Environmental Documentary Film Production

Catalog description

This hands-on, community-centered course prepares students to use multimedia storytelling as a tool for environmental justice. Through partnerships with East Palo Alto-based organizations, students learn to build trust, listen deeply, and create media that supports community-defined goals. In Winter 2026, the course will focus on producing short documentary content that uplifts environmental justice stories in East Palo Alto, contributing directly to the Earth Systems Program's collaboration on the Fall 2026 Climates of Inequality exhibit. Students will work in small production teams to document community histories and ongoing environmental challenges - including youth-led activism around the former Romic superfund site, tensions surrounding the East Palo Alto airport, and community-driven flood resilience efforts. Students will gain experience in documentary filmmaking, interviewing, audio storytelling, photography, and narrative development, while practicing ethical engagement, collaborative production, and culturally responsive communication. Course time emphasizes relationship-building with community partners, field reporting, and iterative feedback from both instructors and stakeholders. Final projects will contribute to exhibit materials such as a 13-minute documentary, short-form videos, photography, oral histories, and digital storymaps. Limited enrollment. Preference given to Environmental Communication and Journalism MA students, undergraduates in the natural and environmental sciences, and students with video production experience.