MN Film & TV First Friday Toolkit: Kartemquin FIlms
Join us for an engaging, in-depth conversation with Betsy Leonard and Marie-Therese Garvey of Kartemquin Films, moderated by Melodie Bahan of MN Film & TV. Since 1966, Kartemquin, a collaborative community of documentary filmmakers, have been creating films that engage viewers to seek a stronger and more just democracy.
Date: Friday, May 6
Time: 12:00pm - 1:00pm
Location: A-Mill Artist Lofts, 315 Main St. SE, Minneapolis
More about the panelists and moderator:
Betsy Leonard is a passionate leader, strategist, and connector of people and ideas who has dedicated her career to social justice. She made Heartland Alliance her professional home for more than 25 years, working in a variety of roles in human resources, engagement, development, and strategy. The variety and depth of Betsy’s responsibilities at Heartland Alliance have afforded her experience not only in the “hard skills” of running an organization, but also given her insight into culture and change management in highly diverse work environments. In her development and strategic functions, Betsy has developed relationships with donors, board members, and community and corporate partners. As an HR and culture leader, Betsy created and implemented leadership development programs, fellowships, and programs aimed at building resilience and investing in staff.
Betsy is passionate about collective care, racial equity, and the value of lived experience—and she centers these issues in her work. She draws from healing-centered, anti-racist, and restorative teachings in her culture and workforce development programming. She is a 2016 University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy Fellow and an active board member of Heal Chicago. In her spare time you can find her making art and jewelry, dreaming about her next motorcycle, and planning camping trips with her husband, two daughters, and two dogs.
Joua Lee Grande is a Minneapolis-based filmmaker, photographer and community educator whose goal to uplift under-told stories and underrepresented communities drives her work. She has a run and gun documentary style that attempts to capture life in movement. She is currently a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow and a Media Justice Network Fellow. She was a 2019 Diverse Voices in Docs Fellow at Kartemquin Films.
Joua was an editor at WCCO TV 4 News (CBS Affiliate) for five years which further pushed Joua to dive into independent media to focus on stories absent from the mainstream. A proud Northsider, Joua has 10 years of experience in nonprofits working in the community to empower marginalized families, youth and storytellers. She designed and led various community art and media programs at institutions across the Twin Cities Metro Area. Joua founded the production company Spirited Films in January 2020.
Marie-Therese Garvey is a multi-award-winning documentary producer and production manager with over a decade's worth of experience in the independent documentary film landscape. The majority of Mar’s work has been on international co-productions. She has worked in Ireland - where she set up her own production company - and in the UK. Her work has taken her everywhere from the Norwegian Arctic to the Saharan Desert, to most recently Chicago.
Along with producing, Mar has a wealth of experience in production management, mostly on projects with big aspirations and small budgets. As someone who is intimately familiar with all aspects of documentary filmmaking - from story and budget to picture lock and festivals/broadcast - Mar is perfectly positioned to offer tailored support and guidance for all filmmakers who work with Kartemquin.