JENNIFER REDFEARN IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE DOCUMENTARY PROGRAM AT BERKELEY JOURNALISM
Jennifer Redfearn is the head of the Documentary Program at Berkeley Journalism, where she leads and mentors incredibly talented graduate students.
Each year Jennifer supervises the production of up to eight 25-minute films. She guides students to create visually powerful work rooted in the foundations of journalism, providing them with the tools to make valuable contributions to culture. She’s passionate about mentoring emerging filmmakers and incredibly proud of her students’ achievements. The New Yorker, LA Times, and PBS/POV have published her students’ projects, several of which have won awards, including the Student Academy Award. Thesis films she’s supervised have premiered at Sundance, Telluride and DOCNYC.
Jennifer has also led workshops for organizations such as MediaStorm, NBC, and DCTV. Highlights include immersive workshops with MediaStorm, where she collaborated with journalists learning visual storytelling and bringing U.S. and Cuban students together to team on projects through NYU’s documentary program in Havana.
SHOWCASE VIDEOS
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“The program offers the space and time for you to take a chance on yourself as a filmmaker.”
Alfredo Torres
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It’s not hyperbole to say that this program has completely changed my life.”
Bria Light
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“Before coming to Berkeley, the idea of making a documentary seemed impossible. The graduate school of journalism made that dream come true.”
César Rojas Ángel
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“When I left Nigeria, I badly wanted to improve my skills and to be better equipped to tell African stories through documentaries. Every bit of that desire was fulfilled thanks to the Documentary Program.”
Linus Unah
JENNIFER’S CLASSES
FALL
284A DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION: The fall Documentary Production course is the first semester of a year-long intensive documentary production workshop where second-year students develop, film, and edit their thesis films.
219 CINEMATOGRAPHY & SOUND: Cinematography and Sound is an advanced class covering filming and sound techniques for documentary scenes, interviews, and visual coverage. Guest cinematographers and sound professionals conduct master classes on specialty concepts such as how to cover complex scenes for the edit, solo and collaborative shooting, filming in extreme environments, and advanced lighting setups.
SPRING
284B DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION: The spring Documentary Production course is the second semester of a year-long intensive documentary production workshop where second-year students develop, film, and edit their thesis films.
286 DOCUMENTARY HISTORY & RESEARCH: Documentary History and Research explores the evolution of U.S. documentary film from silent films in the 1920s to contemporary films. We explore how cultural movements, creative risk-taking, and technological innovation have shaped documentary film. This course prepares students for their thesis work by covering how to research, pre-produce documentaries, and develop a cinematic vision.
