A Penn State assistant professor and award-winning filmmaker will participate in a virtual panel titled “Documenting History Through Documentary,” which will be presented by the Hollywood Radio and Television Society at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 4.
Boaz Dvir, who has directed and produced such critically acclaimed documentaries as “Jessie’s Dad” and “A Wing and a Prayer,” will be joined on the panel by Blackfin senior vice president Jordan Rosenblum and “The World Wars” director Rick Lopez.
“I’m a big fan of Rick and Jordan’s thought-provoking documentaries and Hollywood Radio and Television Society’s wonderful events,” said Dvir, who teaches journalism in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications at Penn State. “I look forward to discussing contextualizing current events through historical perspectives that nonfiction filmmakers often bring into sharp focus.”
Event co-chairs Frederic Richter, a writer and consultant, and Simon Taufique, a producer and composer, will announce the panel moderator in coming days.
“We believe historical documentaries can provide insight into contemporary challenges,” said Richter, who has worked on such nonfiction TV series as CNN’s “Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury” and serves as co-president of Hollywood Radio and Television Society’s New York chapter. “We’re very excited to have an opportunity like this to discuss with top filmmakers and executives how documentaries shape people’s understanding of history today.”
Dvir, who tells the stories of ordinary people who transform into trailblazers in such recent and forthcoming documentaries as “Cojot” and “Discovering Gloria,” also directs the Holocaust, Genocide, and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State.
Viewing information about the event may be found online.