documentary Feature and Excellence in Documentary Directing awards at Urbanworld Film Festival and Best Feature Cinematography award at the New Orleans Film Festival. Jasmín has garnered support for her work from New Orleans Film Society, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Black Public Media, Southern Documentary Fund, Sundance Institute, International Documentary Association, Latino Public Broadcasting, ITVS, Firelight Media, Creative Capital, and others. She is currently a fellow with the Gotham/HBO Documentary Development Initiative.

Purchase Workshop Here

NOVAC Members receive a discount on all independent filmmaker workshops