Annette Danto

Education:

M.F.A. with commendation, New York University Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Program in Filmmaking - 1988 (Film/Television Production: Producing/Directing/Screenwriting/Sound Recording)

M.S., Columbia University - 1982 (Social Work)

B.A. magna cum laude, McGill University - 1980

Areas of Expertise:

Specialization in film/television production, media ethics, documentary and sound recording. Founder of Brooklyn College Study Abroad India Program and AV Communications, a non-profit educational foundation providing media production workshops in underserved regions. Three time awarded Fulbright Scholar in Documentary and Media-Making, Tow Faculty Fellow. Grants include: Eastman Foundation, Ted Turner Foundation, Merchant/Ivory Cinecom, UNIFEM, USAID, and the Research Foundation of CUNY.

Books and Publications

Think/Point/Shoot: Media Ethics, Technology and Global Change Routledge 2017. Undergraduate textbook bridging theory and practice on ethical fundamentals for all stages of media preproduction, production, post production and distribution. (Books and Publications: Book (Authored)) 2016

Creative Work

Benares Hindu University, Varanasi, India - Journalism Department, Screening and Q & A, January 20, 2018

Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), Delhi, India, January 16, 2018 Screening and Invited Guest Lecture: Media Ethics and Issues of Representation. 2018

Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, India, Screening and Guest Lecture: "Media Ethics and Representation", January 17, 2018

Featured Artist - East Hampton Arts Council - Guild Hall, East Hampton, September 2016

Invited screening of and guest lecture on Reflections on Media Ethics. Bangor University. Bangor, Wales, United Kingdom. 2015

Invited screening of and guest lecture on The Never Ending Path. British Film Institute's DAWN Workshop. United Kingdom. 2015

Invited screening of Reflections on Media Ethics. Daniel Pearl Film Festival: Behind the Lines; Beneath the Lines. Three-city festival sponsored by the U.S. Consulate Chennai, the Aseema Trust, Daniel Pearl Foundation. 2014

Invited screening of and guest lecture on Reflections on Media Ethics. Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media (IIJNM), Bangalore, Karnataka, India. Program sponsored by the U.S. Consulate Chennai and IIJNM. 2014

Invited screening of and guest lecture on Reflections on Media Ethics. Suchitra Film and Drama Academy, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. 2014

Invited screening of and interactive workshop on Reflections on Media Ethics. Asian College of Journalism, LVP Prasad Academy, M.O.P. Vaishnav Women's College, University of Madras, India. 2014

Aboriginal Mental Health In Northern Ontario (documentary). Director/Cinematographer/Recordist. Produced by the University of Guelph-Humber College, Toronto. Screened at the 12th Annual Hawaii International Conference on Education, Honolulu, Jan. 5 and 7. 2013

Ebonics Goes Global. Co-producer and multimedia designer for staged performance. Cannon Theater. Bronxville, N.Y., Nov. 25. 2013

Reflections on Media Ethics screening and discussion. Global Media Ethics Conference. CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. New York, March 16. 2013

Gandhi's Wheel (TRT: 13 minutes). Documentary profile of the south Indian village of Chinalipatti, Tamil Nadu, known for its weaving collectives, natural dye factories and women tool makers. 2010

Screening: Shanti's Story, The Never Ending Path. Asian American/Asian Research Institute. New York, Feb. 28. 2008

Looking Both Ways (TRT: 20 minutes). Documentary produced by CUNY Collaborative Programs. Profile of an innovative teacher training program. 2006

Shanti's Story (TRT: 30 minutes). Fiction film produced and distributed by Pathfinder International on prenatal care and unsafe abortion in eastern Maharashtra. 2005

The Never Ending Path (TRT: 35 minutes). Documentary portraits of five families living in the Dindigul District of rural Tamil Nadu. Held in permanent collections of educational institutions worldwide.. Distributed by www.forwardintime.com 2005

Awards, Honors and Fellowships

PSC Research Award (Grants and Fellowships) 2017

Fulbright Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Award and Flex Grant 2016-2018 (Awards and Honors) 2016

PSC Research Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2015

Leonard & Claire Tow Faculty Travel Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2008

PSC Research Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2008

Eastman Foundation Documentary Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2007

Fulbright Senior Specialist Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2004

Leonard & Claire Tow Faculty Travel Award. (Grants and Fellowships) 2003

Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship, 2002-03. (Grants and Fellowships) 2002

Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums

TEDx Virtual Symposium, Cinema and Storytelling in a Post-COVID World, May 2. 2020, bitily/cinema-live. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2020

Benares Hindu University, Department of Fine Arts/Media/Communications, Keynote Address and Screening January 22, (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018

International Media Seminar, M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India January 11-12, 2018,
"Nuances and Scope of Documentary Film" (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018

East Hampton Library Author's Series, Think/Point/Shoot Panel Presentation, East Hampton, NY (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017

The Rubin Museum of Art , New York, NY, Satyajit Ray and Pather Panchali (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017

The Rubin Museum of Art, New York, NY, Henri-Cartier Bresson's photography and Gandhi (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017

Think/Point/Shoot: Media Ethics and Documentary Production, M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017

"Global Documentary Voices." Mahindra Ecole Centrale. Hyderabad, India. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015

Invited Lecturer- IIE/CIES Conference for Educators and Administrators from India.
(Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2015

"Documentary and Journalism: Agency and Agenda" panel. School of Journalism and Media, University of Madras. Tamil Nadu, India. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014

"Toward an Ethical Theory of Documentary Production Pedagogy." Codes and Modes: The Character of Documentary Culture moderator and panelist. Hunter College (CUNY), New York. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014

"Production Tips From Women Who Make Films" panel. Williamsburg International Film Festival (Willifest). Brooklyn, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2013

"Female Documentary Filmmakers." Panel moderator. The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival. Brooklyn, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012

"Robert Gardener's 'Forest of Bliss'" panel. UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art. Brooklyn, N.Y. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012

Reflections on Media Ethics screening and lecture. Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities. Brooklyn College. February. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2012

Invited Lecturer - CIES/ Nehru Visiting Educational Administrators from South Asia. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2011

"International Education and Study Abroad Programs in Communications and Media." American Center. New Delhi, Jan. 4. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2008

"Media for Health Care Outreach." Invited guest lecturer, MVJ Medical College Department of Community Medicine. Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Jan. 22. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007

"Creative Use of Media for Rural Development." Keynote address at conference sponsored by the U.S. Educational Foundation in India and the Gandhigram Trust. Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Jan. 9. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2003

Professional Leadership

Department Chair, Brooklyn College Undergraduate Film Department (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2023

Department Chair, Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema 2021 - 2023 (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2023

VMPA Dean Search Committee (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2023

U.S. State Department: Fulbright-Nehru Review Board - Visual Arts (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2022

Program Director, Brooklyn College Documentary Production in Wales, U.K. In collaboration with Bangor University's School of Ocean Sciences. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2018

Interim Chair, Brooklyn College Film Department (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2016

Chair, Promotion and Tenure Committee, School of Visual, Media and Performing Arts, 2011-15. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2015

Chair, Film Department Curriculum Committee (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2014

Faculty Judge, CUNY Film Festival (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2014

Co-Chair, "Global Media Ethics: Issues of Representation". An interdisciplinary conference co-sponsored by CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, Brooklyn College, New York Women in Film and Television, and the Loreen Arbus Foundation. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2013

Co-Director/Co-Curator, DOCWORKS 2, CUNY Graduate Center. Documentary festival including work from Brooklyn College, CCNY, Hunter College and Queens College. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012

Member of Search Committee for the Director of the Barry R. Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2012

President, Fulbright India Alumni Association (FFI), www.fulbrightindiaalumni.org, 2005-12. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2012

Co-Founder, AV Communications Trust, South India, www.aveducates.org. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2011

Member of Search Committee for Founding Dean of Brooklyn College School of Visual Media and Performing Arts (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2011

Member, Fulbright Arts Task Force. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2011

Festival Judge, Fulbright International Environmental Film Festival. San Francisco, California. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2010

Member, Brooklyn College Middle States Steering Committee (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2009

Co-Director/Co-Curator, DOCWORKS 1, CUNY Graduate Center. Documentary festival including work from Brooklyn College, CCNY, Hunter College and Queens College. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2006

Co-Organizer, Bridging Cultures Film Festival. Prasad Film & Television Academy. Tamil, Nadu, India. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2006

Founding Faculty Director, Brooklyn College India: Documentary Production and Cultural Studies. An annual international media production program based in Delhi, Chennai, Madurai, and Hyderabad, India. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2006

Co-Chair, Conference Co-Organizer. International Roundtable on Health and Environmental Issues in the Tanneries and Textile Industries. How Media Can Be Used Proactively. USIEF/US-AID/US-EPA. (Professional Leadership: Public Service) 2004

Community Activities

LTV Author Series, East Hampton, NY 2017

Film Department Faculty Program Coordinator, College Now community-based video production workshops, 2003-05. 2005