Join us for a program of humorous, short, audio documentaries from around the world voiced in non-English languages and accompanied by artfully designed subtitles curated by Eleanor MacDowall from Radio Atlas. Following the program, Eleanor MacDowell will be in conversation with radio producer Alex Lewis.

This presentation is organized as part of the 2019 MDOCS Forum, presented by the John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS). The forum is free and open to the public.

About the Panelists

Eleanor McDowall is a Director at Falling Tree Productions. She is the series producer of BBC Radio 4’s Short Cuts, which won the Gold Award for Best Radio Podcast at the British Podcast Awards in both 2017 and 2018. Her documentary work has received a Special Commendation at the Prix Europa, the Whicker’s World Foundation ‘Audio Recognition Award’ and the Gold Award for Best Factual Storytelling at the Radio Academy’s ARIAs. In her spare time she runs the Radio Atlas podcast – an English-language home for subtitled audio from around the world.

Alex Lewis (2019 MDOCS Storytellers’ Institute Fellow), born in Daejeon, South Korea in 1988, is a Philadelphia-based independent radio producer and musician. He produces radio stories, audio documentaries, podcasts and public radio programs. He’s written and produced long-form audio documentaries including Saturday Night & Sunday Morning: The Gospel Roots of Rock & Soul – with WXPN and NPR Music – and Going Black: The Legacy of Philly Soul Radio (winner of a 2015 National Edward R. Murrow Award). He also produces The Dig, a podcast from Jacobin Magazine. Other work includes lead producing Every ZIP Philadelphia, a Localore: Finding America project, and numerous Philadelphia-area audio projects with organizations such as Mural Arts, Bartram’s Garden, Reading Terminal Market, and the Association for Public Art. Alex graduated with a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University, where he studied music theory and musicology. He studied radio documentary at the Transom Story Workshop on Cape Cod. He’s given talks on audio storytelling at the University of Pennsylvania, Skidmore College, Temple University, WHYY, PhillyCAM, and elsewhere.

About MDOCS Forum

Each June, as part of the annual Storytellers’ Institute, Skidmore College’s John B. Moore Documentary Studies Collaborative (MDOCS) hosts a weekend-long documentary forum around an annual theme. This year’s theme, Humor: Laughing With Reality, honors the long tradition of non-fiction makers who, through satire and silliness, have employed humor as means to transgress social norms, toy with the taboo, and empower us through laughter. An international group of documentary makers will explore the theme through various mediums and connect with Skidmore and the greater community at locations on Skidmore College campus from June 6–9, 2019.

For more information on the 2019 MDOCS Forum, visit their website.

2019 MDOCS Forum Events

Thursday, June 6:
- 8:00 PM – Performance of “The Love Song of R. Buckminster Fuller” Sam Green, and Yo La Tengo (at Arthur Zankel Music Center)

Friday, June 7:
- 10:00 AM – The Natural World and Climate Anxiety
- 11:45 AM – Sitting in the Waiting Room
- 3:00 PM – Sam Green Artist Talk
- 4:30 PM – Documentary, Mockumentary and Prank Panel
- 6:00 PM – Keynote: Kristina Wong Performance and Artist Talk (at Filene Auditorium)

Saturday, June 8:
- 10:00 AM – Docs in Progress
- 11:45 AM – Documentary Film Industry and Humor
- 3:00 PM – Land Without Bread Redux
- 4:30 PM – Humor, Memory, Trauma, Loss
- 6:15 PM – Radio Atlas

Sunday, June 9:
- 10:00 AM – Storytelling Workshop with Micaela Blei
- 11:45 AM – Teachings and Takeaways Workshop