Independent documentary filmmaking is an expanding part of the Duke-Durham community.
The Center for Documentary Studies recently invited documentary filmmaker and Christie Herring, Trinity '96, to discuss her career in the field as part of a new series, Engaging Documentary: Community Values and Artistic Visions. Having studied at both CDS and the Film/Video/Digital department, Herring has gone on to become a successful representative of a relatively obscure field.
"I first started learning about film production here at Duke," Herring said. "After I started, I took as many film classes as I could."
Herring completed her first documentary Waking in Mississippi just over a decade ago and recently completed her latest work, Bodies and Souls. Waking in Mississippi deals with race relations in Herring's hometown of Canton, Mississippi, Miss.; Bodies and Souls focuses on the state of health care in the town of Jonestown, Miss.
"I guess I just [couldn't] totally leave. Waking and Bodies and Souls are both in Mississippi, and I have a couple of upcoming projects that will take me back there again," Herring said.
"I prefer the shorter [film] format, especially for putting the video online. Online video is huge right now," Herring said.
In addition to guest lectures, CDS offers courses for undergraduates, post-graduates and members of the Durham community. Besides its functions as an educational facility, the CDS serves as a focal point for the Durham community of independent filmmakers.
Charles Thompson, education and curriculum director for the CDS, said that the Center functions as a foundation of community for independent filmmakers.
Thompson added that there is a strong community of filmmakers in North Carolina, with Durham particularly unique as a center of independent filmmaking.
"We have a pride and awareness of being in Durham-it's not a Mecca for filmmaking like Los Angeles or New York, but Durham is very special," Thompson said. "We want Durham to be a unique and separate environment for filmmakers."
Durham is host to the annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, which, according to Thompson, is the largest documentary-only film festival in the world.
"Full Frame takes submissions from all over the world, but as it is here in Durham, it really adds to the community. It, along with the Southern Documentary Fund, which is a source for a lot of the funding around here, is one of the powerhouses of independent filmmaking in Durham," he said.
Although Durham lacks the expansive filmmaking network of Los Angeles or New York, it is home to a great deal of talent.
"I came here to Durham from a dual residency in New York and Atlanta, and I was pleasantly surprised at the vibrancy and the number of talented filmmakers here," said Dante James, an independent filmmaker and artist-in-residence at Duke.
Funding, however, continues to be a source of concern for independent filmmakers.
"Many of these [independent filmmakers] are affiliated with CDS, but must seek funding elsewhere-that's part of what brings the community together here at CDS," Thompson said.
But for Herring, the difficulties help keep her on her toes.
"Starting out, I got a lot of funding through the FVD department. Now, I seek funding all over the place, wherever I can find it," she said.
The CDS, as well as the Durham community in general, provide many opportunities for aspiring filmmakers.
"Organizations like the Discovery Channel, HBO, the New York Times-we're pretty much under their radar, except when Full Frame comes around," Thomson said. "But we've had a lot of students go on to work for companies like them."
While Thompson would like to see more attention drawn to Durham as a center for filmmaking, he stresses the importance of independence in local filmmaking.
"We're independent for a reason; we don't subscribe to corporate viewpoints, nor do we feel pressured to," he said.
Herring also stressed the need for self-reliance.
"I think it's important for independent filmmakers to be able to just go out and document something they feel is relevant."
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