DocuMentors is a full-service Documentary Filmmaking web site, where you can get tools, instruction and mentoring for your filmmaking journey. We know that making a documentary film is one of the most important contributions that you can make to society, and we also know how challenging it can be. We want to support you in the process of creating your film, so we've been pulling together all of the resources that we think are necessary to have on the journey. We have an amazing Members Area, which is rich with the tools we've picked up along the way over 20 years of award-winning filmmaking. There areFree Tips and our Blog which offer lots of useful information for free. And don't miss DOC TALKS, our free expert interview series! We hope you find this site helpful!

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About Hank and Jilann and their company, Philomath Films:
Hank and Jilann have been making films together since they met at Dartmouth College in 1985.  Their passion is documentary filmmaking with compelling characters and strong storylines.  They translate this documentary spirit into all that they do, including multi-media, fiction and commercial projects.  Their company, Philomath Films, offers up projects that stretch the mind, entertain the spirit and reach straight for the heart. Their latest documentary feature, SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS, gives us a unflinching gaze into the dark areas of the human psyche, showing us that there is always the possibility of change. Philomath Films productions have won dozens of awards including Audience Award at AFI Fest, Best of Show at BendFilm, and many Best Documentary Awards.  Their work has debuted festivals such as Sundance, SXSW, and Edinburgh, and has been broadcast around the world.  They are three time recipients of ITVS funding and two time recipients of Sundance Institute funding. Their latest award-winning film, STILL DREAMING, will air on PBS in April 2018.

Hank Rogerson is a Producer, Director, Writer, actor and teacher who works both in documentary and fiction film.  Hank directed SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS, which picked up 11 awards on the festival circuit, was broadcast world-wide and had a theatrical run of over 25 U.S. cities.  Hank also co-produced, directed and edited HOMELAND , an award-winning documentary about four families on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, as well as CIRCLE OF STORIES , a cutting edge multi-media project that brings to life the vibrant art of Native American storytelling at pbs.org.  Hank has freelanced as a writer, director and producer within the film industry, and has twice been a Sundance Institute Fellow.  His freelance work includes producing, directing and writing 2 seasons of MEDICAL DIARY for the Discovery Health Channel.  He currently teaches filmmaking at The College of Santa Fe, and has also taught film production at University of Southern California.  As an actor, Hank has performed in film, television and theater and improv.  You can see him most recently on the USA Network series, IN PLAIN SIGHT and the Starz series, CRASH. He is now filming on SCOUNDRELS for ABC.

Jilann Spitzmiller is a Documentary Producer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer and teacher whose award-winning work has been shown around the globe.  She most recently won a Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism for her work in the POV PBS documentary, CRITICAL CONDITION, which she co-produced and co-directed.  She produced the award-winning SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS and co-directed, produced and edited HOMELAND which aired on National PBS in 2000.  Jilann has freelanced extensively in the documentary field, directing, writing and shooting two seasons of the documentary series MEDICAL DIARY and producing, writing and directing for the NBC documentary series LIFE MOMENTS. Other credits include A&E, Bravo and VH1. Her work for the Indigo Girls is included in WATERSHED, a one-hour biographical video released by Sony Music. Jilann teaches filmmaking and documentary classes in California, New Mexico and Italy.

PHILOMATH FILMS FILMOGRAPHY

DOCUMENTARIES

"SHAKESPEARE BEHIND BARS”
PBS, SUNDANCE CHANNEL, STARZ, BBC

"STILL DREAMING"
PBS

“HOMELAND”
National PBS

“CRITICAL CONDITION”
POV, National PBS; Bill Moyer’s Journal
(Jilann Co-produced/Co-directed
with Public Policy Productions)

“CIRCLE OF STORIES” web site       
PBS.org   

“CIRCLE OF STORIES” DVD       
Upcoming Fall 2009    

“BLESS ME WITH A GOOD LIFE”    
PBS, FREE SPEECH TV

“OUR YOUTH OUR FUTURE”       
Promotional Documentary

“AN AMERICAN PAINTER IN ITALY”   
Artist Portrait Documentary   

“THOROUGHBRED PURSUIT”       
Artist Portrait Documentary   

DOCUMENTARY SERIES
(as freelance producers/directors)

“MEDICAL DIARY”           
Discovery Health Channel

“LIFE MOMENTS”           
NBC

“THE IT FACTOR”           
Bravo

“BIOGRAPHY”           
A&E

GRANTS, FUNDING ( selected )

British Broadcasting Corp (BBC) for “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Independent Television Service (ITVS) for “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Sundance Institute Documentary Fund for “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Independent Television Service (ITVS) for “Circle of Stories”
Independent Television Service (ITVS) for “Homeland”
George Soros’ Open Society Institute for “Homeland”
Edgebrook Foundation for “Homeland”
Edgebrook Foundation for “Bless Me With A Good Life”
Administration on Aging for “Bless Me With A Good Life”
AARP for “Bless Me With A Good Life”

FESTIVALS, HONORS AND AWARDS ( selected )

Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism, “Critical Condition”
Gold Remi Award - WorldFest Houston, “Critical Condition”
Best Documentary, PhilaFilm: Int'l Film Festival, “Critical Condition”
Sundance Film Fest Documentary Competition “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best in Show, BendFilm Festival, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Crystal Heart Award, Heartland Film Fest "Shakespeare Behind Bars"
Special Jury Prize, Indep Film Fest of Boston, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Audience Award, Orinda Film Fest, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best Documentary, Ojai Film Festival, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best Documentary, Bethel Film Fest, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Feature Film Award, Rivers Edge Fest, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best Documentary Award Bluegrass Indep. FF “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Director’s Choice Award Bluegrass Indep. FF “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best Spiritual Doc' Beliefnet Film Awards “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Essential Southern Doc', Oxford American, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”
Best Feature Documentary, Fargo Film Fest, “Homeland”
Audience Award for Best Documentary, AFI FEST, “Homeland”
Best Short Documentary, Nashville Independent Film Festival, “Homeland”
Best Short Documentary American Indian FF “Bless Me With a Good Life”

REVIEWS, PUBLICATIONS AND MEDIA COVERAGE ( selected)

New York Times, “Shakespeare Behind Bars“ by Jeannette Catsoulis
Los Angeles Times, “The Bard Makes a Prison Visit“ by Kevin Crust
Chicago Tribune, “Shakespeare Behind Bars“ by Michael Wilmington 
New York Newsday, “Shakespeare Behind Bars“ by Jan Stuart
Seattle Times, “Convicts Doing the Tempest Feel Power...“, M. McDonald
San Francisco Chronicle, “Shakespeare Behind Bars” by Walter Addiego
New York Daily News, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”, by Jami Bernard
Village Voice, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”, by Matt Singer
Boston Globe,“Doc Chronicles Inmates...”, Wesley Morris
Film Threat, “Shakespeare Behind Bars”, by Jeremy Mathews
International Documentary, “Comparative Shakespeare” by T. Krinsky
Backstage West, “Shakespeare Flourished Behind Bars”
Bob Edwards Show, XMPR “Shakespeare Behind Bars“ by Bob Edwards
THE ART OF MANIFESTING, “A Lesson in Tenacity” Carole Lee Dean
FILM FUNDING, by Carole Lee Dean 
International Documentary, “Tales from the Trenches”, by Jilann Spitzmiller

FELLOWSHIPS, JURIES

Fellow, Sundance Institute, Documentary Editing Lab
Fellow, Sundance Institute, Documentary Composer’s Lab
Fellow, Mesa Refuge Writer’s Retreat, Point Reyes, California
Juror, BendFilm Festival, Bend, OR
Juror, Roy Dean Film Grant, Los Angeles
Screening Committee, International Documentary Association Awards

CONTACT INFORMATION

DocuMentors, LLC

PO Box 5201

Santa Fe, NM 87502

(505) 466-3247

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