Folkstreams Blog

Folkstreams is establishing a “Folkstreams Prize for Young Documentary Filmmakers” to recognize and encourage fresh documentary films on American traditional and vernacular culture. The prize is awarded for outstanding videos completed by young folklorist filmmakers. The prize includes both a cash award and the addition of the winner’s film to the Folkstreams website. Films may be submitted to Tom Davenport, Folkstreams Project Director, whenever completed.

Awards will be made and announced for those documentaries judged to have important subjects, treated with sensitivity, and shot and edited with skill.

Our first award goes to Ali Colleen Neff in recognition of her work on “Home of the Double Eagle” and “Let the Whole World Listen Right“. Ali’s partner on these videos was filmmaker Brian Graves.

Ali also worked with Folkstreams on an innovative project to codify the logging of shots and scenes during filmmaking using Final Cut Pro. The log creates a searchable database and index of all tapes made for the video. She and photographer Tim Gordon are currently working on a book manuscript and applying for grants to work on a documentary about the Mississippi artists featured on their new (developing) website: www.materialmississippi.org

Ali Colleen Neff has an MA in Folklore and is currently a PH.D candidate in Communication Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Folkstreams appears in the article “Streaming Flicks of Punks and
Potters” by Margarite Nathe in Endeavors Magazine, covering research and creative activity at the University of North Carolina, Spring 2006.

Reference: http://research.unc.edu/endeavors/spr2006/folkstreams.php

Folkstreams appears in the “Best of Web” from LearnNC K-12 teaching and learning directory, from University of NC, School of Education.

Reference: http://www.learnnc.org/bestweb/folkstreams