UnionDocs – International Arts & Artists

Based in Brooklyn, NY, UnionDocs (UNDO) is a non-profit Center for Documentary Art that presents, produces, publishes, and educates. It brings together a diverse community of activist artists, experimental media-makers, dedicated journalists, big thinkers, and local partners to search for urgent expressions of the human experience, practical perspectives on the world today, and compelling visions for the future.

Each year, International Arts & Artists partners with UNDO to provide J-1 visa sponsorship for international fellows participating in the Collaborative Studio (CoLAB) program. This ten-month fellowship brings together individual talents, voices, and stories to create multi-dimensional documentaries. CoLAB offers a platform for these artists to explore contemporary approaches to the documentary arts and a process for developing an innovative collaborative project. The program consists of weekly production meetings, seminars, screenings and other public programs, along with regular masterclasses and critiques with visiting artists.

We recently caught up with Ansh Vohra, one of the 2017-18 CoLAB fellows, and Sarah Lerner, UNDO’s Director of Operations, to learn more about the CoLAB program and UNDO’s experience as a J-1 host organization.

Sarah, what are some of your favorite things about hosting exchange visitors?

We are able to host up to six international fellows and six local fellows each year as part of our CoLAB program. The opportunity is as valuable for us as it is for them, as we greatly appreciate being able to expand our documentary arts community on a global scale. We have extensive international partnerships on our public facing events and workshops by bringing together artists, journalists, critics and curators from around the world, so we feel it is important to continue the tradition within the film production side of the organization as well. One of our primary goals as part of our fellowship program is to create multi-dimensional pieces in a collaborative format, and cross-cultural exchange is one of the most effective ways to do that.

Ansh, what impact has your J-1 experience with UnionDocs had on your life and your career?

UnionDocs came into my life at a time when I was just beginning to comfortably settle into my work as a filmmaker. However, I wasn’t sure that being comfortable was the right thing to do at the age of 25. I began making film four years ago and I couldn’t help but wonder whether I’d pushed myself to have new experiences. My time here at UnionDocs has been a big step forward in overcoming that obstacle. I’ve had the opportunity to challenge my notions of what makes for a good film, and I feel as though I will come out of this opportunity a filmmaker who isn’t afraid to take risks. Additionally, living in the United States, and in New York especially, has given me the opportunity to interact with cultures that I wouldn’t otherwise be privy to back home in Delhi. I’m working on projects that focus on people of Indian, Syrian and Azeri origins, something that probably wouldn’t have been possible in any other city in the world.

Sarah, what are some of activities that CoLAB fellows get to take part in?

Our fellows spend ten months at UnionDocs, meeting twice a week for production meetings, master classes and seminars with notable members of the documentary field. We have had the opportunity to work with notable filmmakers (such as Deborah Stratman), radio producers (such as Jad Abumrad) and curators (such as Sally Berger). We are sponsored by AbelCine, one of the industry’s most comprehensive sources for state-of-the-art camera equipment and accessories. Our fellows receive training support from AbelCine staff. We are also sponsored by Canon, who lease cameras for Collaborative Studio productions.

Ansh, what are some of the projects that you’ve been working on during your time at UnionDocs?

I’m currently working on three documentary projects at UnionDocs, two of which I’m directing. The first one is a film that follows three immigrant narratives that originate within a 100 miles of each other in Punjab (India) and culminate in a taxi school in Queens, NY. The second one, which I’m co-directing with Daniel Sitts, is an animated film that chronicles the family history of some of the first few Syrians to arrive in the United States back in the 1890s. The third one follows an Azerbaijani family and tells the story of a generational divide between a traditionally Azeri grandmother and her American granddaughter.

Sarah, tell us about some of the cultural activities that UnionDocs fellows participate in during their program!

Our fellows are able to attend all of the 100+ events held at UnionDocs free of charge, and are encouraged to do so. We take an annual trip to the Camden International Film Festival in Maine each fall. Group field trips have also included Documentary Fortnight at MoMA, Art of the Real at Film Society Lincoln Center and HotDocs in Toronto. In addition, we share word of local events at other micro-cinemas and festival opportunities that might be of interest.

Ansh, what does cultural exchange mean to you?

Over the past couple of months, I’ve had the opportunity to meet and work with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures. We’re a group of people you would usually have never found inside one room had it not been for a program like UnionDocs and International Arts & Artists. To work with all of them as equals, exchange ideas, collaborate on projects and become friends has been an incredible experience. I will hopefully be in touch with everyone for a long time.

Learn more about the CoLAB program here and follow Ansh Vohra on Instagram!