School of Doc is a free camp for teens who are interested in learning the art of documentary filmmaking. Led by professional filmmakers, a select group of high school students from Durham Public Schools attend the five-week intensive workshop, complete their own short documentary film, and learn real-world applications for the skills they have acquired. In addition to learning basic filmmaking techniques, students gain self-esteem through collaboration, cooperations, and planning ahead. In fall 2018, a three-year pilot to include an after-school program was launched in order to provide more time and fluency to students deeply interested in this work.

School of Doc was paused in 2021 due to COVID–19 pandemic. Participants in the class of young filmmakers in 2019 and 2020 are attending the 2024 festival to learn more about the documentary medium, and they will be screening their School of Doc films for the public on Sunday, April 7 at 2:30 p.m. in Cinema 2.

School of Doc Instructors

Eric Barstow, Ned Phillips