BAVC Media at IDA’s Getting Real
Earlier this summer, members of the BAVC Media team, including Paula Smith Arrigoni, Executive Director, Jin Yoo-Kim, Co-Director of the MediaMaker Fellowship, Dawn D Valadez, Director of Workforce & Artist Development, and Tim Lake, Director of Preservation, had the opportunity to attend IDA’s Getting Real conference in Los Angeles.
As an Industry Partner for Getting Real, BAVC Media joined documentary filmmakers and nonfiction storytellers from across the field for a week of conversations, learning, and connection. Throughout the conference, attendees had several opportunities to connect with our team, including Ask an Archivist, where Tim Lake met with attendees for free 20-minute conversations about audiovisual preservation, digitization workflows, funding resources, and more at the Documentary Stacks table in the JANM Lobby.
Our Artist Development team also participated in programming throughout the week, including the Industry Expo Lunch, Lights, Coffee, Action, and Build Your Own Breakout, connecting with artists and fellow industry professionals.
Jin and Dawn shared some of their reflections from the conference:
“The IDA Getting Real conference this year felt like a much-needed gathering to boost our morale. Despite the documentary industry being as unstable as ever, it was inspiring to be amongst movers and shakers who will always carry the torch forward and find the light at the end of the tunnel. Dawn and I spoke to many filmmakers to encourage them to apply to the MediaMaker fellowship and/or get connected to BAVC in a multitude of ways. The highlight was hosting a “Build Your Own Breakout” session. I, Dawn, and fellow filmmaker Ann Kaneko hosted a session called “Slow Filmmaking as An Act of Resistance” and we had a full table full of filmmakers who were eager to learn more about how to slow down the process of filmmaking to incorporate intentional and care-based practices.”
– Jin Yoo-Kim, Co-Director of the MediaMaker Fellowship
“Highlights for me were meeting with filmmakers from around the world. I spoke with the person who leads a South American film festival and an incredible film archive in Ecuador, a filmmaker from the Congo who works with youth who learn as much from their cameras as they used to know about the guns they put down, and a filmmaker following the ending of her family’s neon business that began in Mexico. Opening my mind to new experiences and new filmmakers is one of the greatest joys and opportunities of Getting Real. Meeting up with old and new friends is always an added benefit. Despite the challenges our field faces, we are strong, bold, and fearless independent documentary makers. Getting Real is our forum to share the good and the bad, and to create plans for the future.”
-Dawn D Valadez, Director of Workforce & Artist Development
