The leading book teaching the practice of non-fiction filmmaking is Directing the Documentary. For two decades, this book (now entering its 8th Edition) has taught tens of thousands of filmmakers to envision documentary films by centering an approach engaging the heart and mind. Directing the Documentary was first created by Michael Rabiger and is now co-authored by Portland filmmaker and educator, Courtney Hermann. Join Courtney Hermann for a unique evening, sharing reflections on the documentary form, film clips, and book excerpts from the forthcoming edition of Directing the Documentary. Hermann will be dialogue with filmmaker and educator G. Chesler who collaborated with Hermann on their latest film, Outliers and Outlaws: A Story of Lesbian World-Builders.
Hermann’s award-winning documentaries—including Standing Silent Nation, Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival, Crying Earth Rise Up, Burton Before and After, and Outliers and Outlaws—emerge from a practice of embedding within communities and building trust. Guided by an ethic of partnership rather than extraction, Hermann’s films amplify perspectives absent from popular media and engage themes of Indigenous sovereignty, environmental justice, women’s empowerment, and queer experience. They have been distributed through PBS, film festivals, libraries, museums, and grassroots organizations nationwide. She co-founded Boxcar Assembly, LLC with her partner, Kerribeth Elliott, producing nonfiction media for nonprofits and NGOs.
Hermann and Chesler will reflect on the philosophy that documentary can be both a rigorous craft and a profoundly human practice of connection and intuition—a vision Hermann shared with her mentor and late co-author Michael Rabiger. Clips from her films and landmark documentaries will illustrate the discussion, which will also celebrate Rabiger’s legacy and the continuing vitality of documentary as an art form.
This event is free and will be recorded. Co-presented with NW Documentary, Catalyst Film Collective, Women in Film Portland, and Oregon Media Lab. Made possible by G6 Pictures with support from RACC. Guests may learn more about the book at https://www.courtneyhermann.com/directingthedocumentary.
