Blue-Devil Angel for Documentary Film Festival

Duke will become a major sponsor of the nationally recognized Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Now in its eighth year, the annual four-day event in Durham features more than 100 films from around the world as well as panel discussions, question-and-answer sessions, and seminars. This year's festival, which took place in early April, included appearances by directors Martin Scorsese, Ken Burns, and Ric Burns.

Full Frame's executive director, Nancy Buirski, says, "It's a partnership that will be good for the festival, the university, and anyone in the local area or beyond who shares our passion for documentary film and the arts."

Duke President Richard H. Brodhead says the agreement will benefit Duke students by providing more opportunities for them "to learn in real-world settings, learning in this case not only about the artistic side of the medium, but also about the business and other aspects." The festival is also a "major artistic asset" for Durham, he says.

Under the agreement, Duke will provide $100,000 annually to the festival over the next three years, and will receive in exchange expanded student fellowship and internship opportunities, as well as discounted tickets for students and employees. The festival, held in downtown Durham's historic Carolina Theater, will organize one film showing and discussion for the Duke community each year. Duke will collaborate with Full Frame and its filmmakers in using the festival's archive for curatorial and research purposes.

In addition, festival organizers and Duke students will collaborate during the academic year, and Duke has agreed to sponsor a $5,000 prize next year for the festival's best student film. Full Frame will arrange at least two screenings on campus, visits by filmmakers, and guest lectures by Buirski, the executive director.

Full Frame began in 1998 as the DoubleTake Documentary Film Festival and operated for five years under the aegis of Duke's Center for Documentary Studies. In 2002, the festival changed its name to Full Frame, and, since 2003, has operated independent of the university as part of the nonprofit company Doc Arts Inc. Under the new agreement with Duke, the festival will retain its independent status.