The fine folks at Film Independent once again brought a filmmaking education right to your eyeballs (virtually and in-person) with their annual DIRECTORS CLOSE-UP, and SAGindie returned as a premier sponsor. This year’s weekly panel series was a hybrid of online and live events, in conjunction with the 2022 Film Independent Spirit Awards. DCU 2022 took place from January 26 – March 16, and featured Spirit Award-nominated filmmakers talking about their craft and offering advice.
Check out the full schedule and event highlights below!
[UPDATED: 4/8/22]
Schedule:
January 26 – The Spirit of Independence: Directors Roundtable
Panelists:
- Janicza Bravo (co-writer/director, Zola)
- Maggie Gyllenhaal (writer/director, The Lost Daughter)
- Lauren Hadaway (writer/director, The Novice)
- Mike Mills (writer/director, C’mon C’mon)
- Ninja Thyberg (co-writer/director, Pleasure)
- Moderated by Josh Welsh (President, Film Independent)
February 2 – Small Screen, Big Picture: TV Creators
Panelists:
- Rafael Casal (creator, Blindspotting)
- Daveed Diggs (creator, Blindspotting)
- Sterlin Harjo (creator, Reservation Dogs)
- Peter Hoar (director/executive producer, It’s a Sin)
- Barry Jenkins (creator/director, The Underground Railroad)
- Moderated by Wendy Calhoun (producer/writer, Prodigal Son)
February 9 – A Different Type of Narrative, Pt. 1 – Feature Documentaries
Panelists:
- Robert Greene (director, Procession)
- Jessica Kingdon (director/producer, Ascension)
- Jonas Poher Rasmussen (writer/director, Flee)
- Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson (director, Summer of Soul)
- Nanfu Wang (director/producer, In the Same Breath)
- Moderated by Sandi Tan (writer/director, Shirkers)
February 9 – A Different Type of Narrative, Pt. 2 – Documentary Series
Panelists:
- Yoni Brook (director/producer, Philly D.A.)
- Nick Cammilleri (director/executive producer, The Lady and the Dale)
- David Choe (creator/executive producer, The Choe Show)
- Zachary Drucker (director/executive producer, The Lady and the Dale)
- Geeta Gandbhir (director/executive producer, Black and Missing)
- Soledad O’Brien (executive producer, Black and Missing)
- Ted Passon (director/producer, Philly D.A.)
- Paco Raterta (director, The Choe Show)
- Ry Russo-Young (director/producer, Nuclear Family)
- Moderated by Eddie Schmidt (executive producer, Ugly Delicious)
February 16 – On the Global Screen: International Filmmakers
Panelists:
- Pedro Almodóvar (writer/director/producer, Parallel Mothers)
- Jonas Carpignano (writer/director, A Chiara)
- Tatiana Huezo (writer/director, Prayers for the Stolen)
- Juho Kuosmanen (co-writer/director, Compartment Number 6)
- Céline Sciamma (writer/director, Petite Maman)
- P.S. Vinothraj (writer/director, Pebbles)
- Moderated by Alan Poul (executive producer, Tokyo Vice)
February 16 – The Director’s Debut
Panelists:
- Lyle Mitchell Corbine, Jr. (writer/director/producer, Wild Indian)
- Nana Mensah (writer/director, Queen of Glory)
- Shatara Michelle Ford (writer/director/producer, Test Pattern)
- Nicole Riegel (writer/director, Holler)
- Roshan Sethi (co-writer/director, 7 Days)
- Moderated by Shelby Stone (executive producer, The Chi)
February 23 – The Spirit of Cassavetes: Making a Low Budget Movie
Panelists:
- Clint Bentley (co-writer/director/producer, Jockey)
- Talia Lugacy (writer/director/producer, This Is Not a War Story)
- Alexandre Rockwell (writer/director, Sweet Thing)
- Emma Seligman (writer/director/producer, Shiva Baby)
- Dash Shaw (writer/director, Cryptozoo)
- Moderated by Isabel Sandoval (writer/director, Lingua Franca)
March 2 – From Page to Screen: Writing and Directing
Panelists:
- Nikole Beckwith (writer/director, Together Together)
- Vanessa Block (co-writer, Pig)
- Janicza Bravo (co-writer/director, Zola)
- Sheldon D. Brown (co-writer/actor, Cicada)
- Matt Fifer (co-writer/co-director/actor, Cicada)
- Maggie Gyllenhaal (writer/director, The Lost Daughter)
- Jeremy O. Harris (co-writer, Zola)
- Michael Sarnoski (co-writer/director, Pig)
- Todd Stephens (writer/director, Swan Song)
- Moderated by Jane Anderson (writer, The Wife)
March 9 – Casting and Directing Actors
Panelists:
- Henry Russell Bergstein (casting director, Mass)
- Allison Estrin (casting director, Mass)
- Fran Kranz (writer/director/producer, Mass)
- Moderated by Darrien Michele Gipson (Executive Director, SAGindie)
March 16 – In Conversation with Guillermo del Toro
Panelists:
- Guillermo del Toro (director/producer/co-writer, Nightmare Alley)
- Moderated by J.J. Abrams (director/producer, Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens)
Film Independent Directors Close-Up 2022 is sponsored by Premier Sponsors SAGindie, Landmark Theatres, and Directors Guild of America (DGA), and Supporting Sponsor Mississippi Film Office.
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