With the support of interviews, archival documents, and an inquisitive mind, documentaries have the power to take a deeper dive into a controversial issue and expose concealed information. As part of Media Literacy Week, documentary filmmakers share their craft and process, and how they take a unique approach to storytelling and create more awareness around an issue for their audience.
Presented with the Mayor’s Office of Media & Entertainment and Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library. This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
ANTONINO D’AMBROSIO, FILMMAKER, LET FURY HAVE THE HOUR, FRANK SERPICO
Antonino D’Ambrosio is an award-winning author, producer, director, musician and visual artist. D’Ambrosio’s films including Let Fury Have the Hour (Kino Lorber), We’re Still Here: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited (Sony/Kino Lorber), No Free Lunch (featuring Lewis Black) and Frank Serpico (IFC Sundance Selects). D’Ambrosio was selected to represent New York in the international production Soundhunters (ARTE) with his film Speak the Words the Way You Breathe. The project won the FIPA d’or for the global experience at the FIPA International Festival. His films have played at festivals and theatrically here and abroad and have been broadcast on BBC, RAI, SKY, SBS, ARTE, Hulu, Amazon, Sundance Channel/AMC, RTL, CBC, and more around the world. D’Ambrosio was the first artist ever to receive the Pillar Award for Civil & Human Rights for his film Frank Serpico. D’Ambrosio is the executive producer of the album Look Again to the Wind: Johnny Cash’s Bitter Tears Revisited (Sony), inspired by his book A Heartbeat and a Guitar. The record features Kris Kristofferson, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, Rhiannon Giddens, Gillian Welch, among others. His books include A Heartbeat and A Guitar: Johnny Cash and the Making of Bitter Tears, Mayday with artist Shepard Fairey, and Let Fury Have the Hour: Joe Strummer, Punk and the Movement that Shook the World. D’Ambrosio is the creator, producer, director and writer of several docuseries including The Play (in association with the NBA), Inside the Touchline: Soccer Stories that Change the World, and The Magic Box: Broadway’s Hidden History. D’Ambrosio was a Dean's Scholar at New York University Graduate School of Public Administration, Artist-in-Residence at the Contemporary Art Museum in Santa Fe, Artist-in-Residence at Long Island University, and Gallatin Lecturer at New York University, an honor bestowed upon a contemporary artist creating innovative and social engaging work. D’Ambrosio was the recipient of the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund for his investigative journalism. His upcoming film is on music legend Roberta Flack called Roberta Flack is Limitless (Warner Media/Music). D’Ambrosio is the founder of the La Lutta Productions and La Lutta NMC, a non-profit media, arts and productions group.
GABRIELLE SCHONDER, NIEMAN FELLOW, HARVARD UNIVERSITY
Gabrielle Schonder has reported on more than 20 films for Frontline with the Kirk Documentary Group. An award-winning producer, she has covered national affairs, foreign policy, and national security. Gabrielle had her directorial debut in 2020 with The NRA: Under Fire documenting the NRA’s meteoric rise and the investigations to dissolve the powerful lobbying organization. Gabrielle most recently covered how America’s post- 9/11 foreign policy decisions led the country to January 6th in America After 9/11.
Prior to joining PBS, Gabrielle was an investigative producer at 60 Minutes, the highest rated news program in history. Her coverage of the 2015 Paris Attacks for the broadcast was recognized with an Emmy® award. Her groundbreaking report about insider trading by members of Congress led to the passage of The STOCK Act. The report was honored with three Emmy® nominations and a Joan Shorenstein Barone Award from the Congressional Correspondents Association.
Gabrielle is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. She studied politics and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.
SARAH TEALE, DIRECTOR, KILL CHAIN
Sarah Teale (Producer /Director) was a Producer/Director on Kill Chain: The Cyber War on America’s Elections which aired on HBO on March 26th, 2020 and was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Investigative Documentary. She was a Producer on the HBO series The Weight of the Nation, which was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy.
Other HBO films she produced and directed include Dealing Dogs, (Emmy nomination Outstanding Investigative Documentary); Hacking Democracy, (Emmy nomination Oustanding Investigative Documentary); Death on a Factory Farm; Bellevue: Inside Out, a year inside the locked psychiatric wards at Bellevue Hospital; and Mumia Abu Jamal: A Case For Reasonable Doubt?, Cable Ace Award nomination.
She has also produced and directed documentaries for the BBC, A&E and Discovery, including Sam Shepard: Stalking Himself for PBS/BBC. She recently produced and directed Grazers: A Cooperative Story with Lisa F. Jackson, being distributed by Collective Eye and Passion River and Patrimonio, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival and Full Frame and is being distributed by First Run Features.
MODERATOR: RAESHEM NIJHON, CO-FOUNDER AND EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, CULTURE.HOUSE
Raeshem is a CLIO, Shorty and Webby award winning Producer/Director. As Founder and Executive Producer of Culture.House, she manages strategic partnerships and oversees end-to-end production across platforms. Select current projects include a doc-series about race and gender in America for Netflix , Girly, a doc-series developed with Refinery29 and actor/activist Rashida Jones and feature documentary, The Agreement, in partnership with the United Nations Foundation.
Raeshem is a passionate advocate for women and girls, committed to educating women about sexual health and safety through a partnership with the NYU Department of Population Health. Raeshem sits on the Creative Council for EMILY'S List, the board for the New York Center for Communications and serves as a United Nations Global Accelerator Delegate.