Jennifer is a world renown educator and lecturer, invited across the globe to teach, run training programs and inspire creativity.

For the past 25 years, she has taught producing, directing, screenwriting and creating your own visual language in on-going classes in New York City and 2-10 day masterclasses nationally and around the world in as diverse countries as South Africa, Finland, Romania, Canada, Denmark, Sweden, India, Scotland, Holland, Portugal, Switzerland, and the USA.

If you’d like to discuss how to bring Jennifer to lecture or teach a workshop in your school or community, please contact us.

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2010 – 2012: Lead Trainer, 18 month “DOCUMENTARY TRAINING PROGRAM”, by the Dutch Binger Institute, Netherlands.

Launching new program and running periodic workshops for the eight selected filmmakers and their projects beginning in June 2010 to December 2011. Filmmakers will be taken through all phases of doc making: including development, production, and post-production of their 8 selected documentary projects, ending up with finished films. Hired to be one of two lead trainers for this program, along with Dutch filmmaker, John Appel. Both trainers will be coming periodically to give specific trainings and to mentor the filmmakers.

1993-2001, 2010 to the present: Adjunct Professor, “PRODUCING: DISTRIBUTION FOR FILM” with Sharon Badel, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts Undergraduate.

Co-created and co-taught class aimed at juniors and seniors on film distribution for both documentaries and fiction – both mainstream and independent. This class includes lectures on the US market and the international market through the many tiers of distribution: festivals, theatrical, television, educational, DVD and video streaming. This is the first class of its kind at New York University and was several years in development.

2010: Adjunct Professor, “DOCUMENTARY SHORT PROJECT” New York University, School of Continuing Education

Teaching a six-week intensive program for new filmmakers to create their first documentary short during the class period. Students are taken through all aspects of documentary, from developing language and picking a subject to the craft of editing a scene and storytelling. Students end up with a finished short documentary film of 5 -10 minutes.

2007–2009: Lecturer and ran Master Classes at Universities, TV Stations and Festivals around the world combined with the screening and theatrical release of my film series, “FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN.”

“FLYING“ is a particularly well-suited teaching tool because of its experimental camera techniques accompanied with strong narrative storytelling and editing. I have taught hundreds of classes using excerpts of the film to incorporate the camera methods and demonstrations into class participation. It is also an excellent launch to talk about international fundraising and distribution as it was a Danish co-production and was pre-sold to seven television stations internationally. (Complete teaching engagement list available upon request).

2006–2009: Lead Trainer, “ARISTOTLE’S WORKSHOP,” Romania. (Funded by ARTE/French-German TV.)

The aim of the “ARISTOTLE WORKSHOP” was to develop new ways of making documentaries in the region. I participated in the selection of students for two-month long trainings in Romania, for which I was the lead trainer. I taught weeklong hands-on seminars with camera exercises to develop personal documentary language and creative vision for the films that would be made during the training. Final films were broadcast on ARTE and on Romanian television. Several films made in the training played at festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival and the Locarno Film Festival.

2002–2004: Developer, Manager and Lead Trainer, “PROJECT 10,” South Africa. (Funded by the Dutch Binger Institute.)

I was hired to create “PROJECT 10”, a year training program that would take a select group of South African filmmakers through an extensive development, production and post-production process. The goal was to create a new documentary series for SABC (South African Broadcasting) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the end of Apartheid. The resulting series of thirteen films were broadcast in 2004 on SABC. The entire series screened at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival  and in festivals around the world. For “Project 10,” I hired over 20 international filmmakers to come to South Africa and help train our students, including Sam Pollard and Susan Korda from the USA.

2000–2001: Workshop Trainer, Selection Committee Member and Ongoing Film Consultant, “STEPS FOR THE FUTURE,” South Africa.

“STEPS FOR THE FUTURE” was a unique international project to develop 35 films in South Africa about HIV and AIDS to distribute internationally. For “PROJECT 10,” I was the only American hired. I participated in the rounds of selection to choose the filmmakers. For our final students, I ran the only workshop given on narrative documentary filmmaking and story development. Then I was brought back with a large group of international filmmakers to work one on one with local filmmakers and their projects in the field. During this period, I was the camerawoman for a film called, “LOOKING FOR BUSI” and helped to oversee the editing. “PROJECT 10” screened at festivals and was broadcast worldwide for international AIDS day 2001.

1991-2000: Instructor, “DIRECTING THE INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY,” Film Video Arts, New York City.

Developed a special three-day training to demystify the process of documentary directing; to take students conceptually from creative development of a unique documentary idea through pre-production, production and editing, into preparing for distribution. Emphasis was made on how to “see” what makes a great documentary subject and story, how to find the original language that fits that story, interviewing techniques, and narrative story telling. This workshop was taught quarterly.

1991-1993: Instructor, “PR AND PUBLICITY FOR FILM,” The School of Visual Arts, New York City.

Created the first course of its kind for SVA college seniors to bridge the gap between academia and the working world and market place. This course focused on fundraising and distribution for feature and documentary films. An overview was given of the various markets, both nationally and internationally as well as working with agents and distributors, verses self-distribution. Attention was paid to obtaining a job in the field and going over career opportunities besides directing and producing, such as editing, production design, and sales and marketing.

1992-1998: Instructor, “DISTRIBUTING THE INDEPENDENT DOCUMENTARY,” Film Video Arts, New York City.

This was a one-day seminar taught quarterly that I developed to give a crash course in film distribution, packed with key information for filmmakers who were ready to take their film out into the market place both nationally and internationally. Subjects included how to package your film and what materials to create to find an agent, producer’s rep, or distributor, how to get your film into key festivals and once in how to “work” the festivals.

1989: Sent by the United States Information Service to give workshops in key cities in India and Pakistan.

Lectured and gave three-day seminars on American independent documentary filmmaking in the two counties. Screenings of my film “BEIRUT: THE LAST HOME MOVIE” were held simultaneously with the lectures where I had question and answer sessions.

1989-Present: Lecturer on Documentary Filmmaking.

For the past twenty years I have lectured and held master classes across the United States and Europe, including but not limited to: New York University, The New School, Temple University, Stanford University, Cal Arts, Chicago University, The University of Nebraska, and the American Film Institute. Abroad, I have taught workshops for television channels such as SVT–Sweden and YLE-Finland and at schools such as: The University of Zurich, The Binger Institute, the University of Toronto, and The Danish Film Institute. I have given master classes at festivals worldwide such as IDFA, Hot Docs, Zagreb Docs and Sheffield Film Festival.

FILMMAKING EXPERIENCE: (short summary)

Jennifer Fox is an internationally acclaimed director, producer, and camerawoman. Her first film, “BEIRUT: THE LAST HOME MOVIE” (1988) was released theatrically in seven countries and broadcast in twenty and won seven international awards, including Best Documentary Film and Best Cinematography at the 1988 Sundance Film Festival and Best Documentary at the 1988 Cinema Du Reel Festival, Paris, France.

She produced and directed the groundbreaking ten-hour PBS/BBC/ARTE ten hour series “AN AMERICAN LOVE STORY,” (1999), which screened at its full length at the Berlin Film Festival and the Sundance film Festival as well as many others. It was broadcast on television around the world and on prime time national US television. It received a Gracie Award for Best Television Series of 1999 and was named ”One of the Top Ten Television Series of 1999” by The New York Times and five other major American magazines and newspapers.

Her last work, the cutting edge, six-part, “FLYING CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN” was made through a unique Danish co-production, funded by the Danish Film Institute, TV-2 Denmark, BBC, ARTE, YLE-1, SBS, SVT, ICON & Humanist Channels Netherlands, the Sundance Channel, and a Creative Capital Grant. FLYING premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam (IDFA) in 2006, The Sundance Film Festival in 2007 and did a 20-city theatrical tour in North America before airing on the BBC, SVT, TV-2, YLE, SBS, and The Sundance Channel in 2008. It is currently available on DVD and in educational release.

Jennifer has executive produced many award-winning films including:  “LOVE & DIANE,” “ON THE ROPES,” “DOUBLE EXPOSURE,” “PROJECT TEN: REAL STORIES FROM A FREE SOUTH AFRICA, ” “COWBOYS, LAWYERS AND INDIANS”, “ABSOLUTELY SAFE?”, and presently the fiction feature film, “UPSTATE” and “CAT SCRATCH FEVER”.

She is the subject of two films about filmmaking: “TO HECK WITH HOLLYWOOD!” (1991, USA) by Doug Block, and “CINEMA VERITE: DEFINING THE MOMENT” (2000, Canada) by Peter Wintonick.

Jennifer’s current feature film, “MY REINCARNATION” adheres to her commitment of long-term observation, as she has filmed the high Tibetan Buddhist Teacher Namkhai Norbu and his son, Yeshi, for twenty years.  The film, now in festivals, is a co-production with ZDF/ARTE, Swiss TV, and the Dutch Buddhist Television Network (BOS). It has been pre-sold to YLE –TV, Finland, and SVT – TV, Sweden, and the series, POV at PBS in the States. It has been funded in the USA by IMPACT PARTNERS and by grants from the Hartley Film Foundation and the GDF Foundation.

EDUCATION:

  • THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL OF CREATIVE WRITING, Baltimore, Maryland, 1987-1980
  • UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY, Belize, C.A. 1979
  • NEW YORK UNIVERSITY, TISCH UNDERGRADUATE SCHOOL OF FILM AND TELEVISION, New York City, 1980-1981
  • STELLA ADLER SCHOOL OF ACTING, New York City, 1990-1991
  • PLAYWRIGHTS HORIZONS, DIRECTING, New York City, 1990 – 1991
  • CREATIVE WRITING, Dina Von Zwik, New York City, 1990-1992
  • PETER MCKEES STORY STRUCTURE COURSE, New York City, 1991
  • THE NY OPEN CENTER, MEMOIR WRITING WORKSHOP, 2008
  • JOHN STRASBURG SCHOOL OF ACTING, 2008
  • THE GOTHEM WRITING WORKSHOP, MEMOIR WRITING, 2008

MEMBER: American Film Institute, New York Women in Film, AIVF, Media Alliance, and the Association of American Business Women.