The goal of the Shorenstein Center’s Documentary Film in the Public Interest initiative is to inspire a documentary film practice and infrastructure that can contribute to strong societies.
The initiative’s activities are designed to cross bridges between thinking and acting. We bring together practitioners and researchers, journalists and documentary filmmakers, in a shared project to build a stronger, more resilient field that can serve the needs of a democratic public by design.
Documentary films play a vital role in our civic culture by investigating injustices, unearthing forgotten histories, connecting to new perspectives, and speaking truth to power. Its technologies, methods, creative approaches, institutional infrastructures, and ethical practices have greatly evolved over time. However, within the last five years, both the rate and kinds of change have been radical and destabilizing.
The initiative examines the challenges facing the field through these major research areas and programs:
Research Areas
Distribution Systems, Infrastructure and Audience
Ethical Practice and Journalistic Standards
Generative AI, CHatGPT and New Technologies
Programs
Fellowship
Inviting documentary filmmakers, film industry leaders, media policy experts, contemporary media scholars, journalists, and business innovators to generate research and policy recommendations for the field. More information on our current Fellows and application can be found by clicking here.
Annual Convenings
Bringing leaders from within the field and across media disciplines to engage in analysis-informed forums where they can examine shared obstacles and chart courses to systems-wide solutions.
Screening Series
Screening contemporary documentary films that examine issues related to public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School connect these impact-focused films with audiences of current and future policy makers and bring filmmakers into conversation with leaders paving the way toward change. View our upcoming and past screenings here.
Documentary Award (Coming in 2024)
A new Documentary award, raising the visibility of public interest filmmaking and elevating the work of winners and finalists demonstrating excellence and best practice.
Interested in learning more about our work? Contact the team at docfilm@hks.harvard.edu or sign up to get periodic email updates!
Staff
Sara Archambault
Program Director
Enrique Pedráza-Botero
Special Projects Manager
Sydney Tanigawa
Project Coordinator
Fellowships
The Documentary Film in the Public Interest Fellowship program is designed to support new research, analysis, innovation and provocation around core issues facing the documentary field. Through the fellows’ projects, the Shorenstein Center will engage in examinations of best practice, industry ecosystems, public impact and media policy.
Click here to learn more about the fellowship program and how to apply.
Announcing Spring 2024 Cohort of Documentary Film Fellows
The Shorenstein Center is excited to announce the Spring 2024 cohort of documentary film fellows. The group joins the Center under the auspices of the newly-established Documentary Film in the Public Interest research initiative and will spend the semester conducting research and engaging with the HKS community about the challenges facing the field and its
Announcing the launch of Shorenstein Fellow Tom Casciato’s “Thousand Roads” podcast
The Shorenstein Center is celebrating the release of Shorenstein Fellow Tom Casciato’s podcast – “The Thousand Roads” – this week. Hosted by Casciato, an Emmy award-winning director, writer, and producer, the podcast explores the intersection of documentary film and journalism through interviews with industry leaders.
Announcing the inaugural class of fellows for documentary film professionals and scholars
This fall, the Shorenstein Center is thrilled to welcome its first cohort of documentary film fellows under the auspices of the center’s newly-established Documentary Film in the Public Interest research initiative. Documentary films play a vital role in our civic culture by investigating injustices, unearthing forgotten histories, connecting to new perspectives and speaking truth to
King Coal: A documentary film screening and director Q&A
The event is co-hosted by The Documentary Film in the Public Interest program at the Shorenstein Center, The Committee on Degrees in Folklore & Mythology, The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability and the Mahindra Humanities Center.
Chinese Independent Film and Distribution of Public Interest Media
Karin Chien, in conversation with Jian Yi, charts the evolution of her work at dGenerate Films, acquiring independent Chinese films and releasing them in the US through a partnership with Icarus Films. Karin is a fellow for the Documentary Film in the Public Interest program at the Shorenstein Center. Elsie Chen will moderate this talk. This event is co-sponsored by the Rajawali Foundation Institute for Asia at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
Boston Globe’s Inundation District Documentary Screening
This screening is co-sponsored by the Shorenstein Center’s Documentary Film in the Public Interest Initiative and The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University.
