BEA2026

With a focus on documentary and non-fiction storytelling Mobile Journalism author Robb Montgomery returns showcase fresh case studies from the field. Participants will get an exclusive screening of winning documentary films from the recent Mobile Journalism Awards that were shot on smartphones and small cameras. He will also demonstrate how to create a 3D modeled immersive multimedia online exhibit using a free phone app, open source software, and Anthropological qualitative research methods. Montgomery also will reveal how he filmed a documentary film scene about virtual sex using a MetaQuest VR headset.
Moderator: Robb B Montgomery, Visual Editors, NFP

Please join us as we recognize all of the Faculty Festival winners from Audio, Documentary & Scriptwriting competitions.  

After the awards are handed out, we will hear from our Best of Competition winners.
Confirmed Presenters

Faculty Audio
Short-Form Production Category
Haitian Church in Pine Hills Fights Fear with Faith; Rick Brunson, University of Central Florida

Faculty Documentary
Short-Form Documentary Category
Chicken Ghetto; Sangsun Choi & Paul Lee, Kennesaw State University

Steve Anderson & John Woody are the first recipients of the BEA Lifetime Achievement in Scholarship Award. In this session, we'll have a conversation with John about his career progression alongside the rise of technological innovations that have defined modern storytelling. We will discuss key moments in the growth of the field while offering some insights he has gleaned about academia and BEA over the course of his long and successful career.

This interactive workshop opens with a lively slide presentation, showcasing some of the most memorable opening scenes in modern cinema as well as examining what makes these moments irresistible to audiences. From there, the session shifts into hands-on practice: attendees are invited to share their own opening pages aloud and receive constructive feedback from peers. Whether they’re polishing a screenplay or just starting out, colleagues will leave with sharper tools for grabbing attention with a "unique hook" from the very first scene.

Moderator: Leslie Kreiner Wilson, Pepperdine University
Panelists: Carey Martin ,Liberty University
Lucas Martins Néia, Senac University Center (CAS), Brazil
Andrea Baltazar, Weber State University

This panel discussion between current creative media production students and professors will talk about what works in the classroom. Students will lead the conversation, sharing what assignments, teaching methods, and feedback have pushed them to do their best creative work, and the professors will respond and discuss how to put these ideas into practice. The discussion will cover what kinds of projects get students excited, how critique sessions can be helpful instead of discouraging, creating environments where creativity thrives, and mentoring approaches that help students find their own creative voice.

Moderator: Ralph Beliveau, University of Oklahoma
Panelists: Scott Hodgson, University of Oklahoma
Traci Easley Williams, University of Oklahoma
Molly Horn, University of Oklahoma
Keaton Schallhorn, University of Oklahoma
Nathan Pooler, University of Oklahoma
Kate Needham, University of Oklahoma
Kevin Hahn, University of Oklahoma

Professional productions provide opportunities for students to move beyond the classroom and immerse themselves in real learning environments. By participating in live broadcasts, studio productions, documentary work, film productions, and other industry-level projects, students gain hands-on skills that reinforce theory and coursework. This panel brings together faculty who have integrated students into their professional productions. Attendees will learn how these experiences prepare students for careers in a rapidly evolving media landscape.
Moderator: Michael Crews, Georgia College & State University
Panelists: Valerie Turco, SUNY New Paltz
Nick Artman, Slippery Rock University
Heather Elliott-Famularo, University of Connecticut
Hussein El Moataz, American University in Cairo

This panel explores the art and science of Premiere Pro color correction, focusing on the transformative role of power window techniques in modern post-production. Color correction shapes a film's mood, narrative, and visual coherence, while power windows allow precise control over specific frame areas, enabling targeted adjustments to exposure, contrast, and hue.
Moderator: Timothy D. Sorel, University of Florida

Academic filmmaking presents a unique set of opportunities and challenges, requiring creativity, collaboration, and resourcefulness. This panel explores practical strategies for success in academic filmmaking, including identifying and securing funding, cultivating productive and mutually beneficial collaborations with students, leveraging institutional resources and expertise, and building partnerships with campus and community organizations.

Moderator: Brian Graves, Florida State University
Panelists: Jaime L Jacobsen, Colorado State University
Marty Lang, Mississippi State University
Greg Luft, Colorado State University

Please join us as we recognize all of the Faculty Festival winners from Film & Video, IMET and Sports competitions.  

After the awards are handed out, we will hear from our Best of Competition winners.
Confirmed Presenters

Interactive Multimedia
Emerging Media & Technology Category
Capturing New Perspective in Modern Media: Using Drone Videography to Showcase the Sam Houston State University Community; Antonio Bocanegra II, Sam Houston State University

Interactive Reality Category
Eyes of Freedom Immersive; Pat Clark, University of Colorado Boulder

Sports Competition
Long Form Sports Video Category
Authentic ACC: Syracuse Spring Football; Jordan Kligerman, Austin Beehner, Mike Lang & Richard Wiesmann, Syracuse University

Audio Competition
Long-Form Production Category
The Traveling Radio Show Goes to the CSU!; Jeff Jacoby, San Francisco State

Scriptwriting Competition
Narrative Feature Category
Hole-in-the-Wall; Matthew Evans, University of Georgia

From the early explorers and ethnographic filmmakers such as Robert Flaherty in Nanook of the North, through projects like the BBC’s Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, and into the present day, documentary has carried a long and often ignoble history of colonial representation. These works, while influential in the canon, too often reproduce a white or outsider gaze, casting communities as objects of study rather than as active participants in the telling of their own stories.

This panel takes as its starting point the urgent need to interrogate and reimagine documentary practices. We ask: How can we be more intentional in decentering the white gaze in our work? What strategies exist to resist exoticizing or “othering” participants, while still engaging in meaningful storytelling? And what does a community-based production process truly look like—one in which participants are not only subjects, but collaborators and co-authors of their narratives?
Moderator: Dominique Taylor, Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Panelists: Yonatan Tewelde, Penn State Harrisburg
Tula Goenka, Syracuse University
Dominique Taylor, Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Colin Lasu, Central State

Team Deakins is the creative partnership of Roger Deakins and James Ellis Deakins. Together, they have collaborated on films, a podcast (Team Deakins), and two books, as well as other sundry projects. For over 30 years, this partnership has continued to evolve into a unique working collaboration. The session will be moderated by 7x Emmy-nominated cinematographer, Adam Bricker.

Roger A Deakins
Roger A. Deakins CBE, ASC, BSC, is one of today’s most honored cinematographers, renowned for his vast and varied body of work. He has been nominated for an Oscar 16 times and has won the award twice for the films Blade Runner 2049 and 1917. He has also received 17 nominations for the top honor awarded by the American Society of Cinematographers and has been nominated 11 times for the BAFTA award, winning five of them. Some of his other Oscar nominations are for: Denis Villeneuve’s Prisoners and Sicaro; The Coen Brothers’ Fargo; Martin Scorsese’s Kundun; The Reader; Sam Mendes’ Skyfall; and Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken, just to name a few. He has also been recognized by his British peers, with 11 British Society of Cinematographers (BSC) nominations and 7 wins. His myriad professional honors also two Independent Spirit Awards, numerous Critic’s awards and the National Board of Review’s Career Achievement Award. He is the sole cinematographer who has been honored with a CBE and a knighthood from his home country of England. Together with James, they have published two books: BYWAYS (a monograph of stills) and REFLECTIONS, a visual memoir.

James Ellis Deakins
James Ellis Deakins is the creative work partner of Roger Deakins. Born on the east coast of the United States, she double majored in college in Latin and Greek, doing a graduate course in Latin as an undergraduate. Once out of school, she began her film work in New York City as a film lab technician at DuArt Film Laboratories and then as a script supervisor in production. After moving to Los Angeles, she met Roger Deakins on a film set and their creative collaboration began. Eventually relinquishing the role of script supervisor to more fully enter into their collaborative partnership, she and Roger developed their unique working style which has continued to evolve as they enter into new enterprises including a podcast (“Team Deakins”), a website, BYWAYS (a book of still photography) and a visual memoir, REFLECTIONS. James’ natural affinity with technology proved essential when productions moved from the use of film capture to digital. Team Deakins create their approach to a film and execute the plan together. James oversees the many details that need to be coordinated which allows Roger to focus on capturing the visual. Working together, James and Roger have strived to create memorable images as well as share their knowledge with others.

Adam Bricker
Adam Bricker, ASC is a seven-time Emmy and five-time ASC nominated cinematographer based in Los Angeles. Originally from Chicago, Adam’s first camera was a MiniDV Handycam, a gift from his parents for his thirteenth birthday, and his first credits included the films he shot starring his three younger sisters. Adam studied digital cinema at DePaul University before graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, where he fell in love with cinematography. Adam’s most recent work includes Hacks (HBO), Chef's Table (Netflix) & American Vandal (Netflix).

Tackling a study abroad short documentary-video project can be challenging if the student participants are skilled, but what if they have little to no experience? Hear how to harness the non-majors’ best assets and make them feel equally part of the project. We hear from panelists who have learned valuable lessons on what to do and not do overseas on recent projects with non-majors ranging from short documentaries to multi-media.

Moderator: Melissa Jackson, Chair, BEA Writing Division & Former Associate Professor, Piedmont University,
Panelists: LaDonna Aiken, of Practice, University of Texas at Arlington
Dwayne Cheddar, Associate Professor, Oakwood University
Melissa Jackson, Chair, BEA Writing Division & Former Associate Professor, Piedmont University,
Kyle West Hufford, Goshen College

Please join us as we recognize all of the Faculty Festival winners from News competition.  

After the awards are handed out, we will hear from our Best of Competition winners from News, Film & Video and Audio.
Confirmed Presenters

Faculty Film & Video
Commercial or PSA Category
House of Honey; Jonathan Vinson, Huntington University

Mixed/Pedagogical Category
ALL ONE; Rodrigo Gómez Claros, Skye Baxter, Cooper Rogers, Seth Savage & Stacey Teves, Middle Tennessee State University

Faculty News
Television Feature News Reporting Category
From Denver to Mecca: A CNN producer’s personal pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest site; Kareem El Damanhoury, Muhammad Darwish, Angelica Pursley & Matog Saleh, University of Denver

Faculty Audio
Radio Station Promo, PSA, Commercial Category
Universal Electric Scooter and Skateboard Life Insurance; Don Connelly, Western Carolina University

The film festival world is opaque, complex, expensive, and changing. This workshop will go over how to develop a festival strategy, where you select festivlas that are right for your film. It will also cover how to effectively submit your film on Film Freeway, including what to do and what to avoid. This workshop will also go into what you need to do once you get into a festival, including creating a DCP, a Press Kit, and other materials. It will go over promoting your film and also talk about how much it costs to attend the festival.
Moderator: Robb B. Montgomery, Visual Editors, NFP

This panel is focused on how to get a better narrative screenplay written and produced in the same classroom. We invite you to hear different approaches to mix screenwriting and simple film production together (instead of as separate entities) to develop a richer storyline and better final product.

Moderator: Melissa Jackson, Chair, BEA Writing Division & Former Associate Professor, Piedmont University,
Panelists:
Jason Brown, Valdosta State University,
Nathan Gibbs, Point Loma Nazarene University
Andrew Millians, Lindenwood University
Theresa Coronado, University of the Incarnate Word
Melissa Jackson, Chair, BEA Writing Division & Former Associate Professor, Piedmont University

Join Richard Crudo, ASC and take a look at current tools and workflows used in documentary and nonfiction production, including camera, audio, editing, and post-production technologies used in professional and educational settings.