BA, Sarah Lawrence College. BA, MFA, University of California-Los Angeles, School of Film and Television. Baker’s more than 20-year directing career includes work that spans museum exhibits, feature documentaries, music videos, and advertising. Most recently, in his critically acclaimed feature, The House on Coco Road (acquired by Ava Duvernay’s ARRAY RELEASING), Baker combines family Super-8 with archival news and family interviews to weave his mother’s personal story with broader historical threads to tell a story of migration and the Grenada Revolution. The House On Coco Road and his first feature, Still Bill, on the life and music of the legendary Bill Withers have been critically acclaimed and have enjoyed worldwide distribution on Showtime, Netflix, and BBC. With Ralph Appelbaum Associates, Damani has directed more than 20 films for museums worldwide, featuring notables such as President Bill Clinton, Kofi Annan, and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf—all stories rooted in understanding the human story and its connection to place. Baker has been featured in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Los Angeles Times, and Time Out. His upcoming projects include a series for MAX Network and a new feature documentary that spans the globe, building connections within the African diaspora. A tenured professor at Sarah Lawrence College, he teaches filmmaking to a diverse group of creatives, ensuring that the stories from all communities continue to be told with grace, dignity, and power. SLC, 2003–
Filmmaking and Moving Image Arts
Intermediate/Advanced, Seminar—Spring
This independent-study collective will provide a framework for advanced screenwriting and filmmaking students to pursue material toward an advanced project that could take the shape of a short film and/or screenplay. Led by a team of filmmaking and moving-image arts faculty, students will be interviewed during registration to evaluate their proposed material and their role on the project. The week-to-week structure of the collective will be tailored to meet the needs of the individual projects/groups as the semester progresses. The collective will be open to screenwriting, documentary, and fiction filmmaking students. Both individual and group projects are invited to apply to the class. Interested students should come to the interview prepared to present a project proposal.
Faculty
Open, Large seminar—Fall
FILM 3116
This is an open course designed to enlighten our creative consciousness, using music and nonfiction filmmaking as tools for liberation. Music and other sonic experiences are intrinsically connected to how we witness, experience, and tell nonfiction stories. In this course, we will examine work where the score itself plays a character while also creating films of our own inspired by the soundtrack as a living piece of our form. Broken into groups, students collectively will create a five-minute film that invites the viewer into subjects that are engaging and new, while also challenging the binary and often Western notion of what storytelling can be. The role that music and sound can play as a form of protest, meditation, and transformation are at the heart of our visual experience. In the spirit of global movements toward a more just and sustainable world, this course infuses a cinematic quest for truth in storytelling with the undeniable power that music brings to our understanding of a moment in time, a scene, a relationship, and ourselves. From American Utopia to Amazing Grace and Gimme Shelter, students will screen, discuss, and be inspired to create work that challenges all of the senses.
Faculty
Open, Large seminar—Spring
FILM 3226
This course is designed to enlighten our creative consciousness, using music and nonfiction filmmaking as tools for liberation. Music and other sonic experiences are intrinsically connected to how we witness, experience, and tell nonfiction stories. In this course, we will examine work where the score itself plays a character while creating films of our own inspired by the soundtrack as a living piece of our form. Broken into groups, students collectively create a five-minute film that invites the viewer into subjects that are engaging and new while challenging the binary and often Western notion of what storytelling can be. The role that music and sound can play as a form of protest, meditation, and transformation is at the heart of our visual experience. In the spirit of global movements toward a more just and sustainable world, this course infuses a cinematic quest for truth in storytelling with the undeniable power that music brings to our understanding of a moment in time a scene, a relationship, and ourselves. From American Utopia to Amazing Grace and Gimme Shelter, students will screen, discuss, and be inspired to create work that challenges all of the senses.
Faculty
Open, Seminar—Fall
In this documentary course, students will locate themselves in larger movements for change in order to produce a three-to-five minute film. The projects may be grounded in portraiture, historically informed, and even the experimental and will exist through a lens of social change and personal experience. Students will work in teams to produce their films, building trust among each other as collaborators and practicing filmmaking as essentially interdependent creative work. Students will be required to make their work public and create social-engagement strategies for their final films. Given these unprecedented times—as we are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding of self, community, and the roles that we can play in pursuing a just future—this course is for those who are committed to using filmmaking as a tool for change. This semester-long collaboration is equal parts media creation, screenings, and an understanding of the power of artists in movements for justice.
Faculty
Open, Seminar—Spring
In this documentary course, students will locate themselves in larger movements for change in order to produce a three-to-five minute film. The projects may be grounded in portraiture, historically informed, and even the experimental and will exist through a lens of social change and personal experience. Students will work in teams to produce their films, building trust among each other as collaborators and practicing filmmaking as essentially interdependent creative work. Students will be required to make their work public and create social-engagement strategies for their final films. Given these unprecedented times—as we are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding of self, community, and the roles that we can play in pursuing a just future—this course is for those who are committed to using filmmaking as a tool for change. This semester-long collaboration is equal parts media creation and an understanding of the power of artists in movements for justice.
Faculty
First-Year Studies—Year
In this documentary course, students will locate themselves in larger movements for change in order to produce a three- to five-minute film. The projects may be grounded in portraiture, historically informed, and even the experimental and will exist through a lens of social change and personal experience. Students will work in teams to produce their films, building trust among each other as collaborators and practicing filmmaking as essentially interdependent creative work. Students will be required to make their work public and create social-engagement strategies for their final films. Given these unprecedented times—as we are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding of self, community, and the roles that we can play in pursuing a just future—this course is for those who are committed to using filmmaking as a tool for change. This yearlong collaboration is equal parts media creation, screenings, and an understanding of the power of artists in movements for justice. For this course, there will be biweekly conferences, alternating with some kind of small-group activity at least for the first semester.
Faculty
Open, Seminar—Fall
In this documentary course, students will collaborate with local nonprofit organizations and/or individual activists to produce a three-to-five minute film. The projects are a combination of advertising, research, and social justice, providing valuable content for underresourced efforts while centering the powerful work of people challenging destructive paradigms. The class members will work in teams to produce their films and, ultimately, deliver material to their partner organizations to be used online and beyond. When appropriate, limited local travel will be involved, along with an opportunity to collaborate with organizers, activists, and community partners. Students will be encouraged to create social-engagement strategies in partnership with the organization or subjects that elevate their mission and work. Given these unprecedented times—as we are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding of self, community, and the roles that we can play in pursuing a just future—this course is for those who are committed to using filmmaking as a tool for change. This semester-long collaboration is equal parts media creation and an understanding of the power of artists in movements for justice.
Faculty
Intermediate, Seminar—Spring
In this intermediate documentary course, students will collaborate with local nonprofit organizations and/or individual activists to produce a three-to-five minute film. The projects are a combination of advertising, research, and social justice, providing valuable content for underresourced efforts while centering on the powerful work of people challenging destructive paradigms. The class will work in teams to produce their films and, ultimately, deliver material to their partner organizations to be used online and beyond. When appropriate, there will be limited local travel and an opportunity to collaborate with organizers, activists, and community partners. Students will be encouraged to create social engagement strategies in partnership with the organization or subjects that elevate their mission and work. Given these unprecedented times—as we are presented with new opportunities to shift our understanding of self, community, and the roles that we can play in pursuing a just future—this course is for those who are committed to using filmmaking as a tool for change. This semester-long collaboration is equal parts media creation and understanding of the power of artists in movements for justice.