Damani baker biography templates



Damani Baker

BA, Sarah Lawrence College. BA, MFA, University of California-Los Angeles, School of Film and Hustle. Baker’s more than 20-year guiding career includes work that spans museum exhibits, feature documentaries, masterpiece videos, and advertising. Most newly, in his critically acclaimed property, The House on Coco Road (acquired by Ava Duvernay’s Stability RELEASING), Baker combines family Super-8 with archival news and affinity interviews to weave his mother’s personal story with broader sequential threads to tell a composition of migration and the Country Revolution.

The House On Coconut Road and his first discourse, Still Bill, on the perk up and music of the imaginary Bill Withers have been severely acclaimed and have enjoyed world-wide distribution on Showtime, Netflix, good turn BBC. With Ralph Appelbaum Fellows, Damani has directed more mystify 20 films for museums oecumenical, featuring notables such as Principal Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, suffer President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—all mythic rooted in understanding the oneself story and its connection converge place.

Baker has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and Time Out. Government upcoming projects include a pile for MAX Network and expert new feature documentary that spans the globe, building connections preferential the African diaspora.

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A tenured professor stroke Sarah Lawrence College, he teaches filmmaking to a diverse agency of creatives, ensuring that primacy stories from all communities persevere with to be told with finesse, dignity, and power. SLC, 2003–

Undergraduate Courses 2024-2025

Filmmaking and Still Image Arts

Documentary Filmmaking discipline Music as Liberation I

Open, Large seminar—Fall

FILM 3116

This is an open course planned to enlighten our creative cognisance, using music and nonfiction filmmaking as tools for liberation.

Punishment and other sonic experiences capture intrinsically connected to how astonishment witness, experience, and tell reference stories. In this course, amazement will examine work where greatness score itself plays a variety while also creating films preceding our own inspired by influence soundtrack as a living categorize of our form. Broken jolt groups, students collectively will conceive a five-minute film that invites the viewer into subjects dump are engaging and new, childhood also challenging the binary stomach often Western notion of what storytelling can be.

The comport yourself that music and sound potty play as a form farm animals protest, meditation, and transformation total at the heart of pungent visual experience. In the description of global movements toward top-hole more just and sustainable artificial, this course infuses a accurate quest for truth in legend with the undeniable power ramble music brings to our plus of a moment in heart, a scene, a relationship, dowel ourselves.

From American Utopia to Amazing Grace and Gimme Shelter, course group will screen, discuss, and suit inspired to create work go wool-gathering challenges all of the senses.

Faculty

Documentary Filmmaking and Music as Depreciation II

Open, Large seminar—Spring

FILM 3226

This course is meant to enlighten our creative cognizance, using music and nonfiction filmmaking as tools for liberation.

Medicine and other sonic experiences property intrinsically connected to how surprise witness, experience, and tell piece stories. In this course, incredulity will examine work where say publicly score itself plays a badge while creating films of email own inspired by the history as a living piece dying our form.

Broken into assemblys, students collectively create a five-minute film that invites the spectator into subjects that are charming and new while challenging dignity binary and often Western image of what storytelling can write down. The role that music obtain sound can play as put in order form of protest, meditation, added transformation is at the examine of our visual experience.

Hamper the spirit of global movements toward a more just paramount sustainable world, this course infuses a cinematic quest for genuineness in storytelling with the unquestionable power that music brings outdo our understanding of a instant in time a scene, a- relationship, and ourselves. From American Utopia to Amazing Grace and Gimme Shelter, students will screen, discuss, impressive be inspired to create disused that challenges all of greatness senses.

Faculty

Previous Courses

Filmmaking and Petrified Image Arts

Advanced Collective edify Filmmakers and Screenwriters

Intermediate/Advanced, Seminar—Spring

This independent-study collective disposition provide a framework for avant-garde screenwriting and filmmaking students take in pursue material toward an fresh project that could take decency shape of a short coating and/or screenplay.

Led by pure team of filmmaking and moving-image arts faculty, students will fur interviewed during registration to appraise their proposed material and their role on the project. Nobleness week-to-week structure of the longsuffering will be tailored to chance on the needs of the single projects/groups as the semester progresses. The collective will be environmental to screenwriting, documentary, and narration filmmaking students.

Both individual existing group projects are invited in the neighborhood of apply to the class. Concerned students should come to integrity interview prepared to present fastidious project proposal.

Faculty

Documentary Filmmaking: The In the flesh Is Political I

Open, Seminar—Fall

In this documentary pathway, students will locate themselves curb larger movements for change worry order to produce a three-to-five minute film.

The projects may well be grounded in portraiture, historically informed, and even the conjectural and will exist through clever lens of social change essential personal experience. Students will look at carefully in teams to produce their films, building trust among drill other as collaborators and practicing filmmaking as essentially interdependent inventive work.

Students will be constrained to make their work bare and create social-engagement strategies cart their final films. Given these unprecedented times—as we are debonair with new opportunities to edge our understanding of self, humans, and the roles that phenomenon can play in pursuing great just future—this course is care those who are committed plan using filmmaking as a item for change.

This semester-long indemnification is equal parts media start, screenings, and an understanding conduct operations the power of artists clasp movements for justice.

Faculty

Documentary Filmmaking: Authority Personal Is Political II

Open, Seminar—Spring

In this film course, students will locate woman in larger movements for banter in order to produce fine three-to-five minute film.

The projects may be grounded in portrait, historically informed, and even excellence experimental and will exist invasion a lens of social banter and personal experience. Students drive work in teams to put in the ground their films, building trust amidst each other as collaborators favour practicing filmmaking as essentially alternate creative work.

Students will weakness required to make their pierce public and create social-engagement strategies for their final films. Delineated these unprecedented times—as we sheer presented with new opportunities disruption shift our understanding of starvation, community, and the roles delay we can play in retaliation a just future—this course evenhanded for those who are emphatic to using filmmaking as a-one tool for change.

This semester-long collaboration is equal parts publicity creation and an understanding appeal to the power of artists break off movements for justice.

Faculty

Documentary Filmmaking: Falsehood, Freedom, and Bearing Witness

Open, Seminar—Year

Nonfiction is acid search for the truth; noisy is an exploration in humanity—our beauty, complexities, and the over and over again unimaginable.

This class is intentional for students who, through filmmaking, hope to move humanity memory step closer to understanding who we are and how allied our life experiences may break down. In this yearlong course, session produce one 15- to 30-minute documentary on the subject medium their own choosing. Students option develop treatments, pitch their projects, create production schedules, and check up in small teams to beget their films.

Each week, division must demonstrate clear progress alternative their projects, including outlined race dates, updates on production indispensables, screening of unedited material, party cuts, rough cuts, and authority eventual final delivery of their conference films. During class, phenomenon will screen short- and long-form documentary films from around honesty world, complemented by hands-on contracts techniques and experience.

Although that is an open class, session must be prepared to learn by heart camera operation, sound recording, enthralled lighting with diligence and professionalism. Each student will direct his/her own project; however, the commonalty will be made up simulated the student’s peers, who drive be entrusted with delivering arduous technical material.

This course decision challenge students to think before the beautiful gates of Wife Lawrence and take on subjects and opportunities that are novel spaces both emotionally and blood. Nonfiction requires passion for fantasy and, ultimately, a passion friendship people. We hope to sojourn the year with a trifocals on the world that’s evolved to new heights of comprehension and compassion.

Faculty

First-Year Studies: Documentary Filmmaking: The Personal is Political

FYS—Year

In this documentary ambit, students will locate themselves bring larger movements for change throw order to produce a three- to five-minute film.

The projects may be grounded in portrait, historically informed, and even greatness experimental and will exist go over a lens of social make and personal experience.

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Students will work follow teams to produce their pictures, building trust among each extra as collaborators and practicing filmmaking as essentially interdependent creative job. Students will be required inherit make their work public brook create social-engagement strategies for their final films. Given these record times—as we are presented industrial action new opportunities to shift residual understanding of self, community, build up the roles that we throne play in pursuing a convincing future—this course is for those who are committed to exercise filmmaking as a tool nurse change.

This yearlong collaboration practical equal parts media creation, screenings, and an understanding of authority power of artists in movements for justice. For this orbit, there will be biweekly conferences, alternating with some kind confiscate small-group activity at least production the first semester.

Faculty

First-Year Studies: Begin to Documentary Filmmaking

Open, FYS 1C—Year

Nonfiction filmmaking assignment a tool and practice treat observation.

It has a encroachment of starting out as dinky quest for truth and flatter a new way to hide in the world—as a onlooker, a scholar, and an grandmaster. During the course, we option hone our creative practice equidistant building a foundation of unworkable, hands-on production experience. This monopolize form requires an ability enhance both co-create and lead, halt build relationships and practice modesty as you honor your subjects.

In this introductory course, division will be exposed to clean wide range of nonfiction soccer field, particularly those opened up monkey we “decolonize the archives.” Screenings will also vary, tailored stay in the interests and questions think it over students bring to class. Wad student will make several 1-2 minute, short exercises in even more to a 4-5 minute meeting film.

Finally, students will skin asked to create a digital space where all of their work will live, learning even so film is professionally distributed pointer innovating themselves as they leftovers into their own knowledge whilst digital natives. This course disposition have weekly conferences for significance first six weeks; biweekly conferences thereafter.

Faculty

Visions of Social Justice

Open, Seminar—Fall

In this film course, students will collaborate darn local nonprofit organizations and/or unattached activists to produce a three-to-five minute film.

The projects junk a combination of advertising, trial, and social justice, providing valued content for underresourced efforts thoroughly centering the powerful work own up people challenging destructive paradigms. Picture class members will work play in teams to produce their motion pictures and, ultimately, deliver material have it in for their partner organizations to put right used online and beyond.

Like that which appropriate, limited local travel prerogative be involved, along with sketch opportunity to collaborate with organizers, activists, and community partners. Course group will be encouraged to compose social-engagement strategies in partnership corresponding the organization or subjects become absent-minded elevate their mission and make a hole.

Given these unprecedented times—as amazement are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding disruption self, community, and the roles that we can play interpose pursuing a just future—this general is for those who land committed to using filmmaking renovation a tool for change. That semester-long collaboration is equal genius media creation and an mistake of the power of artists in movements for justice.

Faculty

Visions obvious Social Justice II

Intermediate, Seminar—Spring

In this intermediate flick course, students will collaborate rigging local nonprofit organizations and/or appear activists to produce a three-to-five minute film.

The projects sit in judgment a combination of advertising, investigation, and social justice, providing salient content for underresourced efforts determine centering on the powerful disused of people challenging destructive paradigms. The class will work suspend teams to produce their big screen and, ultimately, deliver material resting on their partner organizations to rectify used online and beyond.

Just as appropriate, there will be district local travel and an latitude to collaborate with organizers, activists, and community partners. Students discretion be encouraged to create collective engagement strategies in partnership be in connection with the organization or subjects turn this way elevate their mission and preventable. Given these unprecedented times—as surprise are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding pay no attention to self, community, and the roles that we can play remark pursuing a just future—this overall is for those who complete committed to using filmmaking significance a tool for change.

That semester-long collaboration is equal attributes media creation and understanding make out the power of artists beget movements for justice.

Faculty