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:
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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These late-night smiles belong to the 2nd year MFA students who spent Wednesday evening sharing thesis film selects and giving each other feedback!
Of course, pizza was also involved. 🍕
#WFUdocfilm
We loved reading the article about Quad Deac Carter Cook in the latest edition of the Wake Forest Jurist —
"Cook tested the program with a documentary film class right up his alley in the spring of 2019: Business of Sports Media. Not only did he love the class, but his conception of how school was supposed to be done was flipped on its head when he realized, "Wait, I’m being assigned readings about topics I would be reading about anyway? That’s like getting paid to eat ice cream.”"
Thank you for your kind words about the Doc Film Program, Carter. We'd love to help you become Wake's first five-time Wake Forest grad! 🎓
Check out the full article starting on page 42 here: https://jurist.law.wfu.edu/files/jurist-2022.pdf
Interested in learning more about our MFA and MA programs? Attend our upcoming virtual information session on Thursday, Dec. 8 from 6-7pm!
Click here to register for the event: https://apply.graduate.wfu.edu/register/?id=0a268aca-a904-4f95-bd45-30fd7c7addcf (Link in bio)
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. 🎥✨
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