Join us for a two-hour, free workshop sponsored by Social Justice Film Festival & Institute, featuring documentary filmmaker and writer Rustin Thompson, where he will present an overview of his refreshing new approach to documentary filmmaking.

Thompson will demonstrate how you can make a feature documentary with a one- or two-person team by eliminating the costly barriers between you and your story; removing the need for bloated crews, flocks of assistants, and executive overseers; and allowing you to get close to your characters and subject matter.

He will show you how to use a few simple, accessible tools and techniques to engage with the aesthetic possibilities of the medium, its creative opportunities and its satisfying rewards of giving back to the world. Thompson will introduce key themes from his book, Get Close: Lean Team Documentary Filmmaking (OUP, 2019), which includes the conception, planning, producing, storytelling, funding, filming, writing, editing, and distributing of a feature-length documentary.

The workshop will include short film clips and a brief equipment demo. Copies of Thompson’s book will be available for purchase or please consider buying from your favorite local independent bookstore. For those looking for a deeper immersion in lean team documentary film-making, Thompson is teaching a 5-week course at Seattle Central Community College starting Sept. 23rd.

This workshop is free, and open to all. Free parking available.