The Summer CHA Programs in Documentary Filmmaking, Interdisciplinary Design and Screenwriting

Program Details

Since 2016, we have partnered with the Chicago Housing Authority to offer six-week intensives for Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) youth participating in One Summer Chicago. The learn-and-earn model provides youth, primarily from Chicago’s South and West Sides, with an opportunity to get paid while learning hard skills; opening new economic pathways within film/media industries. This year’s programs will be taught in-person on DePaul’s Loop Campus from June 26th – August 3rd, 2021.

CDM is looking to hire a Graduate Assistant Program Administrator and several Graduate Student Mentors with skills in one of the following areas: filmmaking, screenwriting, game & graphic design, and photography.

Deadline to apply: Sunday, May 23rd.

Role of Student Mentor and Student Assistant Program Administrator

Each program for CHA youth is designed to be a transformative experience for participants and DePaul student mentors. As a mentor, you’ll spend quality time with youth from across the city learning about their lived experiences while imparting knowledge you’ve acquired through DePaul classes and your own personal development.

The role of the student mentor includes: participating in youth orientation; attending training workshops; being present during all program hours (Mon-Thurs, 9:30 am - 3:30 pm); fostering leadership qualities through team-building and conflict resolution exercises; and building self-esteem and self-agency through the vehicle of socially conscious storytelling in a documentary, screenwriting, graphic/game design, or photography format.

The Student Assistant Program Administrator role will be to work closely with the program director in overseeing the success of all four programs. In this role, they will get to interact with youth from the four concentration areas. They’ll be asked to attend some of their field trips and onsite production days.

Documentary Production

The School of Cinematic Arts six-week intensive Documentary Filmmaking Program prepares CHA youth to become future filmmakers in documentary production. The intensive will create a collaborative environment with university faculty and graduate students where Chicago-area, female-identifying youth (ages 15-20), learn valuable media skills in film/media that provide a voice for social issues that concern them most. The program will demonstrate how young women can employ media in positive ways and usher in a group of future female and student leaders who understand (and advocate for) the challenges young women face.

CHA youth guided by School of Cinematic Arts faculty and graduate student mentors, are immersed in pre-production, production, and post-production with the goal of creating four short distinct documentaries.

Screenwriting

The School of Cinematic Arts six-week Screenwriting Program provides CHA youth with the skills to write screenplays designed for television or digital streaming platforms. Through a series of lectures and discussions, participants will be introduced to the formal art of screenwriting. They will apply their knowledge in crafting two short screenplays that will be workshopped over the course of the intensive.

The topics covered include screenplay format, visual writing style, scene craft, story structure, character development, and dialogue. Supported by accomplished filmmakers and graduate student mentors, CHA teens will workshop a group screenplay written in teams of four or five as well as an individual original short screenplay. Throughout the program, participants will screen a variety of curated short films with social themes relevant to youth for story analysis and discussion.

Game & Graphic Design

The CHA Program in Game & Graphic Design seeks to work with youth to facilitate ways for them to express their voice through a tour of tools and media and then process that result in interactive experiences. The exploration of design tools include journaling, interactive fiction, digital painting, digital audio, 2d animation, and how to bring them all together in graphic design and game experiences. The program will provide CHA participants with an open-source creator’s toolbox composed of various applications and tools that can be run from a flash drive on any computer a participant can access.

Guided by faculty and student mentors, CHA youth will explore various processes that reveal their creative personality, how and where it is strongest, and how to use that to drive a final presentation/creation that will be shared with their community. Together, they will explore various locations and environments and ways of expressing the experiences of those environments via our digital media and interaction tools. Participants will audit their communities for issues they can address and explore ways of making these issues accessible and experience-able by others.

Photography

Through two lenses—the lens of a camera and the lens of their life experiences—CHA participants gain technical photography skills and learn the power of their personal narratives. CHA youth are trained by award-winning faculty, mentored by graduate students, and visited by industry guest speakers. They participate in photo meetups to get hands-on training and build community. The program is also designed to expose participants to photography as a career option in several genres including portraiture, commercial, fine art and journalism. Every assignment will utilize a new skill to develop cumulative knowledge of professional standards in imaging. Students will be challenged to think conceptually about their own visual development while acquiring technical skills. The program culminates with a final portfolio showcasing their artistry and original voice.

For additional questions email CHASummerProgram@depaul.edu

Faculty Bios

Michael X. Flores

Principle Investigator/Program Administrator

Michael worked as an assistant editor on Tamra Davis’s documentary Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival; on Lisa Leeman’s documentary One Lucky Elephant (2010), which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival; and on Bess Kargman’s documentary First Position (2011), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. He then edited Nick Broomfield’s documentary Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (2011), which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival; Terri Hanauer’s narrative feature Sweet Talk (2012); Lisa and Laura Wilson’s documentary Last Will. & Testament(2012), which was executive produced by Roland Emmerich; and Kimberly Bautista’s documentary Justice for My Sister (2012), which won Best Documentary at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival. He also worked on Tommy O'Haver's music video for Matthew Dear; on Eddie Alcazar’s documentary Tapia (2013), which premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival; and on Neil Berkeley’s documentary Harmontown (2014), which premiered at South By Southwest.

Contact Michael

 

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Liliane Calfee

Program Director

Founder of Soleil Media, Liliane Calfee has crafted storytelling campaigns via film and photography for over a decade. In 2015, she accepted a faculty position at DePaul. The CHA program in documentary filmmaking was designed based on her experience successfully employing digital media to raise awareness on important issues affecting underserved populations and her conviction that a gender approach to community development is essential to creating lasting change. This viewpoint was cultivated through years of working in regions as diverse as the immigrant rich projects of Paris, the crowded city of Dakar, Senegal, and small rural villages of Eastern Kenya.

Contact Liliane

 

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Documentary Filmmaking Program Faculty Mentors

James Choi

James Choi is a prolific, award-winning filmmaker with over a decade of film industry experience in Los Angeles having worked in representation (Innovative Artists and The Firm), production (Sarkissian Productions, Rush Hour) and digital media (Ifilm.com/MTV Networks). As an independent producer, James has produced two feature films from first time directors that have premiered at South by Southwest. “Made in China” which won the Grand Jury Award for Best Film and distributed by IFC Films and “Saint Frances” which makes its world premiere at South by Southwest in 2019. James was selected as one of Newcity’s Film 50 – the leaders of Chicago’s film culture of 2018. Having been in the forefront of the micro independent film movement in the last decade, James has produced and directed numerous films that have screen widely all around the world, winning awards and receiving distribution. James has a deep passion for independent films and constantly working to break new ground in our digital age.

Contact James

 

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Game & Graphic Design Program Faculty Mentor

Allen Turner

A game designer, storyteller, artist, dancer, and author of Black/Lakota/Irish descent, Allen Turner believes in the power of play and story as fundamental, powerful medicines which shape our sense of self. After working in the video game industry and freelance storytelling for over 15 years, Allen focused his design, storytelling, and cultural experience to create and publish a table-top RPG called “Ehdrigohr: The Roleplaying Game.” The game pulls from the myths and folklore of indigenous and tribal peoples from all over the world while exploring allegorical battles with depression, solitude, identity, and erasure. He has continued to explore the play conversations initiated in “Ehdrigohr” on his blog via fiction, musings and co-creating a new personal project, “Arboretum Imaginarium.” Currently, Allen teaches game design at DePaul University, as faculty for the School of Design, as well as using design concepts as a tool for examining personal narratives and empowerment with local urban youth.

Contact Allen

 

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Screenwriting Program Faculty Mentor

Patrick Wimp

Patrick has written and produced films, commercials, and TV series all over the world. He is a co-founder and owner of Digital Hydra, an Emmy award-winning production company that has crafted creative content for a variety of companies including Facebook, HBO, McDonald's, Nike, and Netflix. His work has screened at the Chicago International TV Festival, New York Television Festival, Cannes International Short Film Corner, and others. Pat was named Best Writer at SeriesFest Season 3 and Best of Fest at the 2017 International Television Festival as writer and co-creator of the indie TV series "Public Housing Unit." Pat's work focuses on creating emotionally impactful, commercially viable stories built around authentic and diverse characters.

Contact Patrick

 

CHA Summer Youth Program Graduate Student Mentor/Student Assistant Program Administrator Application

The Documentary, Screenwriting, Game & Graphic Design and Photography Programs are six week intensives designed for Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) youth participating in One Summer Chicago. This year’s intensive will be held in-person from June 26 to August 3, 2021.

CDM is looking to hire a graduate Student Assistant Program Administrator and several Graduate Student Mentors with skills in one of the following areas: documentary filmmaking, screenwriting, game & graphic design and photography.

Priority will be given to students currently enrolled in one of the following graduate CDM programs: MFA Documentary, MFA or MS Film and Television, MFA Screenwriting, MA Digital Communication and Media Arts, MS in Game Programming, or MFA Game Design. However, undergraduate students with great enthusiasm for the program and position are welcome to apply.

Specific skills required for each of the positions can be found below.

Applicant must be available for all days and times of the program schedule.

Apply

Program Schedule

*Applicant Must Be Available for All Program Days* Program hours are 9:30 am – 3:30 pm.

• Week 1: Mon, June 28 - Thurs, July 1
• Week 2: Mon, July 5 – Thurs, July 8
• Week 3: Mon, July 12 – Thurs, July 15
• Week 4: Mon, July 19 – Thurs, July 22
• Week 5: Mon, July 26 – Thurs, July 29
• Week 6: Mon, Aug 2 – Fri, Aug 6

Required Skills

Student Assistant Program Administrator

This position requires strong organizational skills and production knowledge. The student assistant program administrator will work directly with the program director to support the three CHA programs in a variety of logistical capacities including updating rosters, submitting payroll information, setting up potential field trips, processing expenses, and potentially coordinating graduation day activities.

Documentary Production Graduate Student Mentor

Student mentors should have working knowledge/competencies in of all aspects of production including: pre-production, production (camera), and post-production (editing software).

Screenwriting Graduate Student Mentor

Student mentors should have a strong handle on the craft of screenwriting. They should be comfortable working within a group to provide guidance and ensure projects are completed on time.

Game and Graphic Design Mentors

Student mentors should have a working knowledge of some graphic design tools (Illustrator/Photoshop), some skill with 3d Modeling or traditional art, and/or a working knowledge of the Unreal engine such that they could teach a session or two on their strongest skill area. They should be comfortable working with youth who have a widely varying range of writing and technical ability. They should also be comfortable guiding and helping students to complete projects.

Photography Mentors

Student mentors should have a strong command of DSLR cameras including how to manually control ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. They should also have working knowledge in Lightroom and/or Photoshop.

Compensation

Student mentors and assistants will be paid $16.00 per hour and must be available all dates/times of the program.

For additional questions email CHASummerProgram@depaul.edu.

Applications for Summer 2021 are due Sunday, May 23rd, 2021.