Assistant Professor, Film - The Sidney Poitier New American Film School

Description:

The Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University seeks an Assistant Professor, Film located in Tempe/Mesa. This is a full-time tenure-track position. We seek a filmmaker with established professional credits as a director or director/writer with experience in either narrative or documentary filmmaking. The successful candidate will start employment in Fall 2022. 

About ASU

Arizona State University is a new model for American higher education, an unprecedented combination of academic excellence, entrepreneurial energy, and broad access. This New American University is a single, unified institution comprising four differentiated campuses positively impacting the economic, social, cultural, and environmental health of the communities it serves. Its research is inspired by real world application blurring the boundaries that traditionally separate academic disciplines. ASU serves more than 80,000 students in metropolitan Phoenix, Arizona, the nation's fifth largest city. ASU champions intellectual and cultural diversity and welcomes students from all fifty states and more than one hundred nations across the globe. 

About the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

Arizona State University’s Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts is the largest comprehensive design and arts school in the country, located within a dynamic research university focused on transformative change. Built on a unique combination of disciplines, the Herberger Institute comprises the Schools of Art; Arts, Media, and Engineering; Music, Dance, and Theatre; The Design School; The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, and the ASU Art Museum. The Herberger Institute is committed to redefining the 21st-century design and arts school through developing and scaling ideas that strengthen the role of designers and artists across all areas of society and culture, increasing the capacity of artists to make a difference in their communities. For more information on the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, visit herbergerinstitute.asu.edu.

About The Sidney Poitier New American Film School

The Sidney Poitier New American Film School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University is dedicated to training the next generation of cinematic storytellers, digital media artists, and innovators of the imagination. With a foundation in ethical and collaborative creative practices, hands-on instruction with industry standard technology, and focused pre-professional training and career planning, we aim to be the most inclusive, most affordable, and most innovative film and media production program in the country. Our award-winning faculty combines years of industry success with a passionate commitment to teaching and student success, and our graduates jump-start their careers through engagement with Film Spark, our Los Angeles-based industry relations hub. In The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, each student's unique creative vision and career aspirations are brought to life, giving voice to communities, stories, and ideas that can be shared and treasured on screens in cinemas, in our homes, or in the palms of our hands. For more information on The Sidney Poitier New American Film School, visit film.asu.edu.  

 About ASU @ Mesa City Center

Arizona State University has joined forces with one of the nation’s fastest growing cities to build a digital innovation center in Mesa. ASU @ Mesa City Center will open doors for students in emerging industries while helping transform Mesa’s downtown area into a bustling innovation district. Once fully developed, this 118,000 square-foot space will leverage its soundstages, audio laboratories, immersive laboratories, screening theaters, fabrication labs, and design studios to encourage collaborations aimed at solving problems today and in the future—from visualizing new systems of urban transportation to testing new designs for hospital rooms. This world-class media production site will host hundreds of students making films, video games, and other immersive media, as well as extended reality experiences of all kinds. Our inclusive programming will train some of the best storytellers and media entrepreneurs in the world, and the facility will also be an open and inviting place for the public as well as a source of inspiration, entertainment, and education.

The Assistant Professor of Film will teach various courses related to contemporary filmmaking practices.

These courses may include: Directing I and II, Principles of Filmmaking, Short Film Production, Senior Project/Capstone, and any areas of specialty (e.g., documentary, commercial, industrial, educational, or independent media). The Assistant Professor of Film/Media Production should expect to teach a two to three-course load per semester; supervise and mentor student projects across the SPNAFS; maintain an active professional creative profile, and contribute appropriate service and participate in faculty governance. The candidate’s body of work and teaching experiences should demonstrate the following:

an active commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion; the ability to facilitate creative and professional opportunities for students from diverse populations; a record of exploring innovative filmmaking and storytelling in traditional and emerging formats; and, the ability to create innovative course content.

 Required Qualifications:

• MFA with a concentration in film or related discipline, plus a minimum of three years professional experience in film production, including experience directing films as evidenced by a minimum of two completed projects, no less than ten minutes in length, that the applicant has directed; or, MA, BFA or BA in film or related discipline, plus a minimum of five years professional experience in film production, plus experience directing films as evidenced by a minimum of two completed projects, no less than ten minutes in length, that the applicant has directed.
• Demonstrated experience and excellence teaching filmmaking to students from traditionally underrepresented communities, and/or to non-traditional students.
• Demonstrated commitment via professional work to the advancement of equity, diversity, and inclusion in film professions.
• Recognized professional/artistic excellence, evidenced by public presentation or distribution of creative work in the form of short or feature narrative films, documentaries, commercials or other media forms.

Desired Qualifications:

Demonstrated success in one or more of the following areas: 

• Experience in college or university level teaching.
• Experience in screenwriting as evidenced by short or long form scripts written by the applicant or professional script development work performed by the applicant.
• Evidence of successful student mentorship.
• Evidence of teaching online and/or hybrid courses at the college or university level.
• Broad knowledge of film and media history and appreciation for the cultural value and social impact of film, television and new media.
• Evidence creating film/media projects with community groups/organizations.
• Active engagement with industry and professional organizations.
• Evidence of developing courses at the college or university level.

Instructions to Apply:

Please submit the five following items: (1) a curriculum vitae including contact information for three references, (2) a letter of interest, (3) a one-page statement of your teaching philosophy, (4) a diversity statement of up to two pages detailing your approach to, and evidence of, diversity and inclusion through creative work/research, teaching, and/or service, (5) links to a portfolio of up to three representative works.

All applications must be submitted electronically via apply.interfolio.com/96886 

Application Deadline:

The application deadline is November 28, 2021. Applications will continue to be accepted on a rolling basis for a reserve pool.  Applications in the reserve pool may then be reviewed in the order in which they were received until the position is filled.

ASU conducts pre-employment screening for all positions which includes a criminal background check, verification of work history, academic credentials, licenses and certifications.

Arizona State University is a VEVRAA Federal Contractor and an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other basis protected by law.

(See https://www.asu.edu/aad/manuals/acd/acd401.html and https://www.asu.edu/titleIX/.)

In compliance with federal law, ASU prepares an annual report on campus security and fire safety programs and resources. ASU’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report is available online at https://www.asu.edu/police/PDFs/ASU-Clery-Report.pdf. You may request a hard copy of the report by contacting the ASU Police Department at 480-965-3456.