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

One-year Masters of Arts in Sports Media & Storytelling


We are currently accepting applications for your 2024 start!
Application Deadline is April 15.


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

  • 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 […]
  • Sheridan to Judge Scripps Howard Journalism Awards
    Professor of Practice Chris Sheridan has been selected as a judge for the 71st Annual Scripps Howard National Journalism awards – one of the most distinguished […]
  • DFP & Get in the Game Team Up for Q Ball Screening & Discussion
    The Documentary Film Program and Get in the Game invite you to a screening of the powerful sports documentary Q Ball. The award-winning film chronicles the lives of […]
  • Finding Home Makes PBS Debut!
    Finding Home, directed by Sidney Beeman (MFA ’22) will make its broadcast debut on West Virginia PBS on Friday, January 12.  “It’s an incredible honor […]

Follow Us on Instagram

Please join us next week for a DFP Thesis Showcase screening of Our Side! Mark your calendar for Tuesday, March 19 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the @ZSRlibrary Auditorium. 🎥 ⁣
⁣
Our Side follows documentarian and sexual abuse survivor, Jinglin Zeng (MFA ‘23), as she embarks on a journey to heal and reclaim her narrative. As a participant in Resilient Voices, an annual weekend retreat held in North Carolina for sexual assault survivors, Zeng explores healing therapies and connects with a community of survivors as they reclaim their voices and share their growth in front of her camera.⁣
⁣
⁉️ - A Q & A with the director will follow the screening.⁣
⁣
#wfudocfilm @wakethearts @wfudocumentaryfilm @wfucampuslife
Take a sneak peek behind the scenes of our latest project! 🎥  DFP graduate students recently filmed with Dean Jackie Krasas in preparation for Graduate and Professional Student Appreciation Week. ⁣
⁣
Keep an eye out in early April for the final product! ✨ ⁣
⁣
@wfuniversity ⁣
@wfuprovost ⁣
@wakethearts 
⁣
#WFUdocfilm
Congrats to Louie Poore @LCpoore and Parker Beverly (MFA ‘25) for the media coverage on their first year film, ‘United’! 🎞️ Learn more below. ⁣
⁣
Repost @triad_city_beat⁣
・・・⁣
The documentary “United” follows a small but determined group of residents — many of whom are elderly or disabled — who live in Winston-Salem’s 11-story, low-income housing facility.⁣
⁣
The film, which is streaming on Vimeo, was created by Louie Poore and Parker Beverly as an assignment for Wake Forest’s documentary film program of which they are now graduates. ⁣
⁣
The two, who both reside in Winston-Salem, were searching for the right topic for their film when they first heard residents and activists speaking about Crystal Towers at a city council meeting.⁣
⁣
“I thought, Wow, that’s incredible,” Poore recalls after hearing activist Dan Rose, with Housing Justice Now, advocating on behalf of residents last year.⁣
⁣
In the past several years, a dedicated group of residents and activists like Rose have coalesced around improving living conditions at Crystal Towers. Many news outlets, including TCB, have reported on the subpar living conditions afflicting residents including mold, broken elevators and even a recent fire. The result is a group called Crystal Towers United, which in large part has been led by resident Michael Douglas.⁣
⁣
Follow the link in our bio to read the full story.⁣
⁣
#WFUdocfilm @wfuniversity @wakethearts @triad_city_beat @downtownwinstonsalem
#GoDeacs! Members of the Doc Film program were thrilled to witness your victory over the weekend! 🥇 ⁣🎉🌳🧻
⁣
If you’re feeling the need for more basketball this week be sure to join us on Wednesday at the Porter Byrum Welcome Center on campus.⁣
⁣
🏀 We are hosting a special film screening of the powerful sports documentary Q Ball.⁣ The film, co-hosted by @G⁣ITG4Change, explores the San Quentin Prison basketball squad - teammates and inmates at "the Q" - along their journey of rehabilitation and possible redemption.⁣ 
⁣
🗓️: Wednesday, February 28th ⁣
⏰: 6:30 ⁣
📍: At the Porter Byrum Welcome Center on the campus of @WFuniversity ⁣
⁣
#WFUdocfilm #WakeTheArts #Basketball
Save the date! ⁣🏀 
⁣
Join us Wednesday, February 28 th at 6:30 at the Porter Byrum Welcome Center on the campus of @WFuniversity.
⁣
The Documentary Film Program at Wake Forest University, and Get In The Game (@GITG4change) invite you to a special film screening of the powerful sports documentary Q Ball.⁣
⁣
#WFUdocfilm
Professor of Practice Christopher Sheridan has been selected as a judge for the 71st Annual Scripps Howard National Journalism awards – one of the most distinguished journalism awards in the industry. 📰 
 
With a focus on high-impact and investigative storytelling, the awards honor work from television stations, networks, radio and podcasts, visual media, online media outlets, independent producers, newspapers and other print publications.
 
A longtime journalist and cross-platform media executive at both the local and network level, Sheridan will be judging in the television news category. 📺 This year’s winners will be announced in the Fall.

@scrippsnews @wfuniversity
Please consider joining us Monday, Feb. 19 6:00 pm at @aperturecinema for a screening of @VishniacFilm - an amazing new documentary about Roman Vishniac: photographer, biologist, and preserver of Eastern European Jewish memory on the eve of the Nazi Holocaust.⁣
⁣
Stay following the film for a talk back with Barry Trachtenberg, Professor, Rubin Presidential Chair of Jewish History, Wake Forest University.⁣
⁣
The world is ready to hear your story! 👂
We are currently accepting applications to The Documentary Film Program at @WFUniversity! ⁣
Have questions? We have answers.⁣👇⁣
⁣
🎥 DO I NEED TO PROVIDE MY OWN EQUIPMENT?⁣
⁣
🎞 While it is advisable that you bring an up-to-date laptop into the program, we provide state-of-the-art video equipment and editing facilities, and software, as well as access to studio space.⁣
⁣
🎥 DO I HAVE TO HAVE EXPERIENCE IN FILM/VIDEO PRODUCTION TO APPLY TO THE PROGRAM?⁣
⁣
🎞 No, you do not. While some previous experience in media production is certainly helpful, we are primarily interested in students who bring a variety of experiences and a passion for storytelling to the program. Thus, our students have come from backgrounds as varied as field biology, history, sociology, and environmental science…and many have never touched a camera or used an editing program.⁣
⁣
🎥 WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN THE STATEMENT OF INTEREST?⁣
⁣
🎞 We are looking for you to provide deeper insight into your academic and professional background, what draws you to visual storytelling, what you hope to learn in the program, and what your filmmaking goals are. In short, tell us your story and tell us about the stories you hope to tell as a filmmaker.⁣
⁣
🗓️ APPLICATIONS ARE DUE MONDAY, APRIL 15.⁣
⁣
You can access the online application as well as information about the program and the admissions process by visiting the link in our bio —> ⁣@WFUdocumentaryfilm
⁣
#WFUdocfilm
FREE SCREENING OF ‘Razing Liberty Square’ - JANUARY 24! ⁣
⁣
Riverrun’s popular Indie Lens Pop-Up series returns with a free, in-person screening and panel discussion on Wednesday, January 24, at 6:00 PM at the @ Forsyth County Central Library @FCpubliclivrary at 660 West Fifth Street in Winston-Salem.⁣
 ⁣
Join @RiverRunFilm for a screening of @RazingLibertySq ahead of its presentation on @IndependentLens on @MyPBSnc. The film focuses on Liberty City, Miami, which was home to one of the oldest segregated public housing projects in the U.S. Now with rising sea levels, the neighborhood’s higher ground has become something else: real estate gold. Wealthy property owners push inland to higher ground, creating a speculators’ market in the historically Black neighborhood previously ignored by developers and policymakers alike.⁣
⁣
🗣️ The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Max Cawley, Director, Climate Research and Engagement, @MuseumOfLifeAndScience in Durham; Dan Rose, Sociology professor at @WSSU1892 and Founder of @HousingJusticeNow; and Jen Runkle, North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies. ⁣
⁣
Please register to join us for this free screening and discussion by going to RiverRunFilm.com —> @riverrunfilm, link in bio. ⁣
⁣
The Indie Lens Pop-Up series is presented by @ITVSindies, INDEPENDENT LENS, and RiverRun.⁣
⁣
#wsnc #indiepopuplens
We are so excited to have award-winning documentary filmmaking Rebekah Fergusson with us this semester as an Artist-In-Residence! ✨ ⁣
⁣
Rebekah is co-teaching the class Digital Storytelling and Social Justice, working with Documentary Film Program students on their film projects, and hosting a campus-wide screening of the documentary, Q-Ball, on February, 28 (more info to come on that!).⁣
⁣
Thank you to the Provost’s Office and @WaketheArts for their support to make residency possible.⁣
⁣
Welcome back students, we’re excited to kick off the Spring 2024 semester. 🎞️ And welcome to Wake Forest, Rebekah!⁣
⁣
#WFUdocfilm @wfuniversity
Apply to the @workingfilms Rural Cinema 2024 program by Tuesday, January 30. ✨ ⁣
⁣
🎥 Repost @southerndocfund⁣
⁣
・・・⁣
Calling all environmental justice leaders! Don’t miss the chance to make a difference in your community through film!⁣
The Rural Cinema program supports environmental and climate justice leaders from small towns and rural areas in using film screenings to raise awareness of environmental issues and protection.⁣
⁣
Learn more and apply in the link in our bio! —> @southerndocfund⁣
⁣
#WFUdocfilm
Tonight! 🚨 ⁣
⁣
Be sure to check out ‘FINDING HOME’, Sidney Beeman’s (MFA ‘22) film on West Virginia PBS @WVpublic this evening! ⁣
⁣
Congratulations Sidney on the ongoing success of your thesis film! 🎥 ✨ ⁣
⁣
Repost @sidneybeemanfilm⁣
⁣
・・・⁣
Some Big News!! You will be able to watch Finding Home from the comfort of your own living room on West Virginia PBS! ⁣
⁣
It’s an incredible honor to share my film on PBS—a dream I’ve had for so long—and now, it’s becoming a reality! Tune in on Friday January the 12th at 8:30pm on WVPB HD to watch the film. ⁣
⁣
Click the link in my bio to find your local WV channel! —> @sidneybeemanfilm 🎞️ 
⁣
#WFUdocfilm #WVpublic #WVPBS
Passing along an exciting opportunity from friend-of-the-program @e16dance! 🎞️ 🎥 

Filmshop is thrilled to announce a new weekly works in progress workshop for independent documentary filmmakers working on films in and about the American South. Docshop South – which is presented in partnership with the @SouthernDocFund – will meet virtually once a week and will feature filmmakers working on non-fiction projects of any length at any stage. Each week filmmakers will share works in progress with other members for feedback. The meetings will also feature panels with industry experts and skill shares for continued filmmaker development.

Applications to join open January 1st and close on January 28th. 🗓️ Weekly meetings will take place on Thursdays at 7:30pm and will run February 15th to May 23rd. Dues are $150 for the season – and a discounted $95 for SDF-makers. 
 
➡️ Apply Here: https://www.thefilmshop.org/docshop-south (Link in story)

Interested in Learning More?

If you are interested in learning more about the program, please enter your name and email address and we will reach out soon.

Name
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.