Career Center

Assistant Professor: Documentary Filmmaker
Theatre, Television and Film

Location: San Diego, CA
Open Date: Oct 21, 2021

Description
The Television, Film, and New Media (TFM) program at San Diego State University is seeking a full-time, tenure-track faculty member to teach documentary production. Candidates should have expertise creating documentaries in any moving-image medium, including film, television, virtual reality, or internet-based media. We are especially seeking candidates whose practice and teaching are committed to social documentation or social change, and whose production and teaching portfolio demonstrates sustained support for diverse students and filmmakers. Artists whose work pushes the creative boundaries of documentary are encouraged to apply.

The successful candidate will be expected to:

• maintain a trajectory of continuous professional growth as a documentarian, as evidenced by exhibition at relevant film festivals, documentary festivals, or museums; or by theatrical, television, streaming, or educational distribution.
• teach courses in documentary production, history, and theory.
• supervise graduate student projects, including MFA capstone projects.
• participate in governance of the School of Theatre, Television, and Film, and in committees at the College and University levels.

This position is one of two tenure-track hires set to begin in Fall 2022 and marks a moment of expansion and transformation in the TFM program. Hires will have the opportunity to help shape the program for the coming decades and innovate new ways for production pedagogy to engage with community and industry. The Television, Film and New Media area is part of the School of Theater, Television and Film. Our location in San Diego places us in a growing and thriving creative regional and cross-border community where we are a driving force in narrative and documentary production. We offer an MFA in Film and Television Production and two undergraduate degrees, a BS emphasis in Production and a BS emphasis in Critical Studies. With a curriculum that integrates production, history, and theory, TFM trains student-artists to think critically about the ways cinema and media reflect and transform culture and society. The TFM program houses the SDSU Center for the Study of Women in Television & Film, and was named one of the top 10 programs for production design by the Hollywood Reporter. TFM alumni have won major awards at the Sundance Film Festival and Cannes Docs.

Appointment beginning: Fall 2022


Qualifications
Required:

• A terminal degree (such as an MFA) in filmmaking, documentary production, or associated area.
• Minimum of three years professional experience as a documentarian in film, television, or other moving-image media.
• Evidence of successful creative productivity, as reflected in exhibitions at relevant festivals or museums; or by theatrical, television, streaming, or educational distribution.
• Knowledge of current issues in documentary ethics, aesthetics, producing, and distribution.
• Candidates must satisfy two or more of the following eight SDSU Building on Inclusive Excellence (BIE) criteria. Candidates that meet BIE criteria:
  • are committed to engaging in service with underrepresented populations within the university or field of documentary production,
  • have demonstrated knowledge of barriers for underrepresented students and faculty within the discipline,
  • have experience or have demonstrated commitment to teaching and mentoring underrepresented students,
  • have experience or have demonstrated commitment to integrating understanding of underrepresented populations and communities into documentary practice,
  • have experience in or have demonstrated commitment to extending knowledge of opportunities and challenges in achieving artistic/scholarly success to members of an underrepresented group,
  • have experience in or have demonstrated commitment to documentary practice that engages underrepresented communities,
  • have expertise or demonstrated commitment to developing expertise in cross-cultural communication and collaboration, and/or
  • have research interests that contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education.

Other desirable qualifications
The successful candidate will demonstrate one or more of the following:

• Two years or more of either:
  • teaching university media production courses
  • formal mentorship in filmmaker labs or fellowships
• Experience developing or leading educational programs
• Demonstrated ability to teach or research topics in cinema and media studies

Rank & Salary:
Assistant Professor, Tenure-Track. Salary commensurate with credentials and experience.


Application Instructions
To apply, visit https://apply.interfolio.com/97555

Application procedure:

• Applicants should apply via Interfolio
• To ensure full consideration, apply by Nov. 30, 2021
• Review of applications will continue until the position is filled.

Application requirements:

• An introductory letter of your interest, intent, and teaching philosophy
• A current CV
• A resume of professional experience
• A portfolio of creative work, including at least 3 links to films or programs written, directed, or produced by the applicant
• A statement on candidates philosophy or approach to diversity in documentary production and the university. Statement can include BIE experience if not addressed elsewhere.
• Contact information for 4 professional references

SDSU is the oldest institution of higher education in the San Diego region, with a campus and microsites in San Diego and locations in Southern Californias Imperial Valley and Tbilisi in the Republic of Georgia. The highly diverse campus community has a student population of approximately 36,000. SDSU is included in the Carnegie Foundations Doctoral Universities: High Research Activity category. Established in 1897, SDSU offers bachelor degrees in 97 areas, masters in 84 and doctorates in 23. See http://www.sdsu.edu for more information. SDSU is a large, diverse, urban university and Hispanic-Serving Institution with a commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusive excellence. Our campus community is diverse in many ways, including race, religion, color, sex, age, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, national origin, pregnancy, medical condition, and covered veteran status. We strive to build and sustain a welcoming environment for all.

As part of its commitment to a safe and equitable