Featured News

MFA Retreat Set for April 21 – 25

Maine Media College MFA candidates, faculty, applicants, and auditors gather on the school’s Rockport campus April 21 - 25 for the four-day spring MFA retreat.
photo by Allen Meier

Resident faculty are joined by MFA guest faculty: photographers Arno Minkkinen and Christopher James, and filmmaker Ziad Hamzeh for student portfolio and film critiques, one-on-one meetings, and applicant presentations.

Maine Media College’s low-residency MFA Program makes it possible for working professionals to pursue an advanced degree while working from home with an area mentor, and with guidance from a program advisor at the college. There are two retreats each year, in fall and spring. Applications are accepted on a rolling admissions basis.

This four-day session is open to potential students interested in learning more about the program. To register to audit the retreat (the $285 fee includes meals) and to reserve a room on campus, or for information about the MFA admissions process, email registrar@mainemedia.edu.

Rwanda to Rotterdam: A Postcard from the Film Fest

In August 2009 I was the director of photography for a documentary film called Rwanda: Take Two. The film was shot in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, and was about two local filmmakers working through the ranks of the country’s growing film scene.


Tim McLaughlin (right) with Fred Muvunyi, field producer for Rwanda: Take Two.
The director and editor, Pia Sawhney, spent five months editing the film and we were both thrilled to find out that it had been accepted to the International Film Festival in Rotterdam.

Earlier this month I flew to the Netherlands to be a part of the 39-year-old festival. While I saw my fair share of films, I was most excited about the opportunity to spend time with five good friends from Rwanda who had made the trip to Holland. As ‘Team Rwanda’ we went en masse to the public screenings of our film and enjoyed some spirited Q&A sessions about the state of filmmaking in Africa.

It was an overwhelming and wonderful experience, and I was extremely thankful for the opportunity to show the film. The film festival circuit can be a challenge, but it’s something all filmmakers and multimedia documentarians should consider.

– Tim McLaughlin, Multimedia Program Director, Maine Media Workshops & College

Maine Media Seminar at SPE March 4

The Society for Photographic Education (SPE) 47th National Conference in Philadelphia, Facing Diversity: Leveling the Playing Field in the Photographic Arts, examines how photographers of diverse backgrounds participate in the art world today and how these artists are being received.

Maine Media’s Multimedia Program Director, Tim McLaughlin, leads a Thursday Industry Seminar: Multimedia Crash Course for Photography Educators March 4 from 1:30 – 2:45PM.

This introduction to the art and craft of incorporating video and audio into a documentary photography curriculum guides photography faculty through the essential components of multimedia storytelling, production, and content publication. Tim also reviews a variety of “cheap or free” resources for educators to keep abreast of the latest advances in multimedia technologies and industry applications.

Tim and Maine Media Photography Program Director Kate Izor will hold interviews for 2010 MMW summer staff positions during the conference. Applicants should stop by the SPE store to sign up for interview times.

Visit SPE National for complete conference information.