Find Your Filmmaking Home
With an established track record of success in documentary film production and education, the Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University offers you two graduate degree options:
Two-year Masters in Fine Arts in Documentary Film
Please join us for a virtual information session on our MA and MFA programs on Thursday, December 8 at 6:00 p.m.
We are currently accepting applications for your 2023 start!
Early Deadline is January 15
A Home to Documentary Film Experts
The Documentary Film Program (DFP) is not only the home to full-time faculty members with decades of industry experience! The DFP is proud to have accomplished visiting filmmakers every semester that offer students education in the latest industry knowledge and trends. Learn more about current and past program visitors.
A Home to Award-Winning Student Work
Our graduate programs in documentary film are hands-on experiences where students learn the technical aspects of filmmaking and storytelling as they craft short films as part of the curriculum. These thesis films have consistently achieved success in film festivals and within the industry. To see the variety of films that have been made at the DFP, please read more here.
Latest News
- DOC NYC Screens MFA Alum Film
Congratulations to Wake Forest Documentary Film Program alum John Gallen (MFA ’17) on the New York City premiere of his short film, Iron Sharpens Iron, […] - DFP MFA Students Receive Filmed in NC Grant
Congratulations to 2nd year MFA students Elizabeth Miller-Derstine and Allison Rieff on landing a Filmed in NC grant! Miller-Derstine and Rieff’s film, Bloom, is one of 13 films selected […] - Award Winning MFA Film to Screen at Wake Washington CenterBrandon Gaesser (MFA ‘21) brings his award-winning film, Chicken Soup for the Soil, to the Wake Washington Center on Tuesday, November 1 at 6:30 p.m. for a […]
- Beeman Selected for Appalshop Film CohortCongratulations to current MFA student Sidney Beeman on her acceptance to the 2022-23 Appalshop Film Cohort! The Film Cohort is made up of a talented group […]
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Congratulations to John Gallen (MFA '17) on the New York City premiere of his short film, Iron Sharpens Iron, at @DOCNYCfest! 🌟 America's largest, and one of its most influential documentary film festivals, DOC NYC is an Academy-qualifying festival for short films.
Directed, filmed, and produced by Gallen, Iron Sharpens Iron profiles the rivalry between two of the best wheelchair basketball players in the world. Steve Serio (@steveserio11), Team USA, and Patrick Anderson (@patrickanderson), Team Canada, have won gold medals at five of the last six Paralympic Games. 🏀 🥇 The film explores what these athletes have overcome to compete on the world stage and challenges perceptions about what someone with a disability can do.
The film has also screened as an official selection at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival (@hsdff), the Sidewalk Film Festival (@sidewalkfilm), and the San Diego International Film Festival (@sdfilmfestival), and is NOW AVAILABLE TO STREAM ONLINE through DOC NYC until Sunday, November 27.
👀 ➡️ Find more information on the film and purchase tickets at https://www.docnyc.net/film/shorts-physical-pursuits/iron-sharpens-iron/
Thanks to Chris Everett, program manager of @SouthernDocFund and founder and president of @SpellerStreetFilms, for coming by last week to lead an engaging and informative conversation on how to monetize your films and craft a sustainable career in documentary filmmaking! So many good takeaway tips for students to consider as the launch their thesis films and filmmaking careers. 🎥✨
Don't miss the FREE DOC SCREENINGS coming to @ApertureCinema, our favorite local independent movie house, as part of the 2022-23 South Arts’ Southern Circuit Tour! 📽️
🎞️ OUTTA THE MUCK, November 9 @ 7pm
🎞️ HOME FROM SCHOOL, February 8 @ 7pm
🎞️ MAMA BEARS, March 8 @ 7pm
🎞️ HAZING, April 16 @ 5pm
🎞️ REFUGE, September 7 @ 7pm
🎞️ STAY PRAYED UP, October 5 @ 7pm
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers connects US-based documentary filmmakers with communities throughout the South for screenings and conversations around important stories and the art of filmmaking. They prioritize featuring Southern filmmakers and stories and are committed to presenting films by filmmakers of color, LGBTQ+ filmmakers, and filmmakers with disabilities.
Past Southern Circuit Tours have included films from DFP alum including @properpronounsfilm, the thesis film of Meg Daniels and Manie Robinson (both MFA '19), and @atthereadyfilm from producer Hillary Pierce (MFA ‘13).
Visit aperturecinema.com/southern-circuit for film synopses and to learn more. All films are free to the public; advance registration is encouraged.
Thank you to all who attended this past Tuesday night's screening of Brandon Gaesser's (MFA '21) thesis film, "Chicken Soup for the Soil" at Wake Washington Center (@DC_Deacs), and to John Toner (Wake Forest '06) of @LemonTreeProds for moderating the post-screening Q&A. 🎥 🎞️
It was great to see so many current and former students gathered to support a fellow deac!
DFP students at the first ever Graduate Student Formal hosted by the Graduate Student Association! 🎉
Interested in Learning More?
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