Part of our mission is to encourage the professional advancement of media artists through seminars, panel discussions, lectures and other opportunities for education and exchange. To that end, we organize educational events throughout the year that are free and open to the public.

SPRING SEMINAR SERIES

We hold a series of seminars for filmmakers in conjunction with our grant program, The Chicago Digital Media Production Fund. Free and open to the public, these seminars gather key players in the industry in Chicago for discussions on various topics important to independent filmmakers. Along with these seminars, we also hold information sessions for those interested in applying for the Chicago Digital Media Production Fund.

2019 Seminar Series included:

  • The Art of Engagement: Creating Social Impact Through Film

  • Micro-budget, Macro Impact: Small Budget Filmmaking Tips and Techniques

  • New Media Landscapes: Doc-Series Panel (in tandem with the DOC CONFERENCE)

 

DOC CHICAGO CONFERENCE

Doc-Chicago-2019

In 2019, Chicago Filmmakers collaborated with Percolator Films to organize DOC CHICAGO, a conference for Chicago’s diverse documentary filmmaking community. The inaugural conference took place from March 8-9, 2019 and featured expert talks with renowned documentarians like Kartemquin Films' Gordon Quinn, Marco Williams, and Ruth Leitman, and many others, as well as a short docs screening, community conversation, and networking.

Media organizations represented include Kartemquin, Kindling Group, Scrappers Film Group, OTV, Sprout Social, Mezcla Media Collective, Sisters in Cinema, Chicken & Egg Pictures, Doc Talk Show, The TRiiBE, and educational institutions including Northwestern University, Columbia College, and DePaul.

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