Published: Aug. 5, 2020 By

The Mimesis Documentary Festival will bring filmmakers together for an immersive week of film screenings and discussions.

The virtual presentation, to be held Aug. 12 through 18, will feature short and feature-length programs available for online streaming, as well as live events and other interactive experiences accessible to both filmmakers and the general public. 

The festival provides a great opportunity for those in the public to view documentaries that might otherwise be difficult to access, says Eric Coombs Esmail, director of the College of Media, Communication and Information’s Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media, which is hosting the festival.

“Some of the films we are showing will be entirely unique to most audiences,” Esmail says. “Mimesis is about pushing the boundaries of what documentary can be, and having impactful experiences of unique and underrepresented subjects through art.” 

One highlight of the festival will be “The Unwriting of Disaster,” part of a new year-long series called Flaherty x Boulder, which showcases important works of historical and contemporary documentary media art.

Mimesis Documentary Festival was created as a non-fiction, media-focused platform for creators, artists and scholars to share their work while engaging with others. It is sponsored by CU Boulder units including CMCI, the Departments of Anthropology and Critical Media Practices and the Research and Innovation Office––as well as through individual contributions.

All current students, faculty and staff can receive free admission to the entire festival. Send a request to mdf@colorado.edu from your colorado.edu email address to be provided with a code to use at checkout. For others in the public, tickets for the festival can be purchased on the festival's website. Participants can purchase individual event tickets  for $10 each, or you can buy an all access pass for $25.