Make Media
Shining Light on Families Experiencing Homelessness
In one of the most challenging years in recent history, BAVC Media has had the privilege of collaborating with an award-winning team of media makers and Hamilton Families, a nonprofit organization with a mission to end family homlessness in the Bay Area. BAVC Media commissioned six award-winning alum from the MediaMaker Fellowship to create a series of video and audio documentaries about Bay Area families.
BAVC Media Announces 2021 MediaMaker Fellows
One of the Longest Standing, Top-tier Programs in the Country for Investing in Diverse Emerging Documentary Filmmakers, Celebrates its New 2021 Fellows
An Interview with Niema Jordan
We are thrilled to announce Niema Jordan as Co-Director of our MediaMaker Fellowship! Niema is a storyteller from Oakland, California. She is an alum of Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism and UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism. Her film, Oasis, tells the story of a struggling medical clinic that treats underserved populations battling Hepatitis C. Her production credits include The Chosen Life, Fatherless, Bobby Kennedy for President, and Vernon Jordan: Make It Plain. She is currently a story producer and the host of the podcast, Fertility, Mothering, and Other Things. Jordan serves on the board of Oakland Kids First. [...]
Now Available On YouTube: Exploring the VSW Archive – Early Video Art & Community Media in Western NY
On August 5th, 2020, BAVC Media streamed a video event with Visual Studies Workshop (VSW), and we're happy to announce that the recording is now live on YouTube! Over the last two years BAVC Media has been working with VSW in Rochester, NY to preserve their archive of early video recordings. The VSW Film and Video Collection holds more than 4,000 video tapes, many of which were made between 1970-1990 by artists, activists and collectives throughout New York State. This fascinating collection includes over 1,500 ½” open reel recordings from community access programs such as Portable Channel, SYNAPSE, [...]
Now Available On YouTube: From Video Activism to Early Immersive Media
Stills from: Crip Camp (left) Mind of Universe (right) On June 3rd, 2020, BAVC Media streamed a video event highlighting the history of early video collectives The People’s Video Theatre (PVT) and Survival Arts Media (SAM) through their archive of preserved analog video. From their roots as video activists to their mind-expanding experiments with video art and early immersive media performances, the story of PVT and SAM is the story of early video’s growth into its own distinct form of expression and storytelling. A video recording of the streaming event is now available for viewing here! In these [...]
BAVC Media Announces New MediaMaker Connect Mentorship Program
In the spirit of building the field, supporting nonfiction filmmakers to complete their projects, and facilitating connections between filmmakers at different stages of their careers, BAVC Media is proud to be able to provide 19 MediaMaker Fellowship alumni, along with 11 emerging filmmakers, with 5-months of one-on-one mentorship. Thanks to a generous award from the Kenneth Rainin Foundation, 2020 will be the inaugural year of MediaMaker Connect, a new component of the MediaMaker Fellowship. Between April and September of 2020, 30 filmmakers will receive feedback and counsel from industry professionals addressing their unique challenges from story development to post-production roadblocks. [...]
BAVC Media Announces 2020 MediaMaker Fellows
BAVC Media is thrilled to announce 2020 MediaMaker Fellows and Alumni Grants. A full list of recipients is below. The MediaMaker Fellowship is an artist development program that provides nonfiction filmmakers with critical mentorship, access to industry contacts, structure for workshopping projects in an inclusive and collaborative environment, and career-long relationships with peers. For the 2020 Fellowship, BAVC Media is awarding $8,000 unrestricted funding to 10 diverse filmmakers in addition to an immersive 8-month experience that includes intimate feedback sessions, all-access travel to True/False Film Festival and the International Documentary Association's Getting Real Conference, learning opportunities with seasoned experts in the [...]
“Crip Camp” to Premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival
Throughout New York State in the 1970s The People's Video Theater was producing documentary programs using Sony PortaPak cameras. At the time, this technology was cutting-edge, and these programs chronicled the counterculture and liberation movements that transformed the politics of America. The collective’s mission was to explore the capabilities of the video medium for creative self-expression and community empowerment. The real-time recording and playback capabilities of this new video medium allowed The People's Video Theater to capture material and play it back for their subjects immediately. This “feedback” capability enabled participants to shape their own stories on-screen, and to initiate [...]
Film to Radio with Making Contact
BAVC Media's community partner, Making Contact, wants to share your documentary film on radio stations across the US and Canada!
BAVC Media Announces the 2019 MediaMaker Fellows
BAVC Media is thrilled to announce the multiplatform documentary makers and projects that will receive the 2019 MediaMaker Fellowship award. A full list of recipients is below. The 2019 MediaMaker Fellows are: Brenda Avila-Hanna, Libertad (Santa Cruz, CA); Brittany Shyne, Seeds (Dayton, OH); Christian Figueroa, Flowers of May (San Francisco, CA); Debra Schaffner, Curse of the Mutant Heirloom (Oakland, CA); Emily Cohen Ibañez, Fruits of Labor (Oakland, CA); Katy Scoggin, Flood (Brooklyn, NY); Lagueria Davis, Black Barbie: A Documentary (Los Angeles, CA); Rashaad Newsome, Get Your 10s (Brooklyn, NY); Taimi Arvidson, Hossain (Brooklyn, NY); Vicky Du, Light of the Setting Sun [...]
