Film Educator

Maysles Documentary Center (MDC) is seeking a passionate and experienced documentary Film Educator to join our team as part of our Artist-Educator cohort!  Applicants should be committed to honing their skills as an educator and have an interest in using film to magnify social justice issues. 

MDC is a Harlem-based nonprofit organization committed to community, education, and documentary film. We use filmmaking to amplify and expand under-represented artists and narratives, while empowering young filmmakers in creative self-expression, communicating ideas, and advocating needs.

We are seeking applicants to join our Artist-Educator cohort and participate in paid training and professional development in trauma informed practice and culturally responsive pedagogy this winter/spring.  Participation will deepen practitioners’ understanding of and ability to integrate the organizational philosophy - Maysles Guiding Principles - into their teaching practice in order to develop and facilitate impactful curriculum.  Participation will prepare participants for a position teaching one of our education programs.  All training activities will take place between March and June and be compensated on a per service basis.

Apply by February 4, 2022

Trainings/Professional Development opportunities are as follows:

  • Orientation film screening +session with MDC staff (March)

  • 2 two hour trainings in Trauma Informed Practice/Holding Space (March/April)

  • 1 All-Day professional development workshop sharing best practices in culturally sensitive curriculum (June)

  • 6 site visits to one of our teen programs in progress, with debrief discussion (March-June)

  • Wrap-around roundtable discussion at the completion of all activities (late June)

Successful completion of above mentioned activities will lead to facilitating one of our foundational education programs in Summer/Fall 2022. Additionally, participants will have access to our cinema programs with talk-backs from industry professionals.

At MDC, we strive to celebrate cinema as a vibrant and life-affirming art form, while drawing from lineages of radical image-making to activate it in the struggle toward collective liberation. At the same time, film, like all other media, requires ongoing inquiry into its production, histories, boundaries, accessibility, and definition.  Artist-Educators at MDC work closely with our small team, and are passionate about these ideas and excited by the prospect of engaging with low-income/BIPOC teens and/or with justice impacted young people.  Training/PD activities will take place between March and July 2022.

Prospective Film Educators have: 

  • Experience in the film world (filmmaker, pre/post production, film theory, etc)

  • Facility and knowledge in regards to film technical skills 

  • A strong interest in teaching film—not only to shed light on deep-seated injustices—but also to draw sharp connections between the systems that produce and reproduce oppressive power structures

  • A passion for connecting with people, and experience working with low-income/BIPOC teens and/or with justice impacted young people aged 18-24

  • Knowledge of Harlem and/or a connection to the local community

  • A commitment to learning about and integrating trauma informed practices into pedagogy 

  • A dedication to process and on-going reflection and growth in a collaborative setting

  • Commitment to an equitable and inclusive community.

Location: This position will be in Harlem, New York. All in-person work will be in accordance with New York State and City COVID-19 guidelines and adjusted based on Covid-19 positivity rates in New York City.

Compensation: $1500 for 33 hours.

To apply: Please submit a resume and cover letter, highlighting your relevant experience, interest in the position, and what unique qualities you can bring to our team, to emilyapter@maysles.org and aliyah@maysles.org. Please include “Film Educator” and your “First and Last Name” in the subject line.