Doc U: Master Class with Director Morgan Neville

Join us for this essential exploration of the art and craft of directing with Academy Award®-winning director Morgan Neville. In this specially designed Master Class, Morgan will take you deep inside his creative process, as well as examine the broader world of culture documentaries, a category that not only defines his own extraordinary body of work but also accounts for a large swath of popular documentary programming.

Using his own approach as a guide, Morgan will address such key questions as: How are culture docs constructed and what can make them powerfully resonant experiences for audiences? How should one evaluate and choose subject matter for culture docs? How do a director and his creative team work effectively with archival material, music and original footage to create defining moments and themes at the heart of these kinds of films? What are the unique challenges and rewards of making culture docs? Employing a wide selection of clips from three of his most recent culture docs: Best of Enemies, Keith Richards: Under the Influence, and the not-yet-released The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble, as well as his Oscar®-winning 20 Feet From Stardom and other films, Morgan will show how his films both celebrate the culture and are themselves uniquely creative cultural artifacts.

This class is designed for:

• Director/producers working on culture docs who want to learn new strategies that can be applied to their work
• Doc makers of all types seeking to hone their directing skills
• Filmmakers with a particular interest in the use of archival footage and music in documentary
• Documentary enthusiasts who want to develop a deeper understanding of how high quality documentaries are made

Built into the Master Class will be a generous amount of time for Q&A.