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:
A Home to Award-Winning Student Work
Diverse in both content and style, our award-winning student thesis films offer powerful stories on the human experiences at the center of a wide range of social and cultural issues. Experience the depth, breadth, and creativity of our student films by watching the clip below and reading more here.
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.
Latest News
- DFP Alums Premiere Projects at Tribeca
Congratulations to Diane Hodson (MFA ’15) and Jasmine Luoma (MFA ’15) on their Tribeca Film Festival premieres! Luoma served as producer on An Update on […] - A Double Win at Longleaf for Bloom!
Kudos to Allison Rieff (MFA ’23) and Elizabeth Miller-Derstine (MFA ’23) for winning Best Documentary Feature at this year’s Longleaf Film Festival with their thesis film Bloom, […] - PitchFest Win!
Congrats to Jack Balick (MA ’24) and William Teets (MA ’24) for capturing top honors with their pitch of Ayzoh in the 13th Annual RiverRun Pitch Fest […] - Spring Thesis Showcase Screening
We are excited to present our spring DFP Thesis Showcase screening of Our Side in the ZSR Auditorium on Tuesday, March 19 at 6 p.m. Our Side follows documentarian […]
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Congrats to Rodney Wilds (MFA `23)! @rwilds_4
His new documentary - "We Are, Because We Were" - was selected to screen at the International Black Theater Festival`s Film Fest. The film will screen on Thursday, Aug. 1 at 12:15pm and Saturday, Aug. 3 at 9:45am. All of the screenings will happen at @aperturecinema in downtown Winston-Salem.
Come out and support this great film!
Congrats to Brandi Hall (MA `22) on her new job as Social Media Associate with @underarmour!
Hall interned with Under Armour after graduating from our program, and she is returning now in a full-time role.
Congrats!
Professor of Practice Peter Gilbert and Jacob Hancock-Hernández (MFA `23) recently screened films at the annual National Sports Media Association Convention. @nsmasportsmedia
Jacob screened his thesis film "Sidelines" which tells the story of modern-day high school sports media within the greater context of a collapsing newspaper industry. Gilbert screened his film "Hoop Dreams" and participated in a post-screening Q&A with film participant Arthur Agee. @mr.hoopdreams
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#docfilmmaking #docfilmprogram #documentary #videoproduction #documentaryfilm #documentaryfeature #docfilm #wakeforest #indiefilmmaking #nc #camelcity #mywsnc #myws #wsnc #filmlife #indiefilmmaker #filmmakinglife #filmmakersworld #film #independentfilm #filmschool #videoproduction #moviemaking #filmprogram
Congrats to Ed Foster (MFA’ 20) and Chen Zheng (MFA ’23) for having their films accepted into the upcoming Full Bloom Film Festival! @fullbloomfilmfest
Foster’s film “On Their First Tri” and Zheng’s film @your_cadenza_doc were accepted into the festival, which takes place fro Sept. 5-7.
Now in its 9th year, Full Bloom is dedicated to bringing quality, diverse, cinema to Statesville, NC.
For more information, visit fullbloomfilmfestival.org
Congrats to Brent Kirkland (MFA ’21) on his recent Emmy award! @bkdocs
Brent Kirkland is part of the team at @gamecocksplus who won a Southeast Emmy for their work on the documentary film “Small Town, Big Dreams: Darius Rush’s Life Calling.”
Check it out on GamecocksPlus.com. Congrats, Brent!
Submissions are currently open for the third-annual Boone Docs Film Festival! 🎥 🍿 🎬
@boonedocsfilmfest is held each year in February in Boone, NC, and the festival focuses on short documentaries about the Appalachian Region.
The DFP has had award winners in each of the first two years of the festival! (Bridget Fitzgerald (MFA `21) and Sidney Beeman (MFA `22)). @bridgetmaryfitzgerald @sidneybeemanfilm
To submit your film, visit: filmfreeway.com/BooneDocs
Another great @southerndocfund Artist Convening! 🎥 🍿 🎤
It was great hearing from regional filmmakers and connecting with talented storytellers. The Convening is a yearly gathering of documentary professionals, and it`s always an inspiring event.
Pictured above is Winston-Salem filmmaker Michael Lippert, Louie Poore (MFA `25), Phillip Marsh (MFA `25), and WFU professor Chris Zaluski.
@lcpoore @lippertfilms rockersprintshopgso @chriszaluski
In honor of Pride Month, check out a special screening of the award-winning documentary "Paris Is Burning" 🏳️🌈 🎥
Mark your calendars for Friday, June 18 at 7:30PM at the Camel City Playhouse. The screening is sponsored by OUT At The Movies, Winston`s LGBTQ+ film festival (and the second-largest LGBTQ+ film festival in North Carolina!).
Visit outatthemovies.org for tickets!
A huge congrats to Allison Rieff (MFA `23) @avrieff and Elizabeth Miller-Derstine (MFA `23) @legitabeth for winning Best Documentary Feature at this year`s @longleaffilmfestival for their thesis film "Bloom" @bloomdocfilm 👏 🏆 🙌
They also won an additional award for Best Film Poster.
Congratulations and nice work!
Congratulations to our graduates Yijia Zhong (MFA `24), Sydney Johnson (MA/MFA `24), and Jason Baum (MFA `24)! 👏 💐 🥂
The DFP had our annual graduation screening on Friday night in Brookstown and then the Graduate School Hooding and Commencement Ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Some students who graduated in 2023 came back to attend the official ceremony — Zaria Davis (MA `23), Taylor Rogers (MFA `23), and Jinglin Zeng (MFA `23).
Thanks to everyone who attended Friday`s screening or the ceremony on Saturday. It was a great weekend and we`re so happy for our grads!
(And shoutout to Sheridan Coats (MFA `25) for the amazing dry erase board artwork 😁)
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#docfilmmaking #docfilmprogram #documentary #videoproduction #documentaryfilm #documentaryfeature #docfilm #wakeforest #indiefilmmaking #nc #camelcity #mywsnc #myws #wsnc #filmlife #indiefilmmaker #filmmakinglife #filmmakersworld #film #independentfilm #filmschool #videoproduction #moviemaking #filmprogram
Congratulations to Sam Smartt (MFA ‘13) on the streaming release of his film ‘Luminous’!
Check it out now on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, YouTube, and Hoopla (free with yout library card)! 💫✨
Congrats to alumnus Rodney Wilds (MFA `23) on the premiere of his film "We Are, Because We Were." @rwilds_4
The film tells the story of the Winston-Salem African American Archive and offers a glimpse into the ever-growing branches of African American history in Winston.
The documentary screened on Friday evening at the Center for Design Innovation, in partnership with @southartsorg and @uncsa
Congrats, Rodney!
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#docfilmmaking #docfilmprogram #documentary #videoproduction #documentaryfilm #documentaryfeature #docfilm #wakeforest #indiefilmmaking #nc #camelcity #mywsnc #myws #wsnc #filmlife #indiefilmmaker #filmmakinglife #filmmakersworld #film #independentfilm #filmschool #videoproduction #moviemaking #filmprogram
`Tis the season... for end-of-semester screenings! 👏👏👏
Thanks to everyone who came out yesterday to watch final films in our Digital Storytelling and Social Justice class. The class was co-instructed by artist-in-residence Rebekah Fergusson @rebajonesjr and was comprised of undergraduate and DFP students.
Thank you, again, to the Provost’s Office and @WaketheArts for their support to make residency possible! We`re so proud of what our students created!
#WFUdocfilm @wfuniversity
In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, check out this short documentary by Parker Beverly (MFA `25) on @wakefootball kicker Matthew Dennis.
Great work, @parkerbev23 !!
#Repost @demondeacons
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May is a time to celebrate strength, support each other, and let people know they are not alone.
𝙈𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝘼𝙣 𝘼𝙩𝙝𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚
Episode 1 ft. Matthew Dennis
#GoDeacs🎩 | #MentalHealthAwarenessMonth
Artist-in-Residence Rebekah Fergusson @rebajonesjr had a busy week! She premiered her film "Helen and the Bear" at @hotdocs_ last weekend and then her film "Make a Circle" premiered at @doclands yesterday. Rebekah is producer on both films.
Congrats, Rebekah, and thank you for sharing your expertise with us this past semester!
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#docfilmmaking #docfilmprogram #documentary #videoproduction #documentaryfilm #documentaryfeature #docfilm #wakeforest #indiefilmmaking #nc #camelcity #mywsnc #myws #wsnc #filmlife #indiefilmmaker #filmmakinglife #filmmakersworld #film #independentfilm #filmschool #videoproduction #moviemaking #filmprogram
Congrats to Jasmine Luoma (MFA `14) on the @tribeca Premiere of the @hbo film "An Update on Our Family" ... Jasmine worked as a producer on the film. Great work, Jasmine!
🎉 Repost @jazzluoma:
So excited to announce that “An Update on Our Family,” the HBO (now Max) series I produced about family vloggers (and so much more), will have its world premiere at Tribeca!
What a wild ride with @futureclown @knuddy @visitinglights @josh_gough @madisson__tully @lupitafosho @loveujules @daniellefranco26 @heidiburkey @astray13 @rachaelmorrison01 and so many more! See ya in June.
That wraps up another successful RiverRun Film Festival! Congrats to Jack Balick (MA `24) and William Teets (MA `24) for winning the 13th Annual RiverRun Pitch Fest for their short film, "Ayzoh."
Scroll through to see some photos from the past week! @riverrunfilm @jackbalick @wcteets
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#riverrun #riverrunfilmfestival #studentfilmmaker #studentfilmmakers #filmmaker #filmmakers #schooloffilmmaking #pitchafilm #docfilm #documentaryfilm #film#indiefilm #filmfestival #filmmaker #filmmakers #filmmaking #filmmakerlife #filmmakerslife #filmmakersworld #filmmakersnews #filmmakersmovie #filmmakersofinstagram #film
As a friendly reminder, @riverrunfilm continues through Saturday!
Tomorrow at 5:30pm at Hanesbrands Theatre @hanesbrandstheatre is the "Winston Stories" program, which features 2 DFP documentaries ("United" and @your_cadenza_doc)
On Saturday at noon is the 13th Annual RiverRun Pitch Fest Student Documentary Competition. And following Pitch Fest is a conversation with documentary editor and the 2024 Master of Cinema recipient Kate Amend, hosted by DFP Professor of Practice Peter Gilbert @pmgilbs
We hope you can join us at some of these incredible events!
(S/O to @triad_city_beat for the great cover featuring 3 DFP films!)
Congrats to all of our students and alumni who have films screening at the upcoming @longleaffilmfestival. The DFP has a strong showing this year!
Longleaf is celebrating its 10th year and is a free-to-attend festival with screenings at the North Carolina Museum of History @ncmuseumhistory on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11.
Congrats to Nicole Mackey (MA `23) and Zaria Davis (MA `23) on their doc short "Who Is Trudi Lacey," Allison Rieff (MFA `23) and Elizabeth Miller-Derstine (MFA `23) on their doc feature "Bloom," Ed Foster (MFA `20) on his doc feature "On Their First Tri," Brandon Gaesser (MFA `21), Sidney Beeman (MFA `22), Bridget Fitzgerald (MFA `21), on their animated short "Afungus Amongus," and Brandon Gaesser on his doc short "Chicken Soup for the Soil."
Congrats, Rachel (MA `24)! @rachel_kuehn_ is one of our MA students in Sports Media & Storytelling and we`re so proud of her accomplishments!
#Repost @accsports
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🏆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗔𝗖𝗖 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗠𝗣𝗜𝗢𝗡 🏆
Congratulations to the ACC Women’s Golf Individual Champion: Rachel Kuehn!
@wakewomensgolf | #AccomplishGreatness
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