Andre Singer Retrospective & Masterclass

Documentary Masterclass With André Singer: Lessons from 50 years in documentaries

Thursday, February 22nd
5:20pm – 6:30 pm Masterclass

Hosted at The Avalon Theater, Connecticut Avenue, Chevy Chase

In this masterclass André will discuss how anthropology led him into documentary filmmaking beginning with his time at Granada Television’s landmark series Disappearing World, where he started as a researcher. André has worked his way up from producer and director, to running the BBC Documentary Department’s Independent Unit and setting up Fine Cut – which later became the internationally acclaimed Storyville. André Singer’s significant contributions to the documentary film industry was acknowledged with the appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) Few filmmakers in the world of documentaries have been as influential as Emmy-winning André Singer. He has directed landmark films, produced works by major authors like Werner Herzog, commissioned and exec-ed projects by legends such as D.A. Pennebaker and Frederick Wiseman, and overseen the production of hundreds of documentaries for both cinema and television.

We will learn how as a director and executive producer, he approaches sensitive and historically important subjects in feature documentaries such as the Peabody and Emmy-winning Night Will Fall, to the surreal and astonishing Joshua Oppenheimer diptych The Act of Killing (Oscar-nomination & BAFTA winner) and The Look of Silence (Oscar-nomination) to the intriguing portrait of the last leader of the Soviet Union in Meeting Gorbachev, which André co-directed with Werner Herzog. André will provide insight in working with world renowned filmmakers such as Jean Rouch, Mike Grigsby, DA Pennebaker, Robert Drew, and Fred Wiseman among others. Of particular significance is André’s remarkable 31-year collaboration with Werner Herzog, encompassing an impressive repertoire of 17 productions.

The Films of André Singer: A Retrospective

Special Preview Screenings:

Meeting Zelenskyy

(With interviews by Liev Schreiber)

Wednesday, February 21st
6:00pm
At Landmark’s E Street Cinema, 555 11th St NW, Washington, DC 20004

Get tickets here!

(Those wishing to attend please use the donate button for $15 per ticket through DCIFF with MEETING ZELENSKYY in the COMMENT line)

Reception: 6:00 – 7:00 pm

Screening and Q&A with Director Andre Singer: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST

This event is an exclusive film screening of Meeting Zelenskyy, which will be followed by a panel discussion featuring the following scheduled panelists:

Director André Singer is a British documentary filmmaker and an anthropologist. His award–winning films include the Strangers Abroad series, Khyber, Night Will Fall, Where the Wind Blew, Meeting Gorbachev with Werner Herzog, and Witchcraft Among the Azande. He has worked for several broadcasters, serving as Commissioning editor for Discovery Channel, Europe; Senior Vice-President for Alliance Atlantis; and heading the Independent Documentary Unit at the BBC.

Henry E. Hale: Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, and director of the Elliot School’s Institute for European, Russian and Eurasian Studies.

William B. Taylor: Former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine under Presidents Bush and Obama. Ambassador Taylor was Charge D’’affaires to Ukraine from June 2019 to January 2020 under the Trump Administration, following the recall of Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch.

Until 2019, he was an entertainment super-star and mega successful businessman. Then in a remarkable move, Volodymyr Zelenskyy turned his attention to politics at a time when corruption and economic struggle at home were rife, and the shadow of a sword-rattling neighbour was falling increasingly heavily over Eastern Ukraine. Following a landslide election victory, he found himself Ukraine’s President, and soon after that the Russian threat exploded into a full-scale invasion. Putin expected a quick and easy victory but he miscalculated – the comedy President turned out to be a skilled and determined adversary. Suddenly, the world wanted to know more about this enigmatic man. This film answers those questions – unearthing his story from childhood under USSR domination to the heady days of show business stardom, always surrounded and supported by devoted friends, family and colleagues. Through an extended and personal in depth interview with actor-filmmaker Liev Schreiber, we gain new insights into one of the most extraordinary characters of our age.

Where the Wind Blew (UK/2017/110mins)

Friday, February 23rd
Afternoon
Cafritz Hall, JCC, 1529 16th Street NW, Washington DC

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Reception: 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm EST
Screening & Panel Discussion with Director: 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm EST

Panelists:

Andrew C. Weber is a Senior Fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks’ Janne E. Nolan Center on Strategic Weapons. He was the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense Programs, whose areas of responsibility are US nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs. Appointed by President Obama, he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 18 May 2009 and served until 1 October 2014.

Justin Ahasteen is Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Washington Office which elevates the collective voice of our Navajo people–táá Diné’e–through collaboration with White House, Congressional, and Federal agencies. Mr. Ahasteen is focused on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Navajo-Hopi Indian Relocation and Human, Civil, and International Rights

Cheryl Reed is an author, journalist, and professor who has been a staff reporter and editor at a number of newspapers and magazines, including the Chicago Sun-Times. Her reporting has won several investigative reporting awards, including the Harvard Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting. From the 2016- 2017, she was a Fulbright U.S. Scholar in Kyiv, Ukraine teaching investigative reporting. In 2022, she was a Fulbright Scholar in post-Soviet Central Asia where she wrote about the Soviet Union’s bombing fields.

Film Director Andre Singer, OBE FRAI, is a British documentary film-maker and an anthropologist. He is currently Chief Creative Officer of Spring Films Ltd of London, a Professorial Research Associate at the London School of Oriental and African Studies, and emeritus president of the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland where he was president from 2014 to 2018. He has made many award–winning films, including the Strangers Abroad series, Khyber, Night Will Fall, Where the Wind Blew, Meeting Gorbachev with Werner Herzog, and Witchcraft Among the Azande

The story of how the Cold War super powers, in their race to develop more and more deadly bombs, spent forty years developing weapons capable of wiping out entire nations, while sacrificing their own vulnerable populations in the name of national security. Using archive and testimony from both those affected and those participating in these escalating events, Where the Wind Blew shows not only how ordinary people were allowed to suffer in ignorance, but also how, with personal fortitude and courage they defied their governments. They helped change the course of history by joining forces, first nationally, then across the world to finally triumph against the testing of nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan became, in 1989, the first nation to close its test site, leading the way to an international test ban treaty. The story does not, of course, end with this victory. Despite treaties and promises, today sees the super powers (and some not-so-super powers) once again build up their nuclear arsenals. With global tensions on the increase, and the real fear that nuclear arms are increasingly available to unstable regimes and groups, we more than ever need reminding about the lessons of history. We may have become complacent about nuclear testing – but the Doomsday Clock which warns us about the threat of how nuclear global destruction takes us closer to Armageddon, is ticking steadily towards midnight.