“Think of a film pitch as a secret you’re excited to tell,” Andrew Fried told students in the new film and media class “Producing the Truth.”
Fried’s words inspired Anna Zhai, a junior majoring in film and media management, to make a pitch focused on her first love: music. She had often thought that Railroad Earth, a community arts space in Emory Village, would make a great subject for a documentary. The space has hosted countless artists and musicians, including her band, since opening in 1997.
“It suddenly occurred to me that, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is my chance to make that documentary,’” recalls Zhai, who hopes to pursue a career at the intersection of music and filmmaking.
During the class break, she stayed at her desk, furiously writing out her concept for the film.
Fried, an Emory alumnus, is the Emmy-Award-winning founder and CEO of Boardwalk Pictures, whose credits include the Netflix documentary series “Chef’s Table,” “Seven Days Out” and “Cheer.”
He co-teaches “Producing the Truth” with David Barba, assistant professor in the Department of Film and Media.
Each week, working producers, writers, editors, agents and executives visit the classroom to counsel students as they create short documentaries. Some of the guests have won Oscar and Emmy Awards. All are Emory alumni.
And for the first time, they’re coming to discuss the craft of filmmaking with students.
“It's a one-of-a-kind class,” says Barba, “because we’re able to bring guests from across the country to spend significant time engaging with students — offering their own stories and struggles and providing substantive feedback on student work.”
Each guest professional joins two classes over the course of a week. On Thursdays, they participate in a Q&A led by Fried for students in “Producing the Truth” and “Film and Media Management,” a Capstone class taught by Jennifer Porst, associate professor and co-director of the film and media management concentration. The visits are a team effort of Fried, Barba, and Porst — who regularly brings in film professionals to counsel her Capstone class students on the business of filmmaking.
On Fridays, the visiting pros give Barba’s students feedback on their film projects.
The class provides “a safe environment” for students to experience “the A to Z of the film production pipeline,” Barba says, as they hone their ideas, vote on which 10-to-15-minute documentaries to produce, then work in teams to plan, shoot and edit.
“In the class, they can make mistakes or choose different avenues,” Barba says. Students might learn, for instance, that conducting interviews on film makes them nervous. “So, they can say, ‘Maybe one of my teammates can do it next time.’ It’s part of the process of finding your path. That’s the beauty of the liberal arts.”
Neil Fried, who founded Railroad Earth, a community arts space in Emory Village, shows Anna Zhai an old journal with a note from musician John Mayer. Zhai and three classmates are filming a documentary about Railroad Earth. Photo by Kayleena Nguyen.
Inspired by new production space
This version of “Producing the Truth” was sparked in 2023, when Fried delivered the keynote address at the Sophomore Summit. The event, sponsored by Emory’s Pathways Center, helps second-year students consider their future beyond college.
When Fried learned Emory planned to launch a film and media production space this semester, he was inspired to take his engagement to a new level, connecting young filmmakers with the creative processes of working industry professionals.
“For me, it was a matter of, ‘They’ve got some shiny new equipment and a soundstage, and we know a lot of people who can offer these students some advice along the way,’” says Fried. “I feel a ton of gratitude for how I grew during my time at Emory, and I’m just proud to be a small part of this growing community of excellent storytellers in film and media.”
After months of planning with Barba, Porst, and Michele Schreiber, associate professor and chair of the Department of Film and Media, a class was born. Fellow alumni Staci Weiss, a business development executive at Amazon, and Serena El-Khatib, coordinator at Boardwalk Pictures, also helped develop the class.
‘Don’t-call-it-a-pitch’ sessions
Students spent the semester’s early classes pitching their film ideas to Barba, Fried and visitors.
Nicole Botha, right, helps Stella Rae Kinard check sound levels on her microphone before filming. Photo by Kate Sweeney.
“When you hear our feedback, don’t think, ‘Oh, I did this wrong,’” Barba told the class. “Think about the questions we’re asking like, ‘Who will be the main character?’ ‘What is the world of this story?’”
The “don’t-call-it-a-pitch” sessions, as the class began referring to them, offered students a chance to work collaboratively with the instructors and guests to refine their ideas.
“We’ve learned how to really see an idea and express it to producers,” says Kayleena Nguyen, a junior pursuing a double major in business administration at Goizueta Business School and film and media. “And that’s very valuable to learn — to be able to articulate and really promote our ideas.”
“We don’t have to worry about ‘Oh, I messed up,’ which I think allows people to be more open with their ideas,” adds Nicole Botha, a junior majoring in business administration, with a concentration in film and media management.
Every job matters
Today, Zhai is working on her dream documentary about Railroad Earth, joined by Nguyen, Botha and Stella Rae Kinard.
Each student on the team quickly found her role.
For Botha, a people person, it’s making contacts and doing interviews.
Kinard, a senior double majoring in film and media and environmental science, gets to hone her skills at editing and sound design.
Nguyen found her niche overseeing the project’s logistical details. She would like to run her own production company one day.
“Anna is the director of photography, and this is her creative vision,” says Kinard. “But now that we’re on a team, this is our film; this is our baby. We’re all excited that we’re able to do our part.”
Introducing students to professionals working in so many roles opens their eyes to “the possibilities of what their careers could look like,” says Barba.
“Sometimes, when they think about movies, they say, ‘I want to be a writer or director,’” he adds, forgetting that making any successful movie or TV show requires an array of responsibilities.
Zhai, Botha, Kayleena Nguyen, Kinard, and Noble Garcia, a sophomore majoring in accounting, plan the day’s shoot with Neil Fried. Photo by Kate Sweeney.
Learning to lean into uncertainty
Documentary filmmaking calls for meticulous planning. It also requires the ability to change course on the fly, when the events playing out on camera take unexpected detours.
As students have learned, unforeseen twists and turns are part of the professional journey, too.
Jessica Hargrave told the class about graduating from Emory in 2004 with a double-major in German and psychology before joining Tripod Media, her best friend’s film production company. They have since made more than a dozen movies, including “Come See Me in the Good Light,” a documentary about poet Andrea Gibson. The film received an Academy Award nomination this year in the category of “Documentary Feature Film.”
“As someone who took a while to understand exactly what I wanted to do,” says Hargrave, “I wanted to relieve some of the pressure on these young filmmakers. They’re on incredible paths, and it’s okay to take time to figure it out.”
Hargrave told students she got to where she is by following her interests. She likens her professional life to switching majors every few years.
“Making ‘Come See Me in the Good Light,’ I majored in Andrea Gibson and poetry for a few years,” she says. “Before that, we did a film about the Mars rover, so I learned about that. It’s just feeding your curiosity.”
“I think that’s one of my favorite parts of the class,” says Botha. “All of these people have these careers that didn’t necessarily have a straight-line path. So, it’s not too late to take that risk and to do what you’re passionate about.”