Tell Don’t Show: Adventures in First-Person Filmmaking

[vc_row][vc_column offset=”vc_hidden-lg vc_hidden-md vc_hidden-sm vc_hidden-xs”][vc_video link=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46T0dWTytwA” css=””][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Sometimes it’s worth just telling it like it is. In documentary filmmaking, “show don’t tell” has become an oft-repeated mantra in an effort to expel any perceived didacticism, but how might a subjective perspective complicate a film, and invite the audience to actively question its authority? When a non-fiction filmmaker embraces their first-person point of view, what can their personality, positionality and biases reveal about the subject of a documentary?

Across the 3 days of this workshop, essay filmmaker Charlie Shackleton will lead participants in an excavation of how first-person cinema can both offer a generative framework and be a creative technique; considering its rich proponents, revelatory applications and profound potentials for documentary. Here we’re not looking at film that centers the filmmaker as the subject, but rather where the filmmaker employs their own character as a filmic tool; their sense of humor, cadence of speech, or the performance of the filmmaking process itself become a part of the creative methodology. By inverting the traditional idiom of “show don’t tell”, this workshop celebrates personality, perspective and explores the idea of subjectivity becoming the primary mediator of the reality portrayed on screen.

We’ll be joined by a diverse range of guest practitioners, each with their own distinctive filmmaking personality or approach to imprinting personal identity on their work. Charlie will discuss how the construction of an on-screen persona can facilitate a film’s intended direction.  Alan Berliner will reveal how his personal life has become inextricably linked to his creative work. Joanna Arnow will discuss how she draws on personal experience in her fictional works. Rebeca Huntt will explore how the personal and the intimate can reflect broader societal truths.

Participants will be encouraged to experiment with different ways of incorporating their own personalities as a creative strategy to uncover new understandings of their material, each given the opportunity to engage in constructive group discussion by sharing a work-in-progress from their own practice.

Come through![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_text_separator title=”Details” color=”white” el_class=”h1″][vc_empty_space height=”40px”][vc_tta_accordion style=”outline” shape=”square” color=”white” active_section=”8″ no_fill=”true” collapsible_all=”true”][vc_tta_section title=”Who is eligible?” tab_id=”1477608256488-ac7d3d1a-ae9084d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]Open to everyone, though the workshop setting is best suited for filmmakers, film producers, journalists, curators and media artists.

Give us an idea of who you are and why you are coming. When you register you will be asked for a short statement of interest that should briefly describe your experience and a film project (it would be great if you have a project in progress that you would present to the group during the work-in-progress critique sessions), plus a bio. There’s a spot for a link to a work sample (and CV, which would also be nice, but is not required).[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Cost” tab_id=”1477608256642-4c32d845-e84384d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]$295 early bird registration ends on Sep 22, 2026.

$350 regular registration.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Refund Policy” tab_id=”1477608441051-60d28267-92bf84d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_column_text css=””]The deposit is non-refundable. Should you need to cancel, you’ll receive half of your registration fee back until Sep 22. After Sep 22, the fee is non-refundable.[/vc_column_text][/vc_tta_section][vc_tta_section title=”Technology Requirements” tab_id=”1477608488046-a8fa4720-501684d0-801ebd47-97fc”][vc_co