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Reel Voices

Staff & Mentors

	Pat Clark, Lead Instructor patclark[at]sdaff[dot]org Pat Clark is an award winning artist and filmmaker who traded the cornfields of Nebraska for the sunny beaches of San Diego. Along the way he stopped in Denver and worked for Starz, the Denver Nuggets and even dabbled in reality TV. Pat is excited to join SDAFF and share his passion for storytelling as the lead instructor of the Reel Voices program.
	Joseph Mangat, Assistant Instructor joseph[at]sdaff[dot]org
	Jini Shim, Program Coordinator jini[at]sdaff[dot]org

Mentorship Program

The Reel Voices mentorship program provides its students a chance to connect with a working professional in the film industry. We believe that this serves as an invaluable resource for the student to be mentored by someone who can give real world advice. Students are encouraged to stay in touch with their mentors even after the program is over in order to stay engaged and receive further guidance in filmmaking.

So How Does It All Work?

In mid-May, about 8 to 10 students will be selected to participate in the Reel Voices program. Then, each student will be paired up with a filmmaker who will act as the student's mentor throughout this summer-long course. We prefer that the mentor is local to San Diego and is able to meet in person with the student, but in the past, mentors who were in far locations were still able to deliver a successful mentorship by maintaining frequent and consistent communication via email, Skype, and/or phone.

We expect the mentors to communicate with their student at least once a week throughout the summer program. Classes are Mondays and Wednesdays from 10am to 1pm, starting June 20th and ending Aug 13th. Then, students will set up their own time to work on editing the film (using Final Cut Pro) until the end of August.

Both the student and mentor are expected to work hard and actively stay in touch in order to create a fruitful mentor-student relationship.

Some Expectations to Note

• Participate in a pre- and post- program survey. This is to keep both the staff and the mentor in check and will also be used by the Reel Voices staff for program development.
• Schedule a "Skype-In" session for a Reel Voices class: for one of the class sessions, we will arrange an opportunity for the mentors and students to meet via Skype. We hope that you can work out a time to be available for this session. It will most likely be during the 1st or 2nd week of class.
• Be helpful: students hold high anticipation in being able to gain knowledge from a professional filmmaker. Maintain consistent contact, share knowledge & advice—all that will help the student become a better storyteller/filmmaker, and finish his or her short documentary.
• Be in touch with staff: The program coordinator will frequently update you with class agenda, schedule, students' progress, etc. In turn, please reply with any matter of concern, advice, and/or comments.

Mentor Benefits

• $200 stipend at the end of the program
• An All-Fest Pass to the 13th annual SDAFF in November
• Recognition in various Reel Voices credits

Our Mentors from 2011:

• Mina T. Son
• Kathy Sloane
• Dean Yamada
• Bao Tran
• Eric Byler
• Nadine Truong
• David Chien: "...Encouraging and providing advice to someone who is new to filmmaking is the most rewarding aspect of the Reel Voices mentorship. Every filmmaker knows that one can only learn effectively by shooting as soon and as much as possible."
• Jeff Mizushima: "...hope to provide guidance and support to the up and coming filmmakers of Reel Voices."
• Aaron Hosé: "...It is an honor to be mentoring for the 2011 Reel Voices program of the San Diego Asian Film Festival. One of the beautiful things about documentaries is the ability to provide a voice for people who would otherwise be voiceless. My hope is that the students leave RV empowered, not only to create films they are truly passionate about, but to also continue producing quality films that 'make a difference' for others."
• Sara Newens: "...I am eager to share the knowledge that I have received. Also, it always valuable to reflect on one's creative approach, and sharing that with a mentee allows for time to really think about and articulate my process."