Truth Be Told – 17th Annual Documentary Film Festival
Anthology Film Archives, 32 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10003
Tuesday, May 21, 2024, 6:00 to 10:00PM (EDT)
Accessibility note: There is no elevator to the second floor theater where we will be screening this year’s films.
An Evening of Original Documentary Shorts
The Graduate Certificate in Documentary Media Studies is proud to present Truth Be Told, its seventeenth annual festival of original short films made by students in the class of 2024. In solidarity with the Gaza Solidarity Encampment and the students who were arrested by the NYPD, this year’s Annual Truth Be Told Festival will be held off-campus. We hope you will be able to join us at Anthology Film Archives on May 21st.
Each work is the result of a year of intensive study in documentary cinema production, history, theory, and aesthetics. Hosted by Lana Lin, Director of the Documentary Media Studies Graduate Certificate Program at The New School. Co-produced with Documentary Program Associates Adriana de Lucio (Media Studies ’24) and Johann Yamin (Media Studies ’24).
The screenings will be followed by a faculty-led Q&A with the filmmakers and a light reception. Admission is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Truth Be Told 2024 Screening Program
Lananh Chu – The Melting
Jordan Salyers – Dark Chambers
Zara Franke – Chaos is the Method
Samuel Döring – Orgy Every Other Day
Bernhard Weber – Untold Concerts
B.A. Williams – If I’m Being Honest
The Melting by Lananh Chu
Synopsis: Commemorating the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in the U.K. in 2019, The Melting addresses the unbearable catastrophe of migration and thermal violence.
Lananh Chu is a Vietnamese writer and maker. She/they is unwaveringly supporting the Palestinian liberation.
Dark Chambers by Jordan Salyers
Synopsis: In the shadow of covid-19, the filmmaker and his mother huddle around their family photo album, updating old media and transcribing written histories. But in preserving these dark chambers, what goes to rot?
Born to a singular, single-mother, Kanette Salyers, Jordan Salyers flunked out of college in 2011 and enlisted in the US Navy soon after. He has a lot of thoughts about that. He lives with his partner Victoria, their cat Uma, in a beautiful Ridgewood apartment with a blue door.
Chaos is the Method by Zara Franke
Synopsis: This documentary is about a venue called Chaos Computer that closed in 2023. This venue and its life cycle are portrayed in this documentary in poetic and visceral ways rather than factual. The venue holds within it the shows of younger collectives and participants to show that DIY never fully dies, it just changes shape. The chaos of viscerality, vibrancy and art that functions on underground levels cannot be contained. The soul of DIY is chaos in its purest form.
Zara Franke (they/them) studied anthropology and film and is originally from Berlin, Germany. Zara has been hosting shows from their living room and small DIY venues since 2017 and started a collective called “Abendbrot” that has become a NYC staple since 2022. They have had residencies and been a part of collectives and DIY venues like Millenium Film, Light Industry, The Palace (Poland) and 8ball. They are a musician, poet, filmmaker, organizer, and editor. Now they are trying their hand at documentary through the Doc Studies Program at The New School.
Orgy Every Other Day by Samuel Döring
Synopsis: In basements and lofts NYC’s queer underground sex party community has created spaces where people can play and enjoy orgies in a safe and semi-public environment. The film explores what these places mean to people, where these parties originate from and why it might be important for them to remain underground.
Samuel Döring is a filmmaker, curator, and podcast host. They graduated with a BA in Media Studies at Bauhaus-University Weimar and worked as a cultural programmer at Goethe-Institut Senegal and as a program coordinator at the International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film.
Untold Concerts by Bernhard Weber
Synopsis: Untold Concerts delves into NYC’s musical heart through the stories of diverse music enthusiasts, showcasing their struggles and triumphs amidst the city’s relentless pace. Combining interviews, live performances, and a montage of NYC’s landmarks, the film celebrates the unifying power of music in the bustling metropolis.
Bernhard Weber (he/him), from Vienna, Austria, holds a degree in media technology and years of experience in media production. Driven to increase social recognition for musicians, he explores the power of film, drawing inspiration from his passion for music, and focuses on NYC’s vibrant music scene.
If I’m Being Honest by B.A. Williams
Synopsis: A motherless filmmaker interrogates their origin story, discovering their estranged mother’s painful truths. In an attempt to shape the future, the film weaves together a vulnerable letter to their son and a recorded phone call with their mother while scenes of their domestic life paint the background.
B.A. Williams (they/she) is a wife, mother, and storyteller from East Long Beach, CA. Their work focuses on all things “other” with a heavy emphasis on Blackness, mothering, and queerness.
The New School Doc Studies 