School of Visual Arts, New York, NY
2005-2020: I designed and taught a documentary film workshop, Creating a Documentary Film, which encompassed all aspects of the craft from proposals and budgets to production, editing and distribution. The workshop stressed storytelling, utilizing both innovative exercises and screenings of a wide variety of documentary films.It expanded to an additional course, The Documentary Workshop, which allowed students to bring in long-term projects for support and feedback and q&a's with guest lecturers.
Screenwriting workshop leader for graduate school exchange program between SVA and Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy
Testimonials...
"Fred's documentary class is a creative think tank. The easy rapport with his students combined with his knowledgeable approach to documentaries makes it an extraordinary learning experience. Every time I visit his class as a guest to share cinematography secrets, I'm impressed by his talents and his students. Two thumbs up!"
“I just wanted to e-mail you and thank you for giving me the guts to make my first documentary film. As the course finished and I moved back to Denmark, I immediately started pitching an idea for a personal documentary film that I got during your course. In 2014 it premiered at CPH:DOX with sold out screenings and afterwards 9 screenings on TV (DR2)! Last year the film won a Robert (the Danish Oscar) and other prizes. It recently aired in Norway and Sweden. Amazing right!? You did really play an important role. One of the things I really liked was that you taught us to ‘just do it’. That’s very different to Danish mentality and I really needed that push. But also the way you taught us to portray environments/characters on documentary film was very inspiring to me. I can’t thank you enough for helping me fulfill my documentary dreams.”
—Kathrine Ravn Kruse, filmmaker “Me and Dad” (Mig Og Min Far)
“We learned so much so fast—first-time knowledge that we had to apply. I recommend taking a class with Fred. He is a great teacher, he has unlimited experience in this area, he will encourage you to hone your skills, and you just may walk away with your best work. He made me a filmmaker; I found my voice. ”
“Fred’s classes really improved my filmmaking skills and motivated me to keep working—with tips on how to lead an interview, how to build a story, and filming full coverage of a scene. Feedback on proposals and budgets were invaluable.”
“Dear Fred:
I want to thank you for the past 10 weeks. It was a wonderful experience. You have been a very inspiring teacher with a vast knowledge of the subject. In the last year and a half I have taken a few doc classes at NYU and NYFA, but I have to tell you that your class was the one that turned my interest around about documentary: Now I really want to make them. I especially enjoyed your film analyses segments. You obviously have a true strength in dramaturgy, but what made your class really enjoyable was your technique of questioning. Your direct, sometimes intimidating questions led us to find the solution ourselves, which I believe is one of the secrets of successful education.”
Media Center of Dakar, Senegal
I originally got the teaching bug in Dakar Senegal, where I had the opportunity to create and teach an intensive Documentary Filmmaking Lab in which graduate-level students produced three half-hour social-issue documentaries for broadcast on Radio Television Senegal (RTS) and for distribution internationally.